Dear group,
My name is Dale Dugas and I have been watching this board for sometime and never had the urge to respond as most of you have incredible responses to the many questions posted here. Recently I have seen the mention of Jim Lacy once again and it made me rather unsettled. I felt compelled to sit down and write what was on my mind.
We have all seen/read the recent troubles with Jim Lacy and the garbage that he publishes under his suspect 18 Daoist Palms system.
Has anyone ever thought to check up on this system?
I was taught that Sup Bat Mo Jong is a form from the Ip Sui Chow Gar Tong Long Pai system of Southern Praying Mantis. I think you would translate it as 18 Devils Palm.
My B.A. is in Japanese and not Cantonese, so if I screw this up, all you Chinese speakers please help me out.
Jim Lacy recently had another one of his “articles” published in the August 2001 Black Belt magazine.
It was an interview article, actually a rewrite of something that was written a while back on breaking coconuts. Maybe the editor had nothing else to rely on and decided to rewrite the article and publish it, again.
I know that magazines are hard pressed to fill the pages, but do you think that the public is not going to figure out what you are doing at Black Belt?
The funny thing is they mention Jim’s teacher, Grandmaster Doo Wai in passing, but offer nothing more on the subject.
If Jim Lacy is so great and has skills that make people want to flock to his style, then what about the man who supposedly taught him?
Usually a teacher has to posess an incredibly high degree of skill to teach a beginner all the way to master level.
Why don’t we see articles about the teachers and not the students?
Jim mentions that he trained in Kempo under a first generation black belt under Grandmaster Ed Parker. Well, who is this mysterious teacher? What does this teacher have to say about Jim?
This sounds like another iron palm “Master” Brian Gray who never to this date, in any article or publication, has ever mentioned his teachers names.
Not that Brian Gray can’t break things or is not authentic. Only his reluctance to name his teachers makes him suspect in the eyes of many Chinese martial artists.
Jim goes on to say that he trained in the Hawaiian systems and then Kung Fu San Soo.
Again, under Who? What Hawaiian systems is he talking about. Again, the readers are not given this information, so why mention it all?
Anyone can say they fought Ali or Bruce Lee, but you then have to back it up with some proof. If you can’t then you are a liar, plain and simple.
The photos in the article show people who are leaning over and into their strikes as they power strike their way through the coconuts they are breaking.
If this is supposed to be internal Iron Palm, then why are they using the palm heel? Why not sit the coconut on a waist high table and have at it? Maybe they won’t be able to reproduce their results?
Ive seen a lot of articles that talk about breaking but the demos they show reveal to the public it might be trick breaking at best.
You can break a coconut if you hit it hard on the seam. But then you still have to have some conditioning as it will hurt the hand if you don’t.
Jim mentions that he is no longer a part of Grandmaster Doo Wai’s association. Why?
Wouldn’t a student wish to honor his teacher by showing him respect and helping him build a better association?
Jim also goes on to say that he has nothing to do with any other organizations. Now pardon me, fellow readers, but he does.
If you look into his credentials on his website and use any search engine on the web, you find that Jim has a few other associations he does business with, some that even put a PhD after his name. So why does he put into print that he has nothing to do with ANY other organizations? It sounds extremely fishy to me.
With all the bickering going on about who Jim Lacy is and what he studied, why is it articles are published without talking to the teacheror teachers who Jim claims taught him these skills?
Why don’t we hear from Doo Wai in Black Belt or any of the other magazines and clear up this controversy once and for all?
I have not seen any articles recently that let Doo Wai, the 6th generational Grandmaster of Bak Fu Pai(White Tiger Kung Fu), comment on this seemingly rebelious renegade who drops Doo Wai’s name to make a name for himself.
Hmm, maybe its the old American way of making money off others misery that is now starting to peek it’s ugly head in the Chinese martial arts coummunity.
Any comments from you fellow educated readers?
In Boston,
Dale Dugas
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