Martial Arts and the Law

[rdonovan1]

I'm just wondering as to how many people here believe that congress should ban the martial arts completely.

I'm sure that you've all heard the stories about the martial arts and I'm sure that you all know the general perception by lawmakers and the government of the martial arts and anyone that has anything to do with it at all. In the eyes of the lawmakers the martial arts and anyone who has anything to do with it should be banned because in their opinion the martial arts are dangerous and anyone that chooses to associate with the martial arts is just as dangerous and bad as Al Capone or Ted Bundy.

Should in your opinion the government ban the martial arts and set forth laws making it a crime or should it be promoted as a character builder.

 

[David43515]

Lots of places have tried, but you can`t put the genie back in the bottle. Once knowledge is out there, it`s out there to stay.

 

[Blindside]

I'm just wondering as to how many people here believe that congress should ban the martial arts completely.

I'm sure that you've all heard the stories about the martial arts and I'm sure that you all know the general perception by lawmakers and the government of the martial arts and anyone that has anything to do with it at all. In the eyes of the lawmakers the martial arts and anyone who has anything to do with it should be banned because in their opinion the martial arts are dangerous and anyone that chooses to associate with the martial arts is just as dangerous and bad as Al Capone or Ted Bundy.

Should in your opinion the government ban the martial arts and set forth laws making it a crime or should it be promoted as a character builder.

I think your perception of the "general perception by lawmakers" is flawed. I'd also dispute that the primary focus of martial arts should be about character building.

 

[rdonovan1]

Lots of places have tried, but you can`t put the genie back in the bottle. Once knowledge is out there, it`s out there to stay.

Lawmakers in the United States generally believe that the martial arts are bad and that anyone who is associated with the martial arts is nothing but a menace to society and that they should be locked up. That is and has been their position on the subject for a long time as they tend to believe what they see in the movies and what Hollywood says about the martial arts and anyone associated with the martial arts.

Lawmakers like most people tend to believe in the stereotypes and they generally don't want to hear anything else.

 

[rdonovan1]

I think your perception of the "general perception by lawmakers" is flawed. I'd also dispute that the primary focus of martial arts should be about character building.

What you just said in the last sentence is why lawmakers perceive the martial arts as bad. They get their information from Hollywood and as far as they are concerned Hollywood is right and you are wrong.

There have also been a lot of newspaper articles and other incidents that have occured that have lead lawmakers to come to this conclusion and I seriously doubt that you are going to prove them wrong. What evidence can you offer to lawmakers that could change their minds and that could make them believe that the martial arts is nothing more than a bunch of hooligans and roughnecks out to create problems for society and for the government?

One example of this belief that lawmakers have is the passing of laws in States like California making it illegal to buy, own or to even possess something like Nunchuku. Throwing stars are also outlawed in many localities as well. The government believes that stuff is associated with gang activity because of movies like 'The Warriors' and all of the other martial arts or gang related movies and because law enforcement has often found these types of weapons being used in gang fights in the possession of gangsters when they are arrested.

The government like most people are assuming and stereotyping and they like most people are not likely to give up those perceptions very easily if at all.

 

[David43515]

Lawmakers in the United States generally believe that the martial arts are bad and that anyone who is associated with the martial arts is nothing but a menace to society and that they should be locked up. That is and has been their position on the subject for a long time as they tend to believe what they see in the movies and what Hollywood says about the martial arts and anyone associated with the martial arts.

Lawmakers like most people tend to believe in the stereotypes and they generally don't want to hear anything else.

Funny, I thought that between Chuck Norris and Pat Morita most Hollywood MA movies showed the martial artist as the good guy. Heck, my wife used "Mulan" as part of a young womens` workshop she did at Church camp because it had such posative images of confident women.

Did you know that Jhoon Rhee used to teach TKD to several members of the House of Representatives and the US Senate when he lived in D.C.? I`m sure that several others have kids or grand kids involved in the arts.

You can`t seriously think that there`s any single issue that the vast majority of lawmakers agree on. (Besides wanting to be reelected of course.) Look at the voting record of the individual and the bills he or she has proposed or supported. That`s the only way you`ll know what any of them are thinking. You`ll never succeed in finding out what "all"of them are thinking.

