Responsibility to Society.

[Trent]

True story:

I went to the annual meeting of the National Assoc of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA) two years ago. One of the keynote speakers runs a very successful dojo and has created some popular kids' MA programs. She related a story about driving up to her school one day a few years ago to find it swarming with federal agents. Inadvertantly, her school had trained one of the 9/11 hijackers.

How do you think she felt?

If the FBI, CIA, and NSA didn't know he was a terrorist when he was taking martial arts how was she supposed to know?

 

[Flatlander]

You guys all have made some really thoughtful posts here. The thread died for acouple of days, and made the big come back.

Trent - that is exactly the scenario I was thinking of when I started the thread.
See, as many of you know, I' merely a student yet, though I very much intend to teach one day. I have trained with others in my group that I thought didn't really fit the bill of "upstanding member of society", but who am I to judge.

A lot of my recent training (privates) has been exclusively knife work.

Recently, a security guard friend of mine related a story about a guard at a local mall who had been stabbed in the face by a hooligan. Another guard (with zero MA training), managed to disarm and arrest the thug. I happen to know that guard, so it hit home. And I said "Gee, it's a good thing the thug didn't know how to use that knife!"

Where I'm going with this is, how responsible should I feel had I been the one to train someone who hurts or kills someone else for strictly "evil" reasons? Have I "enabled" them?

Yeah, I read above that they don't need martial arts to commit assault, but it sure makes it alot more efficient, doesn't it?

It just got me thinking, as I am wont to do, and was curious as to your thoughts.

Thanks Guys!

Dan

 

[Trent]

My thoughts are that there is individual responsiblity for everything. That does extend to who you teach, but your reasons to teach whomever you like are your own. Simply because others don't understand is not any reason at all to control interactions between people.