So, What Is Locksport – The Black Hatter Hackers Of Real Life?
Like everything else, skill breeds competition. Locksport is the recreational sport of lock picking (no surprise). Locksport puts people’s lock picking skills to the test by picking several different types of locks and seeing who can pick through them the fastest. These places definitely have an air of sneakiness and rebellion – like you would imagine a group of computer hackers would chill. At these places, you will find hacker-minded folks testing and teaching each other the sport of lock picking. There are several meetups if you live in a big city, so there is rarely a shortage of people ready to hangout and pick locks. Some call this the fight club of lock picking, others call it the black hatter club of the real world. Whatever sexy metaphor you want to use, it is just a group of people picking locks and having fun.
The History Of The Sport Of Lock Picking
Open locksport started back in the early to mid 19th century. The reason it took off then was because this is the point in time where the manufacturers of locks were getting nervous about the security measures of their locks getting picked. In doing this, lock manufacturers sanctioned these locksport events very similar to how tech companies of today hold white hat hacking conferences to improve their software products. Many companies back then thought that their locks were impenetrable, however through the test of time, we have found that this has never been the case.
It may seem a bit funny, sitting around… picking locks with peeps. However, it is actually super fun. It really is like an underground gathering of life hackers. No matter if you are a beginner or seasoned vet, there are always people with new and different locks that you have probably never seen before. There are a bunch of leagues that you can find to take part in. If you are in the Los Angeles area, you can find the NSL Lockpicking guys. A cool group of guys that will help you become a better lock picker. Most of the members here are either recreational competitive types or professional locksmiths. You can almost think of this sport as the locksmith Olympics, as everyone is trying to show off their skills over each other. It is however, pretty casual with drinks and cool people. There is no shortage of creative people in the organizations, so if you have any locks that you can’t pick – then bring them!
The Competitive Landscape of Locksport
The competitive landscape of locksport has been changing a lot in recent years. It is growing in popularity in a major way especially in the USA and New Zealand. Maybe it’s because everyone is preparing for the zombie apocalypse, or maybe it’s just a fun and practical skill. I will leave it to you to go check it out and make your own assessment. For now, happy picking and hit us up if you have any questions about the wild and underground world of locksport. Do you want us to post more meetup opportunities from around the world where you can connect with fellow lock pickers? If so, let us know where you live and if you think that would be of any help to you guys out there!
