Last Chance to Become a Disciple of the Retreat Center

Robyn S. you are an idiot with no honor or respect for martial arts, Dr.Yang, or yourself. If you new a thing about martial arts or Dr. Yang and the YMAA then you would be begging to be trained by him, Dr.Yang is an incredible martial artist and an even better person, and no matter how much you say about Dr.Yang you're only saying a lot more about your self.

Hi Robyn:

I understand the doubt and criticism that Dr. Yang's training program has received since its conception and start, so I would like to clarify some of the points that you have addressed in your comment.

1. Dr. Yang had been planning to take a second group of disciples regardless of whether any of the current ones quit in the first year. Depending on the results of the first 5 years, he was also already planning to possibly take students for an abbreviated, shorter 5-year program. However, if the results are not promising after the first 5 years, Dr. Yang has voiced before that the program will probably end. At least he can say he tried, and he can say he took a novel approach to an ongoing problem in modern traditional martial arts. Announcing the abbreviated 5-year program now is a bit futile if we are unsure about how long the program will actually last.

2. You call this program a "sham" but have not substantiated your claims. Please read the information about the actual program and the details in the student application, and you will realize that your statements are incorrect. It is easy to slander and doubt when you are uninformed. I can see why you are misled if all you have been reading are headlines.

There is a clause in the original (now obsolete) contract that states most of the paid tuition money was to be returned to any graduating disciple of the Retreat Center so that they may smoothly transition into starting their own martial arts school. Yes, it is true that if a disciple had quit early under this old contract, the tuition monies would have been forfeited. This policy was ultimately implemented anyway to get an idea of exactly how serious a student was. It also helped to counteract any student wishing to secretly only do a few years out of the full ten years. Dr. Yang is not looking to train a student to achieve only a fraction of his goal through his efforts in this training program. He can no longer afford that type of time in his older age if he is to really pass down all of his knowledge.

You should know that paying for all 10 years was never required upfront. The tuition for the first few years in this old contract was much higher than the current requirements, but that is one of the reasons it was ultimately abandoned. I apologize if this was not made clear. Because the original contract's financial demands were not practical for most applicants, the cost was cut down significantly to paying $10,000 yearly, which covers a conservative estimate of living, construction, and maintenance costs. For those of you that have ever been to a private university, you probably know very well that meals, housing, transportation, utilities, etc. can easily account for thousands of dollars in your yearly $35k-$40k bill. The Retreat Center has a similar structure.

If you have ever owned or constructed a building, paid mortgage, or run any sort of facility, you would have a better idea that for a place and location such as the YMAA Retreat Center, it is not cheap to even just keep the doors open. At YMAA Boston, some months we have had to pay ~$5000 in expenses that include mortgage, property tax, insurance, and utilities. Going by this estimate, that's about $60,000 in the hole every year just to keep our doors open. YMAA has never been any sort of unlimited cash cow. That is a very gross misconception. Don't get me wrong, I think that that YMAA is steadily making headway in the industry, but we are certainly not millionaires. The cost of operations is one of the reasons why Dr. Yang ultimately decided to continue holding seminars, which I distinctly recall he was originally not planning to do.

Money is certainly a touchy issue, especially in this economy. But rest assured that Dr. Yang is not out to get your wallets. For those of you that think Dr. Yang is very meticulous about money, you should know that virtually any business owner is, especially if it is your means of making a living. You do NOT see Dr. Yang rolling around in BMWs or Mercs, wearing name-brand clothing, flying first class, dining in expensive restaurants, or taking vacations in exotic places around the world. Those are not his goals and never will be. So if you believe Dr. Yang is hoarding all this non-existent money for some selfish causes, you are seriously mistaken.

3. Many people seem doubtful that Dr. Yang will pass on his entire knowledge to the disciples at the Retreat Center. That is wrong. In fact, Dr. Yang is training the disciples to become better than he was at their age. The disciples are actually spending more hours training than Dr. Yang did when he was learning from his masters. In addition, Dr. Yang has implemented a lot of drills and conditioning exercises at the Retreat Center that were not a part of his old training routine. The disciples are already on the path to becoming much more physically able than what Dr. Yang was ever capable of.

