Memories of my youth brought up during private communication with another contributor brought this to the surface and it sparked my curiosity. I went to a very small college (600 undergraduates). I was from the Washington D.C suburbs and used to relative anonymity. After I had joined the schools Karate club, the president of the club decided to hold a demonstration. I had trained in a very disciplined and focused tradition and I guess it was noticeable to the audience. (I held Jun Bi and didn't look around while other members kind of let their attention wander for example). I somehow got the reputation as being the guy from the Karate club and met with occasional unusual reactions. One classmate was afraid that I would beat him up after he dated a girl I had dated (not an exclusive relationship even). I had to quietly reassure him that I didn't operate that way. It was my first awareness that the public in general had very distorted perceptions as to what it meant to be a Martial Artist. Does anyone else have similar experiences? What do other members feel the current perception of Martial Arts is among the lay population?