Haven Seto?

[EricD]

Hello all

I'm looking to get into a martial art and one such martial art i'm strongly considering is Wushu. In my city (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), Wushu is taught by one Master Haven Seto. Now i'm very wary of many martial arts teachers due to the amount of scams and frauds in the business, so i'm doing an overall background check on Master Seto. Can anyone tell me his record? Qualification? Whom he learned Wushu from? Can anyone vouch for his quality as a teacher and as a martial artist? I want to make sure I won't be ripped off or scammed by taking his class, I want to make sure I can trust him. That's one of the most important part of the master-student relationship in martial arts. Trust.

[TTEscrima]

How to find a good teacher in the CMA's

I've never heard of your teacher or school so I can't comment beyond these guidelines.

Wushu, typically that means performance art these days, at one time it denoted fighting arts but thats not how the term is interpreted these days.

1) Know what you want to learn.

2) Use common sense.

3) Question EVERYTHING written and verbally explained as "proof" of skill or training. REQUIRE them to demonstrate.

4)Lineage means little, its hard to impossible to trace and doesn't mean ANYTHING. Just because you studied with someone famous doesn't mean they were a good teacher or that you were a good student...don't tell me what you can do, SHOW ME!!

5)Beware people who use foreign titles or initials in their names, its considered VERY bad taste to call yourself "Sifu", "Master" "Grandmaster" etc. This is especially true of those who use the title if they are not from the country the title originated from. Its fine if students use these titles out of respect but it's rare when those with true skill include it in their name as a title demanding the respect.

6)Certificates are for decoration, they are given out for attendance or bought easily, those with skill can show you, they don't need paper to tell you.

7)The teacher shouldn't act like a used car salesman, nor should they run the school like boot camp.

8) There is no Best or most complete art.

9)Just because the teacher is from the land the art originated from does not mean he is a legitimate master.

10) Believe only what you see and feel, NOT what you hear.

11) The more remarkable the thing you see, the more suspicious you should be.

12) Most important of all, listen to your gut. If the teacher has an "I love me wall" full of certificates, trophies, and photographs along with a two page Bio you are probably not in the best school available to you because a true martial artist knows HE should show you what he can teach you, not his glory wall.

The rule of thumb in the martial arts is this, "A Martial arts teachers ability to promote himself is usually inversely proportional to his skill level in the arts, the better he is at promoting, the the worse his skills will be."

[wushudude]

Hello Eric

Your post is two years old so you are probably long gone but... I train under Coach Haven at The Chinese Martial Arts Academy in Saskatoon. Possibly a better way of checking us out would be to drop by the school during an open house or to check out one of our numerous performances throughout the year. Or to call/email the school, rather than posting something on a site that none of us belong to that I just happened to find from being bored and doing a random google search. lol If you are still around just pop in. Coach Haven is a super nice guy and would be willing to answer any questions you have.

Have fun