We had ours on the 14th at the Tai Pan in Manchester. The food was fantastic. Made them earn it on the 11th though :yeleyes: I'm just hoping I have enough time around Chinese new year for another group meal.
I appear to have developed one single white eyebrow hair.I am hoping this will develop into full blown white eyebrow ,thus meaning my kung fu skills will suddenly grow and I will become all wise etc.
That reminds me of a former student of mine, he only had one white eyebrow though so his White Eyebrow Kung Fu was only half good
I will have to buy a cheap imitation Katana before the ban as I don't want to spend loads on a realy hand forged one and also try to trick the authorities that I would use it in Kung Fu
If anyone wants to sign the online petition here it is: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/swords/ Dont expect a lot though, it took us (airsofters) Best part of a year to gain an exemption in the VCRA (violent crime reduction act). (http://wiki.airsoftcommunity.co.uk/ for info on airsoft so you know what im on about) More info is avilable on the forum but you have to become a member to view it. Ill try and find the date it comes in as the airsoft community were also interested in this and im sure there is a post somewhere with the details, with the VCRA Different parts came in at different times, so you may still be able to buy swords if you hurry. Phill Edit: Quotes from the home office: "Banning the sale, import and hire will take more dangerous weapons out of circulation, making our streets safer," Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said. "We recognise it is the cheap, easily available samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts." So you may be ok to still buy the more expensive items, will post again when i have unearthed more details. Oh and heres a link to my more specific post in the weapons area of the forum: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1402924#post1402924
Thanks for the info! But as CMA practitioners it shouldn't really affect us right? I heard that its only cheap imitation Katanas which are getting banned because they are redily available and usually sharpened making them easy for criminals to get hold of. I can't remember seeing a news story about an assault involving a Tai Chi sword
If the ban is solely to do with the cost of an item then the more expensive swords should be relitively easy to purchase, trouble is i dont think the government will differentiate by cost. Its all to do with the wording in the act, if they are only banning replicas (and use that exact wording) we'll be ok. It depends how vague the government are with their description of a replica, if they are to vauge they will end up lumping real swords in with it. Likeliest thing i can see happening is there being a grey area in the law, whereby you will have to prove to retailers that you are a martial arts enthusiast (by presenting a club membership or something similar) when you purchase a replica or practice sword. Ive been trawling the home office pages and its the most painfully irritating website in the world, when i have a bit more time ill try to find a link so we can inspect the wording of the act to see where we stand. My personal opinion is that to buy real swords (i.e. cost a lot) youll be ok, but buying replicas and practice swords will become a pain in the ****. Its really up to retailers to get a proof of MA id sceme going, if that doesnt happen buying a replica or practice sword will become nearly impossible. phill Edit: ok i cant find the link to the PDf file for the actual act, however i have found out that exemptions for us will be written into the ban which means that they cannot be revoked , im assuming (as they did with the VCRA) That an ID sceme will be a term and condition of the exemption, so provided you have Martial arts identification, and can produce it on request WE SHOULDNT HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!
