NaamKyun.com Discussion Forum

I commented on quite a few of his videos asking what his lineage was and whether he actually knew hung gar. Too my surprise, he responded VERY respectfully with this

Hello there,

My name is Jerry martin and I own the finger lakes martial arts center in geneva NY.

You've been commenting on my vids so I thought I would take a second to respond to them in a private manner rather than in a public forum.

I have within the last couple of years started to questions the material i had been learning. I was training with Tom Adams in Mass, who is learning from a gentleman named Jerry Cook. I have since realized that they have nothing to offer in the way of authentic material. It's all Pi Mao.


i have since begun training in Northen Wu Style taijiquan with David Dolbear, Hung Ga with Sharif Bey (an inner door disciple to Master Frank Yee) and have done some Liu Seong royal gung fu with people like Dan Donzella and Joe Salomone.

the only reason I leave those vids up is because most people don't know the difference and it's a way to show people who I am and what my school looks like

trust me, I recognize that the material is bogus. I'm working on filling it out. For christ's sake, the people I WAS learning from didn't even know Gung Ge Fuk Fu Kuen. WTF!

I hope I cleared a few things up for you. You may reach me at 315-436-5425 or just email me back here if you'd like.

Respectfully, Jerry

So yeah...lol

Wow Jerry, good for you...impresive attitude.

You'll do well up there with Sharif Sifu.

Hey, since you're also learning Tai Ji, if you're ever near Southeastern, CT near Mystic or the Big Foxwoods and Mohegan Casinos, let me know...we can drink tea and push hands.

And bring Sharif down with you...havn't seen him in awhile, he's like a stocky human tank!!!

Haha, "O"

Would you like me to relay that to him Subitai? I can send him a PM over youtube if you want.

You can, thx

Didn't know if he's reading the forum.

I was just offering to friendly fellow kung fu guys.

"O"

That's being honest! Not just to anyone else, but also to oneself, which is the hardest. Well good for him he is spending his time now with someone that actually knows his stuff!

That's a good attitude. A man of seemingly humble character.

My only concern would be that perhaps he shouldn't be teaching. At least, not Hung Kuen; not at this point.

There are lots of people out there (not just in Hung Gar) who rush to "teach" when they should be taking their time to "learn". After a year or two, they think that they've grasped enough to pass on the tradition! How can someone teach when they haven't really learned anything? What is the worth in the material that is being passed on?

I often think that it took the true Hung Gar sifus years to learn & perfect the art before they were able, with their own sifus' blessings & permission, to teach Hung Kuen. What makes people think that, after a couple of months/years/video tapes, they're ready to teach? Teaching is an honour, but it is also a responsibility. One can affect many, hopefully positively.

I hope, despite the change in teachers (undoubtedly a great decision to train under Bey Sifu!), that he's not teaching something that he's just learned a few days ago, so to speak. That's the impression that I got from those videos. That's not fair to students who assume & trust that their teacher knows what they're doing from years of experience.

If he himself admits that the material represented in the videos is bogus, then perhaps he should remove those videos. Why propogate something that he believes is incorrect? If he's on a better path now, then he's misrepresenting himself by keeping his previous videos on.

If it wasn't for crazedjustice888's sharing of this man's side of things, what would anybody with at least some experience or knowledge of Hung Kuen be lead to believe? Chances are, they wouldn't want to step foot anywhere near his school. Would you, based on those videos alone?

If he truly has something to offer, then maybe he should post things that illustrate his competency & knowledge of the art(s) he professes to know. To do otherwise, as witnessed in the videos that he'd left behind, is doing himself & his potential students a disservice.

I sincerely wish him the best. He's in good hands with Bey Sifu, so it can only get better from here.

Respects...

Thanks, Asmo. I'm not perfect myself; nobody is. However, before claiming to be teachers, we should become good students first & foremost. That's my point in this discussion.

"...the only reason I leave those vids up is because most people don't know the difference..."

Unfortunately, he's right. Most people don't know the difference, so opportunities arise for unqualified people to teach since there's no standardized governing body to regulate the quality of the martial art being taught.

I think that, although he's started training with his two new teachers, he's still teaching something:

1) "...I own the finger lakes martial arts center in geneva NY..."

2) his username on YouTube is "sifujerrym". He considers himself a Sifu. Maybe he's a Sifu in something else, just not in Hung Kuen.

Peace...