Brazilian Martial Arts and the Brazilan Government

[Scott Harper]

new
legislation passed in Brazil requiring all new teachers of martial arts,
aikido included, to have a university degree in physical education to be
qualified to teach.

I thought this would be of interest concernings Brazilian martial arts and the government down there.

http://www.aikidojournal.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/000541.html

The link is from Aikido Journal, but I find it interesting.

[John Bennett]

Interesting. It will be educational to see how this thing pans out in the next couple of years.

It's kinda funny to think that your BJJ instructor might not be allowed to teach if he were living in Brazil.

[Mr. Miyagi]

So most instructors would have to go to school again if they want to continue teaching? Man, most of them are going to just come to the USA.

[Dio]

I don't understand why the law was passed in the first place. It said something about physical education teachers lobbyed to get the law passed? Why the F would physical education teachers care about what martial arts teachers education is? They need to start a riot. Riot's are the only way you can get things done. If it wasn't for riots, Rodney King would never of had justice. Riots solve everything. You'll have all the jiujitsu and luta livre people beating the crap out of the physical education teachers who got the law passed. I know i would beat the crap out of every physical education teacher i saw.

[John Bennett]

Dio, they are trying to monopolize the industry.

If a group can make it illegal for anyone but people sanctioned by their group to make money doing what they do, they can limit the supply of that service. Limited supply = higher prices which in turn = higher profits.

It is illegal for you to "practice medicine" or "practice law" unless you are licensed by the governing bodies for those industries.

Fitness Trainers, Investment Advisors, & Auto Mechanics would all love to have the same deal.

Moves to regulate commerce are always inspired by a concern for the "safety and welfare of consumers". Well, that's all good and well until it becomes a simple scam like it is with Funeral Homes. Have you priced a funeral lately?

It used to be illegal for casket manufacturers to sell caskets to anyone who was not a licensed funeral director. Thus, caskets that cost $300 to make were selling for $8,000. There was no competition. They could charge whatever they wanted. Their licensing body threatend to pull the license of anyone who tried to engage in price competition. We consumers were forced to bend over and take it up the wazoo and pay out the nose.

Imagine a municipal licensing board made up of the instructors from your local prominent MA schools. This board would have the power to decide who could teach MA in the city and how much they could charge.

Do you think prices would go up or down? Do you think they would allow you to open a BJJ school?


"We're from the government. We're here to keep you warm, safe, & happy."

[Scott Harper]

Capoeria- "The art reached its height in the 19th century, when many capoeira practitioners roamed the streets in criminal pursuits. At one point during the early 1800s, fines were levied against those who practiced capoerira. Then, in the mid-1800s, the art once again rose to prominence; by 1890, however, the threat of imprisonment was decreed against anyone practicing it, and many capoeirasts were deported. In 1928, finally, the art was formall recognized by the Brazilian government aid in 1972 it became an official Brazilian sport, at which time rules and regulations for its competitive aspect were implemented." from The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia

It would seem as though Brazil has a history of supressing martial arts. Then again, the US is supressing guns for self-protection. I do not know the political climate in Brazil though, or if this could be a reason.

[aseepish]

No big deal, I think a lot of clubs will simply go underground, or bypass the regulations by teaching the same thing under the cover of self-defense, personal security, dance, or something else.

Singapore regulates its martial arts community by granting a license to those it deems qualified. This is fairly hard to obtain, one must first start off by being "certified" by an instructor or style which they recognize. There is a lot more underground training going on then the government cares to crack down on.

Might actually be good for the arts!

Tony