Congratulations Tom Johnson, sensei

While in the congratulatory mode, I just wanted to make mention of Tom Johnson sensei’s success this weekend in Japan for having passed his Godan examination in Jodo.  

Tom sensei was one of two Australians to pass the Godan exam this weekend. The exam often has a pass rate of less than 25 percent. Success in a first attempt is unusual, and Tom’s result is a clear validation of the extensive work he has done in preparation and frequent trips to receive high level instruction. 

I will look forward to catching up with him in a fortnight! 

Success for Club Members and friends at the Ohori Judo comp

It was great to hear yesterday evening of the success that members and friends of BBRD had at this weekend’s judo competition hosted by the Ohori Club in Pine Rivers.  

Jack Baker won Gold in the Senior men’s U81Kg division, Wooram Choi taking a Bronze in the Masters men’s open division and Craig Hindmarsh taking two silvers (Masters men’s open and the Senior men’s). Kudos to all the crew who train out at Pittsworth, and we shall look forward to Jack’s performance at this year’s University Nationals!

Timetable changes for the next few weeks (or “Tales of the travelling Michaels”)

With school holidays fast approaching there are going to be some changes to the timetable for the next few Tuesdays. 

First, fencing will be taking a three week break while Michael S is visiting Italy. We wish him all the best and hope that he comes back with many a tale of fine food and experiences! 

Second, this Tuesday will be the last Systema session run by Michael C before he heads off to Canada to visit family and to attend the Systema summer camp run by Vladimir Vasilliev. Likewise, I hope Michael returns injury free and with plenty to share once he gets back at the end of August.  

QKR news

The QKR seminar and grading opportunity is fast approaching, and we will need to put in place a number of things this week in order to make sure that everything for the weekend of 14-15 July goes smoothly.  

First, most everyone has sorted out their annual QKR membership dues, though there are a few exceptions to this. Please attend to this matter immediately if you have not done so. Remember, your payment needs to go to the QKR account, not the BBRD account. 

Second, could you please ensure that seminar and any relevant grading fee are sorted before the end of this week. The schedule of fees can be found on the QKR website. Remember that you will need me to sign off on any paperwork for gradings as the dojo representative. 

Third, I would like to sort out our accomodation by this weekend. I know that a number of your have said you are definitely going, but just so we can set up a solid admin trail, could you please e-mail me if you intend to stay with us as a Club group at an Air BnB, or if you would simply like to share a meal with us Friday or Saturday night. I am back in Bundaberg the week before the seminar, and so will be heading directly from there to the Gold Coast Friday afternoon. This will mean that we have to be much more organised than on previous occasions. 

And finally, I’d like to offer a rousing gambatte! for Tom Johnson, sensei who is in Japan this week challenging for Godan in Jodo. I would like to wish him all the best, and shall look forward to seeing him on the Gold Coast in a few weeks time. 

A little project for the next three weeks

Along with catching up on the last three months of projects around my house, I will be spending a portion of time before the start of the new academic term focussing on a number of things that we need to take the Club into its next ten years. 

As we forgrounded at this year’s AGM, we will be looking to get BBRD ready for incorporation as a not-for-profit association. This will require developing a fully worked business case, a redraft of the Club’s constitution, and a consolidation of the Club’s bylaws, including position descriptions for the Executive and a reevaluation of the Club’s risk management framework.  

I personally need to ensure that a number of these matters are progressed due to upcoming reaccreditation requirements for my NCAS Jujutsu qualification (23–24 July), and will be receiving help from Executive members to make this possible in the timeframe. If any other ordinary members would like to help, that would be most appreciated. Please contact me with your expression of interest ASAP so that I can schedule the work flow.  

Incorporation provides a number of significant advantages for the Club. First, it constitutes the Club as a legal entity, allowing it to apply for a far wider range of funding opportunities and enter into contracts such as rental agreements. This then provides the Executive and the membership more broadly with the protection of limited liability, on top of our current insurance cover.  

So as they say in the classics, onwards and upwards! 

