Phony Sifus

Recently, I met a sifu, whom I believe, a self proclaimed grandmaster and the person so called ‘trusted to carry on the lineage of a Malaysian Chinese martial art’. In fact, I have met him 10 years ago but he forgot about the incident. Highly aggressive, snobbish and brash is my experience of him 10 year back. In terms of martial arts knowledge and teaching, I doubt so……

My recent meeting with him, I saw a more refine person, much more tone down personality but I still felt something amiss after he starts promoting his products that came with premium prices, different from my enquiry over our earlier tele-conversation. Now, I’m wondering as whether prices varied between telephone orders and physically purchasing the products. Logically, physical purchase should be cheaper than telephone orders considering the delivery cost instead of the other way round. Well, my business school taught me to dissect data in that sense. Then, the prices start building up to 2 times as he continues with his marketing promotion tactics 101. He is even more terror than Kotler. Now, that is still OK to me because you’re selling a product to me with my agreement to buy if I’m satisfied. However, what I strongly disagree is the martial arts program he is offering to me that looks like a mix and match from the same style but of different lineages plus some self created ‘make-it-up’ forms, which he claimed as the origin that he had learnt from several prominent masters.

As far as I’m concerned, I understand he learnt under his Sifu for six months to a year before his sifu passed away. Thereafter, he is proclaimed the Grandmaster of that Chinese style. I have personally learned under different sifus that mixed and matched martial art styles and that is OK because they told me the truth. Either way or perspective, it still doesn’t fit into my lens even after I’ve got my new glasses few weeks back. For example, in my opinion, and in business, if you sell a product and deliver your promises, you’re considered a business man. However, if you deliver something else instead, you’re a con –man. In martial arts, if you teach and preach what you uphold, you’re a sifu /master. And if you teach one thing and preach something else, you’re a con-master. If you happen to practice both, then you’re a con-biz-master.

The journey to self refinement is often bumpy rather than smooth. Through exchanges in training, you understand not only your sifu but also yourself and vice versa. Both grow together through this relationship and about the sifu-disciple thingy, I have included a glimpse of Dr.Glenn Morris’s thought as a pointer for starting a good journey.

“JUST WHAT IS a martial artist, Master? How do I recognize a teacher of quality and goodness in these times of greed and false idols?"

The mission of the artist, regardless of the medium of expression, is to elevate his or her perceptions through study, practice, and intelligent insight to the highest attainable level within their capability and then communicate that knowledge or expression to their peers, and if teachers, to the wannabees. I believe there is a tenuous genetic component to art associated with intelligence. The problem that confronts all in the pursuit of original expression of creativity is the easy slide into mediocrity as a result of popular acceptance when one settles for the least common denominator.

In the martial arts this is represented by the shodan who teaches as if he or she were a master because in the eye of the public a black belt represents mastery, but in the eyes of traditional martial artists it's about the same as a Bar Mitzvah. Only godan and above are considered original thinkers with spiritual as well as technical expertise to offer. Hatsumi says, "Give the shihan the adulation they earn rather than the rank they've attained." The master martial artist is not just a gifted physical technician but has an additional role as a teacher and spiritual guide, which is seldom understood in the West or practiced in the East. Sensei means one who has gone before, and shihan means you finished the trip but have not necessarily reached your destination."

(Dr.Glenn Morris, Path Notes of an American Ninja, Chapter 7 :Potrait of the Artist as a Grandmaster)

Study and observe well on this......