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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2010 15:43:57 GMT
when public, or exposed to view of public... bonzai, you have excellent idea. CS has a couple of polypropylene swords, then woodies are ok too. although i hear the pollies are more balanced.
as for th OP.... i dont quite think it quals as politics, but rather legal issues.
how long is your sword and what type? do you have a blunt, or live blade? things like this could make a difference. also, if you are interested, i once made a fencing dummy. i used a fiberglass whip (like the flag for a bicycle goes on), and mounted it to a post. if you parry then lunge incorrectly it snaps the livin hooha out of you.... kinda like grandma with a switch whoopin your tail. i will start a thread in training aids later about this.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2010 23:37:05 GMT
when public, or exposed to view of public... bonzai, you have excellent idea. CS has a couple of polypropylene swords, then woodies are ok too. although i hear the pollies are more balanced. I don't know who told you about the balance on the CS practice swords... At least for the hand'n'half it's TERRIBLE. A good wooden waster would be loads better I imagine. Or nylon. Or RSW. To the OP: Don't let a police officer freak you out about it. I would call up the police station and get the official low-down, and make sure they give you a specific law you can look at.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2010 1:23:54 GMT
I would like to point out that police often do not know the law. Strange but true. Police will often try to tell you you broke a law when you haven't.
For example. I bought a double edged knife in a store, I had asked a lot of questions and was told that while perfectly legal to carry in view. That the local police did not like them and would give me trouble. I accepted this and it took a few months but finally the police took my knife. I went to court, and was given back my knife, plus now I had legal document stating I had beat it in court. I kept this document with my knife. I saw the same cop who had taken my knife and had a conversation with him about it, and he agreed that is what the courts are for. To verify if something is legal or not. Even though I had told him when he was taking my knife that it was legal.
So if you find the laws say you are with in your rights and it is legal. Then get a copy of the laws and have them on you when you practice. If a cop tries to intimidate you, then hand then the copy politely. Explain to them as you understand it you are within your rights, but if there is a law saying otherwise you would happily obey it.
If on the other hand the laws are clear you are not legal, or that it is not clear one way or the other I suggest finding an alternative. Either a backyard or other such thing. The idea of putting out an ad asking for others who might enjoy the same is a good idea.
I also do fire spinning, with poi. This is another one of those things that cops just aren't knowledgeable about. Spinning balls of fire on chain can freak people out, including the cops. While quite legal to do in many places I have had trouble with cops being called more than once. The most common way to avoid this was to gather as a group of fire spinners on property that was known to have room and no complaints. The act of a group coming together to share in the practice of skills like these is quite fun too. The social learning between the group and the ability to share stories info etc makes it quite fun. It becomes an event that you look forward to.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2010 3:14:31 GMT
Let me start by saying that I feel it is well within our right to practice outdoors so long as we are safe, and I think people who freak out about a martial artist safely doing their thing are silly.
Out of curiosity, are you using blunts or sharps? That could have HUGE bearing on how these things can and will be perceived. Back when I lived in the OC, before I was as experienced as I am now (not that I'm all that experienced), I used to practice in a park near my house. Spoke to the police about it, made sure I was in a big, open area with no-one around when I did, and I always used bokken/mogito. It still caused some issues...nothing serious, but issues nonetheless.
The way it was told to me is this: You can have it on you as long as it is secured in a holster/sheath and in plain view. You can wield it (non-projectile, of course) as long as it is in a non-threatening manner and you are not putting people in harms way. If, however, someone should be uncomfortable or feel threatened by your actions, you are then brandishing a deadly weapon. It's a threat to the peace and you are creating a public disturbance, so they (the police) are within their boundaries if they decide to shut you down.
It's a similar thing that Jenn and I have discovered with reptiles, too. Sure, we love our reptiles. Sure, we've walked around with snakes pushing ten feet all bundled up around ourselves. We understand that there is no threat to us or others, as we know our animals. The problem is, though, that others are not always comfortable with people wandering around with big snakes...in fact, some people are terrified by the thought. Not only are we running the risk of scaring someone half to death and ruining their day, we are also facing the risk of causing a scene, disturbing the peace, and being confronted with legal action of one kind or another.
It's cool, it's fun, it's good for us...but not everyone sees it that way. While we do have the right to do what we do (provided we are not hurting someone), they also have the right to not feel like their safety is threatened.
I don't like it. I think it's stupid that people get so freaked out...then again, there are a lot of psychos out there, and who can say that some stranger swinging a weapon around in plain daylight isn't one of them?
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: It may be within our rights, but it is not always the best course of action. With swords, just like reptiles, all it takes is one too many people with a negative association to royally screw up sword lovers' (reptiles, too) hobby/passion/way of life.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2010 6:02:23 GMT
well said, mate.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2010 18:49:28 GMT
Snakes LOL Onetime I was taking my bass amp up to my dorm room while also having a large king snake wrapped around me. A guy saw me at the door and was nice enough to hold it open as I walked through with the bass amp. He didn't notice the snake until it was about a foot from his face, at which point his eyes almost bugged out of his face, and he ran off screaming Nothing ever came of it though
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2010 19:22:26 GMT
I hear ya on the snakes lol, my 4 yr old corn snake scares people when its just sitting in his aquarium, like its going to break through the glass and bite you with its venomous fangs!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2010 18:22:37 GMT
Liam lives, at least i think he still does, in an apartment. perhaps he can offer advise. Yes, I still do live in an apt. While I normally practice indoors with a wooden waster, I have upon occasion (though I need to do this more regularly) gone to a local park to practice. Normally when I am outdoors I don't even use my wasters but my cane or walking stick (a converted shovel handle) I have had no problems to date. Normally, I'm also pretty much a magnet for unwanted attention from local authorities (probably the long haired hippie-ish appearance I maintain - they always think I have drugs or something). However, I haven't had any weapons complaints. I think the key is that when I'm outdoors I'm not using anything that looks overly much like a weapon. As for the walking stick, since I walk with a limp from actually having a bad hip that tends to back everybody off. Since you were on your own property, I think you were well within your rights but I would do some serious research on local weapons laws and have a printed copy of them in your pocket while practicing, as has already been suggested. Other I really don't have much advice a lot of weapons laws are based on the "perception of threat" not actual threat. It sucks but we have to suffer for the misconceptions of the ignorant.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2010 4:14:44 GMT
I see what you mean Liam. In Texas where we have The Castle Law... home self defense law... it states "felt as if your life was in danger."
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