Originally Posted by
taai gihk yahn
a lot of the time, it's filler - meaning that, in general, the public doesn't really care who you studied with, because unless it's Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee, they won't recognize the name in general; so it's just a way of padding out what the public reads; if it's legit., that's fine, but most won't know or even care; and for experienced MA folks, you can usually sniff out the seminar-who@rs pretty easily; personally, I will always qualify if I took a one-time seminar with, who I studied briefly (less than one year) with or studied significantly with (5 yrs. or more);
on the flip side then, it's to gain legitimacy amongst one's "peers", for reasons good or otherwise; personally, I have no problem stating with whom I studied if asked, but this, to me, simply establishes context: it doesn't mean necessarily that I am any good, but it gives an idea out of what ground my information springs; it also helps establish relationships with people I may not know: if my sifu and their sifu were good friends, e.g., it sets up an initial positive context; or sometimes you bump into peeps who studied w/someone you studied with at different times; as such, I don't think it is a big deal to let others know one's lineage, especially in this day and age; but whatever, if one doesn't want to be public about it, that's one's prerogative, and if you know your stuff anyway, who cares; I guess that for me the "problem" arises when you are secretive and spew BS: red flag;