Congatulations for successful Nyumon jujutsu gradings!

I just wanted to write a quick work of congratulations to all who came on Saturday to participate in the Jujutsu gradings.

First up I would like to thank Steve Witney sensei for forming the grading panel with me and providing that vital set external eyes to benchmark and validate the gradings that everyone received.

I'd also like to thank Brady Albrand for helping the candidates make their last minute preparations before the grading commenced.

As for the grading itself I want to commend everyone who participated. The level of resilience, determination and technical competence shone through and everyone impressed both Steve sensei and myself. To the results:

9th Kyu
Wayne Frith

8th Kyu
Maaike Stehouwer
Tony Schirmer

7th Kyu
Aaron De Smet
Dylan Green
Lauren Ole

6th Kyu (and hence progression to blue belt)
Daen Fryar

Well done everyone!

QKR Winter Seminar details

The next seminar and grading opportunity will be at the Collingwood Park Sports Facility on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of July.

On this occasion we will be offering Kyu gradings in Kendo and Iaido and Dan gradings to Shodan level (if a candidate for Nidan is interested, they need to contact Kevin Humphries urgently at president@qkr.asn.au so he can confirm whether a grading panel can be found). Some of Queensland's senior members will be attending gradings and/or seminars in Japan during that weekend, and we wish them the very best for their Shinsha opportunity.

All other arrangements for the weekend will be as usual, cost is set at $10 per day attended for all participants and QKR standard grading fees will apply.

New Club conditioning classes

Just to let everyone know that we are intending to restart Punchfit this Friday on Campus. Sean Crust, who is an experienced boxing coach, will be joining Michael Baczynski in providing some well grounded pad work for fitness and development of boxing speed and power. Please let Michael know if you intend to come so that we can provide sufficient gear for everyone. We will be meeting at 12.15 pm at the front of the CBRC and starting 12.30 sharp.

Also, if you are wanting something a little different, Lauren Ole is very kindly coordinating a session on Tuesdays 11 am at Milne Bay Aquatic Centre. The work will primarily come out of drills from synchronised swimming, the physical skills from which are directly applicable to all of the Club's disciplines (and is wonderful fun to boot). Would be great to see you there! (The picture attached is an approximation of what Michael looked like at last week's session :) )

Restarting Social Kendo at St Josephs College

This Wednesday will see the recommencement of social Kendo at St Joseph's College, Mackenzie Street, Toowoomba.

Kendo has been in hiatus at Joeys since Hatai Sensei's departure at the start of last year. However, thanks to Cody Dimech's enthusiasm, there are 12 students keen and raring to go this Wednesday at 1.30pm!

We hope to nurture this interest and will seek to expand the practice of kendo at schools in Toowoomba over the coming months.

And of course, don't forget regular kendo keiko will be on Wednesday afternoon in the GX room from 4pm.

Jujutsu Nyumon gradings this weekend

This Saturday the Club will be facilitating Jujutsu gradings from 9th through to 6th Kyu at the MEAC.

The gradings proper will run from 12.30-2.30 pm, but the dojo will be open from 11 am for set up and last minute practice. Pre-grading training will cost $10 for those wanting to attend. Grading fees will be $10 for application to grade (non refundable) and $20 for registration of a successful grade. As is done in Kendo, the full fee is payable before the grading commences and a refund shall be provided if the candidate is unsuccessful.

Please print out a copy of the grading criteria for the exam you wish to attempt and give it to Michael either at training this week or on the Saturday before 12.30.

Spectators are most welcome, so please come along and support those fellow Club members attempting a grading!

Thanks to Phoenix Central

I just wanted to announce that the Club has been just been awarded as a recipient of a $2000 grant through Phoenix Central for the purchase of more mats. While this is less than the Club had applied for, it is a very generous amount of money and will help to expand the training surface at the MEAC.

Ultimately, the Club is working towards a full sized Judo shiaijo, consisting of an 8 x 8 m yellow matted play zone and a 2 meter border surrounding that. Mats are expensive, costing approximately $220 per mat to purchase and ship to Toowoomba, so we will be holding a number of fund raising activities over the coming months to speed that process along.

Many thanks to Kate Charles and Peter Munster for their efforts on behalf of the Club, and we look forward to working with them to secure the extra revenue needed to obtain more mats.

Aikido moving venue

Thomas Banhazi has announced that the Aikido classes will be shifting from the Mort Estate Activity Centre to the Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre, Baker Street from the week starting 26 May. The new advertised training times will be:

Tuesday: 6.45 - 8.15 pm General/Weapon Class
Thursday: 6.45 - 8.15 pm General/Advanced Class

There will be a need to relocate 24 of the training mats across to the CBRC, and this will be undertaken on Saturday 24 May. Any and all assistance to help load the mats onto a trailer/ute and unload them at the other end will be gratefully accepted by Thomas, as the CBRC closes at 11 am on a Saturday.

Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo Intensive Week, July 2014.

This mid-year holidays will see the running of a SMR Jodo intensive week. Humberto Heyden, one of Nishioka Sensei's students, will be visiting Australia from Chile and we will be hosting him in Toowoomba for a week of evening sessions and a weekend of intensive seminar, where we also hope to entice Glen Henry Sensei and Arai Sensei up the hill to participate.

We will post details as soon as they are solidified. It will be an excellent opportunity to develop a foundation in this koryu discipline and one that we will actively encourage Club members to participate in, regardless of their "home" discipline.

Upcoming visit by Kurt Graham, Kyoshi

Over the past few months we have been negotiating the return to Toowoomba of Kurt Graham, Kyoshi. Final details are still to be ironed out, but he should be at the BBRD either the last weekend of June or the first weekend of July — so after USQ Semester 1 exams finish and still within the mid-year school holidays.

Of course, we will post more details as soon as they are to hand, including the format/areas of training and costs. Keep a eye out over the next few weeks and pencil in the dates!

Congratulations Toowoomba Kyokushin Karate

I wanted to express a big round of congratulations to Dave Johnson and all of he Kyokushin-ka who have made the move into their new premises at 114 North Street.

Kyokushin has been training out at the Mt Lofty campus of Toowoomba State High School for the past three years on a less than ideal floor surface, and are now back on hardwood floorboards. It is an excellent move, as the venue will be available for all fitness, kids and adult classes run by Dave.

Will certainly look forward to the upcoming open day at the new facility and provide the usual support that BBRD is known for!