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Old 05-26-2006, 02:29 PM   #102
Rocky Izumi
Dojo: GUST Aikido Club
Location: Salwa, Kuwait
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 381
Kuwait
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Re: Religious Restrictions on Training

Just as an aside that I didn't see in this thread:

There is increasing pressure on all groups that unless it is absolutely required, there should be no physical contact of older males with younger females. I noticed this trend as Aikido moved more into the mainstream.

The government of one country wanted to make all organisations that received funding support from the government to require all coaches to be certified through the government. Part of the Level One Coaching course was on touching of females by males during coaching. The course taught that touching should be minimised so that the coach was not implicated in unwanted sexual contact. The course suggested ways to limit physical contact during coaching. You know, it is real difficult trying to teach a kinesthetic activity without touch? I asked about that and was told that touching of females by males should be minimised in all cases (a textbook answer by the instructor). I pressed further and asked about martial arts where contact was required. (The textbook answer again.) I pressed further and the response was that: "Well, sometime you have to be in contact but you should minimise that contact." I guess that is why I don't let my dojos join into any oversight organisations. Sooner or later, some government prick will come along and tell you that you have to do things in a way that is politically correct. That's when I pick up my bokuto and chase them out of the dojo. You can do that when it is a private dojo.

Back to the point.

While I believe that each dojo is the responsibility and under the full authority of the head teacher and that teacher is the teacher at the will of the students, our society is constantly changing and the requirements to be harmonious with the rest of society requires that we sometimes go along with the views of the rest of the society. This is especially so if you end up with some sort of social contract like if you end up becoming registered as a charitable organisation. You have less requirement to fit into society if you are a private dojo but that is less harmonious with the rest of society. But then, you might wish to be harmonious with something else other than the rest of society. You can still remain harmonious if OSensei was right and you can be orthogonal to all dimensions/attackers if you go above them. The last option is to run away to some place where your values are more in line with the rest of that society.

Hell, escape to the Caribbean!

Rock
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