Siu Lum Gar, Auckland, NZ

**ChrisSeraph** · Posted On: 5/26/2008 7:30am

I attended this school for about 2 years while I was finishing College in Auckland. I found it an overall enjoyable experience, but always had doubts to its validity. Now that I'm a little older and a lot more cynical, I would summarise the school thus:

The head instructor, Martin Lindgreen, is full of ****. He is a reasonable martial artist in terms of his ability to fight, but is teaching an art he has pieced together. I bonded with and respected two of the other instructors more, one who left while I was there.

The authenticity of the school can be absolutely shot to pieces. A quick check of the references contained on the website verifies that there is nothing to verify. So much for feeling proud of certificates issued by the 'Singaporean confederation of something or other'. This would bother me less if the name of the school wasn't something which I hold in quite high regard. While I don't currently practise a CMA or (arguably) even a TMA, I do study Chinese, and have since practised several forms of Taiqi and a traditional CMA school which didn't claim to be "Shaolin" but did teach several Shaolin fists.

The club had a very good atmosphere, but was quite kid-focused. This was fine until you realised that he was proposing to teach things like ballistic stretching and Iron Hand, neither of which I completely disagree with but both of which should be taught in a knowledge/experience-full, controlled, environment.

The only verifiable training Martin Lindgreen has that I found out was a form of Karate he practised with a then girlfriends parents. I would sincerely doubt the validity of claims to Shaolin, Arnis Sikaran or Kickboxing. My doubts being compounded by the fact that when I asked him who taught him, he didn't have a ready answer, nor ever try to follow it up.

I would eagerly field questions, and I'll try think of some more specific examples to post.

**GoldenJonas** · Posted On: 5/26/2008 10:18pm

When did you leave the school?

What prompted you to post a review of this school now?

This reeks of "axe to grind" and that is not what this section is for.

Please provide detailed information of the training you experienced which supports the ratings you gave for each field.

**ChrisSeraph** · Posted On: 5/27/2008 2:03am

Ok cheers for the comment, I'll pull the post and rewrite it objectively, and would you recommend I start a post on YMAS forum with my concerns? I do believe what I wrote but this is possibly the wrong place to post it?

I left the school in 2004 I think.

I only just found this site and I gotta say it's amazing, which lead me to write this.

I'm not familiar with the expression "axe to grind" but if you mean whether or not I'm bitter; I'm not, I just don't like false advertising in something about which I'm passionate.

**ChrisSeraph** · Posted On: 5/27/2008 2:27am

I meant 'start a thread on the MABS thread.'

**GoldenJonas** · Posted On: 5/27/2008 7:50am

Originally Posted by ChrisSeraph

I meant 'start a thread on the MABS thread.'

Yeah, "ax to grind" means you have something personal against the instructors of the school or you thought they cheated you somehow and you post a negative statement to "get back at them them".

Anyway, I would repost your thread here in MABS. HOWEVER, you need to be a bit more descriptive with regard to your assertions regarding the schools system and the instructors stated credentials.

MABS topics should try to be as focused as possible on the goal of the that forum, i.e., investigating and outing MA frauds.

If the topic starts to vear to far down the LOLz path the Dark Overlord of MABS, Tom Kagan, with move your thread to YMAS.

Once I see you have reposted over in the right forum I will delete this review.

GJ

**ChrisSeraph** · Posted On: 5/27/2008 8:01am

I copied the body of the text, couldn't figure how to delete it. Cheers for your advice Jonas, I'll get around to writing a review for the MABS forum.

**chinese_boxer** · Posted On: 3/06/2009 11:22pm

The web site in question actually had a typo error on the page the Association your looking for is Singapore Martial Arts Instructors Association, you'll easily find them on Google. Also for reference Martin Lindgreens sticking fighting skills came from being taught by Chief Instructor Jose Marie "Jesse" Capili Diestro of the World Sikaran-Arnis Brotherhood. Siu Lum Gar I believe is also part of the World Sikaran-Arnis Brotherhood's international chapters.

**riki3** · Posted On: 5/20/2010 4:29am

Martin Lindgreen, Ex-Kempo Bushido Ryu, Karate & Gung Fu School, Senior Instructor, Ive still got my booklet with him & his brother Corrie in it as seniors inthe school, Booklet from 1985, I know he left around that time but had already had 13 or 15 years with our school by that stage, He would have been under Grand Master Robert Gemmell. robertgemmell-martialarts.co.nz .Have a look at the black belt family tree, but note that it is still been updated.