You bring up some good points James. I remember my Mom telling me stories of the teachers back then. I also remember my Grandfather, who is a retired Police Officer, telling me stories of how prisoners would get some "jailhouse discipline" when they were being brought in to be booked. Like you said though, the times have changed. You're correct, abuse is often disguised but regardless it is still wrong. I still think that there is a difference between taping a childs mouth and putting a little juice behind a shot to get a point across in a sparring match. Have I added in some juice? Sure, but not with a child. And I certainly did not use that time during sparring to beat the person to a bloody heap either. Some people just dont get the message...does that mean I should keep hitting them harder and harder? If the student didn't get the message, they were done with sparring for the day. If it continued, they were not allowed to spar. Part of the arts is self control. I'd rather see the child do pushups, sit down for a few, etc., than get tape across their mouth. If someone is that unruly, and its causing that much of a disruption in class, their money is not worth the headaches.
Bottom line: This is 2005, not 1900. The times have changed and people need to be aware of that. Abuse and the like, is not tolerated like it was back in the day. That being said, this instructor needs to catch up with the times.
Mike
