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Old 12-20-2012, 10:37 AM   #58
Walter Martindale
Location: Edmonton, AB
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 802
Canada
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Re: Just how real is violence? And where does Aikido stands in all of this?

Wasn't there a movie about the wild west where a group of what were essentially "regulators" kept some form of "order" in a county/region? That may be the sort of "regulation" being discussed here, but it's not really what the general public views as "regulation"... is it?

I tend to avoid the parts of town where you get attacked for walking by (and I'm also getting old enough to not look like a threat - victim, perhaps, but not a threat) or looking at someone, but then sometimes you wander into the wrong neigbourhood. Doesn't mean you deserve a lickin'.

I recall once being in Boston - we were staying "across the river" from Harvard etc, when we were there for a rowing competition - the Head of the Charles. (turns out the district was at the time known as "the war zone" by the cops) After the regatta was over, we wandered into a corner "chicken" restaurant - all wearing the same team jackets. Well... some of the locals saw all these 6 foot tall (plus) guys in the same 'colours' and decided to get territorial. After a few minor fisticuffs and discussions of "going home and coming back armed" some of our number chatted with one who seemed to be a leader, and let them know we were a rowing team, in town from the west coast of Canada, flying out in the morning (if we were still alive) and in that particular restaurant looking for food, having raced (or in my case, coached) earlier in the day... When it was clear that we were not horning in on anyone's territory, things calmed down, we finished eating, went back to our digs, slept, flew home without incident.
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