Hey I just finished the thread - I would like to compliment Shaolinarab for his last three posts - well written and to the point, something which after 11 pages to this thread, it would be nice to see more of.
And SD confirmed and summarized, that most of the "core" of Shaolin-Do is in the short forms and sparring techniques. This makes more sense than "no core" or "our core is everything."
If this "core" is then used to "flavor" the other forms that are studied, than so much the better for the improvement of the student within the core system.
It is true that an accomplished Martial Artist can gain something out of (even) superficial studying of a form. For instance I, with 3-4 years training in CMA, can follow along to a Hung Gar or Mantis form, and get something out of it. I can recognize a few techniques, not all of them, and I can get a bit of flavor. I would think that there is a point of diminishing returns with such an approach, however.
Furthermore, I'm concerned about developing the basics, since those of us who compete know that basics win the fight. I'm afraid that with an emphasis on learning a large # of forms, this could fall by the wayside.
There's different approaches to the learning process. Fabulous lineage claims aside, I'm sure that Sin The learned in a manner very similar to the one that he is teaching. A sort of forced volume approach. And I'm sure that he developed a core set of techniques and was able to improve this with the study of a lot of different forms.
We should all recognize that there are different ways to approach the MA. Some CMA artists feel that one system is enough. Others find that 2 or 3 systems is the way to go. For Shaolin types (traditional, wu shu, Shaolin Do, etc.) alot of forms are to be learned. Some styles do well with no forms at all.
The marketing stuff in Shaolin-Do, the phony history and claims of mastership, etc. does tick me off. But I would say that this is fairly common in the world of TMA, and that I have to commend Sin The on his commercial success.
It's not traditional Chinese Martial Arts in my book, however that doesn't mean that it's not a valid approach. Not the one that I would choose for myself, but I don't see major barriers to someone else being able to make it work.