Hello All, I studied WT Wing Tsun in Alaska for a couple of years, but have been away from it for about 5 years. Back then we wore the WT Fist/Leung Ting TShirts, but now I heard that both Sifu Emin Boztepe and Grandmaster Leung Ting have parted ways...Sifu is handing out new EBMAS (Emin Boztepe Martial Art Systems) TShirts for his affiliations and GM Ting has changed his to the IWTA (International Wing Tsun Association). Now I'm wondering what was the reason for the split, and I was hoping to get viewpoints from both sides of the fence...just so I can get a clear picture of what might really have happened. Thanks, Jamo
Just do a search on Boztep and Leung Ting or something like that, or Boztepe and "letter" and you will probably come up with something that will explain from the situation. It's important to understand that you must get both sides of the story in order to make informed conclusions about the situation. My opinion is that it's all due to money or greed. Aren't most problems due to some sort of egocentric issue? Anyways, find a kwoon that avoids such arguments because basically, these things have nothing to do with Gung Fu training. Just train and train. Examine your kwoon and sifu's attitude towards other arts and kwoons. If the teacher is confident he/she shouldn't be afraid of any other arts or views. Quite contrary, that teacher will probably encourage you to make yourself the best person you can be by being inquisitive about the nature of combat. He/she will probably be very happy to learn that you have been asking questions and researching other styles. Because they understand that it doesn't matter who or what it is called, the truth will still be the truth and that can't be bad for those who find it. They too are searching for a truth so they should be joyful if someone else finds something that helps them arrive at that goal. But if they are paranoid or feel uncomfortable, it might be a manifestation of self confidence problems. Good luck friend. "If a person should disparage you or badmouth you, you should not on that account be angry. For if you are angry, how will you be able to see if what is being said is true or false? Rather, just state what is false as being false, and correct the lies with facts in regards to the issue at hand." ...Gautama Siddhartha
