http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/14053434/detail.html

My neck of the woods.

I remember my friend's Shorin-Ryu instructor used to use a bamboo stick to "correct" stances - in the adult class. Never with kids. Poor judgement, IMHO.

Now the parents of the boy are going to "hit" the instructor with a lawsuit. Ah.....the American way.

Until more facts come out about the level of bruising, I'm going to assume the teacher resorted to what he considered appropriate and was a known corrective measure in the school.

This is the result of the current 'identity crisis' of martial arts in the USA. Is it childcare? Is it martial?

'According to a police report, the mother of the boy said her son had problems respecting his parents, so she asked the instructor at Tony's Fitness to help her son learn to respect his elders.'

I agree. It probably was poor judgement on the instructor to hit the boy, but this isn't basket weaving either. And the mother asked the instructor to do something. I think felony child abuse it way to severe. Like Matt said, you gotta love the american way.

And this gets me started on the problem with kids nowadays. They don't have respect for adults or anyone for that matter and could use a good spanking. They fear noone and think they can get away with whatever because the punishment won't be severe.

The lawsuit is ridiculous. If you ask an instructor to help to teach your child discipline and you have a problem with the method, pull him/her aside, discuss it with them, make what ever changes you need to, then continue on. To sue someone for doing something you asked them to do is a bit ludicrous.

Occasionally, when I am instructing, I may use push ups to help discipline students but in this day and age, striking a student for discpline, just isnt very smart. My instructor used to pop us regularly but different time, different age. Nowadays, you breath on a student too hard and it is a lawsuit. Kind of hard to teach real self defense if the student is afraid of getting hit. Just my opinion.

Scottie

Mainly single moms have asked me to do the same thing. Years ago I would try to help them. Now my answer is much more blunt. Can some of you gentle old timers translate "Ma'am your child has no respect for you? I can't fix in three hours a week what it took you a seven years to screw up." into diplomatic speak?

This fellow has my support too. Probably shouldn't have broken out the stick until the mom was cool with it. The kid needed discipline but the mom doesn't love him enough to make sure it's done.

Quote:

---

Can some of you gentle old timers translate "Ma'am your child has no respect for you? I can't fix in three hours a week what it took you a seven years to screw up." into diplomatic speak?

---

I've had that conversation with a few parents. It went something like, " well, I can teach him discipline and respect in the school. Eventually that tends to overflow into their everyday life. But, it won't be an extreme change at home unless the principles we teach him/her are reinforced by you at home. If you want some suggestions, we can set a time up to discuss it." - something like that.

Hello Oldman:

I weep for any who passed through his doors, and tragically stayed! He has no business teaching children... hitting a child with a shinai... for any reason (unless you are a kendo school) is very much criminal IMHO!

If adults want to submit to that kind of foolish abuse, they can make the choice. But a child.... EVEN worse is the idiocy of the parent(s) to LEAVE their son with the man, and NOT having watched multiple times, to know his methods/approach... not watching during his class (regardless of the boys age) is an invitation for trouble

Jeff

THe parent asked for the help. And there was no other cases up until this one. So you think it is his common practice to hit the kid if they make a mistake?

I think the mother is just at fualt as the instructor.

I am close to this situation and I know that this 7 year old boy was struck multiple times with the shinai--he had a total of 26 bruises and welts on his body. Also, the boy was sent to time-out at school that day--not what I would consider a major discipline problem. The mother called the instructor intially to say that her son would not be in class that night because she was taking that privilege away.
The instructor told the mother she should bring her son, but that he would have a hard practice, and that he would talk to her son about the situation.
This boy had been going to this academy for 10 months. The mother had sat in on MANY practices, felt that her son was in safe hands. This instructor even lives in the same neighborhood as this family--their kids were friends with each other. The student had spent time with the instructor and his family outside of class.
I understand that martial arts is a very strict discipline focusing on self-control and respect, I believe that this instructor lost control and took it out on a child.
By the way, when this case was reported to the police it was then put in the prosecution's hands--not the boy's family's. Child abuse is classified as a FELONY no matter how minimal or severe.