OP = Original Poster.Originally Posted by leejunfan
Absolutely nothing Tom... why don't you tell us a little about yourself. Let us get to know the real you
anyway... Tom... I hear what you're saying and I don't want this to turn into a competition. I totally agree... in the end.... skills prevail, but my original post was not about skill... it's about keeping an open mind and LISTENING to what others have to say. Now I didn't say BELIEVE everything you hear.... that would be silly. But not listening at all...or having selective hearing (blind spots ala reading or hearing) is equally damaging. Anyone who has ever read any or my posts know I'm all about being able to do what you say you can do, I'm not much for martial arts history or politics.... but what I am about is bettering myself, and to me... to me... bettering myself has always been about listening with an open mind, analyze the data, and see what good can come from it. If it's bad?..... I put it aside... discard it.... no skin off my back. THAT is the message I'm trying to get across.
So you pick an online "fight" if you wish... I won't have any part of it. But if you want to tone it down a bit and communicate on a level of mutual respect then hey.... that is great.
Anyway, all I hope is that wing chun and every other martial art torn apart by inner feuds... can put ego's aside and help eachother to become great...... instead of marketing the "One True Wing Chun"
Suppose, for a moment, someone invited you to a lecture given by the Society of Neo-Nazi Misogynistic Child Molesters.
Now, before you could say anything, they also suggest you "keep an open mind. You don't have to BELIEVE everything. Just come and listen."
What would your reaction be?
A veneer of politeness does not mean "mutual respect." In fact, in some societies - such as the one where this style originated - one way to show great disrespect is to become so overly polite as to almost a point of absurdity.
You offered your opinion in a forum of public review. I strongly disagree with many tenets of what you suggest. And, I refuted them by offering my own passionate opinion in their place. (I'll admit it took me three posts to meander through the complete thoughts I was mulling over, and I started with a response to a tangental post.) However, now you appear to believe that somehow I've managed to show a lack of "mutual respect" because I've done this in a strong fashion; you think I'm picking an online fight.
Nothing could be further from the truth. (And, if that was your impression, then my apologies you feel that way.)
If I did not have "mutual respect" for your post, I wouldn't have bothered to respond at all. I would have kept my refutations to myself. It would have been much easier for me to ignore you. But I didn't.
Why didn't I? Because I felt it was important to express an alternative viewpoint to yours. I did not want to avoid or ignore the "issue": that you think this style is "torn apart by inner feuds." Well, I don't feel that way. What you see as a problem barely registers on my scale above background noise. In fact, in many ways, I consider what transpires from time to time a healthy outlet.
I have no problem if you wish to continue looking at things your way. You may or may not believe me when I say I understand where your viewpoint comes from. However, if you discount my alternative viewpoint out of hand as you appear to have done, what does that action say with regards to your viewpoint about keeping an open mind?
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