Contrast

Two recent headlines concerning martial arts that I have to bring attention to …

The first is a good story. This story is about a would-be carjacker who tried to steal a van. The van was filled with Judo students in town to teach a seminar. The students made sure the man stuck around until the police arrived.

The second is a bad story, which happened near Atlanta. A self-described sixteen year old “kick boxer” decided to show his stuff to a fifteen year old classmate by kicking him … repeatedly. The victim is now in intensive care and the “kick boxer” is in jail. There is the possibility that the “kick boxer” will be tried as an adult.

The judo students knew how and when to apply their art. If you read the story, you will see that they did not immediately start beating up the carjacker until he initiated the fight. By all accounts, the “kick boxer” was the only person throwing blows, kicking his victim even after he was obviously on the ground and disabled.

I’m glad the local news is referring to this sixteen year old punk as a “kick boxer” instead of a “martial artist” … a “martial artist” knows that physical combat is the last resort in any encounter. Period. Kicking people in the head is a hobby … it’s for sport. You have to change our attitude when you take to the streets, or bad things happen.

I hope this kid has already been expelled from whatever school he trains at. I’d also be curious to see if he will be able to handle a real fight instead of beating kids at random. Prison may change his outlook on the application of physical force.


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One response to “Contrast”

  1. kat Avatar

    Frighteningly enough, Sean and I saw the story about the judo students on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Talk about an odd place to be getting real news from.

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