Club demonstrations at Bunnings Family Night, Thursday 4 December

Just a reminder that the Club will be participating at the Bunnings Family Night this Thursday. Most of the Club's discipline leaders have indicated that they will be in attendance and providing some colour and movement for the evening. As a result there will be no classes at the MEAC that night, and if in doubt, please confirm with your instructor as to whether your classes will be on.

The evening provides an excellent opportunity to showcase what we do as a Club and get considerable public exposure. Apparently there were over 3500 people who came through the store at last year's event, so it would be wonderful if we are able to convert some of those into interested members or supporters of the Club.

Our commitment at Bunnings (ANZAC Avenue) is from 5.30-8.30pm, thought we will require "hands on deck" at the MEAC at 4.45pm to load up mats and Club equipment for the event and afterwards to pack away out gear once done. Please let either you instructor or Michael know directly of your availability for the evening and whether you are able to come help "bump in" and "bump out". 

No Jujutsu training this Satruday, 6 December

There will be no Jujutsu training this weekend either as Michael will be in Collingwood Park for the QKR Seminar (see below).

Training will resume as normal from next week, with the usual December focus on ne waza.

QKR Seminar and grading this weekend (6 and 7 December)

The last major event for the Queensland Kendo community's calendar year is on this weekend with the annual QKR seminar and grading opportunity taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

There is a strong contingent going down from Toowoomba this year with members from both the PCYC and BBRD dojo attempting gradings in Kendo and Seitei Iaido.

For those needing a lift, could you please confirm before Wednesday which days you might require it. At present count, there are eight (possibly ten) heading down for the weekend, so we will have to take two cars.  The plan will be to leave from Michael's place at 6.30 am, stop in Plainlands for some breakfast and be at Collingwood Park for 8.30 am. The day will finish before 4 pm.

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Awards Night dinner menu pre-order required

To everyone who has said they are coming along tomorrow night (Thursday 27th November) to Kajuko (Korean and Japanese restaurant):

Please take a look at the menu posted here and let Sian know by 10.30am Thursday what you want to order. Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you all there.

To everyone else, please remember there is no training in the MEAC on Thursday night as the school has a function. Thank you!

Menu attached

Jugger Awesomness

Sunday was excruciatingly hot. So hot I was pretty much wiped out for much of the day (see following story). However, by all accounts. the Jugger tournament went particularly well, with teams arriving from Brisbane for the day.

We will post more details on the BBRD Facebook page and Toowoomba Jugger pages in the coming days!

Thanks to Itakura Sensei for Sunday training

Just wanted to pass on a quick work of thanks to Itakura sensei (6th Dan) for making it up the hill from Brisbane on Sunday and putting us through our paces. I can attest that my keikogi was at least 2 kg heavier at the end of the session, and my kote able to be wrung out. Doing 100 haya suburi with a bokkto as a worm up will certainly contribute to that!

I had a blast, have a couple of niggling things to refine, and will look forward to seeing him again in less than a fortnight for the QKR Seminar weekend.

Dinner and Awards night

A quick reminder to everyone that you must let Sian know by close of business tomorrow whether you will be coming this Thursday to the BBRD Awards Night and end of year dinner.

Family are most welcome, but you will have to inform Sian of numbers as we will need to ensure that there is adequate room booked.

Deadline for application to grade at QKR seminar.

Just a polite reminder that this Friday (21 November) is the absolute deadline to put in an application to grade fro either kendo or seitei iaido. Tom Johnson sensei has stated that the QKR Board will not accept any late applications.

I intend to physically hand over paperwork Wednesday morning when I head down the hill for iaido practice, so in the first instance please make sure you have your paperwork with me (the easy option) or e-mail me directly so that it can be sorted out before the Friday deadline.

You will also need to directly transfer your grading fee and seminar fee into the QKR account (thank you to those who have already done so).

Bunnings Toowoomba Family and Community Evening, 4 December

The Club has been invited to participate at the upcoming Bunnings, Toowoomba, Family and Community Evening on Thursday 4 December (5.30–8.30pm).

This will mean that there will be no training at the MEAC that night, as all of the instructors will be at Bunnings putting on demonstrations and interacting with the community.

Discipline instructors will talk with you this week to let you know what sort of things we are planning and how you can assist in making this a successful event for the Club. More details will be posted next week, but please put this date in your calendars!

Jugger tournament this Sunday!

After a scorching hot weekend just past, the seven day weather outlook is seemingly more favourable for the Jugger tournament this weekend.

So even if you are not actively participating, do think about coming past the MEAC on Sunday to watch and cheer on the home team!

Keep a look out for any last minute updates and details on both the Jugger Toowoomba Facebook group and the various BBRD social media channels.