for kathy jo masters not teaching students to black sash

[russellsherry]

hi kathy jo i was surfing around the other day and a sifu in sydney i wont drop his name , olny teaches his advanced class not juniors also i know a fromer sifu of mine does the same thing olny goes to camps and i am deed set against this sort of thing even leung ting came to teach all who turned up to train abd was very open so i give them cedrit for that what do you think if you sifu wont teach the juniors sometime i diont say all the but it gives them encougement. peace russellsherry

[RedSkaNite]

I am gonna keep this as nice as possible. you might want to add a little sentence structure (periods and commas), this is awful hard to read.

[anerlich]

Guys, Russell has a disability.

I am gonna keep this as nice as possible.

You could have been nicer.

[yuanfen]

Most folks on the list understand Russel's challenge and his courage in meeting his challenge. Some may have been in and out of the list and missed realier posts.

To Russell- It is a shame when instructors do not give some quality time to each of their students.

[sel]

if you were learning at a school with over a thousand students, would you prefer to have a few seconds of your sifu's time once a week as he gave everyone a turn, or would you prefer to have the concentrated instruction of a senior instructor for the whole class every class?
if you were the sifu of this school, would you devote your time to students who hadn't proven themselves to be dedicated to their practice? or would you wait a while and see if they stick around to learn from you?

in a small school, a sifu would have ample time to spread between the sudents and that's great. but if your reputation is such that hundreds and hundreds of students enrol in your school wanting to learn through your system that is not physically possible.

if you are talking of the school i think you are, the sifu is available to any student at any time. all they have to do is knock on his door and he will answer any questions or show them anything they want to know. he can also be seen most days in classes, giving even the most junior students help and instruction.

unless you have been to the school and experienced how it runs, you really don't know what you are talking about.

[RedSkaNite]

Sorry, I WAS trying to be nice. It is hard to do over the internet. I don't understand "Russel's Challenge". If english is your second language or something, don't take it hard, it really was just constructive criticism.

[kj]

Originally posted by russellsherry
hi kathy jo i was surfing around the other day and a sifu in sydney i wont drop his name , olny teaches his advanced class not juniors also i know a fromer sifu of mine does the same thing olny goes to camps and i am deed set against this sort of thing even leung ting came to teach all who turned up to train abd was very open so i give them cedrit for that what do you think if you sifu wont teach the juniors sometime i diont say all the but it gives them encougement. peace russellsherry

Hi Russell.

I cannot know the circumstances in the cited example, but on balance I agree with you that the teacher's direct interaction with students is invaluable for learning and also encouragement.

Sel brought out some valid reasons why it may not always be practical for a teacher to provide a lot of personal instruction to everyone. In schools that are too large, this may be a necessary compromise. Assuming the seniors are competent in the areas they are helping with, this can work out fine, and sometimes even have advantages. For example, a senior or intermediate student may more easily relate to some of the early challenges of the beginner or novice. I think there is value in working with people in all ranges of skill and learning.

When there are many students or lots of people making demands on the teacher's time, then tradeoffs may need to be made for other reasons too. For example, if we view the teacher's work as an investment, it can make a lot of sense for the teacher to spend greater proportions of one-to-one time with students who are putting in their work (utilizing the investment), rather than those who don't (wasting the investment).

I do not mean to imply by this that an instructor should focus their time and attention on "talented" students at the expense of those who struggle more, or have seemingly less natural talent. In Wing Chun, if the instruction is of good quality, anyone who is putting in their work can learn, improve and grow. Things tend to even out with consistent effort over time. Indeed, the encouragement you mention is a good investment in that respect as well.

IMHO, the most important and meaningful measures of progress aren't found by attempting absolute comparisons of one individual's potential or capabilities with that of another. The deeper value of Wing Chun, as I see it, is in the relative improvements we make within ourselves. From this paradoxical perspective, it is the least of us who are more likely to actualize the real and enduring essence of Wing Chun.

Showing a bit of my philosophical and political bias here, I propose that a teacher is not "obliged" to teach anyone anything. (Caveat: honesty in representation is paramount ... it is not acceptable to say you're delivering one thing, and deliver something less or different.) Even though I may not agree with a teacher's reasoning on certain things, our rights of self-determination should be maintained. The rights of the individual to do as they choose supercede the privilege of having our demands on others met. By this, a teacher can teach what they want to who they want, regardless if we like it or not. That doesn't mean I wouldn't find withholding of information or instruction distasteful. There are layers of difference between what a teacher may justifiably do and what is ultimately best or most appropriate.

Still, it is hard for me to understand and appreciate a situation where a teacher would strictly teach, touch hands with or help certain select students only, and ignore or segregate him/herself from the others. It is a beautiful and awesome thing to see someone who loves Wing Chun so much, that the joy and knowledge of it naturally and continuously flows from within themselves without reservation, onto and into whoever is receptive and willing. And what a shame and loss for any sincere learner to never feel the hands of a truly remarkable teacher or exponent of the art.