This method of teaching completely embodies the whole point of passing down the art and hoping that martial arts, as a whole, actually improves from generation to generation -- instead of being stagnant, instead of declining, instead of fading into oblivion. There is no point in keeping this knowledge to himself. Dr. Yang has always taught openly and freely, for over 40 years.

Regardless of what skeptics may say, Dr. Yang began writing books and producing videos for the sole purpose of passing down his knowledge. He was saddened greatly by the passing of his White Crane master because Grandmaster Gseng took more than half of his knowledge to the grave with him. Because Dr. Yang decided to do it fulltime, making money was the side result. I ask you, is it Dr. Yang's fault that his name is so well-known because he produces the products that he does? Would people prefer that he not spend any time and effort in his work instead so that people will stop criticizing his success? If you disagree about the quality, you are of course, still entitled to your opinion.

I ask you to present any one time when Dr. Yang has unreasonably withheld his knowledge. If you are complaining that Dr. Yang has never taught you anything "advanced", I would like to ask you how often you practice and to what extent. Then I would like you to compare that to the daily fulltime training regimen of the disciples at the Retreat Center and tell me, who will more correctly learn
the advanced material, if at all?

It is unfortunate that in this day and age, students often simply do not practice enough, especially in urban societies. How can you teach anything advanced when beginner/intermediate level techniques and concepts have not been truly grasped yet? How can you compose a good symphony when you haven't even learned your do-re-mi's? Is that considered withholding knowledge? Dr. Yang has taught for over 40 years, and not a single student has learned all that Dr. Yang has to offer. Is it stinginess? Is it bad teaching? If you have ever learned from Dr. Yang, you know that it is neither. He is more concerned with properly passing down his knowledge as opposed to simply shoving it in the face of the next generation. Many genuine masters are. With the time that the disciples at the Retreat Center are putting in, they will reach that level, and believe it or not, they will surpass the level of Dr. Yang one day if they keep at it.

4. We have never claimed to train "Shaolin Ninjas" nor will we ever. We are a traditional Chinese martial arts organization. We are not claiming to train the greatest martial artists in the world either. We are quite clear from the start about what the program entails. It is laid out simple and clear: you will learn from Dr. Yang, his background, his knowledge and lineage, in addition to selected guest instructors and extracurricular topics. The judge of quality and substance is left to the discretion of the practitioner. You don't have to like it if you don't want to.

5. The claim of students being "gullible" and "naive" if they believe in the Retreat Center is not only a bit childish, but unproven and quite subjective. How can you claim something as a lie if you are unable to demonstrate the truth? If you claim to know the truth, I ask you, have you been to the Retreat Center? How exposed have you been to YMAA? YMAA schools and students? Have you talked to many supporters (and those that oppose it) and people who have actually researched and written articles about the center? Have you talked to people who have interviewed Dr. Yang? And most important of all, how well do you know Dr. Yang personally and have you trained with him? These are all questions that should be answered and researched properly if you want to produce a well-formed argument.

6. You should not be talking for Mike DiMeglio. If you want to truly know how Mike feels about the Retreat Center and Dr. Yang, you should contact him and get a direct answer. Making assumptions and speaking your thoughts in his name is just spreading rumors and slandering.

7. I fail to see how believing in this program is being "full of yourself". If anything, it should be quite humbling to know and accept that there is this long path of training, learning, and knowledge ahead of you.

8. I reckon you have never seen Dr. Yang teach or learned from him for long-term, as he has always strived to teach openly, selflessly, traditionally, and with authenticity. Have you been to the Retreat Center since the disciples began training? Do you know how Dr. Yang treats the disciples there? I'm guessing no, because saying that Dr. Yang "does not give a shit" about his students is a blatant lie.

9. The program was never shortened to 9 years. The original program was set to start in 2008 and end in 2018, so the second group of accepted students was always set to miss one year of training. Dr. Yang is not trying to avoid postponement of retirement. In fact, by taking on this project at the Retreat Center, he has already postponed his retirement, by about 6-7 years. He will be 72 at the program's end.

