Harry Cook

[sojobo]

Hello,

Just wondered what you guys are thinking about the deal with Harry Cook?

I'm not a Shotokan fella, but this sort of thing has an impact on most Karate Instructors and students alike

Sojobo

[Wastelander]

I didn't know much of him other than noticing a few of his books being well-reviewed by other karateka. This is a horrible experience for the victim and the families of those involved and I can only hope that he gets what is coming to him. I am also aware that, unfortunately, this type of thing keeps happening in the martial arts community (with karate, in particular, it would seem) and it casts it in a very, very bad light, but my thoughts are first-and-foremost on the well being of the victim. I don't feel there is much to be done but express condolences and righteous anger, unfortunately.

[sojobo]

Yes, teacher worship syndrome being used to its worst possible effect.

Sojobo

[MasterPain]

How old was the kid? This kind of thing is awful.

[honoluludesktop]

I recall Mr. Cook taking every opportunity to criticize the hazing of Japanese University first year karate team students. He would write paragraphs about bullying in Japan. To the extent that I often wondered if he was bias against the Japanese. Still, bullying is wrong, and I appreciated his high moral stance.

Guess he was a "do what I say, not what I do" kind of person. We all are, especially the older we get, but there are lines, and underage molestation is one of them (In England I think it is under 16 years). What he did was horrible, and I was hurt to read of it. His "self defence" techniques will have to serve him well. Historically, this kind of crime will make him a target of persecution with the jails "general population".

[MasterPain]

Persecution or unsanctioned justice? Semantics.

[Shizentai]

This makes me very sad to hear, as a female karateka.

When I was 16, my first instructor, a 35 year-old sandan (who I DEFINITELY wasn't interested in) tried something one night after training while I was waiting for my mother to pick me up. I was lucky, because as soon as I realized what was going on I was able to get away from him, run like heck out of there and never come back. If it weren't for one of my senpai taking me to another dojo (my current dojo), I would have never trained again. I was disillusioned with the whole process of training. I felt like I couldn't trust anything he taught. I questioned every compliment on my technique, every stretching exercise, every little kumite bout. I had no confidence in myself or my karate for a long time after that. Almost a decade later, it's still not something I comfortably talk about.

It's difficult being a young woman in that situation, especially when other people write it off as if it were nothing, or try to casually sweep it under the rug as "just one of those things."

My heart goes out to all involved.

Persecution or unsanctioned justice? Semantics.

I believe he admitted to guilt at the time charges were brought against him. So... I'm a little confused what you mean.

[MasterPain]

The post above me said that people found guilty of this are persecuted by other prisoners. What could be seen as persecution could also be seen as justice. Maybe the State can not provide cruel and unusual punishment, but maybe the guy doing time for tax evasion can. I don't waste my empathy on people who harm children.

[honoluludesktop]

I always felt that Mr. Cooks view of history to be suspect. He would refer to quotations by others that supported his thesis as facts rather then opinions, which often they were. Given his double standard, I now question his entire work.

As a older, senior karate-ka, there have been many occasions when I have found myself in the position of helping young ladies. Because of the heighten awareness we now have about the potential of abuse, I never work with them unless others are present, and I always ask their permission if I feel it is necessary to touch them, even if its just to hold their shoulders. In the old days, our ignorance of these manners was offset by the fact that there was lots of hard contact, thus very few women and children.

I think that there are many young ladies that have some bad history with abusive seniors. We can all help each other by keeping our eyes open for the potential of abuse, and talking to kohai just to make them aware of what is unacceptable.

[Shizentai]

The post above me said that people found guilty of this are persecuted by other prisoners. What could be seen as persecution could also be seen as justice. Maybe the State can not provide cruel and unusual punishment, but maybe the guy doing time for tax evasion can. I don't waste my empathy on people who harm children.

Now I see. I apologize for misreading that.

As a older, senior karate-ka, there have been many occasions when I have found myself in the position of helping young ladies. Because of the heighten awareness we now have about the potential of abuse, I never work with them unless others are present, and I always ask their permission if I feel it is necessary to touch them, even if its just to hold their shoulders. In the old days, our ignorance of these manners was offset by the fact that there was lots of hard contact, thus very few women and children.

You know, I think another ramification of situations like this one is that often kind-hearted instructors such as yourself who have clearly never harmed your students in this way become fearful of the manner in which they relate to females in the dojo. Personally, I don't mind hard-contact. I don't mind when my sensei grabs my arm without warning and wraps it backwards on itself to illustrate a point. I don't mind being treated the exact same way as all of the male students in my dojo. In fact, I long for it. I think people who commit this sort of crime don't realize that the affected parties are not just two people, or even just the families of each person involved (though they are by far the ones who suffer the most). Rather, when a disgrace such as this one occurs, the effect is widespread, and harms the morale of karate-ka everywhere.

We can all help each other by keeping our eyes open for the potential of abuse, and talking to kohai just to make them aware of what is unacceptable.

Ossu!