Korean Air Black Belt Challenge?

[arnisador]

What is the Korean Air Black Belt Challenge? It appears to be a Judo or Jiu-Jitsu tournament. Is it related to this story on Korean Airlines having a judo expert on board as a precautionary step against hijackers (this was from a 1970 story)? Does anyone know if they still have judo or other martial arts experts on board their flights?

 

[arnisador]

Does no one know anything of this?

 

[arnisador]

A story on Pakistani sky marshals:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-terrorist-fighters0802aug02.story?null

(Registration required.) Pakistan has unarmed sky marshals on many of its flights. The story focuses on the fact that some of the trainees are female, but mentions that since the marshals are unarmed they undergo 10 months of hand-to-hand combat training. The accompanying picture in my local paper showed one woman in fatigues kicking another.

The first recruits finished a [10-month] martial arts course taught by Pakistani army instructors July 22 and will begin flying in mid-August. Initially, they will be limited to domestic flights, but if the program is successful, officials say the sky marshals may start flying internationally as well.

The instructors said Khan and the other women were held to the same rigorous standards as men during the training, which included martial arts skills developed in Japan and Korea.