Your dojo website doesnвЂ™t say anything about the actual style of Karate, but instead makes lot of reference to вЂњempowermentвЂќ, вЂњmindfulnessвЂќ, вЂњconcentrationвЂќ and tournament results.ДҐ9. Senior students are required to recruit new members door to door.ДҐ8.

First thing that greets students when they enter the dojo? A cash register.ДҐ7. KidsвЂ™ classes are more games and chaos than actual Karate.ДҐ6. Your sensei canвЂ™t explain the meaning of any given technique.ДҐ5. Reference is repeatedly made to the notorious вЂњstreetвЂќ, and what works/doesnвЂ™t work there.ДҐ3. Besides teaching Karate, your grandmaster also teaches вЂcardio kickboxingвЂ™ (or similar).ДҐ1. Your sensei sounds and acts like a motivational speaker.ДҐ0. You must pay for an entire year up front, no refunds (long-term contracts with no termination clauses).Д¤9. Red gi for the grandmaster, black gi for instructors and white gi for regular students.Д¤8. (When in fact, the instructors is just holding you back for fear that youвЂ™ll get better than him.)Д¤6. The instructor refuses to teach you certain techniques, because they are вЂњtoo deadlyвЂќД¤5. The dojoвЂ™s phone number is printed on the back of your uniform.Д¤4. The dojoвЂ™s web address is printed on the back of your uniform.Д¤3. Movements donвЂ™t have names вЂ“ they have numbers.Д¤2. The instructor uses students as punching bags.Д¤1. If you use weapons, they glow in the dark and weigh a maximum of 3 oz.Д¤0. Cheesy sales tactics are used to effectively bind up loyal customers (a.k.a. Your grandmaster is 14-times World Champion (WKITSKTFKTAF)ДЈ5. Speaking of kata there are waaaay too many of them.ДЈ4. So cluttered that every time you take a step towards any direction in a kata, youвЂ™re actually stepping on a trophy.ДЈ3. Wearing/buying the dojo merchandize is mandatory.ДЈ2. Between belt grades you get colored tabs on your belt to denote вЂhalfвЂ™ or вЂquarterвЂ™ ranks.ДЈ1. The dojo sign has the words вЂtraditionalвЂ™, вЂcommandoвЂ™, вЂclassicalвЂ™, вЂeffectiveвЂ™, вЂ100%вЂ™, вЂoriginalвЂ™, вЂOkinawanвЂ™, вЂdragonвЂ™, вЂJapaneseвЂ™, вЂsecretвЂ™ and вЂeliteвЂ™ in the same sentence.Дў9. You have stripes on your belt that signify how much you have paid (rather than what rank you have)Дў8. Oh, and most likely, the name of the style is absurdly long.Дў5. Your style was created by your sensei, yet itвЂ™s still вЂњtraditionalвЂќ вЂ“ and it has several вЂњspecial advantagesвЂќ over all other styles. There are 11th dan, 12th dan, 13th dan or even higher grades.Дў3. Instructors are required to have the dojoвЂ™s decals on their car.ДЎ9.В There is a sign that says вЂњGuaranteed Black BeltвЂќ.Дў0. Your sensei studied marketing longer than Karate.ДЎ7. There are many claims of being an вЂњaward winning dojoвЂќ, with little or no solid evidence to back this up.ДЎ6. Instructors wear special вЂinstructor beltsвЂ™ rather than regular belts reflecting their true ranking.ДЎ5. If you are taught bunkai, they never work вЂ“ except when your sensei does them.ДЎ4. You are never taught bunkai (applications) to moves.ДЎ3. Instead, a strong conformist mentality is encouraged, since this inflexible mindset is what makes it easy for a sensei to rule the dojo.ДЎ2. Individual development and personal expression is virtually non-existant. Your sensei wonвЂ™t spar/fight with you because he вЂњdoesnвЂ™t want to hurt youвЂќ.ДЎ1. (And yes, that course is super expensive.)ДЎ0. There is a вЂњspecial courseвЂќ thatвЂ™ll get you black belt in 6 months or less.Д©.

Your sensei is a вЂњgrandmasterвЂќ with 7th dan or above, yet is 30 years or younger.ДЁ. Prospective students are required to become a member/subscribe before even trying a lesson.Д§. Advancement to the next rank is an expense (and a hefty one at that), instead of an honorful achievement.Д¦.

You are awarded black belt in 1-2 years.ДҐ. You wear a thousand badges/patches on your gi.Д¤. The dojo advertises as вЂњNon-Contact KarateвЂќ.ДЈ.

Perhaps he could help?ДЄnd he even asks his facebook fans for help.Дў. You know, that Jesse dude over at, who, besides being irrationally good-looking, seems to enjoy answering e-mails about Karate issues from readers. Suddenly, itвЂ™s like a weight drops off of your shoulders! You start seeing stuff in a new light, and day by day you realize that perhaps your sensei isnвЂ™t the вЂњgodlikeвЂќ master of universe you once thought he was.ДЄnd then one dayвЂ¦ a horrifying thought pops up in your head:

And yeah, youвЂ™re still teaching classes sometimes.

You donвЂ™t really know what it is, but something is definitely wrong.ДЄs a matter of fact, going to the dojo seems harder and harder. You have been training in your dojo for many years now, but a weird feeling is slowly creeping up on you, giving you that uncomfortable sensation in the pit of your stomach.

Stick fo truth photo dojo