I need a bit of a headcheck to see if I have a point or am simply developing in to a crotchety old kung fu dude.
There’s a school in my neighborhood that teaches (IMO) some pretty BS “shaolin” kung fu that is a pretty big joke. Talking to former students the teacher learns a form from a videotape and then teaches that to his students. Barely any combat skill, apparently they do some very light TKD-style sparring.
Recently, they’ve been advertising around various forums and I’ve found it necessary to counter their ads that they teach “authentic shaolin kung fu” or “self defense.” I think it’s morally wrong to teach somebody a bunch of nonsense and claim it has any veracity to actual combat skill.
Additionally to teach “flowery hands” type of kung fu cheapens the reputation of kung fu as a whole - so what they’re doing makes what I, and the other reputable teachers in my area do look worse because we get lumped together with them as Kung Fu people.
Am I in the right or wrong to call BS when I see it? Or should I simply let things go as “caveat emptor?”
Why bother with it? I would just leave it alone. He doesn’t have to be a fighter to teach gung fu. Heck, I can introduce you to people that work out and train in a gym as boxers, and they have probably never in their lives had a fight or even sparred. I would not bet against them in a fight either. They have the skills to beat the hell out of someone, just haven’t done it yet.
You have little or nothing to gain by calling someone out. The big question is, can you whip him?
We have a guy near me that teaches Shaolin Kung fu. he wears the robes and everything. After looking into his back ground I found out he has a small fraction of the Shaolin training he claims and is mostly a TKD/Karate guy.
I have watched some of his classes. he does the standard Songshan Shaolin forms and has the common Songshan curriculm…but the fighting is pure TKD…
I almost think he learned from tapes.
He has an MMA cage in his school. I was there watching them do thier ground fighting. It was classic BJJ type stuff.
While I was there, a student came up and asked if that was the Kung fu. Rather than explain it was from his MMA program (most likely from the Gracie CD rom IMO), he said it was Kung Fu.
So, I have a local guy, who is mostly a TKD/Karate person, wearing Monk robes, teaching a common, songshan shaolin forms curriculum, who teaches apps from TKD and BJJ that has everyone around him thinking it’s all Kung Fu from the Monks…
My answer is to teach my student honestly. I am a mixed bag of tricks. I tell him where everything I teach came from and how my curriculum came about.
I am a better coach then the other guy. When my student is ready, his students will be beat in the ring I am sure.
Ultimately, I really don’t care what others do anymore. I have my own deal to wory about.
The lady in this video claims that her father was the founder of Kung Fu she says comes from the Philippines and that Kung Fu is really a filipino art. according to her kung fu was born in the philippines and then moved to china.
look at her form. anyone who has studied an authentic system can tell this is complete and utter BULLSH1T. its totally made up. nothing she does has any kind of combative qualities. its very sad but its people like HER that makes kung fu look bad.
There is nothing you can do about this trajedy. In my area there is a Karate guy who went to Shaolin Temple a couple of times and learned some forms and now he is the “Shaolin Center for Martial Arts”.
However, these guys create their own demise. In the end, when you only learn a couple of forms and no real depth of information, you run out of things to teach people. As they grow in the MA and learn about what they are doing, they can see right thru his fraud.
A lot of poeple call me about this guy and come to us when they find out they been bambozzled.
The lady in this video claims that her father was the founder of Kung Fu she says comes from the Philippines and that Kung Fu is really a filipino art. according to her kung fu was born in the philippines and then moved to china.
look at her form. anyone who has studied an authentic system can tell this is complete and utter BULLSH1T. its totally made up. nothing she does has any kind of combative qualities. its very sad but its people like HER that makes kung fu look bad.[/QUOTE]
I say call a spade a spade, I have no problem calling out frauds.
In the old days before you could open a school in a village/town you had to fight the teacher of the exsisitntg school.
If your skill was not good enough you were not allow to open nor teach in that village/town. I see no reason why this should not still be this way. If you cant put up then close up.
I need a bit of a headcheck to see if I have a point or am simply developing in to a crotchety old kung fu dude.
Crotchety old dude all the way.
Seriously. Why does anyone care what other folks are getting their rocks off with? :rolleyes: I think I personally actually used to but rather than getting crotchety and old it was more like I used to be young and arrogant. Now, just past 40, it seems to me like getting your panties in a bunch over what some random recreational kung fu school is doing is just being a d1ck.
The way you feel about that school is the way MMAers feel about all of TCMA. Let them do what they want. At the end of the day everyone has their level… for some it’s gold. for some its fake dog poop.