Violence In The FMAs

[billc]

On the issue of training people in knifework, two incidents just in the news. A bride in her wedding dress was found stabbed to death in her bath tub, they are looking for the new husband. Four Guardian Angels here in chicago were stabbed as they tried to apprehend a man who stole an I-pod. They caught the guy and I don't think any of them were seriously hurt. This is my point on knife training. You don't need any training in knife work to hurt or kill people with a knife. I think if the student meets your trust level you should teach knife skills, if only to preserve them for the art. It would be a shame to loose those hard won skills because people stop teaching them. Our friends in the Japanese sword arts may be facing the loss of whole styles of swordsmanship because of their refusal to teach portions of their arts until students have committed to decades of training in the basics. I know of one high level instructor who trained in Japan who after decades of training, still hasn't been taught the entire system because of the standards of the Koryu. What a shame, that will turn into quite a loss.