Training in full view of the public

[mook jong man]

I used to take my class to an alleyway for some realistic training it was across the road from our academy in one of the main streets of Sydney's busy china town .

Never got hassled by police , elderly chinese people used to walk past and stop and have a bit of a look and smile , probably thinking to themselves what's this white guy doing teaching all these chinese Kung Fu.

 

[punisher73]

The only thing I have had happen during outdoor workouts other than a curious person asking questions is the idiot who feels the need to roll down his window and lean out yelling "HIIIIII-YAAAA!" as they drive by.

 

[harlan]

Ditto, for various reasons.

...I'm of the belief that no one should be able to see the training who is not a participant in it...

1. There is context. I think context is important.
2. Then there is the audience and the purpose.
3. It's a private study.

If you want to know what is going on in the dojo, even if you are a current or past student, then show up and participate. Period.

 

[Phoenix44]

Do you and/or your school ever train in a public place outside?

Yes.

If so, have you ever been stopped by local law enforcement?

No.

 

[Fiendlover]

I was up in the mountains in a spot that i usually train at which is on a very steep hill with a good sized square of concrete that i can pretty much do anything on when a bunch of dirt bikers came up the steep hill. they were about to go down the other side but took a break where i was practicing. One was nice and greeted me (there were four men in there probably early twenties) and the others watched but one didn't want to see a teenage girl do all this stuff (i had my sais out during this time), so he got on his bike and got onto the concrete square where i was practising (there was plenty of room around me and he didnt have to go anywhere close to me to do anything) and drove very close circles around me to see if i would hit him. I ignored him and continued until the nice gentleman told him that they were ready to go and apologized for his friend. That was about for i usually dont practice anywhere but there and my yards.

 

[Carol]

On Saturday morning our sensei had us jog outside to a little open space near the roadside to practice choke scenario techniques. We stood in a circle with the "defender" in the middle while "attackers" would step in randomly from all around to attack. This went on for about 20 minutes or so, then everybody had had a turn so we jogged single file back to the studio. Just as we entered the parking lot a police car pulled up and asked sensei if everything was okay; no less than 8 people driving by had called in about it supposing it was a real attack or maybe some kind of gang thing, I don't know, LOL. We're all a little older than typical gang age .

At any rate it was comforting to realize the citizens of Huntington Beach are so alert. In my neighborhood I doubt anybody would have noticed, much less called.

Thoughts?

I think the reaction was probably due to the fact that the training was going on near the roadside. When I lived in one of Boston's neighborhoods, I would regularly pass by some Chinese folks in the park leading a Tai Chi group and it never fazed me (I didn't start my own martial training until years later.)

If I wasn't in MA) and I came across guys doing other MA techniques in a park, I don't think it would bother me. Likewise, I don't think it would bother me if I saw a group of people practicing in a church yard or a couple of guys messing around in front of their apartment building. But...get closer to the road, and my spidey sense starts tingling. Sounds a little too much like a real story that would happen.

I don't regularly train outside. However, when I was training in Kenpo I would occasionally meet up with a friend of mine to go out to Marblehead Light (lighthouse park alongside the ocean) and invariably we'd end up practicing forms. We got curious stares (some in amazement, some in distaste) but never any bother from LEOs.

 

[Guardian]

We use to train outdoors all the time, parks, parking lots, grassy hills, sand areas to get a feel for all different terrains and footing problems.

We use to get allot of looks, but of course since we were cops, we didn't get any visits LOL, allot of looks though, audiences so to speak.

 

[geezer]

If the ground isn't even, it's easy to get hurt.

That's the general idea. I attended an escrima seminar in Las Vegas in July a couple of years back. On the first day I attended, the rented dance studio where the seminar was held had problems with the AC and the temperature got to well over 100 degrees. So I inquired with some locals and managed to find a beautiful city park with shady trees and a lake nearby. I convinced the Grandmaster conducting the seminar to give it a try (over the objections of a lot of the students who didn't want to train in a public place). Well it worked out great. There were no problems with hecklers or gawkers and it was far more comfortable outside under the trees than in the broiling hot studio. But the real advantage was just what Gordon pointed out. The outdoor terrain. The Grandmaster made us move off the level, grassy ground and onto some steep hills. Later he made us train on rough and uneven ground criss-crossed with tree roots. His advice? Get used to training combat on the roughest, gnarliest surface available, because if you ever have to defend yourself it won't be on a polished floor in a clean, well lit dojo!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

My sons and I practice outside and we have gotten some intersting looks when the juk-to and hogu come out, but otherwise, its been pretty trouble free.

Daniel