Help!! Is this a McDojo? (Humor + Introduction)

[Koko]

So, I attended my 5-year-old's Kickboxing/Parkour/Gymnastics school in her bedroom today for a short introductory class. She has a belt chart on the wall, and told me that she and I both start at White Belts today, and she would assess me at the end of class to see if I gained any rank. The class lasted about ten minutes and consisted of planks, some shadow boxing, some bag work, and at the end, the instructor collapsed of apparent exhaustion for a few seconds before she hopped up and gave me the marketing talk: she said that I increased to a Green Belt (about 5 ranks) from my performance in that class (I am not sure if this is a marketing tactic or if I am just extremely skilled). She then gave me a bunch of coupons and said that if I got a loved one to come try a class, I would increase to a Black Belt and my loved one would start at a Green Belt instead of a White Belt. I know there might be some red flags here, but the instructor is pretty cute and I feel like the price (5 left-over Easter jelly beans) was quite affordable. Help, MT, is this a McDojo??!!

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I hope you guys get as much of a kick out of my kiddo's antics as I do. As I walked out of her "class", the first thing I thought was, "I gotta post that on MT!"

I have been a member for a few weeks and replied and liked a few times here and there, but this was the first time I had epic content to tack an intro to.

I am a stay-at-home mom of two (obviously hilarious) children from the Twin Cities area. I am a certified personal trainer who got interested in martial arts via an online cardio kickboxing class (Les Mills) I tried in order to stay active when everything was cancelled during the early days of the pandemic. I have been doing kickboxing virtually/by myself (as my own personal trainer, I suppose!) ever since 3-6x a week, and am the most fit I've been in my life & career! Via kickboxing and binge-listening to "The Martial Arts Woman" podcast, I've started to develop an interest in TMA (mainly BJJ, Judo and Muay Thai), MMA, and integrated self-defense systems (ex. Craig Douglas). My husband did TKD as a kid, MCMAP in the Marines, and is now doing Muay Thai at a small local MMA gym after I rekindled his interest in Martial Arts by making him do some kickboxing with me. I am not yet attending real-life-real-people classes because the pandemic did a number on my social anxiety, and joining MT is a step in the direction of "putting myself out there" with the goal of starting real classes in something sometime soon.

Thanks for reading!
"Koko"

 

[Steve]

So, I attended my 5-year-old's Kickboxing/Parkour/Gymnastics school in her bedroom today for a short introductory class. She has a belt chart on the wall, and told me that she and I both start at White Belts today, and she would assess me at the end of class to see if I gained any rank. The class lasted about ten minutes and consisted of planks, some shadow boxing, some bag work, and at the end, the instructor collapsed of apparent exhaustion for a few seconds before she hopped up and gave me the marketing talk: she said that I increased to a Green Belt (about 5 ranks) from my performance in that class (I am not sure if this is a marketing tactic or if I am just extremely skilled). She then gave me a bunch of coupons and said that if I got a loved one to come try a class, I would increase to a Black Belt and my loved one would start at a Green Belt instead of a White Belt. I know there might be some red flags here, but the instructor is pretty cute and I feel like the price (5 left-over Easter jelly beans) was quite affordable. Help, MT, is this a McDojo??!!

---

I hope you guys get as much of a kick out of my kiddo's antics as I do. As I walked out of her "class", the first thing I thought was, "I gotta post that on MT!"

I have been a member for a few weeks and replied and liked a few times here and there, but this was the first time I had epic content to tack an intro to.

I am a stay-at-home mom of two (obviously hilarious) children from the Twin Cities area. I am a certified personal trainer who got interested in martial arts via an online cardio kickboxing class (Les Mills) I tried in order to stay active when everything was cancelled during the early days of the pandemic. I have been doing kickboxing virtually/by myself (as my own personal trainer, I suppose!) ever since 3-6x a week, and am the most fit I've been in my life & career! Via kickboxing and binge-listening to "The Martial Arts Woman" podcast, I've started to develop an interest in TMA (mainly BJJ, Judo and Muay Thai), MMA, and integrated self-defense systems (ex. Craig Douglas). My husband did TKD as a kid, MCMAP in the Marines, and is now doing Muay Thai at a small local MMA gym after I rekindled his interest in Martial Arts by making him do some kickboxing with me. I am not yet attending real-life-real-people classes because the pandemic did a number on my social anxiety, and joining MT is a step in the direction of "putting myself out there" with the goal of starting real classes in something sometime soon.

Thanks for reading!
"Koko"

Welcome! Your kiddo sounds hilarious.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

The important question is whether the instructor charges you extra jelly beans for each rank test. That can add up quick and be quite the scam.

 

[MadMartigan]

You should also watch for long contracts with no exit clauses... don't want to owe jelly beans for the next 2-3 years if you decide the instructor isn't working out.

 

[_Simon_]

HAHAHA that is plain awesome, great kid! I'd say give it a fair trial before labelling it a McDojo. I've seen worse!

A very warm welcome to you, awesome to have you here

 

[Instructor]

Heck I'd join, your kid sounds amazing.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I bet they've already got you locked in and you'll be paying for YEARS...

 

[Xue Sheng]

Welcome to MT, and 5 is a great age, very cute story, thanks

 

[frank raud]

I just gotta say, starting out an interest in martial arts and having already discovered Craig Douglas, yer off to a great start.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

Greetings and welcome to MT!

It's not necessarily a red flag, maybe just a yellow flag.. . but looks like your gym has a multi-faceted revenue stream by offering parkour and gymnastics, along with kickboxing. I'd read the fine print of that contract! You may end up paying jelly beans for classes you never have the time for, or interest in attending!

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I don't know what everyone else is talking about. This seems like a straight-up scam. Run as fast as you can, and never speak to the instructor again-I get the feeling that she's going to keep trying to scam you out of your money for the next 13 years, at least. Probably more.

Welcome to the site though! I hope you stick around, and good luck getting into classes! Are you looking for advice to help you get around your social anxiety with classes, or just throwing it out there that you have it? If looking for advice, might be worth starting a new thread on the topic and seeing who has suggestions.