I realize some teachers may show more reservation as a matter of discipline, or by ranking system, or perhaps even as an intentional reward for loyalty, etc. While I am not especially or generally favorable toward such things, I do understand that everyone will have different views and reasons for things like this. Every situation is unique in its own way, just as people are.

Your thread topic also mentioned about not teaching to black sash. I have a harder time relating to this, as we have no belts, sashes or ranks. Our hands and capabilities are as they are, irrespective of time. I don't think highly of intentionally hiding or withholding information from students regardless of time in, and find no compelling reason for it. It doesn't matter how much of Wing Chun we see, none of it is ours until we have earned it. It is foolishness and self-deceit to believe otherwise.

Another point to ponder: If a teacher never directly instructs or interacts with certain of his or her students, but relies solely on other class members to do so, is he or she really the teacher of those students?

So, these are a few of my random thoughts on the matter. I have others, but I think this is enough for now, LOL.

Regards,
- Kathy Jo

[russellsherry]

dear sel iwas at a school in melbourne, same one david peterson, came from, my sifu firstly taught al the classes then , he went, into bussness later. on from the moment he was not there . their were punch ups trouble between fellow students
students , not paying fees, my former sifu lost a lot of students includeing my self in my opinon if you sifu does not teach class
once a mouth , by himself he olny cares about money the more
hands on a sifu is the more respect he earns, scince being away
from my fromer sifu , thanks to david peterson i cn say i trained with wong shun leurng thanks to my friend sifu david foggie i trained directly with steaphan chan and my sifu randy williams
remember this it took me 13 years before i woke up my and found out my former sifu cared olny for money and when i did if found out what real wing chun was i thank david peterson my sifu david foggie and my sifu randy williams who showed me what real wing chun is peace rusellsherry

[russellsherry]

dear kathy jo yean fan arnerlick , and others my thanks for letting this guy know i am disabled i was having trouble with the computer peace russellsherry

[russellsherry]

dear sel . i stand by what , i say also this sifu charges over$400
for private lessons more than , what bruce lee did this guy is no bruce lee and having seen his wing chun students lose every full contack fight at william cheungs championship i would ask for my money back i have seen his wing chun and i may be
disabled but i am not stupid enough to choose him as my sifu .peace russellsherry

[Miles Teg]

We understand you have problems typing on the computer due to your disability. However, I am sure your disability doesn't extend to the lack of ability to show some respect.

You also seem to hold a certain amount of bitterness to your old school and teacher. You need to let it go and move on. Your comments are damaging to their image. Let people make up their own minds about it.

You always finish your posts with 'peace', but you are not really promoting it are with this attitude are you?

[russellsherry]

dear miles teg , firstly . my expereince with my old school is one
my former sifu told his first class he trained with wong shun leurng for 1 year , when i met sifu he told us four five lessons max. then this person lost shall we say a million dollors of his best friends money his top student and other peoples money as well
if you read any of my posts you will see i metion my 2 best friends
were with me though this these people are great martial arts people. who by the way i always give cedeit to people who help,
me what i can not stand is b.s in wing chun in which in australia
wing chun their is al lot face fact un till recent times, interstate peolple would not come to melbourne , to teach becuase william cheung s school is here and thats why i have no time for some wing chun schools in australia peace russellsherry the reason i metion my old school miles is to warn people not to train there as well as he is a fake

[russellsherry]

hi guys , these are the three , best school in sydney in my humble
opinion .not in any order, 1 rick spains school rick is a class act
and a gentleman, of martial arts and hits bloody hard and i should
know. 2 stevavan fishers wt leung ting school , this sifu is a expereinced doorman , and this always counts with me and of course barry lee wsl school barry lee is somewhat a legand in wong shun leung wing chun here in australia. i can think of no other school in sydney i wouuld train at peace russell sherry

[russellsherry]

dear miles by the way i respect the people i wing chun who are fighters bostepe whom is my idol my sifu and others who know
can back up what they say i dont show respect to sifu with whom
are never at class olny there shihing s teach . even when i trained at williams school he came into class and tuaght sometimes.this shows master cheung cares for his students and what is going on at his school by the way being disabled has nothing to do with my thoughts dont feel sorry for me i have trained in wing chun for 27 years and i know who is good in wing chun and who is not peace russellsherry

[russellsherry]

by the way miles i have seen your name before with who do you train , becuase i think you are one of this guys students and dont like the fact tha t i dont think much of his wing chun if you are going to have a go at me decare your school because at least you should the guts to say you are one of his people and by the way your sifu i heard correct me if i am wrong you have to pay monthy fees and pay extra to train with him in extra class miles at no time did i metion anybodys time and i was olny makeing a point that i dont like sifu who dont teach class by the way one of this guys pupials came to my former school he was a top student of this sifu and i puched him into the walll after he went in to hard during sparing first time he went in hard at all i did was just bloack his attack second time the same third time well as they
say in my new school chiargo rules and he lost he could not handle me let alone the black belts in my former school peace russellsherry