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Old 03-14-2013, 04:55 PM   #1
jonreading
 
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Dojo: Aikido South
Location: Johnson City, TN
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,209
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An open letter to the martial arts community about conduct in the dojo

I was listening to Hiyaa martial arts podcast a month or so ago. The guys interviewed Ryan Hall, an MMA guy who wrote an open letter to the martial arts community concerning conduct in the dojo. I believe it has already made some of the other forums. The letter was in response to a BJJ player being involved in a rape. Its a great read, albeit a little long. The link is here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/121007439/...Arts-Community
You can also read it on Ryan's website:
http://livingthemartialarts.com/

A few weeks ago a conversation surfaced regarding sexuality and sexual conduct in the dojo. During that discussion, several posters implicated the aikido community was involved in [sexual] misconduct at the dojo. I think there is some great material in this letter that addresses that point and more.

Of course, preceding this letter was the story of Kayla Harrison, the female judoka who won the gold medal in judo in London. Kayla was abused by her former coach for a period of time.

As I said in my other posts from the thread I mentioned earlier, it saddens me to hear of bad situations in the dojo. I am saddened because someone who is supposed to be trustworthy is not and someone who is misgiving their trust to that person is hurt.

Jon Reading
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