Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.
A small change to jujutsu for this weekend. Michael will be unable to be there on Saturday afternoon. However, for those wanting to do some grading preparation, you are very welcome to come along on Sunday morning from 9.30 am to get in some semi-structured practice while Michael is teaching Kendo.
We will discuss grading matters some more at Training this week!
I hope that everyone has managed to catch up on those odd things that creep up in a Semester over the past fortnight. This week we will be back to broadly regular programming in relation to Club-supported activities.
This week will see the start of an extra iaido session in the 7.45-9.15 session on Tuesday, and Jesse will be starting the fire twirling group Monday and/or Wednesday (as will be advised). We will be working hard to start the kids jujutsu and kids kendo classes in the coming weeks, and we are also still on the look out for a new permanent home for kendo with a suitable floor for practising on.
We will have to play our Monday afternoon kendo training by ear this week — the CBRC might still be partially set up for the graduation ceremonies of the past fortnight, which will mean that we are unable to do standard keiko — as the MEAC is back to Extend use so we will not be able to relocate as we did last week. If that is the case, we will most likely do some kendo kata practice, either at the CBRC or nip across to the Japanese Garden.
In jujutsu we will be continuing with kansetsu waza. Could I ask that everyone try to get to the dojo 15 minutes before the official start of class so that we can have sufficient time to set up and engage with what will be a fairly packed month and a half leading up to gradings.
Given the shortening of daylight, could I also ask that those of you who are coming to Arnis bethere promptly to start on Tuesday.
And we still need to have some more volunteers to help with the regular cleaning of the MEAC. So please talk to any of the Executive members about joining the crew!
April has traditionally be the start of the preparation cycle for Jujutsu gradings here in Toowoomba, with the actual examination taking place in May before the cold weather properly sets in. We will be setting a date in the next fortnight, contingent on an appropriate grading panel being available.
There are a few things to do for those students wanting to attempt grading. First, in order to be eligible to grade, you must be a current financial member and have a reasonable attendance record. If in doubt, please confirm with Michael or Sian.
Second, make sure that you are aware of the requirements of the grade you wish to attempt. These can be found on the Club's Facebook group. If you can't access your particular grading sheet, please ask Michael ASAP. Carefully look at those requirements, and if there are aspects that you are uncertain of, make sure you clarify what is expected. The onus is always on the student to ensure that they are clear about what they have to do, and to what standard.
Third thing is to make good use of your training time. Grading examinations are an opportunity to demonstrate what you know, rather than tests of what you do not know. Make sure that you use the jigeiko time set aside in training well, and hone your practice to the appropriate standard.
And finally, be diligent in your attendance over the next month. One of the greatest correlations for success at kyu grades is the amount of time you put in "doing the miles", practising the fundamentals, and reflecting on what you are doing. Simply showing up for the odd class is a "low percentage" strategy that you ought avoid.
So good luck everyone! I'll look forward to assisting you on the mat over the next few weeks!
Kendo is one of those wonderful paradoxes. There is, on balance, not a large number of techniques to learn, especially when compared with other martial arts. However, getting those things right takes an enormous amount of time, patience, frustration and dedication to perfect.
I wanted to write something this month that talked a little bit about keeping the belly stoked, as a metaphor for both the need to maintain diligence through the inevitable frustration and something I have been working on as part of my own physical practice. ...
Read MoreThank you to all who came along on Saturday and made the Dojo Day fun as always. Saturday felt a little more like summer than autumn, but the dojo remained very pleasant throughout the day.
Big thanks go to everyone who ran sessions; to those that got there early to help give the dojo a spruce up before we started; special thanks to Kristie Greenhatch for going and organising lunch for everyone (I know Sian was especially thankful that she could participate in all session rather than have to cut off early); to those that too pictures — will have to upload them as we have them available; and of course to friends old and new that spent the day doing what we all love!
I wanted to express on behalf of the Club condolences to the family, friends, and students of Vince McCann, shihan, who passed away on Friday 25 March after a long battle with illness.
McCann shihan has been a central figure in Australian jujutsu and has had an important influence on hundreds of jujutsu practitioners over the decades. He was a close mentor and friend to our Club's jujutsu patron, Steve Witney sensei.
A quick thank you to everyone who came along to the AGM at the end of the Dojo Day on Saturday.
The Executive for the new year will be ...
Elected members:
Sian will be assisting Michael with the roles of the President, and Brady will assist Matthew in the role of Secretary. In addition the current discipline coordinators are:
We wish everyone good fortune and success for the coming year and hope to build on what has already been a great start to 2016.
And this, of course, means the end of the first term, a couple of weeks break from regular classes, a chance to leave the mats down for the holidays, and of course, the Australian Kendo Championships, being held this year in Tallebudgera.
First up, this Tuesday we will be starting our evening training a little later than usual as parent teacher interviews are being held that afternoon. Strictly speaking they finish at 6 pm, but we expect there to be a little bit of lag time, as usually happens.
If you arrive at the MEAC a little early please be patient and wait until Michael gets there before entering the MEAC. At 6pm, be ready to help pack away the collapsible tables and chairs that the teachers and parents will be using, concentrating on the end nearest the store room. We will try to get training started as soon as practicable.
Second, there will be no training this Saturday coming as Michael will be helping out on the scoreboard of Court 1 for the AKC. He will be going down and back on the Saturday, so if anyone would like to take the trip and have a look at some of the best Kendo on offer in Australia, please let him know. It would be great to have a few folk come and support Maaike and Ryo in their individual matches as well! Fair warning though, we will be leaving around 5 am in order to get there for 7.30 am ...
Third, I'd like everyone to take the opportunity to look at your training gear and restore, repair and replace things that need attention. We will be doing the same with the Club's gear on Easter Monday so that it is in good repair for the Dojo Open Day the following Saturday.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a happy and safe break. Blessings for you all to be careful on the roads, productive with your assignments, and have fun with friends and family over the next few weeks!
We will be holding the Annual General Meeting on Saturday 2 April after the completion of the Dojo Day.
We are still looking for someone to nominate as Treasurer for this year coming. Please give it some consideration, and talk with one of the current Executive members.
Please remember that if you have not paid membership this calendar year i.e. after 1 January 2016, you will have to ensure that you pay on or before that date. If you are not a financial member, you cannot participate in the AGM, and you will not be allowed to train under the banner of the Club, as membership includes your insurance cover. We will have a PayPal reader available so you can pay on the day with debit or credit cards (if necessary). Our very strong preference is that we operate cashless — unless you have a compelling reason to pay in cash, you must either directly transfer into the Club bank account, use the Stripe facility on the Club's website, or pay on the Saturday with card.
First up, a big thank you to Dylan and Tracey who came in Sunday morning to help tidy up the store room of the MEAC.
You will all notice when you come in next that we have re-arranged the layout of our gear in the store room. Specifically, the School's oval tables are now next to the pieces of stage, the mats have been stacked into a single pile, and our equipment is against the wall. We will be purchasing shelves and storage bins this week to complete the tidy up of our gear, including the relocation of the Toowoomba Kendo Club's bogu. it is expected that this should make the maintenance of the space easier.
However, we do need to be mindful of maintaining the hygiene of the space. In particular, keeping the floor swept, mopping the floor and the mats at least once per week, and keeping the toilets clean. As a consequence, we will be setting up a roster, so that it isn't the same people who are always doing the same work around the dojo. Please talk with Michael this week about your availability to make your contribution to these efforts.
Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.