Tim Larkin Banned in UK Ahead of Martial Arts Conference
An American self-defense instructor was banned from boarding a flight to London because it was thought that his presence in the country was not in the public's best interest.
Tim Larkin, who runs Target Focus Training, said that his being prevented from entering the country was a "gross overreaction."
Larkin had been invited to be the keynote speaker at the Martial Arts Show conference in Birmingham on May 12 and 13. He was also scheduled to conduct a self-defense seminar in Tottenham.
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As Larkin attempted to board a plane in Las Vegas bound for the U.K., he was given a letter by the U.K. boarder agency that explained why he would not be allowed to enter the country.
"The home secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the U.K. is not conducive to the public good," a government spokesperson told the BBC.
A previous visit to the U.K. in 2009 by Larkin drew criticism from local community residents who feared that he was there to teach vigilante violence, but Larkin said that he would never teach people to incite violence.
"This is not being a vigilante. You are sitting in your house and you're being attacked, or you're attacked out in the street ... There's an awful lot of martial arts and self-defense being taught there right now that gives no instruction on [how to hurt] the human body," Larkin told the BBC.
He went on to explain that it is a misunderstanding from those who are not familiar with his teachings.
"There is nothing outrageous about it, there's nothing that I'm going around to incite violence or to incite vigilantism - that's a characterization of the people who hear my opinions on self-defense," he added.
Larkin even insists that students of his would actually become less violent because of how they are taught and the understanding of the harm that can result.
"The more you know about lethal applications to the body, the less violent you are. You don't go out seeking it, and you certainly wouldn't misuse the tool," Larkin said.