You claim that Mike DiMeglio being in the program was a part of a money-making scheme. However, because not all of the disciples are financially capable, some of them are actually being sponsored, partially or fully, by Dr. Yang himself through personal funds (meaning his retirement funds), which he painstakingly earned through decades of teaching, writing, and publishing, earning the respect of martial artists all around the world. Mike was one of these students sponsored by Dr. Yang, so I do not see how Mike contributes to the argument that Dr. Yang was trying to use him for money.

10. I understand that there is much debate over the "no girls" policy. But I ask you, how many girls in this world can physically measure up to their male counterparts? Can you deny that throughout history, men have shown a greater advantage for physically demanding tasks? Why do men generally achieve greater results in physical activities, such as the Olympics or professional sports leagues? Why do they divide up men's and women's leagues? Sure, there are exceptions, but how many? So if you are a girl who is physically in tune like a male and truly believe you can commit yourself to the program, perhaps you should present a well thought out appeal to prove your validity for candidacy. Make a compelling case, and we will consider you. We have been open to appeals for candidates who did not fit the full requirements of the student application. You should note that in the current pool of disciples, exceptions were already made for some of the accepted students, who were older than 22 at the time they applied but showed great potential and talent for the program.

11. Claiming that girls are not as "gullible", not as "easily manipulated" or that they have "tighter family ties" is again, unsubstantiated claims, wildly false generalizations, and downright sexist. I highly doubt that you have never met a guy who is not gullible, has not been manipulated, or does not have very close family relations. If that is the case, I can tell you that such guys do exist and that you are very mistaken for thinking that they do not. I can also tell you that girls who are gullible, easily manipulated, and have little family ties also exist in this world.

I hope that my response has given some more insight into the program, the concerns in your post, and the goals of YMAA as a whole. I believe there are many people who are simply misinformed and lack the proper details to know what YMAA's goals and Dr. Yang's mission is really about. Given, I am Dr. Yang's son, so you may likely claim that I have biased opinions. I then openly invite and welcome you and anybody to respectfully refute my claims or to ask any further questions, and I will clarify the situation for you.

With Respect,

--
Nicholas C.Yang
President, YMAA International
Director, YMAA Boston

I volunteer for this Retreat Center project, so I am compelled to respond to this angry comment.

I can only say first and foremost that in the 10 years I have known Dr. Yang, he has proven himself to be an open, honest, and genuine person. He cares very much about each individual students' progress, and is always available to teach one on one, or to answer questions in person, or online. And, I've seen him spend an hour answering a complete stranger's questions on the phone on many occassions. He cares very much. And this is very traditional Chinese kung fu, taijiquan, and qigong.

Dr. Yang is not rich. This is something I hear sometimes, from people trying to disparage him for earning a living, and I think its necessary to clarify this point. He is 65 years old. INSTEAD of retiring right now, he has taken the last of his personal funds, and put them in to the purchase and construction of this training center, to create a very special place to train. Publishing niche titles is hard work and is barely profitable, so he did not make any kind of fortune when he owned the Publishing company. In addition, his classes are inexpensive by comparison to many other's, and though he has taught almost every single day, including weekends for the past 25 years, he basically made enough to put his three kids through school, and get this project started.

Each student will cost about $10,000 annually in food, insurance, and supplies. The money collected to this end does not go into any kind of retirement fund. At the end of this 10-year program, we will be LUCKY if we have funded all of the students, and we can break even.

IF there were funds beyond this goal, they would be seed funds to create a similar program for another generation of students to train at the Center. It is not about Dr Yang really at all; he is creating this Center for others.

Dr Yang has one chance in his remaining lifetime to fully transmit his knowledge to a group of dedicated students. That is his goal here. He feels he has been unable to do so in his previous efforts in other training situations, and was compelled to create this Center so students could immerse themselves in study for 10 years as it was done until a couple generations ago when the traditional arts began to fade. So this is not about money, it is about learning.

You may not realize but this this lineage and method of teaching the traditional arts is almost extinct on Earth. We are trying to preserve something very important here.

Dr Yang has said all along since the start of this program, that if he could successfully get even 5 students established for the first five years with a very solid foundation of training, he'd be happy, and would open the program up to others. So the first five years of progress are especially critical.

It is expected that some disciples will quit. They are running up a mountain with 50 lb backpacks. The training is beyond difficult. We are prepared for not everyone to make it. But some will, and they will become excellent teachers.

