David Soard Pleads Guilty to Harrasment Chinese Shaolin Center/ Shaolin-Do

[grunlowen]

I remember some of that back then, like the 'save the prairie dogs' and 'circus's are evil' speeches. I'm actually an animal welfare supporter, but not to the degree where I think we need to save prairie dog habitats. And if got any weirder, which it sounds like it did, then I would not want to train there. The worst part for me was when they would lecture on and on about stuff you had heard them talk about dozens of times before. And it was mostly stupid stories that had nothing to do with training.

Maybe that was what part of the power-trip/ego-inflating thing that led to the current state of affairs. They had total control over their audience, and they could say whatever they wanted, and eventually what they were saying became less about martial arts and more about their personal opinions.

All that said, though, I still have some great memories from that place and still use some of what I learned. Like breathing techniques and some of the I-Chin-Ching postures. Just wish I could remember Chen Tai Chi. If I could find a place that taught that and had Tai Chi sparring, I would be a happy man.

[MMAlee]

This is a very sad event, and when in a position of authority one must not take advantage of others more vulnerable, this is why ethics in the MA is so important

[krsd]

The worst part for me was when they would lecture on and on about stuff you had heard them talk about dozens of times before. And it was mostly stupid stories that had nothing to do with training.

It definitely got worse with time. I went to several festivals where "Story Hour" took such a precedence that by the end of the actual form training it was too dark to see what was being taught, and people pretty much just gave up. This eventually seemed to lead to the testing being the day before so that they could "start the festival earlier" the following day, but that deteriorated pretty quickly to late starts and long lunches so that the same situation was happening. Application of the form was almost never taught, and when it was it tended to be very repetitive of the applications taught in every other form, or entirely generic "cut them this way" or "hit them here".

That said, I liked hearing anecdotal/"historical" stories pertinent to the form, but very often it was stories about how someone did something in some sparring match years ago... Guess it is easier to wax poetic than to actually teach a martial art/form and get questions about how to use it.