" 

 :(I have separated this from the previous topic because, although it is related, it deserves it's own section.) 
 :As a former student of the Soard's, and also someone who has some reservations about both the claims of the lineage and of the group of schools that have risen up, I thought I might add some perspective.  My comments are anecdotal, but so are yours. 

 :The method used by the Soard's in talking about their Grandmaster was to mythologize him.  Stories that were entertaining (but were repeated over and over again) were told to the students about his life and exploits, especially during the so-called ""festivals,"" which were, IMHO, a way to garner more money from the students since any student that wanted to advance to blackbelt had to complete all the standard festivals and be tested, as well.  Brownbelts had similar requirements, although I don't remember specifically, as I only advanced to 3rd brown before leaving America shortly thereafter.  It was clear that this was a ""for profit"" business - from the sale of weapons, traditional medicines like oils and balms, and books, to the festivals and, during festivals taught by Mr. Sin, signed photographs (of Mr. Sin) suitable for framing were sometimes sold.  The Soards, especially David, are animated story-tellers and seemed to enjoy telling of certain events from Sin The's life, such as the time he was in a street fight in Bandung and, being too cocky, was slashed by a poisoned blade, which his master cured him of; or the time a wandering T'ai Chi master came wandering through and trounced every challenger without breaking a sweat, including Sin The's senior and himself, AT WHICH POINT, Mr. Ie decided to teach them T'ai Chi...Whether or not they believe in the stories they tell doesn't matter - they tell them as fact.  They do not hide the controversial nature of his position as grandmaster, however.  On the contrary, they announce it. 

 :Supposedly, Mr. Sin has a brother in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, who was also a student of Mr. Ie -albeit not as gifted.  Perhaps that is the 2nd surviving practitioner of what Mr. Ie taught (the article says there were two, but only mentions Mr. Sin). 

 :Your argument about him not being Chinese doesn't hold water, and he wouldn't necessarily have had to have spoken Mandarin in order to be able to study this art, unless somehow language and accent suddenly impact such skills...?  Are you less Chinese because you lived in Kentucky?  I think not.  Unless he grew up in Bandung and lived in isolation from the Sundanese whose city it is, as well as Betawians and Javanese who are there in large numbers, - only communicating with the substantial Chinese population there - it isn't questionable at all that he doesn't have a Chinese accent.  People who mix with a local population tend to take on that populations accent after a time.  Try it for yourself and you'll see.  People listening to me speaking Indonesian know that I spent a substantial amount of time in Semarang. 

 :I have spent the last 10 years in Indonesia, and there are MANY Chinese here.  A large portion of them are no more skilled at speaking Mandarin (or any other Chinese language) than am I (which is to say hardly anything comes out that is Chinese). In fact, it would be a very difficult task indeed to find a Javanese, Sundanese, Betawian or Sumatran person who didn't have some Chinese lineage, not to mention many of the other ethinicities here that are mixed with Chinese DNA.  The Chinese community was insular, but they didn't prohibit mingles with the locals - it was necessary and the Chinese were very skilled at business and trading - which is one of the things (at least a thousand years before the so-called Cultural Revolution in China - Tiong Hoa) that kept them coming back to Indonesia.  Indeed, you can go to several places in Indonesia that memorialize the long-term Chinese presence here, such as Sam Poo Kong temple in Semarang, which has a large stone mural depicting the arrival of a famous Chinese Admiral, Zheng He alias Sam Poo Tay Djien, and how he interacted with the people there, arriving first in Malacca in 1409.  A book written about the Pencak Silat (Martial Arts of Indonesia) admits the probability of Chinese influence over many of the forms and styles here (and there are MANY indeed if that book shows even a fraction of them).  It is well known that Chinese martial artists who didn't agree to comply with the dictates of the Communists were imprisoned, and many chose to flee to other countries, including this one (Indonesia). 

 :So, what is the relationship between his lingual abilities and his country of origin - even if he is (or isn't) of Chinese descent?  These are tenuous reasons to naysay.  I have also demonstrated a longstanding relationship between China and Indonesia (amongst several other countries), which became a problem in 1998 during the uprising i