My the things you miss when you don't visit the praying mantis forums for a few weeks!
Since my name has been bandied about I guess I had better jump in here.
For the record...
I hold no ill will toward Steve Cottrell.
When the whole "discipleship" thing came up I stood behind him. It seems the words were Dave Cater's based on conversations with the late Brendan Lai, not Steve Cottrell's.
Most of the many translations that I did I posted at MQ exclusively, because I felt Mr. Cottrell had provided a great resource and I wanted to back that project. I still feel that MQ is a great resource for the Mantis community. Even though I am now banned from the site.
I had planned on attending this year's conference and had checked into using vacation time when a date was set. Unfortunately, for some reason the plans fell through. The mantis communitie's loss in my opinion.
I had also planned on buying a DVD if the price was right and if it was possible to just purchase one without buying the whole set.
If one reviews my numerous posts at MQ they will see that rather than being against Mr. Cottrell's plans, I tried to support them. That doesn't mean that I didn't ask questions or give suggestions on how things could be done.
The "grapevine" is wrong! There was never a threat of a lawsuit against Mr. Cottrell that I am aware of. I asked if permission was received to film at my student's kwoon for a commercial venture.
I asked this question on Mr. Cottrell's forum so that the question could be done openly. E-mails sometimes get twisted out of context. Also, I did not want to be one of many keyboard warriors who spread dissent behind another's back. I respect Mr. Cottrell more than that. So I asked my question openly where there could be no question what was asked, or what reply I received.
Unfortunately, the reply was a call by Mr. Cottrell to my student's other instructor, who called and reamed out my student, who then asked that I delete my comments. Which I did. A simple, straightforward answer would have been easier.
Thanks to those who still support me! However, I don't want an issue between Mr. Cottrell and myself to hurt the Mantis community. I don't know Mr. Cottrell personally and I am not a psychic, so I will not try to predict his motivations. That would not be fair.
I hope MQ, the forum, the Gatherings and the DVD prospers!
I have gone on with my training and I hope everyone else will too.
Peace,
Richard A. Tolson