I recall my first trip to Japan, how I was surprised to not see "Karate Schools" all around in the shopping centers or up and down the main streets of the city. We were there in Tokyo to visit one of world's premiere teachers of Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido, Mitsuzuka Takeshi. Our classes were held at different community centers around Tokyo. I asked about the lack of martial arts schools around town. I expected to see signs on buildings all over town. That is when I was told that most Japanese teachers do not teach for a living.

It is very common to find full-time martial arts teachers in the Police Departments and, of course, in the Military. Also, the Universities have full time instructors in the Physical Education departments. And there are also some who have enough students that they need, and can afford, a larger public space. But the vast majority of teachers do not teach for profit. They teach out of their home or at a community center. Very often, when someone decides they want to make money teaching martial arts they move to the United States, where they can charge more money and have students sign long term contracts for classes.

I am sure there are some very good teachers who manage to make a living in the martial arts. But these few are the exception rather than the rule. The problem is that "good business" and "traditional martial arts values" just can not coexist.

On average, people who take up martial arts training do not keep at it for more than 3 months. Many drop out before that and it is not at all uncommon for people to not return after the first class. Yet, with this knowledge, operators of commercial schools have students sign contracts where they are obligated to pay for classes for a full year or longer. The selling of "black belt courses", where the students pays for 3 or more years of classes, is also a wide-spread practice.

Martial Arts training is not easy, it is difficult. Knowledge does not come fast, it takes a long time. It is not something that is "fun for all ages from 7-70". It is too complicated for a 7 year old to grasp and dangerous for a 70 year old (how many 70 year olds can go off and join the Army or the Marines and survive Basic Training?).

The operators of the commercial school know that most of these people will stop coming to class long before they finish paying off the contract. Just like the fitness club operators know that, in January most of the people who by the "New Year Special" as part of their "New Years Resolution" to get in shape and lose weight, will stop coming by March. If all the people who bought the membership came to the gym on a regular basis there would be no room for them and the equipment would wear out from excessive use.

Take a look at the garage sales and see all the weight lifting and exercise equipment for sale, all in good shape from not being used. You can go to Good Will or the Salvation Army and buy good equipment for a fraction of what it cost new. I personally keep my eye open for deals on Martial Arts equipment at Good Will. People buy it, use it a few times and quit.

A good teacher knows not only his art but his students. He knows that most people come out of curiosity and will not stay long at all. He also wants to be fair to his students. He is honest with them up front, doing his best to prepare them for what they are in for. He cares about the reputation of his school and does not want his students to leave feeling like they have been misled or "ripped off" He also wants to be fair to the students who dedicate themselves to training. He would much rather spend his time teaching someone who wants to be there and has real goals of learning and advancing. To a "professional teacher", this is preferable to taking time away from a dedicated student to spend that time with some one who is only taking up space in class because they are forced to pay for the lessons so they feel obligated to be there.

With commercial schools, where the owners income depends on payments from students, there is an inherent conflict of interest in the standards for promotion. In the world of Martial Arts, only about 2 percent of those students who start will go on to earn a "black belt". I do know of some schools with higher percentages, but these are often run by renowned teachers who are specifically sought out by students. Of these 2 percent, only about 10 percent of those will go on to the next level. Yet, you can go to a commercial school where there are literally hundreds of students who have gone on to attain "black belt" status.

Usually, the high percentage of "black belts" is not because the teacher is better. Most often it is because the teacher has to lower the standards for attaining a black belt in order to retain enough students to maintain his desired income level. If students, especially young children, are not constantly getting the new brightly colored belts that they expect, and eventually the coveted "black belt", they tend to lose interest in the class. When students lose interest, the operator loses income. Another common conflict of interest comes from the "certification fees". The average student pays nearly $100 per month for classes. Then every 2-3 months they have to come up with another $35-50 for certificates and eventually hundreds of dollars for "black belt" fees. These certificate fees easily add up to an additional $20,000 per year in income for the operator of a commercial school. There is very little interest in a teacher telling 98% of his students that they there just not ready to test, and all the more incentive to keep them in new belts on a regular basis.

I had one student come to me after attending one of these "professional" schools here in town. He was actually enrolled in a "Black Belt Instructors Program". He described to me how during his training, it was his turn to go speak to the new prospect that was coming in through the door. The "master" whispered to him "This guy pulled up in a Mercedes. Tell him class is $150 a month". part of his "Instructor Training" was how to judge the wealth of a prospective student and get as much as they are willing to pay. This is hardly the behavior of someone who cares about the quality of his instruction or the best interest of his students.

