Bruce Klickstein Update

For those who followed the various discussions concerning Bruce Klickstein a year or so ago...
Newsreport

Hi folks,

As always in cases such as this, I'm going to ask for people to be civil in their discussions here on AikiWeb.

Also, I'd like to remind people of the notion of "innocent until proven guilty."

Thank you,

-- Jun

George S. Ledyard wrote: For those who followed the various discussions concerning Bruce Klickstein a year or so ago...

Thanks for the info.

Jun Akiyama wrote: Hi folks, As always in cases such as this, I'm going to ask for people to be civil in their discussions here on AikiWeb. Also, I'd like to remind people of the notion of "innocent until proven guilty." Thank you, -- Jun

Jun
Those of us who were around back in the day and know a little of the limited details from that time likely see this as a continuation of past behavior. My only comment......
Gary

Gary Welborn wrote: Those of us who were around back in the day and know a little of the limited details from that time likely see this as a continuation of past behavior. My only comment......

Yes, I know very well the historical details. I still stand by my request and reminder.

Thanks,

-- Jun

Jun Akiyama wrote: Yes, I know very well the historical details. I still stand by my request and reminder. Thanks, -- Jun

Not for me to say anything more.....no need on my part.
Gary

Jun Akiyama wrote: Hi folks, As always in cases such as this, I'm going to ask for people to be civil in their discussions here on AikiWeb. Also, I'd like to remind people of the notion of "innocent until proven guilty." Thank you, -- Jun

I don't think there's a need for much discussion, that's all been done a long time ago. This was just informational. I'd be fine if you closed it off if you wanted...
- George

Let me just say this: for every Jerry Sandusky, there's a Joe Paterno looking the other way.

Fred Little wrote: Let me just say this.... SNIP

Must be a SEC guy.

Karma takes too long.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.....

Mental health professionals have clearly identified certain areas where dysfunctional behaviors are very, very, very hard to extinguish.

Marc Abrams

George S. Ledyard wrote: For those who followed the various discussions concerning Bruce Klickstein a year or so ago... Newsreport

Dear George,
This article /blog has been done to death.Why the rehash? Cheers, Joe.

Joe Curran wrote: Dear George, This article /blog has been done to death.Why the rehash? Cheers, Joe.

another comment would be : "Hey Bruce, stop the criminal behavior." The more people that know about him the better.

Joe Curran wrote: Dear George, This article /blog has been done to death.Why the rehash? Cheers, Joe.

It's a new allegation of criminal behavior of a sort somewhat related to the original allegations made against him. And I will point out Mr. Klickstein was recently invited by high ranking instructors to teach at a major seminar raising the question as to whether his continued exclusion from the world of Aikido was fair (questions of rehabilitation, forgiveness, etc.). So it isn't a rehash but new information that if proven true would be seen by many as relevant to those questions.

Keith Larman wrote: It's a new allegation of criminal behavior of a sort somewhat related to the original allegations made against him. And I will point out Mr. Klickstein was recently invited by high ranking instructors to teach at a major seminar raising the question as to whether his continued exclusion from the world of Aikido was fair (questions of rehabilitation, forgiveness, etc.). So it isn't a rehash but new information that if proven true would be seen by many as relevant to those questions.

Exactly.

More Details on Father of Two Suspected for Child Porn

Joe Curran wrote: Dear George, This article /blog has been done to death.Why the rehash? Cheers, Joe.

Dear Joe,

I won't claim to speak for George, but I don't think it's fair to say that "this....has been done to death."

Just as the Catholic Church's child-sexual abuse scandal will not be over until not only the abusers, but the apologists and protectors who enabled the continuing predation are subject to identification and public sanction, this isn't going away any time soon.

There will be a trial and a verdict, unless there's a negotiated plea. The long-standing argument that "this is all a matter of he-said, she-said hearsay and we must respect the fact that there have never been criminal charges or any finding of guilt" is going to melt like an ice-cube on asphalt in the West Texas summer.

