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KickChick
Black Belt
Joined: 02 Aug 2001
Posts: 3282
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 Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 8:26 am Post subject: |
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ok... now I've heard just about everything!!
Read about this online and thought I would share.... what is the opinion of this forum?
Leilani and James Akiyama dominate in amateur judo, winning tournaments all over the U.S. On Jan. 13th they both suffered a major defeat...not on the mat but in federal court.
It seems they sued U.S. Judo and its two subsidiaries in 1997, alleging that mandatory bowing to inanimate objects such as the tatami equated to religious discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They stress judo's Shinto roots,in which the dojo,(the practice hall)was considered a holy place.
Ruling that judo's mandatory bowing rituals
do not violate the teens' religious beliefs,
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik dissolved a
1997 injunction that has allowed them to compete without the sport's traditional series of bows to the mat and competition hall.
"I'm very pleased," said Jim Bregman, president of the U.S. Judo Association. "It's
clear the bow in judo is simply a respectful
act, like a handshake in wrestling. I think we should move forward and do judo on the mat
and not in the courtroom."
They Akiyama blame the mandatory bowing for the United States'relatively poor performances in international judo competitions. Many talented athletes are
turned off by the rituals and choose other
sports, they said.
That's ridiculous, responded Bregman.
"Medal production isn't the measure of judo's
success. The measure of judo's success is how we train our children to behave and to strive to better themselves. The real benefit of judo is character development," said Bregman.
"The number of people who object to bowing is minuscule," he said. "This is an extremely
radical minority group."
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ITF/TKD Black Belt (1st dan)/Fitness Kickboxing Instructor
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[ This Message was edited by: KickChick on 2002-01-21 09:33 ] |
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Jiggy9
Purple Belt
Joined: 01 Nov 2001
Posts: 517
Location: Dubai - U.A.E
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 8:41 am Post subject: |
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You can sue for practically anything in the US cant you?! 
I dont understand; If they felt so strongly about not bowing then why did they continue to do the art in the first place?
I personally dont think there is any harm in showing respect to anyone or anything, I'd even go as far as saying that often I dont get oppurtunities to show the respect I have for others to them.
I also think that the mutul respect and trust martial artists have in one another is something that stands out; it is one of the best things about the arts. It brings about an atmosphere in the dojo that you dont find anywhere else.... |
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Bon
Black Belt
Joined: 10 Aug 2001
Posts: 1047
Location: Australia
Styles: BJJ, Kickboxing
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| Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2002 1:55 am Post subject: |
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::edit::
_________________
It takes sacrifice to be the best.
There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.
Last edited by Bon on Sun Sep 29, 2002 12:38 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Prodigy-Child
Green Belt
Joined: 02 Jul 2001
Posts: 458
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| Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2002 7:05 am Post subject: |
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no offense but you americans will sue anybody for anything......cant we all just get along? 
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KickChick
Black Belt
Joined: 02 Aug 2001
Posts: 3282
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| Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2002 9:40 am Post subject: |
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In a country where we should be proud of all the personal freedoms that we do have, can something like this happen. There is always a choice few that ***** and moan about their personal civil liberties being encroached upon, unfortunately it is starting to get embarrassing. There are far too many lawyers who are willing to defend these people. What I would like to see is have these people all shipped off to a country where they wouldn't have the freedom they enjoy here ... and to a country with zero tolerance for such trivial pursuits ... but hey WE ARE THE USA ....only in America!
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Joecooke007
Brown Belt
Joined: 24 Nov 2001
Posts: 720
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| Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2002 10:56 am Post subject: |
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This is bad. Bowing does not infringe on religious rights as a person. We do not ask you to convert to shinto (even though I do practice shinto as a religion a bit) We ask you to bow as a sign of utmost respect for the dojo and sensei and partners. 
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Boards don't hit back.
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SaiFightsMS
KF VIP
Joined: 28 Oct 2001
Posts: 6397
Location: Ohio
Styles: Shotokan, Shorin Ryu, Shi-to Ryu
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2002 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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This was such a hotly contested item in the martial arts world. And so few can really comprehen it.
But, don't you find after years of bowing to your opponent, to sensei and at the beginning and end of class don't you find yourself tempted to bow at other times as well? Out side of the dojo? Do you not find yourself being more aware of how much you respect other people?
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TKD_McGee
Purple Belt
Joined: 02 Oct 2001
Posts: 594
Location: Washington
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| Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2002 10:39 am Post subject: |
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Bowing to inatimate objects is sacrilegious to christians. Most people don't like to go to Martial Arts and have Buddism stuffed down their pie hole. I like TKD but, I dont like the Buddist part of it. I am in a school without buddism so it works for me. We do however bow respectfully, which is equal to a handshake or something.
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Do unto others, as they done to you. |
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Iron Arahat
Red Belt
Joined: 08 Aug 2001
Posts: 846
Location: Canada
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three60roundhouse
Pre-Black Belt
Joined: 10 Jan 2002
Posts: 891
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| Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2002 12:04 pm Post subject: |
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On 2002-03-04 12:29, Iron Arahat wrote:
Isn't a crusifix an inanimate object?
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We don't usually "bow" our heads, and we believe that it isn't an inatimate object, that it's a representation of Christ, or whatever. |
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