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Gold-medal project: Judo seeks solutions in police training

10 Comments
By EDDIE PELLS

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10 Comments
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Yeah but you have to start somewhere.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Been doing martial arts since I was 11 and I have always advocated that this is something police departments should expand on, it’s another extremely helpful tool in a cops arsenal that can be applied (depending on the situation) but they should always be able to have the most lethal stopping power when all else fails.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

when all else fails.

The problem is, when you teach cops that every single interacting with the public is a life and death situation, they aren’t going to treat lethal force as a last resort, but rather a first response. Lethal force is supposed to be used as a final option to protect ones life, not as a first response threat to gain compliance. About 5-10 cops are killed every year in traffic stops, out of over 30 million traffic stops, yet cops are taught that they must treat everything as a potentially lethal battle. It’s why so many cops’ pull people over and the first thing they do is draw their guns. But when you are trained to see every interaction as a life-threatening engagement, you tend to ACT like it is. When the only tool you're given is a hammer, every problem suddenly becomes a nail.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Because the sport, known by insiders as “the gentle way” of martial arts, has little emphasis on striking and is considered less violent than some of its brethren,

That's how I'd categorize Aikido not Judo. Judo can actually be quite brutal.

Been doing martial arts since I was 11

exactly same! wow!

and I have always advocated that this is something police departments should expand on,

absolutely.

it’s another extremely helpful tool in a cops arsenal that can be applied (depending on the situation) but they should always be able to have the most lethal stopping power when all else fails.

Agree 100%. However, they must be taught that the most lethal stopping power must only be used when all else fails and they must be held accountable when they use it prematurely.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I'm not sure where anyone gets the idea judo is a "gentle" sport but despite judo's lack of emphasis on strikes and punches, it can be quite a violent means of self defense and offense. There are multiple judo throws that can seriously hurt or even kill someone who hits their head on concrete. Judo also has multiple options to choke out someone or dislocate or break joints and bones. When you add in the factor of high pressure police situations, judo is hardly a "peaceful" alternative.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Can you clarify which country you’re alluding to @8:13am?

- “but re-educating a national police force that is militarized,” -

The US has no “national, militarized police force” as you’re suggesting. Quite to the contrary, police are divided into several, small independent jurisdictions by state, county, parish, municipality, town, village, etc. There are some overlapping jurisdictions yet, nothing ‘nationalized or militarized’ constitutionally operating within US borders.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

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