Marc Black

[LuTheWanderer]

I'm only going to post this one time. I'm not here to get into some [Explicitly Deleted] war of words with someone I don't know, over subjects they clearly don't understand. The only reason I'm even here is because I've had this link emailed to me three times & each time I only see this single reply, from someone who obviously never met the teacher. The [Explicitly Deleted]iness of the postleaves me really ****ed every time I see it, & I've decided I'm going to be just as immature as the poster. I will avoid making this about my opinion of the poster. His self-designated screenname says it all for me.
I am also posting because everything that I have to say here, would probably be said by all of the studens of any real teacher. There are enough people speaking against them, someone just once has to speak FOR them.
Sifu Black. I know the guy. He learned everthing that he teaches from one guy. His Only teacher, Anton Haddad. Marc went to a couple seminars with a couple of people, just to check things out. He had respect for those teachers, so he mentions that he was there. Marc says on his own site that he lists other people as a sign of respect. It's a traditional Chinese thing to do no matter how long (or short) the time you spend with someone is. It's just about showing respect. It's not sychophantic as you say, or sycophantic which is the proper spelling. You are obviously a scholar, definitely qualified to talk about someone else & what they can do correctly.
Marc Black has spent over 20 years studying the disciplines that he is able to pass on, & having personally witnessed the respect that other instructors of note have had when they talk with him, or trade techniques with him, it was pretty clear over & over again that this guy knows his [Explicitly Deleted].
I've known him for years. He has what I would call a thorough knowledge of the styles he teaches, from the joint locking, the hitting, the defenses, the throwing, & the philosophy. I'd say his work, the way he does this & the way that his students do this, is what makes this an art.
If this guy didn't Really know what was up, why the hell would he be so open on his website? Why would he go ahead & list specific things that he could be called on by someone in the know? It's called self-knowledge. He puts himself on the chopping block because he Can. Knowing that you have what others may not, but being willing to share is called being gracious. Knowing that you only have what you have is called humility. Maintaining these qualities after having been put to the test by many others, many times, is called mastery.
I've always liked to see people who point the finger when they themselves have only been at something for a couple of years. And then post in places like this because it's the only way that they can get people to pay attention to them. I don't know if it's jeaolousy or arrogance, but it's got to be somewhere around there. At the same time that I laugh at the finger pointing gus, I get really ****ed off because people who don't know any better hear those pompous blowhards & assume that they must know what they're talking about, or why post it? (But wait, maybey Sifu Black knows what HE'S talking about too, & that's why he posts it on his website!- maybey even why he goes to the trouble to pay for a way (site) for people to get a little bit more info on their interests.)
You were really creative critiquing his usage of the word "block" on the website that average guys, guys who don't have as deep a knowledge as you, are supposed to read. When I see ideas or terms that might seem to miss the mark, I usually think that those people are trying to make themselves understood clearly by anybody who reads it. I don't automatically think that they lack a vocabulary or don't understand the correct usage.

WAIT! WAIT! THE BEST PART! You appear to pick on Marc because through his own personal experience, a guy who bothers to try & cultivagte positive characteristics & reaches out to the world aroun him to make things better really does end up being 'confident of his martial skills, soft-spoken, humble, tolerant, and at peace with himself and with others.' That's what mastery is supposed to be all about. Just because a great martial artist such as yourself doesn't possess these qualities doesn't mean that the rest of the world can afford to be without them. And then you go off about a bunch of stuff that you decided to interject on your own, some kind of stuff about David Carradine, a mis-quote on qi circulation & all of your own imposed daftness There is someone who sounds desperate here, but I don't think that it's the time-tested/tounament-winning/bodyguard-employed-as teacher.
And finally, since you were the one who wanted to say so much in the first place, you should not confuse yourself with someone who has something to say. Sifu Black is spending his life & experience helping other people in whatever ways his skills can, not using his knowledge (or lack of knowledge) to stick his chest out, or ask if anyone else knows about so-and so as if he's trying to win a popularit contest. All of the hours spent making up these [Explicitly Deleted]ed posts, all of the supposed investigation, & I NEVER NEVER EVER see someone talk about their direct experience with anyone else. All of those hours sitting in front of a computer, posting to these sites, & not a SINGLE EMAIL to the actual people being talked about? Puh-leez.
You say you have a doubt about the 'genuine transmission'?- (as if you'd know anything about that from your vast half-decade of experience) - then GO CHECK HIM OUT. PERSONALLY Cross Hands with him. And then speak with him. Nothing else has to be said after that.