Busted Martial Artists

[BoulderDawg]

Well excuse me, Ward Clever.

Maybe you should get in your time machine and go back to a simpler, more innocent time.

[ktkungfu]

COSTA MESA - A 61-year-old karate instructor is behind bars, accused of molesting a 4-year-old girl taking classes at his studio. Authorities believe the veteran teacher may have abused other students over his 10-year teaching career.

Jon Patrick Harrison of Anaheim was arrested by sheriff's deputies Tuesday evening after the young girl told her parents she had been molested by her karate teacher, Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said. Authorities believe the abuse happened two weeks ago, but the girl did not tell her parents until Tuesday.

Harrison is an instructor at United Studios of Self Defense, at 2675 Irvine Avenue in Costa Mesa, where he has taught karate to children. Sheriff's investigators believe Harrison took the young girl to a secluded part of the studio and molested her, Amormino said.

He was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14. Harrison is a married man with children of his own.

The 4-year-old's father has been a student at United Studios for seven years.

Charles Mattera, CEO of United Studios of Self Defense, was on vacation in Costa Rica on Wednesday when he learned of the arrest and allegations.

"We've been teaching children for over 40 years," said Mattera in a phone interview. "I think of all the good we have done. I would hate to see it destroyed by this."

United Studios instructors are required to undergo background checks, Mattera said, and Harrison passed without incident.

"This guy passed all the good guy tests," Mattera said. "He just got past us."

Harrison is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Orange County Jail. He will be stripped of his black belt and lose his interest in the United Studios of Self Defense, Mattera said.

[xcakid]

Its not a true story without an actually link ya know....

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/h...6-studios-year

COSTA MESA - A 61-year-old karate instructor is behind bars, accused of molesting a 4-year-old girl taking classes at his studio. Authorities believe the veteran teacher may have abused other students over his 10-year teaching career.

Jon Patrick Harrison of Anaheim was arrested by sheriff's deputies Tuesday evening after the young girl told her parents she had been molested by her karate teacher, Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said. Authorities believe the abuse happened two weeks ago, but the girl did not tell her parents until Tuesday.

Harrison is an instructor at United Studios of Self Defense, at 2675 Irvine Avenue in Costa Mesa, where he has taught karate to children. Sheriff's investigators believe Harrison took the young girl to a secluded part of the studio and molested her, Amormino said.

He was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14. Harrison is a married man with children of his own.

The 4-year-old's father has been a student at United Studios for seven years.

Charles Mattera, CEO of United Studios of Self Defense, was on vacation in Costa Rica on Wednesday when he learned of the arrest and allegations.

"We've been teaching children for over 40 years," said Mattera in a phone interview. "I think of all the good we have done. I would hate to see it destroyed by this."

United Studios instructors are required to undergo background checks, Mattera said, and Harrison passed without incident.

"This guy passed all the good guy tests," Mattera said. "He just got past us."

Harrison is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Orange County Jail. He will be stripped of his black belt and lose his interest in the United Studios of Self Defense, Mattera said.

[GeneChing]

There's a vid with the news article - follow the link.

Martial Arts Instructor Charged with Sexual Abuse
Posted: 7:10 PM Feb 4, 2009
Last Updated: 8:54 PM Feb 4, 2009
Reporter: Lauren Evans

Closed for a family emergency, that's what the sign says at the martial arts studio run by 42-year-old Robert Lintzenich, who is charged with five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

"It's shocking, shocking," says Ludmila Gess, who owns a business close by. "You think about and hear about these things everywhere else. You don't think that it can happen so close to where you are."

"It's kind of scary," echoes Nicole Colgan, whose nephew attended the suspect's classes. "You don't know who you can trust anymore. Just going there for Tai Kwon Do practice, helping them, really good with the kids, really friendly, so it's really shocking to me."

This picture from the studio's website identifies Lintzenich as "Mr. L," a certified Tae Kwon Do instructor with more than 20 years experience.

Livingston County Undersheriff Michael Murphy says authorities have identified two victims of sexual abuse, both close to him.

"One of the victims stated the abuse had been going on for at least 10 years," says Murphy.

