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Old 01-19-2014, 05:13 PM   #48
Chris Li
 
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Dojo: Aikido Sangenkai
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 3,313
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Re: Banned from Aikido...

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
I'm not sure that's true. Mutual consent is irrelevant -- you cannot consent to assault in the United States. There is a specific exception for sporting events such as boxing, but I question if it extends to unregulated "hey let's get together and punch each other" behavior. That comes awfully close to "hey let's walk out behind this bar and punch each other", and that's definitely not legal.
Well, people have matches all the time in private venues - MMA schools, for example, and it's certainly legal. Of course, there are tussles that go beyond that, but I think that automatically assuming that it's illegal would be mistaken.

FWIW - this kind of thing goes on all the time, I've seen it, I've even done it, and it's generally harmless. Ueshiba did it, Tohei did it, Shioda did it. Maybe it's not such a horrible offense after all...

Best,

Chris

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