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Thread: Questions about Wah Lum.

  1. #76
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Nashville USA
    Posts
    1,697
    Woli, I got to experience some of these fond memories as well, great pic btw.
    I am still a student practicing - Wang Jie Long

    "Don`t Taze Me Bro"

  2. #77
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Central Florida
    Posts
    1,671
    That pic is just before my time there but I do remember, and have trained with, most of the people shown. I moved to Florida end of 89 and saw the anniversary show, started a new job and bought a house beginning of 90 and started class at the Temple. Was there about 15 years (including having my own school) before fading off into the online forum wasteland.

    Those were some fun days and I have no regrets. Could have been better, and I spoke up plus made some suggestions, but I was under no illusion it was something more than what was claimed.

    It was pretty much what I was looking for and since I had quite a bit of previous training I knew exactly what was being offered. Guess that's why I don't have the animosity found amongst other ex-students.

    There was a time when I almost went back to Kenpo because I was missing some aspects of the training, and I had my periods of complaining because things weren't EXACTLY how I felt they should be but all-in-all it was a good, positive experience.

  3. #78
    Ciitong

    I think you hit the nail on the head. It is a buyers market and has been for a long time. Anyone can open a school on the street corner...so there is a lot competition out there.

    The way I look at it is if I have 100 students.....maybe 20 will be serious and want to do actual fighting.....out of those 20 maybe 3 or 4 will want the complete package....forms, drills, tradition etc. Out of those 3 or 4 maybe one will be around for longer than a few years. More thatn likely that one person will not be gifted physically or I will have to do a lot of work to overcome some type of mental issues with the student.

    So, I figure I can let the not so serious ones (recreational Martial artists) pay the bills and let the serious have a chance at becoming martial artist. I dont sell out...I just dont expect as much out of the "recreational martial artists".

    I figure I can produce more dedicated martial artists (than a person teaching a few people at a time) if I have have a bigger pool of recreational martial artist to pull from.

    The old saying goes "It takes 1000 students to get one worthwhile instructor". The more people you have coming through the door the better chance you have a passing on your material.

  4. #79
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Southern Illinois
    Posts
    371
    Quote Originally Posted by mantid1 View Post
    Ciitong

    I think you hit the nail on the head. It is a buyers market and has been for a long time. Anyone can open a school on the street corner...so there is a lot competition out there.

    The way I look at it is if I have 100 students.....maybe 20 will be serious and want to do actual fighting.....out of those 20 maybe 3 or 4 will want the complete package....forms, drills, tradition etc. Out of those 3 or 4 maybe one will be around for longer than a few years. More thatn likely that one person will not be gifted physically or I will have to do a lot of work to overcome some type of mental issues with the student.

    So, I figure I can let the not so serious ones (recreational Martial artists) pay the bills and let the serious have a chance at becoming martial artist. I dont sell out...I just dont expect as much out of the "recreational martial artists".

    I figure I can produce more dedicated martial artists (than a person teaching a few people at a time) if I have have a bigger pool of recreational martial artist to pull from.

    The old saying goes "It takes 1000 students to get one worthwhile instructor". The more people you have coming through the door the better chance you have a passing on your material.
    How true, how true! This is kinda where I'm at with my school. Sometimes I hear people use the phrase, sell out or other choice comments, but the fact still remains, this is a buyers market and if you want to persue the martial arts on a full-time basis then one better get with the program... I tell people all the time, I'm not a martial artist because I'm a teacher or own a ma school, lol... Its funny how people think. I have to remind people all the time or tell them for the first time that a martial artist desribes the individual and the way they live (loosely translated), not their title or material belongings (school owner), lol . Anywho, I'm getting tired of the wannabe traditionalist who claims everyone is a sell out. Most of us has a ma business, we're business men and martial artist... As you've said, we pull from recreational group and pass on the more indepth knowledge to those who appreciate it as much as we do.... Ranting, lol... Another sore spot....

    Anyway, I have to admit. Regardless of what I think of WL as an art, I sure did have alot of fun while I was there. Crazy, crazy times.

    Ron.
    The Style Doesn't Make The Master Famous. The Master Makes The Style Famous!

  5. #80
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    58
    Ah, curriculum changes, sorry, I misunderstood.

    As others have already said, pretty much all of that is seminar related. For years Master Chan would teach seminars, but the things he taught never made it into the curriculum. I think people pushed back with the very reasonable complaint that went something like 'why should I pay for (and practice) something that I can't use to test?', and little by little, things that were initially introduced in seminars like Sil Fan Cha and Say Lok eventually made their way into the system. If it isn't obvious, these additions are limited to things introduced by Master Chan or, in rare cases, his top instructors: you'll never see someone testing for Wah Lum certification using a Choi Lai Fut form they learned in a seminar from Lee Koon Hung.

    On a related note, many years ago Master Chan ran into a similar situation with clothing being sold at the Temple. He had expanded to so many variations of styles and colors for uniform shirts that it really defeated the purpose of having a uniform in the first place... to have everyone look... well, uniform. Even though he continued selling all sorts of things, he decreed that the 'standard' accepted uniform would be the black shirt with white letters... which was fine, until the purchases of everything else pretty much dropped off to nothing. Just like with the case for seminar material, people wondered why they should be expected to buy all sorts of Wah Lum logo shirts if they wouldn't be allowed to use them in class. I believe he eventually relented.

    Hey... we're all still learning, right?

    - CS

  6. #81
    I'm way late to the thread, as it seems Abica is already training with Wah Lum in Denver.

    There are a couple of YouTube vids of Wah Lum not listed as Wah Lum, posted by Asia Trend.... they are from Lunar New Years celebrations....

    New Years 2007

    Hopefully, if you're looking for info on the current Wah Lum style, you can see a little bit of it in the video.

  7. #82
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    16
    didn't read the whole forum, but I am also in Denver, and I am going to check out the Wah Lum school next friday.
    I have heard good things about that school, so i think i might join.

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