Study Group Problems

[John_Schmidt]

Hey guys,
Myself and 12 other guys have had this study group going for about 3 months now and our group has been ask to leave the park twice now once by a securty guard and once by some guy in a golf cart eventhough I know we haven't done anything wrong and have only brought wooden/padded weapons and armor I felt that we should just leave without problem I was just wondering has anyone else come across this problem and was asking what I should say to these guys and why do people feel so threatned when a group of wma get together and drill/freeplay

Thanks
John Schmidt

[Matthew_Anderson]

Man, that sucks. I think you're right to just leave without causing a problem, but I wonder, did they give any reason why you couldn't train there? Is it against some city ordinance to bring "weapons" into the park? We train in a park almost every week and haven't really had any problems. One time we had a park employee (at a different park) ask us to put away the steel weapons (I guess they were too scary or something). We continued with wasters. I think the folks at the park where we train now are just used to seeing us and have come to realize we're not a bunch of whackos or something. We frequently have police or park employees stop and check us out, but never give us any trouble or ask us to stop. We also try very hard to present a serious, organized appearance in our training. We're always in uniform, line up in neat formations for drills and excercises, and generally just don't play around. I'm sure you guys are the same way so I see no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to train there. Maybe you should contact the Parks and Recreation department and ask what the rules are and if it's OK for you guys to use the park for training, and if not, why not.

[JeffGentry]

Hmmmm that is somewhat strange in my mind we also train in a park and have never had a problem, we have Columbus city police come by nearly every time we practice and they don't look twice at us, In this day and age i wonder if it is not 1-2 people who don't like the weapon's "promoting violence" so they think they have the right to infringe on your's, I also recomend talking to the Park's and recreation department to see what they say.


Jeff

[John_Schmidt]

He (golf cart guy) didn't really say anything about what we were violating he just told us that it was "against the law"

Good Idea I will contact the parks and rec. supervisor and get to the bottom of this

Yes we do keep everything nice and organized when we meet form up in lines when we drill everyone dressed in uniform and very little joking around

Thanks for your imput
Keep em' comin' guys

[John_Schmidt]

oh yeah and it wasn't the police it was employees

[Matthew_Anderson]

Ya know what? I'd bet that if you were all wearing a gi or other recognizable Asian arts outfit, no one would object. It's the MAN trying to keep us WMA types down I tell ya!

Note:

a. I have nothing against Asian martial arts or Asian arts practitioners
b. I'm not suggesting we wear gi

[Roger Soucy]

Definately contact those who run the park as such things may be against their insurance policies. Also, if park officials really don't want you there, pushing the matter won't help your case. Simply call those in charge, discuss the matter with them, then seek out another place if necessary.

There is likely nothing illegal about what you're doing in your practice sessions, but if someone decides to hassle you about it, it can become a real problem.

[Aaron Pynenberg]

Hello there- I also find this weird- It should not be illegal in a public park. A private one however is a diffrent matter and they could ask you guys to leave. Since, I do not know of many public municipal parks with employees riding in golf carts I suspect that your park is not really a public park but maybe something else. I think the other advice you have all-ready received should suffice- Aaron

[kyle cook]

We have had the same problem here in Houston. The study group here was meeting at a park for almost 3 months on the weekend to train/spare. We had our arma uniform on and did not use steel. One day we were asked to leave and not come back. I called the park department and asked why we were not able to use the park. They said what we did was not safe and it might scare other people in the park. For the 3 months we were using the park, police and park emp. past use by and did not say anything to us.

[Jaron Bernstein]

Hmm...

We did test cutting last week and the police drove right by (as they usually do) without a second glance. In a public park.

It might make sense to ask the park staff beforehand if there is any question, or just use someone's back yard for class.

[Mike Cartier]

we have been training in the park for about 2 years now with no problems. Adrian empire and some other renn fair group meets here regularly as well as a Escrima group. neverh ad any problems.

I would challenege them for a reason why they are denying you access to a public park.

If they don't answer you with a good reason draw your steel and chase them around the park for a few laps to let them know what a good exercise routine this is. <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

[John_Clements]

Hi

Quick question, when you write "study group" you don't mean an ARMA Study Group, do you? Becuase we have no record of any members, youself included, being in Spring Texas.

JC

[Stacy Clifford]

Right, I live in the Spring area, but I train with the ARMA Houston Northsiders group and I don't believe I've met you yet.

[Gene Tausk]

I also echo John and Stacy's statements. You have the North Side study group in Houston who are in your area. There is also the South Side study group that I run and I have not heard about you either.

Spring is not that far from Houston and as Stacy already pointed out, he lives in your area.


---------------&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;gene tausk
SFS
Director - ARMA Houston Southside Study Group

[GaryGrzybek]

I used to bring the guys over to a local state park for training. The first thing I did was meet directly with the superintendant and let them know a little about us. It was never any problem but if we ever bring a large group a permit would be required.

You might just go right to the person in charge and chat for a while. It worked for me.