new here and new to MA (mcDojo area? :()

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

$45 per month is a good deal to me. Only 1 class a week, though, would be rough.
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white owl · Black Belt

Kalania, I do not no about your area but in our area there is some dojo's not listed in a phone book or even google martial arts schools you will not find my dojo listed there even though we have a web page. My first dojo that I join had a business card on a bulliten board in a hot dog shop which it was ran out of our local YMCA. And the dojo I'm with now is ran out of a baseball complex and people come from here say we have no address or phone other than the complex's. So what I'm getting at do not be affraid to ask around also during your search you'll be surprise what you might just find.

tallgeese · Black Belt

Agreed, some of the best places out there that I've run across never really advertised. There are a bunch of well trained groups out there working out of unorthodox locations. Like was said, keep asking around.

Also, once you find a group, you'll be surprised to see how many informal groups often meet outside of a school. These clubs can often be a great source of training partners as well.

unknownstyle · Purple Belt

if you are anywhere near Pawtucket, RI there is a school called Okinawan Temple Karate Studio and is one of the best Shorin Ryu dojos in the world. they teach real Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu. now if your not into hard contact karate there is no point in looking them up. but if you want real Okinawan karate than there is probably no better school you could find. their website is www.okinawantemple.com. i am not sure about prices but im sure it is not outrageous.
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Nobodysaidbella · Yellow Belt

Well you're paying that, but what about the contract? Is it a monthly contract or a yearly contract?

white owl · Black Belt

Go an watch a few classes and participate in them if aloud to before making any decisions. Shop a round. Some dojo's do not have a listing in a phone book or websites so ask around.

sensei8 · KF Sensei

Forget the websites because they [websites] only represent a very small and incomplete snap-shot of the school. Just because a school doesn't have a website means nothing because that alone can't speak negatively of the school.

I couldn't honestly tell you if any of the links you provided were McDojo's or not. Yes, some had better designed templates, but, that's all I could determine. Now, I went through each of these websites and I never saw any "ranking" declarations, if I had, then, imho, any school that has a camouflage belt is, imho, a candidate for it being a McDojo.

VISIT EVERY SCHOOL in your area, then, decide! You and only you know exactly what you're wanting, needing, as well as your desires and goals. As a word of warning, DON'T SIGN ANY CONTRACTS WHATSOEVER because if you do and then you decide to stop for one reason or another...you'll still have to pay the binding contract, unless you don't care about your credit that is.

Good luck and start VISITING EVERY SCHOOL in your area! Keep us posted please!

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BDPulver · Green Belt

I'll have to agree with sensei on this also. One thing I've tried to avoid and this is going back to my teacher is contracts. One should not be bounded to study a style if they find out a few classes later its not for them.

And like someone else said, some of the good schools dont really list all that much. Before the internet and all this tech stuff. I found my school by word of mouth way back when. It was in the basement of a building at that time and since then I never regretted it.

Also like someone else mentioned, if they call back and offer a sit in with participation for a few classes those are the ones I like to attend first. They are usually the most informant on what they are doing.

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