Many new to the martial arts are surprised to find that many teachers of martial arts, Chinese arts in particular, are very interested in sharing their lineage. To the new an uninitiated prospective students, it may not seem as though the lineage that the teacher is so proud of is very important…. Rest assured; however, it is. Traditionally lineage signifies the authenticity of the school and what the teacher has to offer, and today that is more important than ever. Why? Because there is a sudden increase in the amount of unqualified teachers attempting to promote arts that they themselves have never actually studied under a qualified teacher, and many have even gotten all of their instruction from Master Youtube.
As a prospective student anyone that you may be considering to learn from should not be secretive about the source of their studies. If they cannot provide you with a valid lineage that can be traced and verified, I have one word for you… RUN. If they do not have pictures of them training with their teachers, or at formal events such as Discipleship Ceremonies (where the prospective teacher becomes a disciple) – Run. If the person that they supposedly trained with does not know who they are… Run. Anyone claiming to teach an art, but cannot prove that they are qualified to teach that art by way of qualified teacher that they studied under is possibly trying to pass of a cheap imitation to make a quick buck. Unfortunately this has been going on for many generations, and is nothing new.
To the new prospective martial arts students it is extremely important to know the source of the teachers knowledge to ensure that you are not buying a forgery of any given art. If you are looking to learn a martial art here are some questions that you can ask.
1. Who is your teacher? Do you stay in touch with him and still have a relationship with him/her? Would that teacher acknowledge you if I asked him directly about you?
2. Who did your teacher learn from?
3. Do you have any pictures of you with your teacher in the traditional student teacher pose? If so, could you please show me?
If you ask someone these questions and they refuse to answer them… Run. If they get offended by you asking these questions… Run. Only an unqualified teacher would be offended, or refuse to answer these questions.
So is lineage important? It is if you want to make sure what you are interested in learning is actually the real deal.
The students of our school are proud decedents from Great Grandmaster Ip Man, and one of his prized disciples, Great Grandmaster Moy Yat. From their the art was passed on to our current Grandmaster Pete Pajil (Moy Bah Hugh), to Sr. Master Jay Hitchman (Moy Jon Muhn) to Master Dale Steigerwald (Moy Die O), to our students at the Academy of Ving Tsun. Each member in our direct lineage is by bai si (discipleship ceremony), and each one is traceable and verifiable.
If you are ready to see the difference a verifiable lineage makes, give us a call today at 724-847-3300, or enroll in a free class on this website at IloveWingChun.com and know you are getting real Ving Tsun and not something learned online through Sifu Youtube, or otherwise.