I always liked Jackie Chan, who has practiced martial arts since his early childhood, and chose a sweet and comic screen persona that contrasts with his formidable athletic skills.

He doesn’t come across as a bully, or a man who confuses his movie roles with his real life. Steven Seagal is another story…

An Arizona man is suing Steven Seagal after the actor-turned-lawman mowed down his fence in a tank as part of an animal cruelty raid by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s SWAT team that left 100 chickens dead. Yep, a tank. Oh, and the man says they also shot his puppy.

Rough justice for an incorrigible animal abuser, or a shameless reality TV stunt that victimized an innocent man and his beloved animals? That’s for the courts to sort out.

Okay. As we get older, even the supernaturally gifted martial artists slow down, so maybe Seagal needed a tank to go after those chickens, which can give you a nasty peck if you face them unarmed. We’ll probably never find out who shot the puppy.

I used to study Aikido. It’s a Japanese martial art that takes respect very seriously. Seagal lived in Japan as a young man, married a woman whose family was instrumental in the dojo where he was a student, and then left Miyako Fujitani and their children when opportunity called in the USA. His history with women since has appeared to be a series of ‘trading up’ marriages and divorces.

Miyako Fujitani is a pioneer in women’s martial arts and a respected master teacher in the Aikido community. She is not making headlines for running over chickens so you’ve probably never heard of her. But she’s the real deal.

Miyako Fujitani Sensei wrote a book, ‘Precious Time’, that she excerpts here..

Now I have made up my mind to live my own life, this remaining precious life, by following my inner voice and the wisdom　gained from my bitter　struggle with fate. By writing this book, I hoped to be released from　my burdens, having had to carry on by myself after Steven Seagal abruptly left for　the USA, leaving behind our family, the dojo, and me.

I think she speaks for many women who keep faith with their children and their responsibilities, unsung heroines, most of them.

It’s so easy for a movie tough guy to get an outsize place in public life. Sheriff Joe Arpaio gets all kinds of attention for stunts that debase his public trust. And California is bailing out from years of their Governator. So it matters when poseurs grab the spotlight and define the role.