April 06, 2011
Developing Policies for Use of Martial Arts and Other Sports Weapons
Tamsen K. Burke
Associate Professor, Asst. Chair,
University of Chicago
In 2004, a student entered a university athletic facility with a ‘kama’ intending to practice the weapon in an area which was identified as the dance/martial arts room. If you are unfamiliar with a kama, it is a weapon of Okinawan origin that resembles a traditional harvesting sickle. The student was stopped at the facility entrance and questioned about his affiliation with a recognized martial art club. Having no such affiliation, the student explained that he wanted to use the room to practice with the weapon. He was denied access and the campus police were contacted to escort him from the premises. The weapon was confiscated and the student was arrested for carrying a dangerous weapon on university property.
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March 31, 2011
Jim Fitzsimmons
Director of Campus Recreation
University of Nevada, Reno
If you haven’t seen them yet, my bet is you soon will. The Vibram Five Toe shoe, think toe sock on steroids and you’ll get the picture. More and more people are wearing them for running, sports leisure and working out.
Some facility operators have banned people wearing these shoes as they see them as a liability. Some believe they violate the intent and spirit of an ‘athletic dress code’. Most fitness facilities have some sort of a policy regulating footwear and often you will see the terms ‘closed toe’, ‘athletic’, ‘sport’ or ‘appropriate fitness type’ used to describe acceptable footwear.
Where did the five toe come from? You may not have heard but there is a bit of a grass roots rebellion going on against the running shoe industry. In the eyes of many this industry has perpetrated one of the largest crimes against the running community by introducing us to the cushy- heel countering-supination/pronation correcting- gelled-air injected- arch supporting shoe. When used for running these shoes allow the runner to over stride and heel strike in a unnatural manner leading to a running stride that is mechanically bad, inefficient and in the opinion of some, pathologic. We could go into this argument and the supporting data, but that is not the purpose of this article.
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