Murphy says Lintzenich has no criminal record, but that complaints had been made against him in two other states.

"If those allegations are legitimate, then he needs to go away for a long time--there is no question about that," Murphy says.

Authorities are not aware of any other victims, but Murphy says concerned parents should err on the side of caution.

"Bottom line is it certainly wouldn't hurt to ask their children if there was any inappropriate activities or behavior that happened while they were at the studio," he says.

Lintzenich is currently being held at Livingston County Jail on $1,000,000 bond.

If convicted, he faces life in prison.

[lkfmdc]

our favorote anarchist returns

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...ar/7865763.stm

Cage fighter admits tax evasion

A cage fighting champion from County Durham has admitted charges of tax evasion and tax credit fraud.

Ian Freeman, who is professionally known as "the Machine", is believed to have stopped paying tax in 1997 when he left his job as a security guard.
Appearing at Durham Crown Court, the 42-year-old from Stanley, pleaded guilty to tax evasion of over £21,000.

He and his wife Angela, 34, also jointly admitted tax credit fraud more than £13,000.

The pair will be sentenced on 3 March.
Freeman ran his own fight promotions firm and made television appearances but failed to declare his earnings of around £30,000 a year, the hearing heard.
The couple also bought a new £18,000 car and a £27,000 boat before they were caught.

HM Revenue & Customs North East head of investigation, Peter Hollier, said: "Mr Freeman's blatant disregard for the tax system is beyond belief."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...ar/7865763.stm

More info:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle2198282.ece

[Reverend Tap]

our favorote anarchist returns

Ian Freeman is an anarchist too? Or are you confusing him with Monson?

[GeneChing]

Looks like everyone is pulling a Phelps. It's the 'in' thing to do.

Marijuana scandal hits Japanese sumo
By Kyung Lah CNN

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- For the first time sumo wrestling's governing body can recall, one of its revered athletes has been nabbed for drug possession.
Sumo wrestlers fight it out in the ring

Fans expect dignity from their sumo wrestlers, so the drug arrest has stunned Japan.

Police arrested 335-pound Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev -- better known as Wakanoho -- on Monday. They say they found a third of a gram of marijuana in his wallet. That's enough to land him in prison on a diet of forced labor for five years if he's convicted.

It's the latest black eye for a sport closely intwined with Japanese culture and history. Fans have long expected humility and dignity from their sumo wrestlers, so the drug arrest has stunned people in Japan, where the national sport has taken a beating in the last year or so.

First, police charged three sumo wrestlers and their stable master with beating a teenage sumo to death last year. They deny it.

Then Japan's top sumo -- Asashoryu -- apologized on national TV after being caught in an apparent lie. He pulled out of an exhibition tournament, saying he was hurt. But television cameras caught him playing soccer in his native Mongolia days later, apparently without injury.

The Japan Sumo Association suspended Asashoryu -- the first time the country's yokozuna , or top sumo, has received that punishment.

Now comes the drug arrest.

Police say they found marijuana in Wakanoho's wallet on June 24 and arrested him Monday after an investigation. The 20-year-old Russian wrester, who stands six feet four inches, has not entered a plea, authorities said. But the arrest prompted the Japan Sumo Association to apologize to fans and pledge to investigate.

Sumo wrestling, which traces it roots back 1,500 years, is struggling not just within its ranks, but in popularity, as well.

Fewer Japanese boys are entering the tough life of sumo, so the Sumo Association is recruiting foreigners like Wakanoho and Asashoryu. Attendance is down at the stadiums, as more Japanese embrace soccer and baseball.

All these struggles may have a silver lining.

"These allegations, be they true or false, this one included, they're all turning points to a more open sumo," says Mark Buckton, a sumo analyst for the Japan Times. "It's good for the sport in the end. It can open up the sport, make them follow modern society."

[Hardwork108]

Is it me or some of this stuff is real depressing. Has the world changed or has it always been like this?

[GeneChing]

This is the martial arts. We aren't all saints. We used to kill people for money. Learn your history.

More on the anarchist...

