have a Brian Blessed related picture i did for b3ta.com.
my new Japanese sword is in the post and should be with me on Tuesday, which is nice, and just ahead of the proposed ban on Japanese style swords. the government haven't ironed out the details yet but it's meant to come into force in April, it has a knock on affect on martial artists like me as i imagine the mental and feral members of our society aren't really going to take much notice of the ban and it'll just send the sale and movement of rubbish badly made swords underground. so the price of trash ebay imports will go up and ner'do well will still get access to them and be able to run into the streets. failing that they will probably just pick up a kitchen knife and use that.
also having not decided on a structure for the ban the government are really on shaky ground. will the ban mean anything made in a Japanese style or just imitation swords, and does it mean that a Japanese style knife can be owned/made/purchased if it is made in a certain way, or if it costs a certain amount. it really need clarification and soon if they are going to pass it as law. it'll affect a large amount of retailers of these products and mentalists will just purchase a medieval or roman style imitation sword with which to get drunk and go on a rampage with.
sorry for the rant.