Wrong!
Sorry but I have not been “fishing” on this forum for new curriculum ideas. I believe our art is fairly complete. Just looking for philosophy ideas. Isn’t this a forum where martial artists of all types can discuss ideas on martial arts? As for my pocket book, I don’t get paid to teach.
Wushu,
The phonies NEED their lies. Why? Because they have little else. Either that, or they found that they were so good at crafting their little stories, they began to believe it themselves.
“We are what we pretend we are, so be very careful choosing what you pretend to be!”
wushu chik, point taken and you are IMO extremely correct!
That sort of thing will always happen when there is no unification of legit schools nation/world wide.
Of course there will always be the beginner(ignorant for the moment) or the lazy azz that wants the name but doesnt want to pay the price to seek the truth and then gets in a fight only to realize that they dont know $hit and they cant do $hit about it. Thats as American as “let the buyer beware” but that in no way makes it morally right.
That sort of garbage is starting to happen in BJJ. You have these clowns that wear a black belt with their BJJ kimono but fail to tell their students that he got it in some other MA so they go on thinking this guy is legit. Of course if the students ever decide to compete they get destroyed and go on to other schools but thats another story.
Of course you also have the other side which is the student that bounces around from school to school(same MA) and never tests for higher rank but still has all the skills of a high ranked fighter. Id much rather learn from one of these guys than from someone who just claims to know the $hit.IMHO
PJO
Whether you are or aren’t, and whether you get paid or not, it certainly looks like you are fishing.
Having said that, there is nothing wrong with incorporating training ideas from other schools into your training schedule if a) you think it will improve your technique and b) they are not counter to the underlying philosphy of your art.
Anyway, back to topic - I kind of agree with wushuchik, however different people do martial arts for different things, and if you are getting what you want out of it then what harm is done? As someone else has already said, it is only really a problem when you give a student false confidence.
Oh, and lying about your lineage/experience is bad, mkay? 
SORRY BUT…
Sorry, but with the e-mails that my brother and I have both received, you do look to be a tad suspect for fishing on here. Paraphrased from one of the e-mails…“We are looking into changing some of the curriculum to encorperate sparring.”
If I am wrong…I am sorry, but I don’t think I am wrong.
~Wen~
I hear ya Chicka loud and clear;)
Its a great pity though that people would have to turn to such resources such as books and videos rather than actual clubs and masters with years of exp and quality training, but perhaps these "phonies"as some people decribe them cannot afford to attend a real dojo, or are too ashamed to say that they learn from readong and watching videos so are left depressingly with no choice but lie. Do you understand what I mean? i mean i totaly agree with the point you brought up, but it is often wise to consider ALL the factors.
peace:)
Tae Li;)
i agree with what both you laydeez are saying
Especially after what happened online last night and all…
but i also think that if you don’t have access to a good Sifu or whatever, what other options do you have? Maybe learning through seminars or visiting as often as you can - but the time to develop the skill will be that much longer. You can learn all the ‘theory’ and read all you want, but at the end of the day, Martial Arts are a hands on thing. ie. can you do it? if you’re not training in a class or through seminars, then probably not as there is no feedback from books or videos).
I totally disagree with people who have learned this way opening up a school and teaching! wtf is that all about? :eek:
PJO: improving your curriculum is a good thing, but doing so by dishonest means sux man 
I really hope it’s not like wen and the others have said…
david
Wu Shu Chik
You said
“On the other hand, i still think that people should get their “basics” from a teacher”
Reply]
I Have to agree. You NEED a certain amount of live training in order to even develop the eye nessasary to make a video courews work to begin with. It’s why i have sought expertse in arts with similar principals to Tai Tzu’s. There are only2-3 qualified MAster’s of the style in the US, and one seems to be teachng only a small amount of Tai tzu. ALL are 1000+ miles away from me. I’m really leaning on past experiance to pull this off. it’s NOT the easiest method to learn an art for sure, and it will probually take me twice as long as if I had a live teacher day to day, but I “think” can do it. Wee will see what happenes next time I fly out to train under the Master.
As for teachers buying videos to create a curriculem from scratch, I’m not sure too many people do this. Openeing a school is prety hard, and a serious financial commitment. I don’t see someone with no or little interest in the arts doing that. Usually, it’s someone who has been in martial arts for a long time who has teaching experiance and really loves the arts that open schools.
HOWEVER, there seems to be a number of Karate types that have bought video’s, books or what ever and are “Calling” themselves Kung fu schools with little real understanding of what Kung Fu is or how it works. Their curriculems become little more than Karate with fancy Kung Fu moves done incorrectly added in.
What happenes next is their students learn to judge what Kung Fu IS by those standards, never knowing or even suspecting they have been duped. Even when it is proven without a doubt (in court even) they often don’t belive it.
I site the challenge match with Willow Sword on our Shaolin board as an example. He supported Shaolin Do to the bitter end, and it finnaly took a fight to convince him he was wrong. I’ve got to give that guy credit, he stood up for what he believed in, and when proven wrong, adapted. Unfortunetly, he’s only one out of maybe 10’s of thousands nation wide across MANY Bs schools and chains of schools. Most are not that smart.
Many traditional schools offer simple courses that are “Technically” correct, just simipler and taught in a funer atmosphere to fill the McKwoon market. I’d rather see THAT than out and out lies by shucksters. At least the student has a proper foundation and can expand on it if the desire to take his study seriously ever develops.
It’s just you
IMNSHO
The problem is not with the McKwoon/McDojo but with society as whole. The whole fast food/every-one else is to blame/need everything now mentality that is prevalent today breeds people who don’t want to learn the hard way. Don’t want to work on the simple basics which are the foundation of all martial arts. They want instant results and fancy looking move that’ll impress people. Hence the Mckoown/McDojo apears taking up the latest MA fad, selling cheap imitations of real MA’s. Whether this is a bad thing or not is debatable. It gets people into martial arts, which is good, They learn crap, which is bad. I have always thought though, that if some-one wants to do something bad enough then the right teacher/opootunity will open up for them. The real deal will be there. As fro the rest who are only playing at being MA’s. Will being at a McDojo make a difference?
In life, one needs lots of fertilizer to grow big plants.
Having all these fake McKwoons around at least sustains interest in the martial arts. It makes the real schools shine all the more brighter.
People studying in them eventually do figure out that what they’re doing is for them or not . . . and it is schools like wushuchik’s that are waiting for them if the students are deserving.
Ask yourselves: would you want the typical McKwoon student in YOUR school?
Kristofer…shut up.
HongKongPhooey, and Huang, i agree…but it’s just plain stupid and annoying. I am tired of seeing all the crackheaded (literally), lying, scheming, egotistical, agnostic instructors ruin it for the rest of us. Its embarassing actually, and I am totally sick and tired of it.