Posted on 01/15/2014 3:59:48 PM PST by rickmichaels
HALIFAX -- Politicians are scrambling to put a brave face on an ugly situation at a Halifax recreation centre.
Sonja Power, 17, was on the cusp of earning her black belt in Aikido at a Halifax dojo when a new man joined the class. He refused to be in contact with women or to spar with any of the female students.
Power and the other women were told to stay on one side of the room and not to approach the Muslim man to respect his faith.
"I felt like a second class citizen, that I was so disgusting and unworthy that this man doesn't even want to interact with me," Power told QMI Agency. "It doesn't make any sense, why would something you choose, your religion, trump something I'm born with, my gender, we wouldn't let a religion trump someone's race."
The incident happened more than a year ago and Power's mother, Michele Walsh, said she has contacted every level of government but was ignored. She said the sensei told her to "get used to" the gender separation.
A similar situation at York University reignited the issue.
"I don't think anybody's rights should be trampled, so as a person of faith and as a woman I would be offended by this on both sides," said Candice Bergen, minister of state for Social Development speaking in Halifax. "We've seen organizations across the country for decades being able to (compromise) there's no reason this organization and this individual not to be able to do that."
Religion and gender are both protected human rights.
The City of Halifax, which owns the recreation centre, refused to comment citing privacy concerns, but said the city tries to work out human rights concerns between the parties.
Assault is not a crime if done in a sparring session. I’m sure there are lots of people who will join if they hear this swine is in the class.
they even have them in Nova Scotia? Good grief!
“An 18 year old female black belt in this art can throw a guy trained in traditional fighting techniques through a wall”
And a 12 year old boy black belt in this art can throw that same 18 year old girl trained in Aikido through the same wall.
LAAAAAZZZ!!!!!
We need yuh judgement over here!!!
My cousin has never had experience with the Moslem, so her naivety remains virgin. But she also is a flaming Liberal who unreservedly drinks the Liberal Kool Aid, so I cannot say whence comes her irrationality. Perhaps from both. Neither are explicable to me, but over the years I have come to understand the limits of my own abilities to comprehend.
Aikido is a defensive art based on balance, not strength. The attacker is always at a disadvantage because of the attack itself. Whether a 12 year old boy trained in the art or a 35 year old man trained in the art, neither would use strength - only balance. That's why females often choose Aikido to study, because it maximizes their natural abilities by taking advantage of natural vulnerabilities in the act of aggression itself.
This isn't woo-woo and I'm not making it up. Read up on it - it's an amazing story of an advanced martial art developed by a (male) advanced black belt master in multiple arts - Judo, Karate, Kendo, Archery, and others. He wanted to find the "ultimate" martial art, and realized he had to invent it, because all the known ones were based on agrression, which is inherently unbalanced.
And like I said, Special Ops trains its personnel in aspects of Aikido for just this reason.
)... but they should definitely not be paired with men during sparing
So my daughter should have just dropped out of her Taw Kwon Do class after she became the only female in the class.
BTW She earned her Black Belt.
Dear Muslims, our classes are structured to contain both males and females. We understand this may insult your sensitivities. If so, we ask that your refrain from enrolling.
She has no business sparing with men to start with. Men have to take it easy on her to make her feel good or either beat the hell out of her and kicked out of the class. I don’t usually side with Muslims, but this gal needs a reality check. She’s not a man.
When sparring with outside classes, a guy would sometimes make the mistake of going easy on her. They would end up on their butt.
One time the instructor laughed at her after she slipped on a sweaty mat. During the next round, she faked him on a move, and then ‘accidently’ kicked him in the balls. He never laughed at her again.
Exactly.
A woman in Special Ops is a death sentence to men.
Ah, but what a way to go...
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