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It seems that 8 Step dominates this forum? Just thinking that you guys should get your own forum and then the northern mantis can have this one back. Lots of credentials and names being thrown around. Can we get back to the basics.? Just coming from an outsider looking in..
8 Step hasn't had that many posts. Not compared to Wah Lum in the past. If you have something to post then go for it.
LOL, lurk a little longer.
different things at different times.
just before the recent spat of 8 Step stuff I think this place might have been called the Center for Steve Cottrell's American Mantis Hegemony. ;) :D
just before that was a bit of Pong Lai vs. Wah Lum
what next????
what burns my bottom is that everyone is afraid to talk good down to earth tactics as if they have some scary talent they are hiding.
we are all northern mantis fanatics with students that need this good healthy tactical debate. Instead however, there is far more political doggy mess than real tactical talk.
Unless it is possible that speaking tactically is against the rules.
Tactics are hard to discuss. For me, I just don't really have the time to type in detail what I mean about something long enough to get it accross.
In general, I think a lot of people settle for this place to be a bit of release from daily grind.
I would love to see dicussion breaking either a form or some of the aphorisms of mantis down into real time tactics.
Maybe we can get a chance to do that in person in Feb. Yu Shan is going to be there but I haven't heard from any one else in my camp or other mantis peeps. We can put the coffee or the bourbon on and burn the midnight oil saturday night.
In part of my research I have located and interviewed a few of Master Shyun's old students from the Bay Area. These students studied 8 Step during the mid 80s for a few years and had reached at least 3rd grade student level. These students all have good things to say about Master Shyun, but would not discuss why they no longer are involved with his school. After each discussion, I sensed a bit of sadness from them that I can't pinpoint.
This makes me wonder why all the students from the 80s are no longer with him aside from Kin. In most of the school I visited, there are at least 1-2 students who are with their teacher from the beginning whether they are teaching or still learning from their teacher.
I want to see if I can contact Kin (ChaoticMantis) to get more insight of Shyun’s 8 Step. I will let you know after my findings.
Commoner, How is your research going? have you found out the things you are looking for? I love that you are so vauge in what that is LOL.
heres basically what happened adn most of our points of view however by my side perhaps i am a littel more biased.
I had joined in the late 80's......... 89 to be exact,and only heard good things about master Shyun. When I was accepted to live with him I had nothing but good experiences.
After I moved back to NY and opened my school 1995 I still had nothing but love for him and what he stood for. He came to my school 3 times and gave yearly seminars and promotions to my students. Took pics and showed us some awsome fighting.
It was shorly after that around 1998 that things went haywire. his wife left him, His school burned down, and He moved to L.A.
Then he came up with or invented several ways to make money from his federation. manditory 400.00 uniforms, faux gold pins, then antother mandatory 5 students a year per school must enroll in the newly created sifu program 5,000 per student... thats 25,000 that every school owner must send him. i
Then all the newbie sifus were promoted from just joining to shrfu in less than a year! they paid for thier rank.
This is why most of the old school students left. I still keep in touch with most of them and they all feel the same way... it seems as money made him sell out and cheapen the system that we all loved and took the edge out of what we worked
and trained so hard for......... its a shame that money would change the way a man thinks but i is the root as they say......
Not sure how kin feels but understand that he has only recently been allowed back into teh system adn has nopt opned his own school. As soon as he does he will also be required by the rules of the ACMAF to pay
100.00 per month for dues
100.00 per month to use the name.
400.00 for the unifrom
400.00 for the mantis pin
25,000 for the 5 sifu training program
Good luck!
EarthDragon,
I'm sorry for being vague. I am just trying to keep the flame down. It's gets hot here(Hehe). My research is going fine and I should be done soon. Thanks for asking.
yes flames can be problematic here`. I spoke with Dean E last night perhaps you should contact him as he is the oldest/longest student who is still active in the 8 step world under shyun. also he is training with John Chang. Not as much as he would like as he lives in LA 3 weeeks out fo the month but5 still a wealth of knowledge.