Informing the police beforehand would not prevent an arrest for breach of the peace if any police officer considered it to be so when the event took place, i.e. it would entirely depend on what you were doing and how the public and/or police perceived it at the time.
Personally I'd be far too self-conscious to wrestle in a park out in the open - it's bad enough in the ring or on the open mats when I go to group meets!!
Any coppers here want to comment? Anyone know a copper with access to the relevant internal guidance?
Maybe contact your local police station first, tell them that you want to practice wrestling in the park and ask them if they would tolerate it? At least then if someone calls the police to say that two men are fighting you can explain to the officer and refer to the prior call.
Not sure I'd want to wrestle in a park with all the dog shit lying around though not to mention other debris of park life ...
Where I live you often see groups of people practicing martial arts (usually of the standup varieties) in parks in the summer. I guess the reason is that many dojos are located in school gyms and are closed during the summer break.
My guess is that people who do greco or freestyle wrestling as a sport (as opposed to wrestling as a hobby) actually do require equipment. You need mats, ear protectors, cups, rash guards, shoes, etc.
On the other hand people who don't do wrestling as a sport do not have the excuse that they need to practice. Technically if you do it in public, it is a breach of the peace, punishable offense in my jurisdiction. If you do it and disturb too many people, you are liable to get arrested. I had sparring with friends in parks before, and we got away with it, but we were careful to find a spot away from children and old people.
Now it is summer (here on the northern hemisphere, at least), and people flock to the beaches and public pools again. Besides swimming, you will see people being engaged in many physical and sportive activities, most of them involving a ball: playing football, beach volleyball, table tennis, shuttlecock, or throwing frisbees. What you won't see very often, however, are people involved in fair wrestling matches.
Which is somewhat odd. After all, wrestling is one of the oldest and most widespread of sports. Almost every human culture has its own form of wrestling. One could say, that wrestling is a basic human activity, maybe even one of the basic human needs.
You don't need any equipment at all, not even a ball. All you need is two people and a lawn. So, one should expect that fair wrestling matches as sportive activity were much more common than they actually are. In fact, in other cultures wrestling is a much more widespread and accepted activity than in our modern western culture.
But then, at and in the pool, you will see many, especially young people tussle for beach balls or trying to duck each other underwater or throw each other into the pool (although conscientious pool attendants will stop such dangerous behavior). Sometimes these playful tussles could almost be called real grappling matches. And you see how much fun it is for those involved.
But even these instances of playful grappling are just short imitations of wrestle-like situations, rather than real sportive competitions or fun matches like you would see them on the volleyball fields or at the tennis tables any time.
So, what exactly is it that discourages the use of wrestling as a normal, everyday sportive activity?
Is it the association with violence implicit in wrestling? After all it actually IS a combat sport, and even the most well-regulated Greco-Roman bout involves the use of direct physical force on the body of your partner. And some holds and moves – especially when you engage in some sort of submission wrestling – are potentially dangerous, or even (in the case of choke holds) potentially lethal. And, how easy can a sportive match degenerate into a real violent brawl ...
Or is it, rather, the “gay” - or more universally speaking “sexual” – look-and-feel of wrestling? The direct contact of two bodies, two skins, which is somehow shunned?
turpin (71)
03/8/2012 00:07Informing the police beforehand would not prevent an arrest for breach of the peace if any police officer considered it to be so when the event took place, i.e. it would entirely depend on what you were doing and how the public and/or police perceived it at the time.
Personally I'd be far too self-conscious to wrestle in a park out in the open - it's bad enough in the ring or on the open mats when I go to group meets!!
Ironbull (96)
31/7/2012 17:28Any coppers here want to comment? Anyone know a copper with access to the relevant internal guidance?
Maybe contact your local police station first, tell them that you want to practice wrestling in the park and ask them if they would tolerate it? At least then if someone calls the police to say that two men are fighting you can explain to the officer and refer to the prior call.
Not sure I'd want to wrestle in a park with all the dog shit lying around though not to mention other debris of park life ...
SileX (207 )
30/7/2012 09:37Where I live you often see groups of people practicing martial arts (usually of the standup varieties) in parks in the summer. I guess the reason is that many dojos are located in school gyms and are closed during the summer break.
My guess is that people who do greco or freestyle wrestling as a sport (as opposed to wrestling as a hobby) actually do require equipment. You need mats, ear protectors, cups, rash guards, shoes, etc.
On the other hand people who don't do wrestling as a sport do not have the excuse that they need to practice. Technically if you do it in public, it is a breach of the peace, punishable offense in my jurisdiction. If you do it and disturb too many people, you are liable to get arrested. I had sparring with friends in parks before, and we got away with it, but we were careful to find a spot away from children and old people.
Sturdy (31)
29/7/2012 23:30I'd love to scrap in a sunny park but passers-by are very likely to call the police!
borbaboy (0)
29/7/2012 13:06Now it is summer (here on the northern hemisphere, at least), and people flock to the beaches and public pools again. Besides swimming, you will see people being engaged in many physical and sportive activities, most of them involving a ball: playing football, beach volleyball, table tennis, shuttlecock, or throwing frisbees. What you won't see very often, however, are people involved in fair wrestling matches.
Which is somewhat odd. After all, wrestling is one of the oldest and most widespread of sports. Almost every human culture has its own form of wrestling. One could say, that wrestling is a basic human activity, maybe even one of the basic human needs.
You don't need any equipment at all, not even a ball. All you need is two people and a lawn. So, one should expect that fair wrestling matches as sportive activity were much more common than they actually are. In fact, in other cultures wrestling is a much more widespread and accepted activity than in our modern western culture.
But then, at and in the pool, you will see many, especially young people tussle for beach balls or trying to duck each other underwater or throw each other into the pool (although conscientious pool attendants will stop such dangerous behavior). Sometimes these playful tussles could almost be called real grappling matches. And you see how much fun it is for those involved.
But even these instances of playful grappling are just short imitations of wrestle-like situations, rather than real sportive competitions or fun matches like you would see them on the volleyball fields or at the tennis tables any time.
So, what exactly is it that discourages the use of wrestling as a normal, everyday sportive activity?
Is it the association with violence implicit in wrestling? After all it actually IS a combat sport, and even the most well-regulated Greco-Roman bout involves the use of direct physical force on the body of your partner. And some holds and moves – especially when you engage in some sort of submission wrestling – are potentially dangerous, or even (in the case of choke holds) potentially lethal. And, how easy can a sportive match degenerate into a real violent brawl ...
Or is it, rather, the “gay” - or more universally speaking “sexual” – look-and-feel of wrestling? The direct contact of two bodies, two skins, which is somehow shunned?
What do you think?