ShaolinMaster, BagwaBoxer, Tnwingtsun, Frosh2786, MoQ, Waidan
I am one of Sifu Andy Truong's senior Pak Mei students.
My Sifu’s committed to teaching Pak Mei in all of its entirety so that the fighting power & wisdom of Pak Mei is passed on to future generations. If you need further assurances, ask Fiercest Tiger, Biu Ji or Lungyuil.
I believe the Pak Mei style would actually benefit through the availability of forms on video tape - anything which gives potential students an insight into the style will help to spread the art.
Someone who is interested in PM but cannot get to a school can still pick up some of the PM fighting wisdom through the tapes. If they learnt from a tape & then sought out a Pak Mei school their familiarity with the style & techniques would speed their progress.
I am sure other PM schools would appreciate to see authentic PM forms demonstrated by someone of Sifu Andy’s calibre. Why not open up the style? Let’s see what each has & compare the inherent differences within different PM lineages. I have seen much *****ing on the forum about what is & what isn’t PM, I’d prefer to see what other PM lineages have in their repertoire.
I agree, this is no substitute for learning Pak Mei from a qualified Sifu. I am not too sure of the content my Sifu’s correspondence course, but I am sure he would either require a corresponding student to either come over for examinations &/or they would be only recognised as instructors who have learnt via correspondence. Potential students of a qualified correspondence instructor can make what they will of his/her qualifications – they’re not being mislead.
Some of you may be screaming, “what about the style!! People are bound to copy!! What is to stop anyone from claiming they know or can teach Pak Mei??”
What is important is not what forms you know but who you learnt them from – ie. your lineage.
I propose we move away from assessing a martial artist on the forms they know to assessing them on who taught them & what forms did they learn under this Sifu.
Why?
Many martial artists copy forms from video tapes or from books to fill out their syllabuses, or to inflate their egos (this has brought to mind a question I’d like answered - ShaolinMaster, what is your Pak Mei lineage?) but how can we stop them?
Many students may have learnt under a qualified Sifu but that does not mean they are recognised under the lineage. I think many kung fu instructors may have learnt for a few years, they then start their own style without being qualified as a representative of the style by their lineage. They may not have the full syllabus so they copy from books & videos. We can’t stop this, but we can ask “are you recognised as a representative of your style? Are you acknowledged as having a place in your lineage?”
How many Sifu’s can claim this? If they are accreditted by their lineage, these are the people we should listen to, they have the final say.
One last comment. It’s not the techniques, nor the forms that make Pak Mei powerful. True, the techniques are very effective, but what sets Pak Mei apart from other styles is its essence, its expression, its principles.
Clik on the URL below for Sifu Andy Truong's website.
http://www.firstlink.com.au/wahnam/index.htm
Peace
Not all you yanks are bad!!
i have phoned a couple of people from kfo and had a good chat about kung fu, and have mad some good friends from kfo- then again ive made some enimies as well.......we cant please them all!
i hear you bro! :cool:
peace
bakmeimonk@hotmail.com