Posted on 05/26/2005 8:14:20 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Youths arrested for violating 116-year-old dueling law
Two groups of youths who fought each other in pairs to settle a dispute have been arrested for bodily injury and dueling, a practice outlawed in Japan in the 1880s, police said.
Arrested were 12 youths aged between 15 and 17 from Yokohama and the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Six of them were first-year high school students and the other six had just graduated from junior high school.
Investigators said they gathered in a park in Tokyo's Setagaya-ku at about 8:50 p.m. on March 11 to settle trouble over the sale of a motorcycle, and formed six pairs to fight each other in duels. One person suffered injuries to his arm and head that took about two weeks to heal.
Members of the two groups set rules for the bouts, including that dueling partners had to be chosen with consent from both sides, hair-pulling was not allowed, opponents would keep fighting until one of them stopped moving if neither side gave up, and that fighting to the death was permitted.
The group from Yokohama was ahead by three wins to two and the two sides were staging the sixth duel when police officers arrived and broke up the fight.
The youths were reportedly interested in fighting sports such as K-1.
"What's wrong with hitting each other with consent," one of the arrested youths was quoted as saying.
Dueling was forbidden by law in Japan in 1889. In March this year six youths from the Tokyo city of Kunitachi who dueled each other were arrested and referred to prosecutors. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, May 26, 2005)
Ping!
Someone seems to have missed the movie "The Last Samuri"
I approve of formal duelling.
Makes me think of the scene in "Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid" when Kid Curry challenges Butch for leadership of the gang. They decide on knives as the weapon. Then Paul Newman saunters up to Kid Curry and says:
Newman: "Now, let's get the rules straight ..."
Kid: "Rules?? In a knife fight?!"
Newman: [swift kick to the Kid's tender parts]
What's wrong with dueling? It's an organized and limited way of settling conflict. I see nothing wrong with it, especially if they don't use firearms. So somebody gets killed or wounded, so what? If they agree as a way to settle their disagreements, it's fine with me. Much better than resorting to the evil of lawyers.
I do, too. I think it's a great idea.
The first rule of Fight Club...
A dueling society is definately a polite society.
I wish it were the 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt not bring suit".
Oscar Wilde in reply to a dueling challenge.
'Choice of weapons?'
'Guillotines'
I've been asking the same thing for years.
You don't talk about fight club!
We substituted lawyers for swords...it's still duelling...
*Polite applause from the Zell Miller gallery*
Japan * ping * (kono risuto ni hairitai ka detai wo shirasete kudasai : let me know if you want on or off this list)
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