Dear all,

As you may have heard the Government is currently working on a law which is focusing on Knife Crime. With this new legislation they also want to introduce what is call the "Sword Ban" in the UK. I would like to take the oppertunity to inform you of the current status:

As far as we are aware this new legislation has not been signed into law yet. The focus is on knife realated crime. It also will forbid the selling and importing of samurai swords. As we understand at the moment, we are talking here about sharp swords. We are not sure about Iaito, which are blunt.
Second, the law will ban the selling of samurai swords, the buying therefore still seems legal. We do not know that importing means at this stage and time. If importing is only realated to a business, a single person could still buy a iaito abroad.

We are going to contact the Ministry of Justice and will be asking for clarification on these matters. We hope that we can ensure that all Iaidoka are allowed to carry their sword from and to training without any issus. As a matter of precausion, the IAI is issuing Membership Certificates to all its members. This will state our name and will also explain more about Iaido and the IAI. This certificate can then be shown to any legal authority requesting information and thus hopefully assist you in sorting any problems.
If you are experiencing any issues or troubles, please do not hesitate to call the IAI or send us an email and we will be happy to assist you in any iaido related issues.

Thanks and regards,
Björn

President Iaido Association of Ireland