Thanks to all who helped on Saturday— and more regular cleans

Just want to put out a big round of thanks to Brad, Harrison, Peter, Raymond, Sian, and Tracy, who gave up their Saturday afternoon to help start the Holy Name school year by giving a good scrub to the mats and a thorough tidy of the MEAC. Special mention to Ray, who also continued on to give the rest of the School community a help with the P&F organised tidy up of the school grounds, and to Sian and Tracy who gave the toilet area of the MEAC what seemed like its first thorough clean is some time.

We talked with Kathy Bliss on the day and the Club will be looking to assist the school community on a more regular basis, including providing assistance on working bee days and taking regular charge of cleaning the MEAC, including the toilets, and more regular mats cleans through the school term. To that end, the school will be providing some more cleaning equipment to that we can keep the dojo space to the standard that we should expect.

Some expectations for Club members to be mindful of...

One of the great joys of being involved with an authentic martial art, as opposed to just a physical activity or ordinary sport, is that there is a chance to work on improving all aspects of yourself as a person.

Part of that is the honing of situational awareness, development of personal responsibility, building of community, opportunity for service to a community, and reinforcing fastidiousness where it help to conserve, preserve, and make safe the physical environment that we train in. Much of this is laid out in the Club's expectation of members and students, which can be found on the BBRD website.

There are a few things I would like to emphasise and hope that everyone in the Club can rise to the occasion and improve on over the coming months. Most are already putting these into action, but there are always going to be things that could do with improvement. These include:

• Removing your "outside" footwear when entering the dojo space. For instance, in the MEAC we can consider the space contained by the red boundary line to be the "active" dojo area. If everyone sticks to this, there ought to be less mud and muck tracked into the space where we train, whether than be on the mat or on the open floor. Likewise, if you are going outside or to the toilet, always put on footwear so that you are minimising the risk of contamination being tracked onto the training areas.
• Be on time. Sometimes, it is unavoidable to get to the dojo for the start of class. However, if it is becoming a pattern, you need to examine whether the cause is actually within your control, and what you can do to make choices to change that.
• Actually, don't be on time, be early. If you are only barely making it in for the start of class, then you are actually running late. This is because there are always things to do even before class starts.
• It's not someone else's responsibility— step up. A very important part of doing martial arts, whether as a student or an instructor is the notion of service. We collectively gain the benefits of a functional training environment, even if we are not immediately using it at the time. For instance, one of the first things that ought to be done before training commences is a complete sweep of the hall — yes even the bits that aren't directly being used, or are being used by another discipline that evening. The benefit is twofold. First, it reduced the amount of transferable filth to the parts of the place you are personally using. Second it helps to foster the collective ownership of the space. And no, it should not be the same few people doing the same tasks week in and week out.
• Leave the space in a better condition than when you found it. It can be a little disheartening when using a shared space to come in and see last time's effort being undone in a matter of days (hours?). And when you are rushed, it can sometimes seem like the last thing you have time for is to clean up. However, if you use something, make sure you put it away. If something is out of place, put it away. If something needs repair or replacement, pull it out and identify it so that it can be done ASAP rather than being "rediscovered" when the item is needed.
• Be kind— To yourself and others. Remember that Compassion is one of the guiding principles of the Club. Care of others is important. Self care even more so. We all have off days. We all sometimes need to take time out. And there is no way that someone can properly contribute when they are running on empty. This also means taking care of personal issues such as hygiene (clean body, clean uniform, trimmed nails, maintained equipment), taking time to recover from injury, and not "beating yourself up" over "stuffing up" or failing to meet a performance target. It is also offering yourself generously and fully in your capacity to train at the level you (and your partner) agree to.
• Be responsible for your own training not someone else's. Rather than try and "fix" someone else's technique, concentrate on your own. If you have the basic "shape", try and perfect it. If you think it is spot on, try and replicate it every time. You should be in the position where you are told to stop doing what you were set rather than waiting for instructions or, worse still, be "caught" doing something completely different. If you have a question, ask.

So I hope that this helps to act like a prompt for your training over the coming months. And above all else, have fun!

Reminder: Holy Name (MEAC) Working Bee this Saturday

Just want to remind everyone that the Holy Name Primary School will be having a working bee to help get the grounds and facilities ready for the new school year this Saturday starting at 12 pm.

I would like for Club members to come along and help out, particularly with ensuring our own equipment is properly cleaned and stored in the MEAC. This includes a full mop down and clean of the mats.

The working bee is planned for between 12-4 pm, which a barbecue afterwards for volunteers. I will confirm with the school this week if this means that we can train jujutsu as usual from 4pm. I will let everyone know during classes this week as to the state of play in regards to that.

Farewell to Kristina Lappin as Treasurer

It seems a little at times that the position of Club Treasurer is a little like the Hogwarts teaching position of "Defence Against the Dark Arts", in that our Treasurer's have rarely extended their tenure beyond a year.

