Kung Fu Weapon Posession In A Park (Ontario)

[skyjhand]

Hi everyone! I'm looking for legal sources that outline the possession of kung fu weapons at a park. I checked e-laws for a bit and only found stuff on guns. I want to practice at the park across the street without any trouble because my backyard is pretty small. Please let me know if you have any information or portals that could steer me in the right direction towards the written laws that describe said topic. I wish to pursue loopholes so that I may bring them to the park and practice. Also I'm assuming if I wanted to walk to the park it would have to be concealed in a case. I heard that somewhere, but I never saw written evidence to prove it to be true.

[mickey]

Greetings skyjhand and welcome to the forum,

You would probably be better off consulting your local police department about that. We are now considered "nation states" (the term is popping up more and more). So, your state laws are the deciding factor with your inquiry.

Have you considered using wooden weapons or varying lengths of sticks? It is much less of a headache. And who would want to confiscate a bunch of sticks? For a chain, attach a handball to a length of rope.

mickey

[David Jamieson]

We don't have states in Canada. We have provinces.

No, don't consult the police, they enforce law and do not give good legal advice.
Better to know the law and know your rights. The police are not there to assist you in that matter. They are there to arrest you if you break the law, That is their job.

You can find the laws regarding the use of such things in our criminal code.
Here is some information that narrows that down for you.
It is presented by a lawyer and it is relating specifically to Ontario.

http://ejmas.com/tin/2004tin/tinart_agnew_0104.html

[GeneChing]

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What is legal to carry is a tricky thing here in America because there are municipal weapon laws on top of federal laws. For example, nunchuks (https://www.tigerclaw.com/nunchaku-martial-arts-c-340.html) are illegal in California, Massachusetts and New York. But they are also illegal in certain counties that have made specific bans against them. For an overview, see When Nunchuk Skills Get You Busted: Nunchaku and the Law (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1135) by Greg Lynch Jr. As for Ontario, I can't speak to that specifically, but I do know that our parent company Tiger Claw does not ship nunchuks to Canada. There's always issues getting 'weapons' shipped to Canada.

When it comes to 'kung fu (http://www.martialartsmart.com/weapons-chinese-weapons.html)' weapons, that's a little trickier because our arsenal is so exotic that many of our weapons aren't defined specifically within the law. This is where it becomes the decision of the arresting officer. The arresting officer can determine intention, basically if you are carrying said weapon with malicious intent. I've also had Kung Fu brothers get shaken down in a way where a particular weapon was defined as something else - officers tried to get them to define a chain whip (http://www.martialartsmart.com/45-27.html) as a nunchuk and in another case, butterfly knives (http://www.martialartsmart.com/45-69l.html) as Filipino Butterfly Knives (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?66824-Balisong-in-Movies-The-Outsiders-(1982)). It can be a very delicate situation.

[Jimbo]

A very long time ago, I was practicing in a park here in SoCal with some KF weapons...specifically, a wooden dan dao (single broadsword). On this occasion, a cop drove up, sat in his car awhile, then came up to me and said someone reported a man in the park swinging around a 'samurai sword'. Apparently, someone from one of the nearby houses called it in, but he wouldn't say who. He examined my wooden broadsword a bit, then handed it back and told me to be careful with it(!).

The park in question is often used for little league, soccer, tennis, etc., but on that morning it was empty except for me. Even if the 'weapon' you are using is only a wooden prop, you could still have the cops called on you. Luckily, I only had my wooden dao and not my steel-bladed gim which, although not really sharp, would have undoubtedly given the cop some ammunition to question me further.

Later, I taught KF for a few years in a bayside park, but this time it was near a small police station and a main lifeguard station. Prior to teaching, I informed them of my intent to teach and asked about any legal issues of teaching in public. We later trained with staffs, and the cops and lifeguards there knew who I was, so we never had any issues with them.

At this point, I no longer train in public parks anymore. Weapons-wise, the only one I handle at all right now is the staff, and I only do bag work and target training (no forms) with it, so my backyard is sufficient for that.

[bawang]

drop your ego and use a stick.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Not sure what weapon you are referring to BUT I assume you mean a bladed weapon of some sort.
Swords and such are NOT concealed weapons and as such you can carry them IF they are IN their scabbard.
The issue is doing forms and exercises with them in a public place, the key word being PUBLIC.
First off, you really do NOT need that much room unless you are using a "pole" weapon ( spear, halbread, etc).
I know some forms can carry you all over the place BUT they all can be modified to cover less distance too, so...

BUT if you really want to be out in public and doing your stuff you really SHOULD be using wooden training weapons for no other reason than safety, forget the Laws for the moment, it just makes sense to be safe and to keep the public safe and you can find a wooden training version of every rigid weapon there is.

So...

[bawang]

in "authentic tradition" you train with a stick. so if you are using wooden weapon you are not authentic enough.

[David Jamieson]

Here's a couple of pieces of advice if you need to explain to a cop why you have a sword or whip chain etc.

1. I am practicing an art form for an upcoming demonstration at a cultural event.

2. These are ornamental and used for demonstrative purposes related to traditional cultural values.

It's not illegal to have or use these things though the linked or chained weapons are prohibited in Canada. Nunchaku are illegal, whip chains are illegal, 3 section staff are illegal.

But, as cultural ornaments, they are fine. Never describe it as "a weapon". Never say you use it to defend yourself.

[SteveLau]

A decade ago, I went online to search for the local law that cover illegal (non-firearm) weapons. It has very specific and technical detail on the definition of such weapons. They are called Gravity Weapons. For example, a blade with a handle where one pointed end extends out between the tiger mouth of our hand is one. The law requires owner of the weapons to register them at the Police Department. So from than on, I bring less my steel Dao to train outdoor. I even had once being questioned by the cops in a patrol car for seeing me carry a four foot long bamboo pole. Nothing serious came out of it. Nowadays, I use the pole to replace the steel weapon and/or get rid of wandering dog when I train outdoor.



Regards,

KC
Hong Kong

[xinyidizi]

How about practicing the real weapons in my backyard? Can the neighbors report me?

[SteveLau]

Your backyard is private property. So the charge has no legal base.



KC
Hong Kong