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Thread: Sifu Och

  1. #1
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    Sifu Och

    I moved a year ago to a tiny town in central Florida. Problem is, no CMA near by. I came across this website recently. Its a bit of a drive, at least an hour of highway driving, but if it's worth it, I might be inclined to take the trip.

    Anyways anyone familiar with this teacher? He is a student of Steve Lee Swift. Here is the website.

    www.masterwingchun.com

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Yung Apprentice View Post
    Anyways anyone familiar with this teacher? He is a student of Steve Lee Swift. Here is the website.

    www.masterwingchun.com

    Don't know them at all.
    I'll let others who are familiar with WC/VT/whatever comment on their MA material.

    I don't like the fellow's grasp of the English language:

    "Health and Fitness - Lose it now!"

    Doesn't seem to be a very good "selling point".... although that web-site is particularly aimed at being a sales tool.

  3. #3
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    That website gives me a headache.

  4. #4
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    Yeah, I wasn't impressed by the website, but at the very least he had one. He is based in Lakeland, Florida btw.

  5. #5
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    Do you have any other martial arts experience?

    After 14 years in the martial arts, I know what I'm looking for. Best is to watch, or better yet - try, a class. Since there's no contracts, try a 3-month stint and decide for yourself. Everything from his website (read: marketing) seems okay.

    Best,
    K
    “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” – Friedrich Engels

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yung Apprentice View Post
    Yeah, I wasn't impressed by the website, but at the very least he had one. He is based in Lakeland, Florida btw.
    I particularly enjoyed the massive number of keywords he has "hidden" in the bottom left hand corner of the web page. Very subtle

  7. #7
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    A combined three years of martial art experience. Not much, by many standards. But I can eye a fake if I see a class, however, with a buisy schedule, and new responsiblities (i.e. my first child) I have to be conservative with what little free time I have. An hour drive to see a class I can do, however, if this sifu is known by reputation by someone online, it COULD save me the drive if it's a bad rep.I would probably go check it out anyway if not reccomended, to see for myself. Of course if he is reccomended, I would still go see a class myself, to see if it holds true. But I like to research prior to checking someone out firsthand.

    I've never trained in WC before, and so I would be a bad jugde at judging how good his WC skill is.

    I've noticed the WC community tend to be pretty familiar with itself, hence me asking firsthand before going to catch a class.

  8. #8
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    If you want wing chun and there are no other options nearby then he will be fine. If you have some other options you might want to explore them. In the Tampa area Ray Peters would be hard to beat if fighting is a concern. A bit further south in Sarsota there is a student of Ho Kam Ming.

  9. #9
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    The one thing I noticed on his site is that it says "I am not a Master I am but a Instructor underneath Great Men of Great Talent."

    I am new to Wing Chun, so I don't know if it is normal for non-masters to have their own school. I am not saying he wouldn't be a good instructor (I have zero expertise in rating how good an instructor/master is), but I just found it interesting and was wondering if someone with more experience had an opinion on this.

  10. #10
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    Unfortunately Ray Peters is close to a three hour drive one way.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by golgo View Post
    The one thing I noticed on his site is that it says "I am not a Master I am but a Instructor underneath Great Men of Great Talent."

    I am new to Wing Chun, so I don't know if it is normal for non-masters to have their own school. I am not saying he wouldn't be a good instructor (I have zero expertise in rating how good an instructor/master is), but I just found it interesting and was wondering if someone with more experience had an opinion on this.
    Master is a title that someone gives you, not something you give yourself, IMO.

    I think what he's saying with this quote is "I am a humble person who recognizes the talent that have come before me." It also is about presentation and marketing (it's always about presentation). Just gotta check the guy out...that's all there's to it.
    “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” – Friedrich Engels

  12. #12
    Nice bit of 'keyword stuffing' at the bottom of the homepage. For this reason I will not be attending.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by paulus View Post
    Nice bit of 'keyword stuffing' at the bottom of the homepage. For this reason I will not be attending.
    I really don't think that anyone should NOT attend a school based on someone's website. Maybe that's the way his webmaster made his website. Maybe it was the teacher...who cares? He's trying to market himself and as instructors we all do this in some way, shape or form. Some via website, some via flyers and some via word of mouth.

    Seriously, now.
    “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” – Friedrich Engels

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by couch View Post
    I really don't think that anyone should NOT attend a school based on someone's website. Maybe that's the way his webmaster made his website. Maybe it was the teacher...who cares? He's trying to market himself and as instructors we all do this in some way, shape or form. Some via website, some via flyers and some via word of mouth.

    Seriously, now.
    Well you only have 2 options. Attend or NOT attend. Since this is marketing vehicle, unless you feel compelled to attend, you're probably NOT going to attend. BTW, did you watch the videos?
    Last edited by Matrix; 11-21-2008 at 07:39 PM.
    'Talk is cheap because there is an excess of supply over demand'

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matrix View Post
    Well you only have 2 options. Attend or NOT attend. Since this is marketing vehicle, unless you feel compelled to attend, you're probably NOT going to attend. BTW, did you watch the videos?
    Just watched them. No Comment.
    “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” – Friedrich Engels

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