by Steve James on Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:23 am
Ime, a baishi was a public commitment made by a student to the teacher. It was like becoming a son, and with it came the duties of being a son. I.e., you are responsible for maintaining your master as well as his martial tradition.
Someone can learn from several teachers, decide to teach his own version, and quite legitimately --imo-- take disciples. The question is whether it means anything. Dan Inosanto is a disciple of Bruce Lee, but probably never baishied. Is Inosanto qualified to teach?
However, the issue of money affects the whole idea of discipleship in the west. If you have the money to go to a master, it's possible to pay enough to get baishied, especially if you're going to leave. This has nothing to do with the acquisition of skill or sincerity. But, ime, the truest teaching is given, and can't be bought.
Any given master might have a son who wants nothing to do with martial arts. Then there's a guy who knocks on the door every day begging to be taught, but hasn't got a cent. Otoh, there's a guy who calls and says that he's willing to pay a large sum for lessons. I think there'll be differences in the teaching and the learning that have nothing to do with payment.
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."