What happened to Chris?
During this period after Brad joined, Chris began to go missing quite a lot. At first there were a lot of "I don't know's" about his condition. Then he might have been busy with school or his life.
After awhile, there was open talk of what his status was. As I have said before, the class was not a kung fu class where you paid and attended as you saw fit. If you joined the group, you were expected to be there every week and on time. If you were not going to be there, you needed to call someone and provide an excuse.
Chris not attending class was like open defiance of Mike's authority. That could not be tolerated. At some point, I think Mike said something to the effect that Chris was not coming back.
That was truly a stunning thing to happen. I believe it stunned everyone, not just me. When Arol and Tim left, everyone else wanted them to go. When Jeff's friend left, no one really cared because no one really knew him. And possibly because they were a party to the game Mike was playing with the man.
For Chris, who we had all been told was #3 after Jeff and Lonnie, to voluntarily walk away from the very rare Yin Fu Ba Gua style was impossible to accept. Finding someone who could teach this style at the time was difficult. Having access to someone with skill like Mike is not something to be taken lightly.
Chris did have skill. I had seen him prove he had a basic understanding of the real ideas behind kung fu. Full body power etc. For him, being an early 20 something kid to think he had learned it all and was walking away seemed like the most foolish decision in the world.
Nevertheless, that is what happened. Chris just sort of faded away like a ghost. Never to be spoken of or referred to again. He was never very friendly and I had never trusted him after he slammed me. Still. He was part of the group and to see him drift off like that, without a word of goodbye to anyone, was sad.
I personally think that Chris had an attitude similar to Brad's. Only so much was taught in the Sunday classes and that was it. After a short period of time, there was really no reason to go to class except to meet people and listen to Mike talk.
I have always wondered if, after Brad and his attitude came to class, he and Chris reinforced each others attitude that they had it all and didn't need anything from anybody.
Because there are no coincidences in the world, I cannot accept that Brad and his selfish attitude joined the group, and within a short time period, Chris made the decision to leave.
I was also left with a question in my mind after Chris left. Did he know something about Mike or the group that I did not? What could he possibly know about Mike or the group that would be so disagreeable that he would voluntarily leave?
After awhile, there was open talk of what his status was. As I have said before, the class was not a kung fu class where you paid and attended as you saw fit. If you joined the group, you were expected to be there every week and on time. If you were not going to be there, you needed to call someone and provide an excuse.
Chris not attending class was like open defiance of Mike's authority. That could not be tolerated. At some point, I think Mike said something to the effect that Chris was not coming back.
That was truly a stunning thing to happen. I believe it stunned everyone, not just me. When Arol and Tim left, everyone else wanted them to go. When Jeff's friend left, no one really cared because no one really knew him. And possibly because they were a party to the game Mike was playing with the man.
For Chris, who we had all been told was #3 after Jeff and Lonnie, to voluntarily walk away from the very rare Yin Fu Ba Gua style was impossible to accept. Finding someone who could teach this style at the time was difficult. Having access to someone with skill like Mike is not something to be taken lightly.
Chris did have skill. I had seen him prove he had a basic understanding of the real ideas behind kung fu. Full body power etc. For him, being an early 20 something kid to think he had learned it all and was walking away seemed like the most foolish decision in the world.
Nevertheless, that is what happened. Chris just sort of faded away like a ghost. Never to be spoken of or referred to again. He was never very friendly and I had never trusted him after he slammed me. Still. He was part of the group and to see him drift off like that, without a word of goodbye to anyone, was sad.
I personally think that Chris had an attitude similar to Brad's. Only so much was taught in the Sunday classes and that was it. After a short period of time, there was really no reason to go to class except to meet people and listen to Mike talk.
I have always wondered if, after Brad and his attitude came to class, he and Chris reinforced each others attitude that they had it all and didn't need anything from anybody.
Because there are no coincidences in the world, I cannot accept that Brad and his selfish attitude joined the group, and within a short time period, Chris made the decision to leave.
I was also left with a question in my mind after Chris left. Did he know something about Mike or the group that I did not? What could he possibly know about Mike or the group that would be so disagreeable that he would voluntarily leave?
posted by Happeh at 12:34 PM
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