hairyears: The author, in his black belt grading, behind the blurred figure of his grading partner upside-down and airborne in a Kaiten-agé 'Tumbling throw' (Aikido)
hairyears ([personal profile] hairyears) wrote in [personal profile] davidgillon 2017-12-02 10:24 pm (UTC)

I just read this, tracked back from a link in your DW about Jayda Fransen.

I am quite impressed by this: I would weigh it carefully, before committing to the course of action you took - I have acquaintances who were never the same again after repeated kicks to the head when the National Front got them down on the concrete - and I am rather more expert in violence than you might think.

I probably would have intervened.

You and I should talk about this sometime. In particular, I should talk to you about some friends of mine who have taught two students with severe mobility problems to Dan grade (black belt) in the art I practice, and saw them graded on the mat at the Headquarters Dojo in their wheelchairs.

My fellow-student and regular practice partner at Headquarters - and my grading partner or ukemi (we don't say 'opponent') in my Third Dan grading - was the grading partner for one of these students, about a month ago.

I have no idea what you can be taught; but awareness, resilience and survivability, and the arts of deconfliction and de-escalation would be useful to you in a place where incidents like this are common, and interventions like yours are a necessity.

If you can get to Gravesend, I can find you a teacher.

If you choose to watch a class, be warned that it will look nothing like your preconceptions of a 'martial art'.


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