Jujutsu for this week

Given that I am now back for the next three weeks, I will be making myself available to teach all the regular scheduled jujutsu sessions over that time. 

However, we will restart the practice of folk booking for the Saturday session from 2.30–3.30 pm. Could you either send me an SMS if you are coming, or indicate on the Jujutsu@BBRD Facebook group. We need a minimum of four people (including myself) to make it worthwhile, especially given our focus this month on ne-waza.  

We will also have a discussion as to whether anyone is interested in an opportunity to grade at the end of this month. You will need to let me know of your expression of interest no later than Wednesday at training so that we can form an appropriate panel to evaluate your performance. The next opportunity to grade will be in late November.  

Final push for the semester ...

I now only have two more exams for this semester, and I am then done till the second week of July. As a result it will be the last week of “regular” semester scheduled training in both Toowoomba and Bundaberg districts till the start of Term 2. 

I will be giving some thought to the training schedule for the inter semester break to how we best continue in the second half of the year. In particular, I am considering options on Saturday Jujutsu given numbers have again been really low. With exams are in full swing, this is understandable. However, I am reluctant to continue classes if only one or two folk are showing up for the hour session. We may have to go back to the booking system that we used towards the end of last year, where we require a minimum of three confirmed students to run the session. We shall have a chat about it tonight at the conclusion of regular training, and see what we can do to make this best work for everyone. 

By contrast, Kendo is going from strength to strength. I particularly relished the opportunity this past Saturday of training with Atsushi-san, a visiting kendo yondan, who will be in the vicinity Toowoomba region for a number of weeks. With a little over a month before the winter QKR seminar, it is great to see everyone’s enthusiasm and focus. Kudos to Minty for keeping things on a role Wednesday nights, and to everyone both in Toowoomba and Gin Gin for throwing themselves into training. 

We are heading into the busy period of the year for the Club. So do stay tuned for updates next week! 

Away again this week

Now that we are heading to the pointy end of semester, my movements will be a little erratic for the next fortnight. I have an exam in Bundaberg Monday 1 pm, so obviously will not be available for Monday’s evening classes, nor Tuesday’s Go session. Next week I will be up there Wednesday and Thursday. I then get a couple of weeks home here in Toowoomba between semesters to recharge, recoup and spend a little more time at the dojo. 

Keep an eye out on the various BBRD Facebook pages for updates regarding which sessions will be run. I will be doing my now usual video session to keep an eye on Iaido practice on Thursday night, and my sessions in Gin Gin and Shalom college. In addition, I will be announcing the date for the next Jujutsu grading opportunity next week once I have confirmed the availability of a grading panel. 

QKR Annual membership fees due by end of month

As most of you will be aware, in order to continue to be a registered kendoka or iaidoka, annual QKR dues must be paid into the QKR bank account no later than June 30. However, I would ask that you please do so by Friday 15 June so that we can just sort out any administrative hurdles before the end of the month, including timely lodgement of your memberships with the National body (AKR).

The cost of membership is a base of $60 for adults and $40 for children plus $10 for each art you are involved in. This must be paid into the QKR bank account (not the BBRD one), the details for which can be found on the QKR website . When you are lodging your payment could you please reference your deposit with either you QKR number and/or your surname so that it can be properly accounted for. In addition, could you please send an email to president@qkr.asn.au and myself at michael.baczynski@bbrd.org.au notifying us that you have paid. 

Paying membership is important. Aside from it being the correct thing to do in order to support an association that provides much return in terms of training opportunities and guidance b senior sensei, It also covers you for insurance should something happen. It is also one of the cheapest martial arts association to be a part of. 

I will be enforcing a strict no training policy for people who have not paid by the 15th, save for brand new participants that are in their four week gratis period.  

Kenjutsu workshop

Hello All,

It's that time again for the quarterly kenjutsu workshop.  The workshop will be held on 7 July starting at 9:30 am at the MEAC.  Hope to see everybody who is interested in the Japanese style of swordsmanship there, especially the kendo, iaido and SMR jodo practitioners (and the jujutsu practitioners as well in that what is covered in this workshop could benefit jo techniques).

Eric