Traveling with Weapons
(Extracted from Aikido-L)
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 22:03:46 -0600
From: Evan Van Dyke
Subject: Traveling with Weapons
To duck out of the Lurker's corner a moment, I am going to be traveling over the
next week and am planning on bringing my bokken&jo along so that I can practice
a bit. The catch, of course, is that I'll be flying with them. Has anyone had
luck taking along their weapons bag as carryon luggage, especially recently?
I'll check them if I have to... but the thought of baggage handlers + long
things doesn't sound too great.
Thanks all.
--Evan
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:21:55 +0100
From: Eva Fenrich
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
Hi!
Try to check them in as "oversize" luggage... That's what I did recently. No
problems with that... Or you can ask if the bag can go as carryon (dont't call
them weapons!!!!!!!!). Friend of mine recently travelled with a long walking
stick from Germany to South Africa .... no problem as cabin luggage... My
impression is that this depends much on the airport you are travelling from and
the airline ....
Good luck ... have fun
Eva
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 10:32:38 -0500
From: Mike Bartman
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
I took mine to the Boulder list seminar a year and a half ago, and checked them
in with Northwest. I didn't have any problem with them getting damaged, because
I'd built a case to pack them into out of PVC pipe. Worked like a charm.
It was basically just a length of 5" PVC pipe, with an end-cap glued on at one
end, and a threaded cap at the other. I drilled a hole through the overlapped
threads for a carriage bolt to pass through to lock it, and drilled a hole
through the end of the carriage bolt for a small padlock to keep the bolt in
place. Just to make it look extra scruffy, and for some scratch protection, I
wrapped the whole thing in duct tape, and made a rope handle, also wrapped in
duct tape, and a rope shoulder strap. It was strong, and it didn't look
valuable, so it made it through just fine.
Showed up in Denver in the ski racks (they must get a lot of skis coming through
that airport...they don't have those in DC... :^)
I had pics of the case up on a web site so that people could see what I was
describing, but that site is gone now. If anyone can put them up where
others can see them, and if there's a desire for that, I still have the pics on
disk here and can e-mail them.
-- Mike "it was strong, cheap and easy to make in an afternoon" Bartman --
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 08:57:09 -0700
From: Jun Akiyama
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
I personally have not taken any weapons on board a plane as carry-on, although
when travelling through Asia last summer, my friend took her jo as a
carry-on item as a "walking stick" and didn't have any problems (despite the
fact that the Bangkok airport has _big_ signs declaring "walking sticks will not
be allowed as carry-on").
I've checked in my weapons bag with multiple weapons in it (usually at least one
bokken, one jo, one shoto, one tanto, and maybe one shinai) and have never had
any problems with their getting damaged.
One thing to remember is to _never_ call them "weapons" to anyone. Good
alternative wordings to use include "sticks (for martial arts)", "dancing
sticks," and "wooden poles."
Jun
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 10:58:31 -0500
From: Mike Bartman
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
I called mine "practice sticks" and the Northwest check-in lady had no problem
with them.
-- Mike "maybe she thought I was a doctor?" Bartman --
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 08:58:41 -0700
From: Paul Gowder
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
ps.
Last time I traveled with weapons, I stuck them in a bag, and wrapped them with
huge amounts of bubble wrap inside the bag. The length isn't a really big deal
-- I don't think even baggage handlers caan break something as thick as a jo/bokken
without trying reasonably hard. I was worried about banging and denting etc.
-Paul
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 08:51:27 -0800
From: Julian Frost
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
On Thu, 21 Mar 2002, Mike Bartman wrote:
> I took mine to the Boulder list seminar a year and a half ago,
Me too.
> I didn't have any problem with them getting damaged, because I'd built a
> case to pack them into out of PVC pipe. Worked like a charm.
I used the same expandable PVC fishing-rod carrier that I bought to carry my
Aikido weapons in 1989 when I first came to the US. The check-in folks ask
what's in there, and I tell them wood samples, or wooden sticks. I've never had
a problem. I've only once been able to carry my Jo and Bokken in the cabin (in a
cloth bag), and that was in 1990 on a flight from San Diego to Berkely.
A few years earlier though, I carried my Katana, in a bag that looked like a
leather gun case, on my lap, on a flight from Uppsala, Sweden, to London! But
that's a whole other story! :-)
Julian
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:05:26 -0800
From: Giles Chamberlin
Subject: <No subject given>
I used a similar drain pipe approach taking an iaito to Japan several years
ago. It showed up some interesting cultural differences.