Judge allows MMA fighter's trip to Russia
By Jeremy Pawloski | The Olympian • Published February 11, 2009

OLYMPIA – A judge has allowed Olympia mixed martial arts champion Jeff Monson to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, for a fight Feb. 28 as he awaits the disposition of a criminal charge that he spray-painted an anarchist symbol and other messages on the state Capitol.

Monson, 38, had been ordered to surrender his passport during his Jan. 27 arraignment as a condition of his release after he pleaded not guilty to a count of first-degree malicious mischief. After a prosecutor asked Monson to relinquish his passport, Monson whispered to him, "Are you going to support my family now?"

Monson's attorney, Legrand Jones, won a motion to reconsider Monson's release conditions in court Thursday. A new court order signed by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor allows Monson to travel to St. Petersburg and anywhere in the United States "for scheduled athletic events."

Promoters already have canceled one of Monson's overseas fights, scheduled for March in Tokyo, because of the uncertainty of Monson's travel status, Jones said.

"That was a substantial payday for him," Jones said of the canceled bout.

Still, Jones said, he is glad he was able to convince the court that Monson's anarchist beliefs do not mean that he is a flight risk.

"I'm glad he can work," Jones said.

According to Tabor's order, Monson is allowed to travel to Russia from Feb. 19 to March 2 for his fight there. The Washington State Patrol was ordered to release Monson's passport to the Russian Embassy in Los Angeles so Monson can obtain a travel visa, court records state.

Monson is charged with malicious mischief based in part on photographs published in a profile of Monson in ESPN The Magazine in December, court papers state. One photo shows Monson spray-painting an anarchist symbol on the Capitol.

The Washington State Patrol had been looking for suspects since spray-painted graffiti was discovered on the columns of the north side of the Capitol on Nov. 26. The graffiti included anarchy symbols, a peace symbol and phrases such as "no war" and "no poverty."

In a prior interview with The Olympian, Monson took responsibility for leaving the graffiti and said he left it to protest the Iraq War and economic inequality at home and abroad.

It cost the state $19,000 to clean the graffiti, court papers state.

In Jones' motion to reconsider Monson's travel status, Jones argued that Monson wasn't a flight risk because he has deep roots in Olympia, and his wife and two young children live here. Others wrote the court letters and e-mails supporting Monson, including Olympia Police officer Bob Krasnican. Krasnican did not identify himself as an Olympia police officer in the e-mail, and he did not use a police department e-mail address.

"Though I do not agree with Jeff's political position, I have always found him easy to get along with," Krasnican wrote. "He is very aware of what I do for a living, as well as the fact that I do not agree with his political beliefs. With that said, I would be very surprised if Jeff did not comply with court requirements to appear. Based on previous conversations with both Jeff and Jen (his wife), I have been made aware that Jeff's MMA career is the primary source of income for the Monson family."

Monson's younger brother, Kirkland Police Officer Derek Hill, also wrote a letter of support.

"My brother is an intelligent, well-educated individual who stands up for what he believes in. He is thoughtful, kind and a good father to his two kids. Jeff has strong family ties to the Olympia area through his family, our mother and father, my family and his numerous friends," the letter says.

It also describes Monson's wrestling career at Timberline High School, Oregon State University and the University of Illinois.

"Although I may not agree with every decision he makes, I will always stand behind him 100 percent and never hesitate to speak to his character," Derek Hill wrote.

Monson's stepfather, Michael Hill, wrote, "As I have told Jeff, I do not support his methods of protest, but I do support his right to protest. Having said that, I do not and would not consider Jeff to be a flight risk."

He also wrote that "Jeff needs to provide for his children, and although he has made some bad decisions recently, he is a person of his word and will adhere to any decision made by the court."

[GeneChing]

Froelich pleads guilty. Karate for kids indeed.

Ex-Bend martial arts teacher pleads guilty to abuse
Posted: Feb 10, 2009 03:49 PM
By Kelsey Watts, KTVZ.COM

A former Bend martial arts instructor pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of second degree sex abuse involving a 15 year old female student.

It's been a year since Mark Froelich, 33, was arrested and indicted on nine counts of third-degree rape, sodomy and sex abuse.

At the time, Froelich owned Bend's Karate for Kids, ran the ATA Black Belt Academy out of the same building, and taught tae-kwon-do.