Just out of curiosity, what made you think that the majority of lawmakers are against MA anyway? Did you see something in the news or have some kind of personal experiance with one who was?

 

[K-man]

I'm just wondering as to how many people here believe that congress should ban the martial arts completely.

I can't believe this to be a serious question. In a country that allows you to carry guns and knives, you would even consider it illegal to fight with your hands?
I'm sure I saw a big can of troll spray on another thread!!

 

[Blade96]

I believe anyone who wants to ban martial arts isnt understanding martial arts.

ah well - maybe i should go register my knife hand as a deadly weapon.

 

[seasoned]

Ban the Martial Arts? More unemployment and loss of tax revenue? Maybe, but I don't think so.

 

[rdonovan1]

I really couldn't care as to whether they do or not anymore because many people have pointed out to me on this forum that if someone like the Bloods, Crips, GKB gang or the Hell's Angels were to come up to you and demand either your money or your life most people on this forum would simply tell them to take their life instead of their money.

Based upon what people have said to me on this forum I really don't believe that anyone is really serious about the martial arts or any of the concepts of self defense to begin with as it is just easier to give in and to give up than it is to stand up and to fight for what you believe in and for what you believe to be right and there is certainly no shortage of The Bloods, Crips, GKB gang or Hell's Angels.

Many of them have been in prison or jail before and most of them really couldn't care less as whether they go back to jail or not.

I've tried to emphasize the importance of positive thinking and of standing up for yourself and your beliefs and to even defend yourself physically, verbally, mentally, emtionally, or even psychically, but instead of it being accepted and welcomed it has been criticized.

That kind of thinking only adds more fuel to the fire for lawmakers to want to ban the martial arts altogether. Unless it makes them money, then why should the lawmakers give two hoots and a holler about the martial arts. All the politicians care about is themselves and as to how much money they can make off of something.

That's been going on for years and it's the reason why so many people tend to think that politicians are corrupt.

I don't know about anyone else here, but I sure as heck would love to have a job where I could just simply vote myself a higher salary everytime that I wanted to. That would certainly be a lot easier than working your butt off somewhere for minimum wage just so that the owner of the company can get richer while you get poorer.

If the government passes this stimulus bill, then you can surely expect your taxes to go up to pay for it. At the rate that the government is going there won't be much of a government left as they are going broke faster than they can make it up and that's why they are always attacking the programs that are supposed to help the people as they figure that the people can afford to pay for their screw ups and mistakes.

I've seen the same thing with large corporations as well. In this new bill it is proposed that big corporations can contribute to campaign funds for political candidates.

If we thought that it was annoying right now to try to get good customer service from a corporation then it is only going to get worse after this bill passes as more and more companies are going to figure that they can just count on the government for their money instead of the money that you might spend to make your life better and easier.

I don't know about anyone else here, but I for one am one of the people that have been on the receiving end of poor customer service by a company or by the government. To them you are nothing but a number and not a human being at all. I've seen tech companies for example that will often keep you on hold for over an hour just so that you can get any kind of technical support or assistance from them at all and I've seen some companies that won't even tell you their phone number.

I've also seen this with the government as well.

I don't know about anyone else, but I for one appreciate it when a company that I do business with treats me like a human being instead of a number and does what they can to assist me with any problems or concerns that I may have. That to me is just good business and that is something that the government and most large corporations could take the time to learn if they had half a mind to do so.

If I had my way then we would not only see more law enforcement officers out on the street, but we would also have more support from the government and from businesses in combating crime. That's if it were up to me, but unfortunately it's not.

 

[Stac3y]

Considering that one of the black belts in my club is a judge...

 

[rdonovan1]

Considering that one of the black belts in my club is a judge...

I hope that your friend is one of the types of judges that believes in prosecuting criminals to the full extent of the law.

I don't know about you, but I for one don't like the idea of criminals like The Bloods, Crips, GKB gang and Hell's Angels and others like them running around loose like I have seen them.

My philosophy regarding groups like that is it's either him or me and I'm determined to win using any tactic or technique that I can to win the fight because I have seen it way too often and I know what they are capable of.

