Defense minister says dead MSDF sailor underwent unusual training

Tuesday 14th October, 11:20 AM JST

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13 Comments

rjd_jr at 11:47 AM JST - 14th October

Heck I've never heard of any military force in the world that uses multiple opponents gang rushing or one after the other for training. Maybe the Soviets or the Israelis might do something along those lines to train against multiple opponents but most fight training is done one on one. Quite odd that a Jp military force would do such unnecessary training.
Philmoscowitz at 11:52 AM JST - 14th October

having to fight many people one after another or as a group in martial arts training is not unheard of. the problem here seems to be that the instructors and group members didn't know when to stop (even if they wanted to "teach him a lesson, i doubt they intended to kill him).
wargalley20011 at 11:52 AM JST - 14th October

I thought he was leaving after two years, not joining. Spmeone's facts aren't right.
rjd_jr at 12:21 PM JST - 14th October

This sailor died a few weeks after being hit in the head from one of his opponents. I don't think it's the way some think, that he was bum rushed and repeatedly pummeled. It was just one of those unfortunate accidents where he was hit in an area which caused damage and led to his death later on. Head blows are no joke.
timeon at 12:29 PM JST - 14th October

in kyokushin there is such a practice, actually from brown belt up multiple opponent fighting is one of the tests for a higher belt. but as we know from the many boxers who died in the ring from hemorrhage, blows to the head are very dangerous. that's why there is a referee, and his duty is to stop the fight one things get dangerous. however, that judgment is sometimes very difficult to make
thepro at 12:55 PM JST - 14th October

Also, the whole 'training' thing sounds like such a bad cover story. More likely he was just beaten by a group of guys that didn't like him, or were ordered to do so.
Nessie at 01:50 PM JST - 14th October

Unusual = irregular.
timorborder at 02:39 PM JST - 14th October

I know of a couple of military forces that will set one against 3 or 4 opponents, however, 1 against 15. Furthermore, the thing that upset me with this whole drama is the fact that the guy apparently had either "Rung the Bell" or was on his way out. Such people are normally off limits. As I wrote in an earlier post, everyone other than the dead guy should be court martialed and jailed if found to be party to this abhorrent crime. Those in charge should also get hard labor if found guilty.
sk4ek at 03:08 PM JST - 14th October

"... 'unusual' training..."

Yeah, he's dead!!!
memyselfI at 03:17 PM JST - 14th October

They should all watch " A Few Good Men " !!!! These guys are supposed to protect the citizens of Japan. Protect the weak and strong !!!!
dennis0bauer at 03:18 PM JST - 14th October

Maybe he wasn't fit to be a MSDF sailor so they gave a "special" training just like that guy at the sumo stable
fatloser at 03:25 PM JST - 14th October

"One of the two instructors at the scene acted as a referee and had other participants force the collapsing petty officer to stand up and keep fighting, they said." Training--that is the MSDF's idea of TRAINING!! The officers have been watching too many action movies and must be a very sorry lot. Too much pachinko and annimation CAN distort your sense of reality!!!
medievaltimes at 03:54 PM JST - 14th October

Dont know all the facts yet, but to me this looks more and more like clear cut bullying.

In my experiences I have found that Japanese often blur together the definitions of "education", discipline", "training", "punishment" and "bullying".