It is a fact of life that 17-22 year old young men will be distracted by young women. They all sleep and live in one cabin together. Right now, it is just not a good idea for the program to be co-ed. If we had the funds for a separate living quarters for women, it would be much more feasible.

I am sorry Robin that you have that anger regarding this program, and I hope this helps to clarify the situation.

We are announcing the last chance to apply to become a disciple of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and a student of the YMAA Retreat Center. TRANSLATION: MIKE DIMEGLIO WAS SUDDENLY ENLIGHTENED AND SAW THROUGH YANG'S SHAM AND WOULDN'T STAND FOR IT ANY LONGER.

After this applicant pool, there will be no more students accepted into the program. TRANSLATION: UNLESS OF COURSE ANOTHER PRECIOUS DISCIPLE IS SUDDENLY ILLUMINED AND DECIDES THAT YANG IS FULL OF BS AND QUITS LIKE MIKE. IN THAT CASE WE WILL HAVE TO GO FISHING FOR ANOTHER REPLACEMENT.

Do you have a love and unending passion for martial arts? TRANSLATION: ARE YOU GULLIBLE AND NAIVE AND WANNA BE A SHAOLIN NINJA?

Do you have the desire to learn from a world-renowned master? TRANSLATION: DO YOU HAVE THE DESIRE TO GIVE ALL YOUR MONEY TO YANG, WHO WILL TEACH YOU JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP YOU HOOKED FOR LIFE WHILE HE EMPTIES OUT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT?

Do you have high self-discipline, dedication, perseverance, loyalty, and spirit to train for the next 9 years? TRANSLATION: ARE YOU SO FULL OF YOURSELF AND TOTALLY CLUELESS TO BELIEVE THAT YANG WILL REALLY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU FOR 10 WHOLE YEARS?

If this is you, and you are between the ages of 17-22, apply ASAP for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train directly under Dr. Yang.
TRANSLATION: IF YOU BELIEVE IN YANG'S EMPTY PROMISES THEN YOU DESERVE TO BE RIPPED OFF BY HIM.

This is a 9-year intensive training program meant only for the most dedicated of martial arts students. TRANSLATION: WELL IT USED TO BE 10 YEARS, BUT WHEN MIKE LEFT, THE TRAINING WAS SUDDENLY SHORTENED TO 9 YEARS, SINCE YANG DOES NOT WANT TO FURTHER POSTPONE HIS COMFY WELL-FUNDED RETIREMENT. OF COURSE DON'T FORGET THAT THE NEW GRASSHOPPER WILL HAVE TO PAY UP FRONT FOR THE FULL TEN-YEARS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOW OFFICIALLY ONLY A 9-YEAR PROGRAM!

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET IN LINE KUNG-FU GEEKS!
OH YEAH, AND NO GIRLS PLEASE! GIRLS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO BECOME YANG'S DISCIPLES BECAUSE:
(1) THEY WILL ONLY DISTRACT THE MALE DISCIPLES
(2) THEY ARE NOT PHYSICALLY SUITED FOR THIS SO-CALLED SPECIAL TRAINING
(3) THEY ARE NOT AS GULLIBLE AS THE MALE DISCIPLES
(4) THEY CANNOT BE MANIPULATED AS EASILY AS THE MALE DISCIPLES
(5) THEY HAVE TIGHTER FAMILY TIES AND THAT MAKES THEM HARDER TO FOOL

BUT WHAT THE HELL, YANG WILL EVENTUALLY ACCEPT WOMEN DISCIPLES WHEN ALL THE MALE DISCIPLES CALL IT QUITS. WATCH AND SEE, ONE MALE DISCIPLE WILL ABANDON YANG EVERY YEAR, AND EVERY YEAR A NEW DISCIPLE WILL JOIN FOR A 9-YEAR TRAINING PROGRAM, THEN FOR 8 YEARS, THE FOR 7, THEN FOR 6. OF COURSE AT THE 5 YEAR POINT A MAJOR NEW ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE MADE TO ENTICE WANNA-BE DISCIPLES WITH THE VERY LAST CHANCE TO SPEND 5 YEARS WITH YANG BEFORE HE RETIRES COMFORTABLY.