Thanks for your comments, Ziv. No, that wasn't a practical option.

Hi Ziv, What difference opening your bag when you enter or having to open it when you leave because they think you took something without paying for it..

One last comment: In Israel, the security people at the doors of shops and restaurants check your bag when you enter and not when you leave. The circumstances in Israel are that the security people guard the public from terrorists attacks, not the shop owners from shoplifters. I had some awkward moments when traveling abroad, when out of habit, I've opened my bag in front of the guards when I entered.

And regarding Linda's comment of calling the aikido weapons as "dancing sticks", at the airport I followed a friend's advice and referred to it as "sticks for sports".

What a terrible waste, Niall. Was there any possibility to send it back to the US instead of letting the customs people confiscate it?

Yes Carina, sometimes the best aikido isn't a technique. Creative thinking is always good. And someone who is laughing might not feel aggressive any more.

Driving to the dojo and listening to beautiful music I had in front the big golden moon going up the sky. We did exercises with tanto, I hope it fits here, I'd like to share it , uke attacked chudan tsuki and I beside him taking his attacking hand and controlling his arm with mine going down, turning and controlling with legs and feet, one foot on his face the other in the ribs, but he had tickled, his weak point, so after that it was easy to control him every time and we laughed a lot.

@Carina: Yes, I've always wondered how one would fly with one's weapons, especially with the TSA paranoia these days.

Thanks, Keith. It's good to have your knowledgeable perspective on it. The gun and sword law became even more strict in 2009 following that Akihabara incident. A legal blade length is now 5.5 cm (just over 2 inches) reduced from 15 cm (6 inches) prior to that. With the public shock I don't remember there being any opposition to the revision. And it didn't seem to matter that most knife crimes are carried out with kitchen knives anyway.

The ban on weapons in Japan is a result of the occupation by the Allies after WWII creating a variety of laws disarming Japan. It was not a voluntary nor is it even a popular thing today, especially with respect to swords. It took a great deal of campaigning by sword collectors to get the ban modified to allow for so-called "art swords" or nihonto. That's where "hand forged" came from. They have very specific regulations for a sword to get an exception as an art piece. Just fwiw.

A credit card in a woman's hand is very dangerous, the bank account could get deep red I'm an exception

A nail file can be a dangerous weapon. I remember a karateka I once met explaining in great detail the damage he could do with a credit card. That's a true story but it's also a set-up line for a joke. Here's the one from The Full Monty about the damage Gerald's wife could do: "Now what? She's still got credit cards, you know. She's out there now, let loose on t' High Street... with a f***ing MasterCard!"

I'm just imagining how you swing a wooden sword in the plane And Niall what about a nial file?, they are not allowed in your handbag, can anybody highjack a plane with that dangerous weapon?

Thanks, Linda. Yeah that whole story is tragic.

And I've had that experience too taking training weapons on a plane. I wondered about the logic - there's not much space to swing a wooden sword on a plane...