This does not mean that a "store front" martial arts school is inherently bad. Often times, there are enough students to support such and endeavor. It often takes many years to gain that level of enrollment and often these teachers are retired from another career by this time. "Store Front" schools also often get together with teachers of other arts to share the expenses - a Karate teacher and a Judo teacher, for example. Each teacher may have 20 students each which combined can pay the rent.

So how can one avoid training at one of these "McDojo" schools? There are a number of red flags that will indicate this is a school to avoid.

It is unlikely that they will have a large number of "black belts". There also should not be children wearing black belts. And there certainly should not be young and inexperienced teachers. All teachers should be adults with many years as a "black belt" - in the range of 3rd-4th Dan (degree). Under 3rd Dan, the teacher should be supervised by a senior.

Most reputable organizations have a minimum age of 16 years old to be promoted to "black belt". Some are still at 18 years old. This age requirement is for various reasons. Often is is because many techniques are just too dangerous and it is highly irresponsible to teach them to the young and immature. Also, black belts are beginning to learn how to teach. This requires a deeper understanding of the art and science that can be communicated to a wide range of people with various needs levels of understanding themselves. Can a 14 year old boy who won a lot trophies in point fighting tournaments really help a a professional woman asking questions about self defense in a downtown parking garage at night?

Quality teachers do not offer "black belt courses". In fact they generally do not even discuss obtaining the "black belt" with new students unless the prospective student asks. One common question is "how long will it take to get a black belt?". This is an impossible question to answer. I know some people who earned in in 9 months and some in 20 years. No teacher can promise a prospective student that they will pass any test in the future, let alone give them a date before they even start training. Prospective students should not enroll in schools that offer such "black belt courses".

Long term contracts are also a sign of a problem school. Some quality teachers may offer a discount if you pay for a few months in advance. But this is a choice not a requirement. In knowing that, as a new student, you will likely not be there more than 3 months and quite possibly not more than a week, it is highly unethical for a teacher to obligate the student to a year of payments.

Also, beware of schools headed by Americans teaching arts with Japanese or Chinese sounding names where they are the founder or "inheritor". For a non-Asian to "inherit" an Asian art is very uncommon . If it is a Chinese or Japanese art, it is still being taught in China or Japan or it is extinct. It is extremely unlikely, that some person in Toledo or Oshkosh is the last surviving teacher of some ancient Asian art. Also, if they are American, they will not be the founder of an Asian art. Giving Asian sounding names to arts that they created themselves is often a way of trying to hide something - usually their lack of training under a properly credentialed teacher.

This warning does not mean that an American teaching an art with an Asian name is not being honest. Just that starting a new art and giving it an Asian name is a common ploy to lead un-informed students to believe they are learning something foreign, more exotic or perhaps even older than it actually is. If you ask about the name of the art, and the teacher is honest and says "I created this art", I don't see a problem in what he is doing.

One other catch phrase that should be a warning sign to a prospective student is the ever popular "I am registered in Japan", or "our school is registered in China". Ask "where in Japan. With who". Often times, these questions can not be answered, because they are not registred any where. Get names, addresses and phone numbers of contacts that can verify such "registrations". Again, I am not saying that an instructor has to be part of an Asian organization in order to be a legitimate teacher. I am just warning that one common ploy used be unscrupulous business operators is to convince students that they are.

If you are looking for martial arts instruction, especially in this day and age, there is always a way to check on the credentials of a teacher. There will be some governing body that you can contact to check their credentials with a long line of previous instructors (the lineage) that you can research. Beware of teachers who talk about "secret" schools, teachers and organizations. The have probably just watched too many bad movies. If you are shown certificates that are written in languages that you can not read, contact the governing body that issued that certificate. Do not rely only on the teacher's word as to what it says. I know of one school where the "master" framed an ad from a laundry in China Town and told students that was his "masters diploma" from the 'Shaolin Temple".

These are just a few of the "warning signs" that should tell you to avoid a school, or atleast look into it further. But the best thing to do is find a teacher at a community center or other non-profit place, or who teaches out of his home. Many of the best teachers I have met teach for largely for free only asking for money to cover expenses of teaching.