World

Karate Instructor Kicks Student 200 Times

by Jordan Yerman | November 30, 2007 at 06:55 am

776 views | 0 Recommendations | 2 comments

This sort of behavior is best left to Cobra Kai. Yeah, Karate is, by its very nature, a contact sport, but emphasis tends to be on the "sport" aspect, and not on the "contact", especially in youth classes. This sort of thing is inappropriate for eleven-year-olds, unless those eleven-year-olds live at the Shaolin Temple, but that's something entirely different (Wu Shu, not Karate).

Karate teaches self-control, discipline, and moderation. But Suffolk police say one lesson was too much for a young boy, when instructor Susan Bateman, of Jeff Bateman's School of Karate, kicked him in the ribs and stomach more than 200 times.

Police say Bateman was teaching her students toughness, challenging them to take as many kicks as possible.

"Some students may have taken ten kicks, and some students may have taken fifty kicks. And two actually took over 200 kicks," says Debbie George, of the Suffolk Police Department.

One student, an 11-year-old, was injured. George says "he did suffer some internal injuries and possibly a fractured rib."

Bateman turned herself in last Tuesday on a Felony charge of Child Endangerment. But a conversation with Susan Bateman's brother sheds a different light on the karate instructor.

"Sweep the leg, Johnny!"

Cue some very pissed-off parents...

And, yes, there's video (courtesy of AP, embedded in both sources above), but it doesn't show the actual kicking of a child.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

ciemnyaniol

at 15:44 on March 5th, 2008

I have trained with this woman , and she is a wonderful person and not the monster that the press is making her out to be. She cares for all her students as if they are her own children. And her son is a student at that school a 2nd degree blackbelt.so for those of you who would condemn her without even knowing her or any she has trained with i suggest you get more informed.

Jay95 (not verified)

at 20:19 on May 28th, 2009

This is ridiculos the kid couldve stop him at any time It clearly stated some kids toook ten and some toook fifty but he decided to take 200! im a 4th dan black belt and ive trained for many years and never heard of such i believe the press is blowin the story up alot!!!