JeffJ,
I want to address your original post. I have been involved with Grandmaster Leung Ting's organization since 1994. I've trained in both the EWTO (Germany) and The US, So take my opinion for what it's worth.
The Leung Ting organization is big. Some of Flying Crane's comments about empire building are right on. I have seen some evidence of that. When I was training in Germany there were a lot of students who just kinda fell through the cracks and advanced past what their abilities should have allowed them to do. This is a by-product of any large organization. You especially see this in the military. The larger the force the less trained that it is.
That being said, the art itself is top notch. It is, in my opinion, the closest of all the branches to what Wing Chun is supposed to be. I have not seen better concepts and applications of sensitivity and technique anywhere else. I have known people who have come from other branches of the WC family to study WT, but I know of none of the reverse.
The people who really get it are near untouchable. I don't say this as some wide-eyed fan boy. I have a deep respect for what other arts, WC or not, can do. There are many ways to fight effectively and WT is near the top. The most difficult part is finding a good instructor. If you were in a place like Germany, this wouldn't be hard. Unfortunately this is not the case in the good old U.S. of A. There are a lot of good instructors here, but we just don't have the density that Europe does.
To sum it all up, you get a mixed bag with this organization. This is mostly due to its size. The system itself is excellent with a lot of top notch instructors and students. You also get some pieces of crap who spread blight throughout and end up leaving people with a bad taste for the org. and its practitioners.
Edit:
If you have any specific questions, let me know. Who is it that you were going to study with? I'd like to know if it is someone I may have crossed paths with.
Cordially,
Ben
