You got me so I don’t know what I’m doing

[_tove]

I saw School of Rock, because it was free and I had nothing better to do. It was fairly excellent, and involved a man that reminded me of Chuck teaching a bunch of 9-to-17-year-olds how to be rock stars. His teaching method seemed to involve a lot of screaming and insults, but he got results. Aside from reminding me of Dee (my favorite

Comments

[damion]

How Marc conducts himself at a party has nothing to do with his teaching ability. You specifically referred to bragging when he could be helping people learn. As for whether it's in conflict with whatever ideals you assume he has, bear in mind that Kung Fu is what he does. He enjoys doing it, and he enjoys doing it in many contexts. Consider that he may not be doing something outside of class to brag or show off, but instead might be doing it simply because he enjoys doing it. Think about what you say before you say it.

If a person comes to class and demonstrates that they've been working (by showing mastery of the techniques given to them), then they're showing a sincere desire to learn. The simple fact that a person is doing the work necessary shows that they have a desire to learn. The fact that they continue coming to class, despite setbacks or frustrations, shows that they have a desire to learn. Marc doesn't make a judgment of whether a person is sincere; it manifests itself in a person's behavior, and Marc responds to that behavior. I claim that if you show up to class and have mastered the material you've been given, you are exhibiting a sincere desire to learn. If you show up to class and master the material you've been given, Marc will teach more. That's all there is to that.

I don't say who the person is because the details aren't important. You know neither him, nor Marc well enough to understand why Marc dislikes him.

If you've found something that works for you, that's great. However, you should take responsibility for the fact that you couldn't handle Kung Fu, rather than blaming Marc's teaching ability and slandering him and his classes in a public forum.

[mtrdhunter]

So despite the air of condescention you had in your criticism "Think about what you say before you say it" I took it to heard and thought about making this post before I made it. I slept over it and still see it necessary to say the things I am saying. As far as Marc's bragging, for the moment, I'll entertain the thought that maybe his behavior outside of class is completely unrelated to his behavior inside class despite the fact that that would be DSM-IV worthy. It would be easier for both of us if I just gave you an example of what I'm talking about. I remember asking Marc why it is sparring is done without any protective equipment, to which he partially demonstrated by having me put on one of the foam vests from the closet and then proceeding to wind me. Now instead of following this by having me do the same thing without protective gear, which would have more thoroughly convinced me of his decision not to have people wear protection, Marc saw it necessary to talk about Kung Fu movies and people showing up at Sunrise and the correlation to people's biological cycles and how he knows exactly where to hit a person in order to kill them according to these cycles. Is this a teaching technique to you? I certainly "didn't get it."

Getting back to the reason why I brought up the way he conducts himself at parties, I bring this up because you stated that he "he regrets that his position puts him in a place where he has to talk about himself and his skills, rather than remaining the more humble person he was before he started teaching." I first considered that maybe this was true as I normally do with arguments. Then I thought of the party, and how it would be rather inconsistant with the aformentioned quote for him to be showing off outside of class. It didn't make sense to me, why would he not try to preserve the humble person he was before teaching by confining the showing off to the supposed necessity it serves in teaching? Then I thought of something that made much more sense, which is that showing off is much more intrinsic to his personality than you'd like to believe.

It also seems apparent you're unaware of what I was thinking before I left. I was practicing one day with my friend, Edmund Huber, when Marc decided to pull him aside to have a conversation with him. I wouldn't have noticed, as I was rather intent on practicing, but I did pick up on what he was saying about halfway through the conversation, when I was pausing in between forms. Marc was telling Edmund that he needed to practice alone because I was of inferior skill and Marc had to appeal to "the lowest common denominator." I perhaps would have worded it differently, but Marc wasn't saying anything I wasn't prepared to hear, and my only curiosity is why he would only tell Edmund that we needed to practice seperately instead of both of us. I got my answer pretty soon after, when Marc walked up to me and said "You know, some people don't have the personality to succeed at Kung Fu. It's good for other things, but when it comes to Kung Fu, I'm sorry." With that, he left me alone. Entirely. This is why I refuse to believe that Marc will teach anyone who has "a sincere desire to learn" because it's not about showing up or practicing, it's about whether Marc thinks I have a personality that can succeed at Kung Fu. That's why I blame Marc. Also, you might not want to equate failing Marc to failing Kung Fu. He didn't invent it, he's not the only person who can teach it and, as my comment that started this states, his teaching method doesn't work for everyone.