ED, you're the voice of reason.
Many people in martial arts want to learn the "secrets" of their chosen style. Fact is, that's up to the discretion of the instructor. It's not just a Wah Lum thing, as ED pointed out. Frankly, when I started Wah Lum, nobody ever told me I was going to learn special secrets.
Advanced styles -- I'm not worried about being taught "everything" when I learn a form. I learn the applications that the instructor feels I would understand, and I practice the form to see what I can do with it. As I increase in experience/ability, my understanding of the form increases. For example, in another thread there was a discussion of a form called Little Open Gate, which is taught to beginners. For one move, the more experienced MAs here (both current and ex-WL'ers) described many more applications than I had visualized/been taught. Meaning that this short beginner's form has advanced applications.
As a writer, the analogy I can give here is that grade schoolers don't write novels. Sure, their spelling is good and they can put together a sentence, but it's going to take several years of training before they can write "War and Peace."
Politics -- well, politics is politics. Get more than 10 people together and you've got politics. The temple has a lot of students and Master Chan is here, and there is politics on every level.
Not studying other styles -- Sifu is very traditional, and he wants to run his school as traditionally as possible. This was a big thing back in his day, and at many CMA schools it still is. As a student, just be honest with your sifu; if you have concerns or Wah Lum is not working for you, talk to your sifu. Most of the people I started WL with who eventually left never talked to their instructor about what was bugging them. The ones who did, the instructor made every effort to help them out, and only one guy who did this has left (but he was unhappy because we weren't learning "how to kill people").
Lode Runner, if you decide to take WL, focus on what you came for: learning kung fu. Practice hard, listen to your sifu, don't worry about the politics. Enjoy working out and learning about Chinese culture.
If you're ever at the temple, come over and say hi.
Sam Mazzotta
P.S. -- Gung Hay Fat Choy, everyone!!
There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness. ~Sam Peckinpah