WTF?

  I guess my ability to be amazed by people's behavior will never be quelled. My teaching associate was recently contacted by an individual (an ex-student) wanting to “talk” about how come he disappeared (with no explanation) a few years back. I had pretty much just figured him to be (yet) another student who choose to move on, and I had left it at that.

   

  Well, with him recontacting my associate, I decided to do a little investigating. Low-dy, Low-dy! Seems as though this kid has up and got his own self his own place (well, he sub-lets space from the local “Unity Village” church(ish) Group). He's become a “Zen” Master (got his-self a certifimakation and everything).

    

  Now all of that is just fine by me (I'm not really that interested, when approached with those ideas, I usually find that the individual has their own issues that they're dealing with, and are just looking for company during that experience), but what I didn't find favorable, was his quoting (as if they were his own) statements made by Taika.

    

  He's chosen to call what he's (now) teaching, as being “Life-Protection Arts” (sound familiar?). He's officially tagged some Korean name upon it also, but makes a point of emphasizing the “LPA” when discussing what he teaches. Through mutual acquaintances, we've already encountered his instruction of technique being incorrectly shown, so it makes me wonder how he feels he is qualified to instruct any of those techniques.

     

  Of course the technique he showed the individual was presented as being one of his techniques. If “that's” supposed to be an example of his “Master Abilities”, he's going to have numerous problems as he proceeds.

   

  His “Face-book” page lists his having a “5th” dan in 3 korean martial arts, and a 4^th in another, along with Yudansha ranks in 4 more! (and now he's a “Zen” Abbot / Priest), and NO, RyuTe isn't listed at all (mostly because he didn't really “rank” in it except for “kyu” ranks). oh yeah, he's only 21/22? nice collection for 14 years of (supposed) “study”. Am I saying he's a “fake”,.......no, I'm not. No more than any other quasi-religious-wanna-be-type/martial arts instructor that's out there today. Is he qualified to teach any of the very few RyuTe techniques that he picked-up from us? NO FUCKING WAY (Just sayin'). As for the other stuff?, don't know, and don't care.

   

  As for his knowledge of the other styles? Who knows (or cares?), he's been careful to avoid any direct association to us or RyuTe (though he display's Oyata's Calligraphy in the location and in photographs hung at the location where he's teaching at). To me, he's making a very lame attempt at an association (he's even teaching at a building where Taika used to teach, LOL).

    

  I find it interesting that his previous learning has all been Korean MA based, but everything I've seen is Okinawan and/or Japanese? I realize that everyone loves to push the “everything” came from China idea, but I don't really buy it. The (latest) big claim being that Tuite is nothing more than Chin-na. I might of (at one time, like before I knew any Tuite) believed that, except that I've never seen any Chin-na that I have believed could not be more easily accomplished with Tuite. I've never really warmed-up to the Korean systems (to me their all alike, too much like the Japanese systems that they were all derived from, so why not just practice them?). 

    

  Every time I interact with “Chinese” stylist's, I only encounter simplistic applications, that have moderate (at best) results. For all the claims of origination, I only encounter second-rate applications. The Korean system's are even worse. Everything Korean appears to be Re-worked Japanese subjects, which are re-worked Okinawan methods (which when one is talking about Te, we're usually talking about Okinawan Te).

    

  Admittedly, when/if compared to having no knowledge, any of those systems would most likely be better than nothing. But living in a time when the ability to compare exists, I don't understand the reluctance to study techniques that actually work (and/or not go ahead and abandon those that don't work.

  The individual in question, I have no real problem with (as of yet, LOL). What he does is his business, but don't expect a Glowing review if I'm asked for an opinion about any of it.