begby
04-16-2002, 07:15 AM
Preface: I’m writing this not out of malice, but to let other KF practitioners know to not get caught up in something that happened to me in the past. BTW, I’ve been reading this board for years, but haven’t posted on it…
Fraudulent Schools: don't make my mistake
As many of you are aware, there are many schools in existence that claim
to teach traditional, effective, real-deal, authentic kung fu, by qualified, well-trained, black sash instructors.
To many people who are looking for a good school, and who are not familiar with martial arts in general, these words are good selling points. But in some cases, they are just that...words...used as marketing traps to deceive the masses.
I know of one school in particular. We’ll leave names out for now - a school that I attended for 2 years. The overall vibe seems very nice when you walk in. Nice music playing, incense burning in front of the Sun Toi, class lined-up and working in unison, mirrors everywhere, weapons racks lining the walls. It all paints a very good picture of what a kung fu school should look like - to someone who doesn’t know any better.
But once someone starts asking questions here, things turn sour. No information is given on the school’s lineage. When I asked if there were any extra-curricular reading material I could use as research to learn more about my art, I was told to only learn what the sifu told you…which is fine, but he never told anyone anything. As a matter of fact, asking questions about ANYTHING was frowned upon.
For a while I thought the sifu there was the real deal (although he had been dealt a bad rep in most kung fu circles), but he is in fact quite mediocre. Over the course of an 8 month period that I spent deciding whether or not I would remain loyal to him and continue training there, I realized that he has never shown us anything, never explained his stance on his being publicly criticized, never told us of our kung fu roots. He also used all of his students and when they were of no more use to him – he’d treat them like unwanted children.
Forms would constantly change. Again we were given no concrete explanation of where they came from. Later we would find out they were invented by he and his teacher. This is a good segue into costs…
Costs: When one initially starts here, they are charged roughly $80 for two classes per week…which is a **** good price for NYC. But as students further their “training”, they are charged an extra monthly fee for each form learned, plus an additional first time fee (hung bao) for the classes. For example:
Butterfly Swords: $200 to get into the class (one time fee)
$100 for the weapons (when one can get their own for $50)
$80/month for this class alone (on top of the regular $80 monthly tuition)
And this is only for ONE extra class! If you want to take ANY other weapons, or ANY other open hand forms (other than the 3 that are taught regularly), the same, if not larger, fees will pile on top if these.
One month, I looked at the schedule of classes he wanted me to take, and with these fees taken into account, the costs were well over $900. Many people there think their loyalty and perserverance will pay off, so they actually pay these amounts.
Need I say more?
$900/month for imitation Wu Shu (although that’s not what it was called) with no background history given, no questions answered, no proof of the teacher’s validity, and no explanation for any of his actions. How can someone of any moral standing look you in the eye and rob you of all that money and time?
Absolute novices were given permission to take advanced weapons classes. Why? Because it brought in more money. Here you are standing next to the some of the most uncoordinated and inexperienced students – while they’re swinging Kwan Do in the midst an overcrowded gwoon!!! Unbelievable.
It took a long time for me to research the validity of this school and a long time to make sure I was correct in my conclusions.
After visiting many legitimate schools and now attending one for some time, I’ve come to learn many things: His kung fu is not legitimate. His instructors lack any and all credibility as competent martial arts instructors; he is blatantly deceiving his students. Worse, he is robbing them of not only of their hard earned money, but also, and more importantly, of their irreplaceable time.
For those of you familiar with kung fu politics, you could probably guess which school/sifu I speak of. But for those who don’t, if you end up at a school that resembles the above mentioned, get out immediately.
There are many good schools in NYC. Take your time, see all that is out there, and ASK QUESTIONS.
Fraudulent Schools: don't make my mistake
As many of you are aware, there are many schools in existence that claim
to teach traditional, effective, real-deal, authentic kung fu, by qualified, well-trained, black sash instructors.
To many people who are looking for a good school, and who are not familiar with martial arts in general, these words are good selling points. But in some cases, they are just that...words...used as marketing traps to deceive the masses.
I know of one school in particular. We’ll leave names out for now - a school that I attended for 2 years. The overall vibe seems very nice when you walk in. Nice music playing, incense burning in front of the Sun Toi, class lined-up and working in unison, mirrors everywhere, weapons racks lining the walls. It all paints a very good picture of what a kung fu school should look like - to someone who doesn’t know any better.
But once someone starts asking questions here, things turn sour. No information is given on the school’s lineage. When I asked if there were any extra-curricular reading material I could use as research to learn more about my art, I was told to only learn what the sifu told you…which is fine, but he never told anyone anything. As a matter of fact, asking questions about ANYTHING was frowned upon.
For a while I thought the sifu there was the real deal (although he had been dealt a bad rep in most kung fu circles), but he is in fact quite mediocre. Over the course of an 8 month period that I spent deciding whether or not I would remain loyal to him and continue training there, I realized that he has never shown us anything, never explained his stance on his being publicly criticized, never told us of our kung fu roots. He also used all of his students and when they were of no more use to him – he’d treat them like unwanted children.
Forms would constantly change. Again we were given no concrete explanation of where they came from. Later we would find out they were invented by he and his teacher. This is a good segue into costs…
Costs: When one initially starts here, they are charged roughly $80 for two classes per week…which is a **** good price for NYC. But as students further their “training”, they are charged an extra monthly fee for each form learned, plus an additional first time fee (hung bao) for the classes. For example:
Butterfly Swords: $200 to get into the class (one time fee)
$100 for the weapons (when one can get their own for $50)
$80/month for this class alone (on top of the regular $80 monthly tuition)
And this is only for ONE extra class! If you want to take ANY other weapons, or ANY other open hand forms (other than the 3 that are taught regularly), the same, if not larger, fees will pile on top if these.
One month, I looked at the schedule of classes he wanted me to take, and with these fees taken into account, the costs were well over $900. Many people there think their loyalty and perserverance will pay off, so they actually pay these amounts.
Need I say more?
$900/month for imitation Wu Shu (although that’s not what it was called) with no background history given, no questions answered, no proof of the teacher’s validity, and no explanation for any of his actions. How can someone of any moral standing look you in the eye and rob you of all that money and time?
Absolute novices were given permission to take advanced weapons classes. Why? Because it brought in more money. Here you are standing next to the some of the most uncoordinated and inexperienced students – while they’re swinging Kwan Do in the midst an overcrowded gwoon!!! Unbelievable.
It took a long time for me to research the validity of this school and a long time to make sure I was correct in my conclusions.
After visiting many legitimate schools and now attending one for some time, I’ve come to learn many things: His kung fu is not legitimate. His instructors lack any and all credibility as competent martial arts instructors; he is blatantly deceiving his students. Worse, he is robbing them of not only of their hard earned money, but also, and more importantly, of their irreplaceable time.
For those of you familiar with kung fu politics, you could probably guess which school/sifu I speak of. But for those who don’t, if you end up at a school that resembles the above mentioned, get out immediately.
There are many good schools in NYC. Take your time, see all that is out there, and ASK QUESTIONS.