When -- not if, but when -- that happens, there are some very senior individuals who are going to have to publicly acknowledge that they exhibited dreadful judgment and publicly accept that their own past actions were tragically misguided at best and shamefully complicit at worst.

That part of the end game hasn't even begun.

Regards,

FL

Fred Little wrote: When -- not if, but when -- that happens, there are some very senior individuals who are going to have to publicly acknowledge that they exhibited dreadful judgment and publicly accept that their own past actions were tragically misguided at best and shamefully complicit at worst.

I'm not holding my breath.

Joe Curran wrote: Dear George, This article /blog has been done to death.Why the rehash? Cheers, Joe.

Joe,
Since I was at the center of previous efforts to make people aware of past events and make sure that Klickstein did not re-enter the Aikido community, I can tell you that in my communications with Aikido community leaders there were some, even some very highly ranked who either had the attitude of "that was years ago, time to forgive and forget" or who still seemed to doubt that the accusations had been true in the first place since they were never aired in court. Therefore, this news, which is current and not a rehash, is important to help those folks perhaps reevaluate their attitudes, which fortunately were in a minority.

As difficult as it was for the Europeans to understand what had happened here, since they had been given very skewed accounts of the issue by Klicksetin himself, I wished to make sure that they could see that the efforts to keep Klicksetin from rejoing the Aikido community were in fact justified and that their decision to dis-invite him from participation in a very wonderful memorial event for Saito Sensei saved them from a great deal of potential embarrassment. I have been thanked for bringing this to their attention and they did not know about these latest developments. My relations with the organizers are quite cordial.

Frankly, the folks that fought the good fight way back when Klicksetin was first "outed" never really felt that they had been vindicated publicy for having done so and I think that making sure the community was aware of what has happened serves to show that those early efforts were important and not just some over reaction.

I was Bruce's first training partner when he came to Iwama in the early 70s. We trained together on numerous occasions over the next few years.

Bruce trained hard and was getting extremely good in Aikido. He had tremendous potential. It's a tragic shame that it will not be realized.

Unfortunately, I can never forgive Bruce for bringing disgrace to our beloved teacher, Morihiro Saito-sensei, and breaking his heart.

David Alexander wrote: I was Bruce's first training partner when he came to Iwama in the early 70s. We trained together on numerous occasions over the next few years. Bruce trained hard and was getting extremely good in Aikido. He had tremendous potential. It's a tragic shame that it will not be realized. Unfortunately, I can never forgive Bruce for bringing disgrace to our beloved teacher, Morihiro Saito-sensei, and breaking his heart.

Do you have any compassion for his victims? Saito has no responsibility for or should wear no shame for the choices of a grown man.

Mary Eastland wrote: Do you have any compassion for his victims? Saito has no responsibility for or should wear no shame for the choices of a grown man.

Mary,
Well said.If indeed Klickstein acted in a inappropriate manner any shame should be his own responsibility, no one else.Cheers, Joe.

Of course Bruce acted completely on his own and, as I have stated on numerous other occasions, I have total compassion for his victims. They were innocent, underage girls who were preyed upon by an adult pedophile.

In a perfect world, Saito-sensei would be held blameless, which of course he was. Outside of Japan, this is generally the case and everyone, including inside Japan, feels sorry that the reprehensible acts of one of his top foreign students had a negative effect on him.

However, in Japan, inappropriate actions of a student strongly affect the reputation of his teacher. This is the way their culture works. In America we might say that since it happened on his watch, he must share the responsibility.

Saito-sensei took heavy fallout from the Aiki Hombu and was forced to personally strip Bruce of his rank and banish him from Aikido. All of this broke his heart. He is a victim along with the girls.

Klickstein is currently out on bail, but is under electronic surveillance at his San Luis Obispo home, according to the FBI. His trial is scheduled to start in U.S. District Court August 6, 2013.

http://www.ksby.com/news/central-coa...ild-porn-case/

How it went?

cannot find info in area media nor on the relevant court website