[noonespecial]

Martial arts taught me quite the opposite. Fighting is difficult and dangerous and the outcome is far from certain, regardless of the level of experience. Its not like a Jackie Chan movie. You opponents don't wait in line for you to get around to them and one hit to the head with a hard object can be fatal.

I'd submit to you the opposite. Less TV and more martial arts training would make people much less eager to start a fight.

[billswift]

There's an old saying - the world's best swordsman isn't afraid of the second best, he's afraid of the worst, because he can't predict what the silly SOB will do next. A serious martial artist will avoid fighting when there is no need, because in a fight your opponent is trying just as hard as you are to win and Murphy's law is always waiting. No matter how uneven the fight looks their is NO guarantee, and losing a fight REALLY hurts.

[rw]

We can observe this as a natural experiment: what are the rates of street crime in Japan vs. the US?

[redcap]

Really not a good comparison. a) the culture is so much different - a lot of acting for the good of the group rather than the individual, and b) there really aren't _that_ many people who study martial arts.