After his arrest, Karate for Kids was closed for a while, and other martial arts centers in Central Oregon, including Acrovision Sports Center in Bend, said they got calls from some parents, wanting to move their kids.

"Well it's a disturbing thing to arise in the community," Dan Graff, the director of tae-kwon-do at Acrovision, told NewsChannel 21 a year ago. "But as long as people can learn to defend themselves and speak out when wrong things occur, then this is the kind of thing we want to teach people."

The charges against Froelich are all Class C felonies, meaning they don't involve the use of force. In court Tuesday morning, Froelich was quiet as he pleaded guilty to three counts of second degree sex abuse.

"It was three separate and distinct crimes or incidents?" Judge Tiktin asked.

"Yes, sir," Froelich replied.

Inside his court file, a typed statement written by Froelich.

"I have a statement in which you admit that you committed the crime of sex abuse in the second degree, three times between January 11th and January 30th of 2008, is that true?" Judge Tiktin asked.

Again, Froelich replied, "Yes, sir."

Froelich does not have a prior criminal history, and based on Oregon's sentencing guidelines, he could face more than four years in prison in convicted.

He now lives out of state, but will be back in Deschutes County Circuit Court on March 30 for his sentencing. At that point, the other six original charges are expected to be dropped.

[BoulderDawg]

I read the story about the sumo wrestler......I had no idea that possession was such a big deal over there. I mean 5 years for a couple of joints!!!!! That sounds like the US during the 60s. Especially in a country that appears to be very liberal liberal in promoting open sex shops and things like that.....guess I won't be partaking in Toyko anytime soon.

Also, Phelps.....The guy's a big wimp! Apologize my ass! I would call a news conference and invite everyone back for a big party!

[Hardwork108]

This is the martial arts. We aren't all saints. We used to kill people for money. Learn your history.

I know what you are saying, but it is still depressing.

[taai gihk yahn]

This is the martial arts. We aren't all saints. We used to kill people for money. Learn your history.

exactly; all that stuff about good character, integrity, honesty amongst TCMA practitioners - bollocks; that was all reverse engineered onto it to make it appealing to the more respectable "weekend warrior" types who wanted to be "gentleman scholar / fighters" (nothing's really changed, LOL); this made it more in sync w/Confuscian value system (Taoists, OTOH, would be the first to tell you that "life is thievery" and would laugh if you started preaching morality); it was further propagated within the wushu construct; but go back a bit in time, and you see that most TCMA, especially the really good fighters, were survivalists, not ethicists...

[GeneChing]

Friday, February 6, 2009
Japan’s sumo pot scandal

“First Michael Phelps, now this,” said Tom Mahon in the Philadelphia Daily News. Four sumo wrestlers—three of them Russian, one Japanese—in Japan have been banned from the sport recently over marijuana charges. This has devastated sports fans in Japan—where drug abuse isn’t tolerated, especially when it taints “an ancient sport with a deeply religious association.”

“Sumo is special because it codifies and prioritizes respect—respect for one's opponent, and respect for one's position within the sport's hierarchy,” said James Hardy in Japan’s Daily Yomiuri. And given the common view here that drug abuse shows a lack of self-control, it’s easy to see why many sumo lovers are worried that discipline in the sport is “going off the rails.”

Sumo officials shouldn’t waste any time stamping out this appalling behavior, said Japan’s Asahi Shimbun in an editorial—and not just for the sake of the sport. Marijuana is a harmful drug, and its use is on the rise in Japan. Surely, that’s one area where Japan doesn’t “need to catch up with the West.”

Sumo's pot bellies

FIRST MICHAEL PHELPS, now this.

Some sumo wrestlers in Japan have been banned from the sport for allegedly smoking pot.

The incident is, you'll excuse the pun, making a bigger splash there than Phelps' photo with a marijuana pipe did here.

That's partly because sumo wrestling is an ancient sport with a deeply religious association.

Three of the expelled were from Russia, but one, Wakakirin, is a 25-year-old Japanese athlete. That one of their own is involved has rocked a nation where drug use is not tolerated. Marijuana use, for example, is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

"We are appalled by his utter folly," an Asahi newspaper editorial said. "Some young people casually try pot. It is vital that we educate them on the risks of this drug from a fairly early age."

