[RerRibreLok]

As mingshi said, as martial artists, we need to be aware of how we present ourselves to people unfamiliar with our art. Any person walking down the street doing kicks and punches to practice any empty hand martial art would raise suspicion in a cop, but you were swinging a weapon around. You certainly couldn't be surpised that someone who had never heard of a shinai, let alone kendo, was unaware that it isn't necessarily a dangerous weapon.

As for the suburito, you could easily kill someone with a strike to the head with that. You probably also shouldn't walk around with a baseball bat in the middle of the night.

I do suburi in my co-op common backyard and get to see the neighbors staring through their windows. I certainly would never do suburi downtown on a random street corner.

BTW, my father-in-law was a deputy sheriff in San Jose, and he's seen cops draw their firearms for less than suburi with shinai. San Jose cops are a jumpy lot, with good enough reason, so be careful provoking them.