Travelling through Heathrow airport with a 4 foot long tube strapped to the
outside of a rucksack excited interest and it all went through an X-ray machine.
Him: "What's that then?"
Me: "A sword"
Him: "That's OK then"
On the way back, Narita airport wasn't particularly worried by bazooka like
tubes, but on discovering the contents it was carefully unpacked by a jo bearing
policeman whilst his machine gun toting friend watched us. And I desperately
struggled to explain that it was blunt and not a national treasure that I was
smuggling out of the country.
But as a means of cheaply and compactly protecting "sports equipment", I'd
recommend it.
--
Giles Chamberlin
http://www.jujutsu.org.uk
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 13:38:27 -0500
From: John Seavitt
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
Jun Akiyama suggested:
>One thing to remember is to _never_ call them "weapons" to anyone.
>Good alternative wordings to use include "sticks (for martial arts)",
>"dancing sticks," and "wooden poles."
"Fencing equipment" seems to work well and doesn't seem to prompt too many pesky
follow-up questions. I've done it four times since September, checking them
while in the trusty PVC.
Mike B. -
I've got a friendly server where I can stick your PVC "recipe". I'm already
using it for a dumping ground for some info on caring for wooden buki and some
chanoyu stuff.
John
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 12:58:04 -0800
From: Leopoldo Zapiain
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
[ * Moderator: Cut * ]
Never have even tried taking them as carry-on. Don't imagine you'll get up to
the batting box, much less to first base now days.
Go to your nearest WalMart or Sports store and but a fishing pole case. Mine is
nothing more than a 3" PVC pipe with caps and a lock. It should cost you about
$10-20 and will protect your weapons nicely.
Not much different from what Bartman described, but mine is more elegant. When
you don't have Mike's size, you stand to be made fun of, so I have to guard my
image. ;-)
Good luck,
Polo
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 16:49:08 -0500
From: Rebecca Nisley
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
Best thing to call your jo to airlines people??
"Athletic equipment."
I was able to put that PVC pipe Mike B talks about inside my Bujin weapons bag!!
Didn't even have to spend an afternoon, just took the case and stuff to the
plumbing supply house. Now THEY had some fun with it, but not the airlines. And
my husband's fishing gear fit in too. Rebeccab "trimmed
enough?" Nisley
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 16:52:25 -0500
From: Rebecca Nisley
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
Re Paul's comment that he didn't think that " even baggage handlers can break
something as thick as a jo/bokken without trying reasonably hard.:"
When Nonaka sensei from Hawaii to teach VKS summer camp, he checked his bag and
they broke his favorite jo; thankfully not his favorite bokken! Also, re my
previous post, I checked the Bujin bag with PVC pipe. --- RN
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Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 22:42:41 +0000
From: James Baldwin
Subject: Re: Traveling with Weapons
On Thursday 21 March 2002 04:03, Evan Van Dyke wrote:
> To duck out of the Lurker's corner a moment, I am going to be traveling
> over the next week and am planning on bringing my bokken&jo along so
> that I can practice a bit. The catch, of course, is that I'll be flying
> with them. Has anyone had luck taking along their weapons bag as
> carryon luggage, especially recently?
Hi Evan!
I wouldn't dream of that, particularly at the moment! You'll probably
find that you wouldn't be allowed to take them on as hand baggage because they
won't fit in overhead lockers.
I flew with my weapons from Britain to Colorado for the THOROUGHLY GREAT
AIKIDO-L SEMINAR (subtle hint) a couple of years ago. I went to a DIY store and
bought a length of drainpipe, and a couple of end pieces to act as caps. I used
duct tape to secure some rope to it as a strap. Cheap enough not to matter if it
gets a little beaten up, but quite strong enough to survive being dropped or
knocked. I handed it in straight to the security check in and had them x-ray it
as I checked it in, and had no problems at all, probably because they could see
there was no metal in there. I told them it was sports equipment.
> I'll check them if I have to...
> but the thought of baggage handlers + long things doesn't sound too
> great.
Mine didn't come out on the carousel with the rest of the luggage, but
there's usually a desk where they hand out unusually shaped bags. I had no
problems with this.
Good luck - let us know what you do!
-- &nbbsp; James
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Last updated on 13 Sep 2002