Martial arts experts and doctors condemn instructor's 'sleeper' hold demonstration
TAYLOR AUERBACH THE DAILY TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 09, 2013 6:27PM
MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR CHOKES OUT TEENAGE GIRL 0:25
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A martial arts instructor is under fire after putting a sleeper hold on a teenage girl and knocking her out. Courtesy Seven News.
MARTIAL arts experts and medical professors have slammed the actions of a taekwondo instructor who was filmed "choking" one of his students to sleep in a demonstration on the state's north coast.
Video of the incident was obtained by Channel 7 and appears to show sensai Michael Landas putting a sleeper hold on 16-year-old yellow-belt Crystal Trost.
In the clip, Crystal is told to raise her arm in the air - which then drops to her lap when Mr Landas places his bicep around the girl's neck and applies pressure.
After the incident Crystal says: "I just had the weirdest dream ever".
Mr Landas can also be heard telling the class Crystal is about to go "unconscious" before he performs the move.
"It's crazy," said Australian Martial Arts Academy head instructor Sarah Perkins.
"It's unheard of … You're teaching kids to be doing something potentially harmful and you're switching off someone's mind for a period of time.
The parents of Crystal demonstrate how Michael Landas choked her but are not concerned about it. Source: Supplied
"Having a child choked out brings martial arts against everything it should be known for … I wouldn't have my child in a school where they were choked out."
Ms Perkins said her instructors adopted a philosophy of as little contact as possible and said the act depicted in the grainy video borders on child abuse.
"I'm sure parents have gotten in trouble for smacking kids and this is a lot more dangerous," she said.
Michael Landas could not be reached for comment.
The girl's mother Michelle Trost is believed to have filmed the sleeper hold and told Channel 7 she wasn't worried for her daughter's health.
"No, it wasn't disturbing because I knew what was going to happen," she said.
The video has also sparked outcry from health experts, with prominent Sydney surgeon and Daily Telegraph columnist Dr Gordian Fulde comparing the act to a "hanging".