my name is dean economos and i've been studying martial arts for 35 years, 20 under master james shun and eventually became an 8 step preying mantis teacher under master james shun as a 5th generation preying mantis disciple. i've read all the controversy about his ligitimacy, mostly through paul lin, i don't know if it is true or not, but personnally i don't care. i've seen and felt his kung fu techniques first hand and so did many of my students through the years. and nobody that's seen it and felt it can deny his power and effectiveness in fighting. but if it is true about him, then it's unfortunate and i'm sorry for him the way he mislead people and especially me and my students. but it still doesn't change the fact that he was my teacher and i studied 8 step preying mantis and wu style tai chi from him. As far as i'm concerned the fighting techniques were very effective and still are, whether it's legitimate or not. i opened 2 schools in buffalo, new york and taught 8 step and tai chi for 12 years. i haven't been involved with master james shun and his federations for 4 years now, because of personal reasons. i still teach my version of 8 step preying mantis, wu style tai chi, in san francisco, california and i have a loyal following of about 70 students. the point i'm making here is a student of mine named michael haley was certified by me as a sifu to teach 8 step preying mantis and wu style tai chi . i'm not involved with any of the bull**** politics of the american chinese martial arts federation and neither is sifu michael haley. he was my student and i was the one who promoted him to sifu. and thats the way it is. As far as rumors of him presently being in jail i don't know one way or another, unfortunately i lost touch with him about 1-1/2 years ago. if anyone hears from him tell him to drop sifu dean a line. thanks
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