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Old 11-20-2008, 09:16 AM   #59
mathewjgano
 
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Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,276
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Re: YouTube: Aikido in a real street fight.

Great posts folks!

Quote:
As a result, waiting for fully developed attacks to establish themselves, as is most often done in Kihon Waza training, in non-controlled environments, not only means you are way late, but that you were ignorant of a whole lot of cues you should have picked up on but didn't. From this point of view, while his resistance seemed "passive" it contained within it a lot of aggressive behavior.
I agree with your point about waiting too long. Aikido as I understand it implies constant proactive behavio. I also think the suspect displayed some aggressive signs of personality/intent...not to mention, assuming he did just get out of a fight, his aggression was probably greater than it would be in a normal state. These are dangerous signs in my very limited experience, so i can see why a cop would take them even more seriously.
For me it comes down to how much information the cop had. If there were a bunch of witnesses who ID'd the suspect as having been in a crime and he didn't comply, the take down seems warranted to me. If all it was was some guy calling the police and pointing the finger, I don't think it was warranted. More discussion should have taken place if that were the case...and maybe the first officer at the scene already tried that. My general view of the police is they should assume everyone is dangerous, unpredictable, and absolutely innocent until proven guilty.
Cops have a tough job. I also believe they should be held to the highest standards. The sad, but necessary result of those ideas is that cops start out with a certain disadvantage...which is why they should ALWAYS work in groups of 2 or more in my opinion. Just as I must use the whole of my resources to overpower someone stronger than me, cops must really utilize their resources. And these days they're not only fighting crime, but the increasingly negative perceptions of society at large and that is far more dangerous in the long run...in my opinion. Because it takes respectful and compliant people and makes them contemptuous and non-compliant.
Take care,
Matt

Gambarimashyo!
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