When I'm not trying to find ways of protecting and defending myself I like to try to find ways of making new friends that I know are honest, trustworthy and reliable and given the choice I will walk away from a fight if I can, but if I am forced to fight then I will and I will use anything and everything at my disposal to win the fight.

 

[Steve]

I haven't heard of any pending legislation or bills that address Martial Arts. Can you point us to these? This sounds like fiction to me. Which "lawmakers?" I'm going to need some specifics before I can even begin to have an opinion on this. Or at least, to change my current opinion that this is paranoia combined with an overactive imagination.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I have to echo what Stevebjj is saying.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Lawmakers in the United States generally believe that the martial arts are bad and that anyone who is associated with the martial arts is nothing but a menace to society and that they should be locked up. That is and has been their position on the subject for a long time as they tend to believe what they see in the movies and what Hollywood says about the martial arts and anyone associated with the martial arts.

Lawmakers like most people tend to believe in the stereotypes and they generally don't want to hear anything else.

umm.. you really need to give a source to support that one because this is not my expereince at all

I haven't heard of any pending legislation or bills that address Martial Arts. Can you point us to these? This sounds like fiction to me. Which "lawmakers?" I'm going to need some specifics before I can even begin to have an opinion on this. Or at least, to change my current opinion that this is paranoia combined with an overactive imagination.

I have to echo what Stevebjj is saying.

I agree with Brian and I third what stevenbjj said

 

[CoryKS]

I'm just wondering as to how many people here believe that congress should ban the martial arts completely.

I'm sure that you've all heard the stories about the martial arts and I'm sure that you all know the general perception by lawmakers and the government of the martial arts and anyone that has anything to do with it at all. In the eyes of the lawmakers the martial arts and anyone who has anything to do with it should be banned because in their opinion the martial arts are dangerous and anyone that chooses to associate with the martial arts is just as dangerous and bad as Al Capone or Ted Bundy.

Should in your opinion the government ban the martial arts and set forth laws making it a crime or should it be promoted as a character builder.

I am intrigued and can you tell me how to apply this to the dating, mating, and relating world.

 

[Steve]

For the hell of it, I did a quick search over at Thomas.gov to see whether there is a bill mentioning martial arts. Turns out, there is one. HR 1303, which is a bill to reduce the number of gun related crimes in high crime areas.

Martial arts are mentioned as one of 11 different after school programs supported in the section entitled (ironically enough): Educational and Recreational Alternatives to Violence Programs. Joining MA are other activities such as sports/athletics, nutrition classes, parenting classes and music/dance classes.

 

[rdonovan1]

I haven't heard of any pending legislation or bills that address Martial Arts. Can you point us to these? This sounds like fiction to me. Which "lawmakers?" I'm going to need some specifics before I can even begin to have an opinion on this. Or at least, to change my current opinion that this is paranoia combined with an overactive imagination.

I'm surprised that you don't know anything about this as I kind of figured that everyone on this forum knew everything already.

 

[Xue Sheng]

For the hell of it, I did a quick search over at Thomas.gov to see whether there is a bill mentioning martial arts. Turns out, there is one. HR 1303, which is a bill to reduce the number of gun related crimes in high crime areas.

Martial arts are mentioned as one of 11 different after school programs supported in the section entitled (ironically enough): Educational and Recreational Alternatives to Violence Programs. Joining MA are other activities such as sports/athletics, nutrition classes, parenting classes and music/dance classes.

DAMN ERA!!!! say it ain't so.. the government IS....ummm...well.... hey.... wait a minute.... that's a good thing....isn't it

 

[CoryKS]

For the hell of it, I did a quick search over at Thomas.gov to see whether there is a bill mentioning martial arts. Turns out, there is one. HR 1303, which is a bill to reduce the number of gun related crimes in high crime areas.

Martial arts are mentioned as one of 11 different after school programs supported in the section entitled (ironically enough): Educational and Recreational Alternatives to Violence Programs. Joining MA are other activities such as sports/athletics, nutrition classes, parenting classes and music/dance classes.

wtf?

"Hey Jake, you wanna go kick somebody's ***?"

"Can't, man. Gonna go learn about the food pyramid."