This is more out of blind curiosity than anything else, I dont intend on carrying a weapon or anything. But kuma posted the following: In a thread and it got me thinking. What can someone carry in the UK concealed or otherwise? When I first started training a bought a kubotan because I thought it'd be good fun to learn, but apparently that's on par to carrying a knife these days, which seems odd.
Basically nothing. If you're carrying something with the intention that it be used as a weapon, it's illegal. About the closest would be a walking stick or umbrella.
You can't carry anything without cast iron justification , self defence doesn't count. A carpet fitter on his way home might get away with having a stanley knife on him , that kind of thing , but as i understand the wording of the law is "made or adapted" which when I last spoke to a police man can be made to fit pretty much any circumstance.
Got it in one. Even then the law is still very strict. Cops don't take their batons or spray home anymore, they're kept in the locker.
When you get your black belt you have to register your hands as lethal weapons then get them surgically removed and locked up in a cupboard at your dojo, only to be taken out and used in the proper environment with appropriate safety measures taken to ensure that the public never come into contact with them.
Yeah, my Dad got pulled for that, even though he had all his other tools (he's a joiner)! He spent the night in the cells with a Chef who was caught carrying his knives home, they are worth something like nine hundred pounds. Obviously he wasn't carrying them for intent, he just didn't want them to get nicked! xD
Just like I had to and all other UK males have to do with our testicles after we get married. Right? RIGHT? Mitch
That's not just a UK law Mitch, those rules apply on this side of the pond as well. That's why velcro was invented. :bang:
Last time I got S&S'ed I was carrying a full blown electronics toolkit, including craft knife, several sets of snips and an array of screwdrivers, they asked me why I was carrying it, I said for work, they said OK. No bother. The only way you're getting locked up for something legitimate is if you start acting a prat and getting mouthy.
You need to keep your kubotan in a place where they won't find it during a routine stop and search.I would suggest your anus might be a good place. A small maglite is just as good,perfectly legal and you don't have to hide it in your ass.
You're conclusion is based on the impression that all Police Officers are happy-go-lucky nice reasonable people. Where I used to live They had to put up with a lot of crap. Understandably the Police Officers became much hardier and generally less agreeable.
I always think it would be interesting legal dilemma if I got jumped when carrying a sword, as I do carry sometimes when on the way to a Fencing or Tai Chi class. The Chinese jians are not edged, nor are the European foils, but they do both have quite a point on them, and I reckon you could do some serious damage with them if you had time to get them out of a case and go for it. Such a circumstance would be interesting in court, as they would have been carried for a legitimate purpose and would not have been ''adapted into weapons'' either, since they already were weaponry. Moreover, as they are carried in a purpose-designed sword bag, they're not technically that concealed either, since mine is obviously a sword bag. Until the point where they were being used for defence, and indeed after that point, it would be hard to say if their use was unreasonable if one feared for one's life. In any case, it would be a good advert for Leon Paul or Hanwei if it came to pass lol. Anyone who has ever had a non-electrically-tipped foil tip ride up under the edge of their fencing mask from a badly-timed lunge and had it get them in the throat (as I have a few times) will know that without the tip on it, it probably would cause a piercing wound; because it is bloody painful when tipped and I know from personal experience that it can cause a cut even with that tip in place, so I wouldn't fancy getting jabbed by one with the tip missing, and I reckon one or two of my jians would certainly cause a fairly serious puncture wound too. Back on a more more likely note however, if you want to carry something that in desperate circumstances could be used as a weapon in the UK, your best bet would be an eight-inch long alloy maglite, since what are sold as ''tactical'' maglites and ''keyring'' kubotans are very obviously sold as weaponry with the intention of bending the law, but a simple torch is unarguably completely legitimate right up to the point where you let fly with it. Al
Not really because then the law takes into account that fact that you actively train in the use of these AS A WEAPON. I know plenty of fighters who've gotten into bother after what i would call reasonably defending themselves. The law judges that, as a "martial arts expert" you should be able to control the situation somewhat and avoid injuring the person you are defending yourself from. A ridiculously naive and ignorant point of view taken and made by those who've never actually been in a fight. So you, as a trained swordsman, would be held accountable for any and all physical harm you commit with said blades, blunt or otherwise.
we discussed having a maglite behind the bar at work, I wasn't game for a number of reasons. Like I said I'm not planning on carrying a weapon at all, I've not trained or practiced with them and it'd probably end in more harm to me than good.
With the swords you would be hooped - you can transport them to and from your gym, sure, but SECURELY If you get jumped and go Zorro on their ass your weapon was clearly in a position to be deployed and you will have a hard time explaining things. My absolutely non-legal opinion would be if you DID do this, run and hope you are not on CCTV
There's an awesome quote from an Indian martial arts master in Way of the Warrior, where he says that if violence is unavoidable you should first look round to check no-one's watching