Martial Arts Gifts

Finding martial arts gifts is easy as pie. You can pick them up all over the place - online as well as offline (in what we would like to think of as the good old real world, like in shops and market places :).

Books and magazines, videos and DVDs, weapons of all sorts - old as well as new, track suites, uniforms, belts, bags and what have you not can be purchased in not time at all. I am pretty sure you can - through the wonders of online shopping - get almost anything sent straight to your door or at least to the nearest post or customs office.

But then there are some obstacles; somehow there's always a snake in paradise isn't it? Amongst the things you might bump into, some issues should be viewed as small stuff - nothing to worry about. Other obstacles on the other hand could potentially pose real problems and major headaches. And then you may have the things somewhere in between.

So then I began thinking (yes, it does in fact happen...), "why not make a special page about it, a 'martial arts gifts guide' "? Well, after a period of going back and forth and up and down (for about ten whole seconds or so) I set to work, grabbed a cup of coffee - and here it is in all it's glory (not the coffee - the page...)!

Hopefully you will be able to find valuable tips on how to avoid the obvious, as well as some not so obvious pitfalls. And as a result you may actually end up saving valuable time, money and work. And that's not all. You may also find that the persons to receive your martial arts gifts will be truly pleased with them and put them to good use. Not bad, eh? So let's get right to it, shall we?

A complicated matter all together:

The term 'martial arts' is used to describe styles and systems that may have less common traits than say football and ice hockey. Even though we are all referred to by some as "the pajamas people", and that it all may look the same from the outside, it's not *quite* that simple :-).

In each and every one of these sub-arts, styles and systems there are codes, colors, rituals, methods, badges, do's and don'ts, rights and wrongs - sometimes tiny details that could lead a person into a pile of poo.

Now that I look at the issue from this perspective, it does in fact begin to sound like a bunch of cults occupied by fanatics... What have I gotten myself into?

OK, what the heck, yes we probably are a freakin' assembly of raving lunatics. Now, get over it :-)

Anyhow, all these tiny things - like the way we wear our uniforms, pack our stuff, drink our tea, tie our belts, bow to our teachers and each others; the exact way we walk, talk and knock each other out is important to many of us you know. It has to be a certain style!

So, before you go out and order that uniform, book, DVD series or punching bag for your "karate kid", you really need to do some basic homework. Of course you would also need to use some parental covert tactics (good old Santa Ninja stuff)- after all we are talking about martial arts gifts here!

What I'm trying to say is that you need to know exactly what kind of uniform (to take that as an example) the kids school is using. There may be several sorts of uniforms at any given school, and lots of qualities to choose from (fear not, we will get in to more details later on). Also, you need to know the proper size, and learn how much "over-sized" the actual brand needs to be in order to fit after being washed a couple of times.

Now that we're at it; I am trying to break this to you as gentle as I possibly can... Karate is not the same as taekwondo. And there are hundreds of styles of karate and many forms of taekwondo. Some styles are almost identical, yet some exponents would be very angry if you began to look for similarities in two apparently similar styles.

So let me repeat the first step of the process - you need to have at least a basic understanding of what exactly is the tools of the trade in that given school - not any old pajama will do!

Is it legal to purchase, receive, carry and use?:

There have been cases where people have bought things online, only to find that the things - at best - are being confiscated by the customs officers.

The things that most likely will pose problems are martial arts weapons, self defense items (such as stun guns/tasers and pepper spray) and sports supplements.  Before you risk getting in trouble with authorities, make sure that the things you purchase can be brought into your state or country!

Even if a store or online supplier says an item or supplement is legal and harmless, I wouldn't take that to the bank. It may be in their part of the world but not automatically in yours. And even if something is legal to sell doesn't always mean it's legal to purchase (I know ... Confuse-Us ).

Do remember that these businesses want to ship their stuff. And even though most martial arts suppliers most likely are decent, honest people - this is not always the case. Just keep it to the back of your mind that there are people willing to cheat, lie, "bend the rules" and take chances everywhere. Do your homework and you will be safe!

Talking about weapons, we need to look at the issue of bringing it to and from the martial arts classes (if necessary). These days police and security personnel are more than a little worried about weapons of *any* kind. And this goes not only for the US.

There have been weapon incidents and even killings in places like Germany and Finland. And if your child is found with even the most obscure martial arts weapon at school ground, then you may face some serious consequences.

Even if police will allow some weapons to be used for training at a martial arts facility, does not indicate that it can be brought legally to and from training. If in the tiniest of doubt, please remember to check with both the martial arts school as well as the authorities! Better safe than sorry.

Come back to this page about martial arts gifts often! We will elaborate and build on it on an ongoing basis.

Looking for more tips on how to find great martial arts gifts? Then why not drop by at squidoo.com/martial-arts-gifts? Do drop by any time! And while you're there - why not leave a comment or cast a vote?

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