Martial Arts Expert Banned From Entering the UK: 'He Teaches Extreme and Violent Self-Defense That is Unwelcome Here

Tim Larkin, a successful self-defense instructor, has been banned from entering the U.K. because, in the words of MP Rosie Cooper: "He teaches extreme and violent self-defense that is unwelcome [in Britain]."

One of Larkin's philosophies, according to the Telegraph, is: "violence is rarely the answer, but when it is, it's the only answer."  His website elaborates:

The truth is… your best self defense in a life-or-death confrontation is injuring the other guy. And it’s the one thing that makes us so different.

Because, when you…

• Try to keep yourself from being stabbed – you’ll get stabbed.
• Try to avoid being shot – and you’ll get shot.

It’s the dirty little secret every predator knows but no one in the self defense world talks about.

When facing violence on the street today, the only thing guaranteed to get you out alive is injuring your assailant.

Larkin was planning on teaching a number of seminars in the London-area, particularly in Tottenham, where the worst of the riots were located last summer.  He was also due to be the keynote speaker at the Martial Arts Show in Birmingham on the 12th and 13th of May.

"It's a gross overreaction, especially with some of the people who are allowed to come in and out of the UK," Larkin commented to the BBC.

"There are those rare, rare black swan occasions - like the riots - where law-abiding citizens are put in situations where they are facing grievous bodily harm and they hesitate because they are afraid of being prosecuted. That is a very real thing," he explained.

Even British citizens are seemingly finding the exclusion order a little ridiculous, with the story being featured in the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian, and the BBC.

But is there something more to the story?  Or has the Home Office decided that they overreacted?

At this point, it seems they've actually doubled-down.

Larkin's presence is "not conducive to the public good" and could encourage vigilantism, a Home Office representative declared.  MP Cooper added: "I would [like] to thank the member of the public who alerted me to the threat that Mr. Larkin poses."

Tim Larkin, on the other hand, believes he is being penalized for criticizing the Britain's self-defense laws. 

"I am not advocating that the UK should be like the US.  What I am advocating is that the UK should go back to laws it had, prior to 1920," he clarified.  Prior to 1920, there were far fewer gun-control laws in Britain.

This leaves many asking: is Larkin's story just the equivalent of Britain's gun-control crowd going too far, or is there validity to the claim that self-defense training leads to increased violence?  And if America's gun-control crowd succeeds in villainizing firearms-- will basic self-defense be next?

*This article has been revised to show that Larkin is not a former Navy SEAL, despite widespread media reports saying that that he was.