SUFFOLK
The trial of Susan Bateman, a karate teacher accused of kicking her students in the abdomen and charged with child endangerment, was postponed today.
Michael F. Fasanaro Jr., Bateman’s attorney, said he hadn’t had time to get a response from an Indiana doctor he’d asked to comment on a medical report submitted by the prosecution. The out-of-state doctor doesn’t necessarily agree with the local doctor’s assessment on the injuries of one of Bateman’s students, Fasanaro said.
Two students, including an 11-year-old boy, received more than 200 kicks during a class while training for a tournament, according to police. Bateman is an instructor at Jeff Bateman’s Isshinkan Academy of Martial Arts in Suffolk. Police said she challenged her students to take as many kicks as they could stand.
The trial was scheduled for May 28.
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200 kicks to the midsection?
Wow . . . either she wasn't kicking them very hard, or they've got abs of steel . . . otherwise they'd be in ICU on life support. But they walked out of class with only a few wee bruises? And they were training for a full contact tournament against folks who WOULDN'T be pulling their punches (or kicks). It was voluntary, the students were not injured, and I'm not sure upon what grounds they'd be able to convict. Real bad judgement, though . . . I bet she won't be repeating that particular exercise again. "Hey Ma, guess what? I got kicked in the belly 200 times today!" "You WHAT???"
You have got to be kidding?
You say that you take Karate to learn self-defense and toughen up your body. So how does an 11-year old taking kicks to the mid-section teach self-defense and toughen up their body? Wouldn't adequate training in self-defense, i.e. Karate, prevent taking shots to the mid-section? I don't care if it is 1975, 1988 or 2008, I believe the age of "kicked" is the main factor here. How much does Mrs. Bateman weigh? How much does the typical 11-year old weigh? Get my point tough guys?
Where were the parents?
Where were the parents? My guess is they dropped off the kid and left the premises. My bet is that they never sat through a session. If they had and this was a problem, they should have discussed it with the instructor. Our son took martial arts classes and we always sat through them to make certain that what was taught aligned with our values and standards. Parent need to learn to parent. The courts are simply enabling bad parenting by allowing lawsuits such as this one.
Uh, guys...
...take off your belts and put down the bricks and boards. No one is suing Ms. Bateman. It is a criminal trial brought on by the city of Suffolk for child endangerment.
The evidence looks damning, but I'm not on the jury, so I'll not pass judgment on the criminal matter.
I used to take Karate
When I was much younger, I took karate. If my parents sued for over things that happened, I'd be paying in cash for my college tuition, instead of loans. Get over it; this is the whole idea behind karate to toughen up your body.
Ridiculous
Having earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do before my 18th birthday, I can easily say that this is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. You take karate to learn self defense, to toughen up, to train your body. A large part of the methodology involves trauma to your own body. Kicks, punches, blocks, etc. I feel sorry for anyone who tries to better the lives of today's youth because lawsuit-crazed parents will always find a reason to sue. If my parents had sued for all of the things that today's parents do, we'd be millionaires by now.