Scandals in Taekwondo and the Martial art world

[Markku P]

I have been really depressed lately. First came the Aaron Cook Scandal where in England they didn’t choose the number 1 fighter to participate in the Olympic Games in London 2012.

My personal view is that Taekwondo GB is corrupt and they are lying about their reasons why they didn’t select Mr Cook. I believe that the only reason that Mr Cook left their team is because he could be more successful without them. I have lost all of my respect toward them and I hope they don’t get any medals. (I will cheer on Finland, Sweden and France).

I don’t have anything against taekwondo in the UK, I have many friends over there; I just feel that their “project Taekwondo GB” has done more harm than good.

Now we come to a big scandal and it comes from the USA and one of the leading people from the martial arts business industry.
A few days ago Master Steve LaVallee committed suicide and that was a big shock. Then out came the rumours about sexual molestations and police investigations.

Well, short story, it looks like Mr Lavallee has been molesting children a long time but now the truth has only just come out (we still don’t know all the facts).
For me, this was a big surprise. I have met him twice and I know that the whole industry has looked up to him. He was a really good teacher and a great business man and he had wife and children and I really feel sorry for his family (and his victims of course).

Now what I am thinking, why have the Educational Funding Company (EFC) not made any public statements about this? They have just made a statement about how great he was and how much he will be missed. Mr LaVallee has been involved with ECF for the last 30 years if I remember correctly but this is not an excuse.

My question is how many people have known about his past, about how he has molested kids? Why are so many industry leaders quiet right now?
This was big wake up call for me. In Nordic countries we are a little naive. We should be more educated and be aware that this is a big problem. I personally feel that there has to be a zero tolerance against sexual abuse towards kids and women. It is happening, but in many cases we don’t know about it.
In wake of this, I have to make a new policy in my schools and I will publish it quite fast.


Yours,

Markku P.

 

[bugatabugata]

Hi Markku,

Chances are you have a lot more knowledge of what's been going on in TKD than I have, (as your average newbie), but here are my two cents: tkd-ists are human, so you get the run of the gamut -- from decent, law-abiding folks, to jackwagons of all shapes and sizes. Also, TKD, together with most all the other MAs that I'm aware of, has morphed into a for-profit venture, so you get the various fallout from greedy individuals trying to protect their self interest. Doesn't mean that TKD is corrupt. This is just the nature of the game. All MAs are "n degrees of separation" from the Platonic form. That's just because they're practiced by humans.

You know that saying -- "If the world was populated by angels, there's be no need for governments."

 

[terryl965]

Markku it is just not TKD, churches, politician and teachers are being charged with misconduct to childern. The truth is no matter what you do we have predators that get there kicks and jolly from under age kids. If we would be like the old days and go to an eye is an eye, instead of trying to rehap everyone maybe people would think twice about doing this in the world.

I for one would be like the father from Texas take justice in my own hand if that ever happen to any of my childern. The courts could do what they please with me but I would make sure that person never ever had the chance to harm anybody again and **** him living on the my taxes in jail with three sqaure meals a day and tv and all that.

 

[tigycho]

Where there is ready access to victims, you will find more predators than average. Put the authoritarian model of many martial arts schools together with the increasing number of children involved and parents drop-off mentality, and you've created a playground for those with bad intentions.

That's why I totally applaud AAU for their huge policy initiative around child safety that just came out: http://aaunews.org/news/?cat=31

 

[Archtkd]

Markku it is just not TKD, churches, politician and teachers are being charged with misconduct to childern. The truth is no matter what you do we have predators that get there kicks and jolly from under age kids. If we would be like the old days and go to an eye is an eye, instead of trying to rehap everyone maybe people would think twice about doing this in the world.

I for one would be like the father from Texas take justice in my own hand if that ever happen to any of my childern. The courts could do what they please with me but I would make sure that person never ever had the chance to harm anybody again and **** him living on the my taxes in jail with three sqaure meals a day and tv and all that.

Terry: Here's what recently happened to a child predator in your neck of the woods:

"SHINER, Texas — Hearing his 5-year-old daughter crying from behind a barn, a father ran and discovered the unthinkable: A man molesting her. The father pulled the man off his daughter, authorities say, and started pummeling him to death with his fists." Read more --

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/19/father-kills-molester-texas-no-charges_n_1610465.html

 

[Archtkd]

Now we come to a big scandal and it comes from the USA and one of the leading people from the martial arts business industry.
A few days ago Master Steve LaVallee committed suicide and that was a big shock. Then out came the rumours about sexual molestations and police investigations.

Well, short story, it looks like Mr Lavallee has been molesting children a long time but now the truth has only just come out (we still don’t know all the facts).
For me, this was a big surprise. I have met him twice and I know that the whole industry has looked up to him. He was a really good teacher and a great business man and he had wife and children and I really feel sorry for his family (and his victims of course).

Now what I am thinking, why have the Educational Funding Company (EFC) not made any public statements about this? They have just made a statement about how great he was and how much he will be missed. Mr LaVallee has been involved with ECF for the last 30 years if I remember correctly but this is not an excuse.

My question is how many people have known about his past, about how he has molested kids? Why are so many industry leaders quiet right now?
This was big wake up call for me. In Nordic countries we are a little naive. We should be more educated and be aware that this is a big problem. I personally feel that there has to be a zero tolerance against sexual abuse towards kids and women. It is happening, but in many cases we don’t know about it.
In wake of this, I have to make a new policy in my schools and I will publish it quite fast.


Yours,

Markku P.

Apparently, "Many in the martial arts community were long aware of the accusations against LaVallee," according to one martial artist quoted in an article in the Orlando Sentinel. He was referring to instances where two men in New York state alleged LaVallee had molested them when they were teenagers. The cases never went forward because the alleged crimes' statutes of limitation had expired. I doubt the allegations even resulted in an arrest and therein lies the problem. People may have known about the allegations, but there's not much they could do with the information, save maybe talk about it in the inner circles of martial arts. This might have been a case where standard police background checks -- recommended for instructors by some martial arts and children protection organizations -- would not have revealed anytihing. Criminal background checks will only show some arrests and all convictions.