One of the risks is that you get a ravenous case of the munchies, which, come to think of it, is probably why those guys weigh more than 500 pounds each. (It might explain why Phelps consumes 12,000 calories a day, but that's another story.)

So what if Phelps smoked pot -- he's in good company
February 9, 2009
BY JOE CONASON

The brutal exposure and possible arrest of alleged pothead Michael Phelps, probably the best athlete on earth, demands fresh attention to an old question: Why is marijuana still illegal in the United States?

As the world now knows, poor Phelps was chilling with a few friends and a glass bong when caught on camera. This would have been no problem had London's News of the World not published the photo over this caption: "This is the astonishing picture which could destroy the career of the greatest competitor in Olympic history."

That caption was sensationally misleading. Phelps has lost a major endorsement contract with Kellogg and has been suspended from competition for three months. But certainly there was nothing "astonishing" or even mildly surprising about the fact that a superb swimmer, or a top competitor in any form of sport, might puff on a blunt from time to time. By now, there have simply been too many other exceptional athletes who have admitted to smoking dope for recreation or relief.

Within the last several months, in fact, four ranking sumo wrestlers have been busted and booted out of the sport. No doubt the Japanese wrestling authorities meant to humiliate the sumo stars, using shame to maintain the forbidden aura around the drug, just as we do (which proves that there is at least one other advanced industrial nation as hypocritical on this issue as we are).

But more than a few of the athletes who have identified themselves as cannabis users in past years have done so without the shame that Phelps claimed to feel when he offered his endorsement-saving mea culpa. Some insist that using marijuana eased physical pain or even improved their game. Former Dallas Cowboys lineman Mark Stepnoski, who played on two Super Bowl-winning teams and is now an active proponent of legalization, said he smoked pot throughout his career without impairing his game.

And Stepnoski is not alone in American professional sports, where marijuana use is common. More than a decade ago, the New York Times reported that nearly three out of four NBA players had smoked. Not much has changed since then, according to Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard, who told an ESPN radio host last year that not only did he use marijuana in the offseason, but so did "most of the players in the league."

None of this rampant toking seems to have impaired athletic performance -- unless we assume that Phelps, for instance, would somehow have won more than eight gold medals at last summer's Olympic Games. So much for the argument that marijuana damages motivation, or prowess, or leads inevitably to more dangerous narcotics.

Of course, it isn't only athletic stars who have been known to indulge in reefer madness. Important scientists such as Richard Feynman, Stephen Jay Gould, Margaret Mead and Carl Sagan, billionaire executives like Richard Branson and Bill Gates, and a great many of the literary and musical geniuses of the last century or so -- William Butler Yeats, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Bob Dylan among them -- got high. So have many of our top elected officials, notably including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a highly successful actor and businessman whose pot habit was immortalized on film in "Pumping Iron"; New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, another hard-driving billionaire who once told a magazine interviewer that he had not only smoked dope but "enjoyed" it; Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, and Al Gore, former vice president, Google director, and winner of an Oscar and the Nobel Peace Prize.

What should be the most devastating blow to the foundations of marijuana prohibition was struck just last month, when Barack Obama, yet another confessed former pothead, ascended to the presidency. Obama has never tried to conceal that he smoked quite a bit of marijuana in his youth.

So why do we still need to feign outrage over Michael Phelps? Why must he humble himself before the cameras as if he had tortured a puppy? Why should the law treat cannabis as a damaging addiction, when in fact nearly anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile seems to have taken at least a toke or two?

Those are among the mysteries of modern prohibition, which is unlikely to end any time soon.

I gotta go with Seth Meyer's take on this.

[SimonM]

The writing is on the wall for marijhuana prohibition.

Pot isn't a big deal.
The general public, even in the USA doesn't see it like a big deal.
All it'll take is for some of the dinosaurs who occupy the governments of north america to have the moral certitude to say "there isn't anything wrong with occasional recreational use of pot" and end the rediculous, misguided and immoral "war on drugs".