In that vein, I would like to express the gratitude of the Executive to Kristina for her efforts in the role as Treasurer this year. Kris has done more than anyone else to bring some order to the unruly rag-tag collection of invoices and membership forms that have accumulated over the years. Anyone familiar with the Dylan Moran comedy Black Books might have some appreciation for the enormity of the task that Kris faced when she took on the job.

The plan is that the Treasurer's responsibilities will be divided up among the remaining Executive until the AGM, which will be held in March. However, if one of you have a burning desire to step into the role, please let yourself be known and we can introduce you to what needs to be done!

Farewell to Stuart Shaw

I am writing with a little sadness to inform Club members that Stuart Shaw has made a decision to leave the Club.

Stuart has been teaching Chinese Martial Arts under the auspices of the Club for the past three years, and had at various times helped to facilitate Systema and Arnis sessions. He was instrumental in bringing Jugger to Toowoomba, and has been actively promoting the Chinese combat sports of Sanda and Dragon Wrestling. 

Unfortunately, after an extended period of negotiation, Stuart opted not to accept the framework agreed to by the rest of the Executive Committee for running classes under the banner of the Club.

I understand that Stuart has communicated in some way to his affected students, and that he is intending to take some time off from teaching to concentrate onother projects and recover from a few niggling injuries.

I would like to reiterate that all students/participants in Stuart's activities remain members of BBRD and are most welcome to participate in any of the other disciplines and activities that are supported by the Club. However, you will have to contact Stuart directly regarding his future plans for Tai Chi Ch'uan, Dragon Wrestling, Sanda and Jugger.

We wish Stuart all the best in his future endeavours and hope to see continued success for his initiatives in Toowoomba.

Date savers

Two things to note in the next fortnight. Michael will be going down to the Kenshinkai, Brisbane on a fortnightly basis, starting this Saturday, between now and the Australian Kendo Championships at the end of March. If anyone else is interested in coming down to train in Brisbane, please let Michael know as he would love the company in the car of a Saturday morning. We would be leaving at 6.45 am for an 8.30 am start in Mt Gravatt.

A second date claimer is for 12–4 pm Saturday 23 January. Holy Name Primary School is having a working bee in preparation for the new school year, and I would like to offer the services of Club members for that date. We can at the least take care of the Club's space in the MEAC, and provide assistance elsewhere in the School if needed. Please let Michael know if you are available for that afternoon.

Classes this week

We are almost back to what will be regular programming from this week.

At the MEAC, Jodo is scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, Systema for Tuesday and Thursday, Jujutsu for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and both Arnis and Iaido will be in their regular Thursday slots. In addition, Go is still being played at the USQ refectory (1 pm) on Tuesday, Gym and Swim will be back Tuesday and Thursday morning at Milne Bay.

Kendo is back at the PCYC on Sundays, though we will be another week away from USQ sessions. Just a reminder that from this year he USQ sessions will be on a Monday afternoon rather than a Wednesday afternoon (but still at 4 pm). Finally, we will see what the demand for a Posture and Flexibility class is, and we may start them up again next week. Please let Michael know what your availability is so that the classes can be planned.

Also ,just a quick note also to say that it is understood that Stuart Shaw's classes will be on a hiatus. Once more details are provided I will, of course, let everyone know what is going on.

Hatsu geiko: The first training of the year

We are now almost one week into the new year of training, and I just wanted to state my appreciation for everyone who participated in Keiko Hajime this year. As always, it was an enormous amount of fun to share some of the disciplines with folk who do not usually train in them. And for me personally, I must admit that I did smile as my suburi bokken was passed around as we finished up the Itakura sensei inspired warm up.

As I mentioned on the night, one of the gifts that the first training of the year provides is the opportunity to reflect on the opportunity in each and every training session to have a fresh start and fresh eyes. Much of what we practice at the Club is founded in the Zen principle of mindfulness and presence. What has gone before is irrelevant — previous success and failure are simply shadows. Instead, what you are faced with, the only thing you are ever faced with, is the moment of action you are currently engaged in.

In that spirit, I wish you all the best in your training year ahead. Do maintain your brightness of mind that you had during your first training for the year, even though family, professional and academic life will inevitably press in over the next twelve months. Be generous, be joyous, and be kind to yourself and others. Gambatte!

Welcome to the New Year!

I hope that everyone has managed to recover from their break, and are ready to get back into the swing of things from tomorrow night!

Keiko Hajime will be held Tuesday 5 January at the MEAC. We will be starting things off at 5 pm with a dojo tidy and mop down of the mats. Training will commence at 6.30 pm. Final schedule is still to be set, but there will be an opportunity to participate in (or have demonstrated) Arnis, Jujutsu, Iaido, Kendo and Systema.

If you have not already let us know, could you tell Michael ASAP if you are intending to be there so that we can cater appropriately for the light supper afterwards.

Arnis study group now starting at 5pm Thursday

Arnis study group will now be starting at 5 pm Thursdays in order to get a full hour of canes in. We want to have a look at the first few levels of the core curriculum in preparation for a visit by Don Ouellette late January, once he gets back from visiting family in Canada.

Please feel free to come down and have a go if you are interested!