Solidarity and sympathy

It is always saddening and frustrating to hear once again the aftermath of hate. News of the mass shooting in Orlando Florida is again an ugly reminder of the pull that fascism has on the psyche of civil society, and the tragic consequences that flow from a peculiar mix of disenfranchisement, sense of entitlement, and disdain for the right of others to live their personal lives as they choose.

I will not comment on the background of the shooter, save to say that whether Wahabist or Westboro, or just being a nasty piece of work, violent intolerance not theological orientation is a clear root for this abhorrentdisregard for life.

So solidarity and sympathy for all the members of the LBGTIQ community both within the Club and in the broader community. Vale to those whose lives were lost, and thoughts to those of you deeply affected by this, both today and in the coming weeks.

Kendo at the CBRC today

So yes, we are finally back on sprung floorboards!

Hope to see as many of you as can make it at 4 pm for kendo keiko.

Date Saver: Embu at Geham State School Friday 24 June

I wanted to wish all of our members and friends who are in the throws of preparing for examination block (starting next week) all the best.

I just to provide a date claimer on the Friday of the second week of exams. For those of you who are free, we have been asked to provide a morning of demonstrations and small martial arts workshops as a part of Geham State School's end of semester Japanese celebration.

We will be hopefully providing a range of the Club's Japanese activities on the day, dependent on how many members can come in support. Please let Michael know ASAP if you are interested and available for the day.

Kendo: Still homeless today

We still do not have access to the CBRC stadium, and given the weather it is likely to be quite unpleasant/damp in the Japanese Garden. So hope to see folk on Sunday morning!

Jujutsu grading results

I was enormously pleased with the results from the Jujutsu grading held on Saturday morning. First, I would like to commend everyone who put themselves forward for shinsa, especially those who were feeling sub-par due to illness or injury. It demonstrated significant mettle to put in the requisite performance on the day.

I would also like to thank those of you who participated without grading. To Brady, Aaron and Peter for ably offering themselves as uke for candidates to demonstrate their proficiency, to Sian for organising pizza for lunch, and Geoff for being the official cameraman for the day.

Commiserations to Raymond for being unsuccessful this time. Although having worked very hard and making large improvements, he was not quite able to meet the criteria for his attempt. We will, of course, work together to polish out those rough bits between now and the next grading opportunity. 

And of course congratulations to the successful candidates:

• Matthew Greenhatch — 9th Kyu
• Oliver Ward — 8th Kyu
• Matthew Mcenery — 8th Kyu
• Will Jurgs — 7th Kyu
• Tracy Campbell — 6th Kyu
• Dylan Green — 5th Kyu

So well done everyone, especially so Tracy as she now has earned the right to wear a blue belt in training. This symbolises that she has successfully completed the first portion of the Jujutsu syllabus (the nyumon), and is now advancing to the more difficult chuden or mid level of the syllabus. Well done — and we will have to work on those forward flips!

Kendo: Will confirm location for today (Monday 30 May)

We have a 50-50 chance of getting back onto wooden floors today for kendo. I will provide a SMS message to everyone once this has been confirmed (positive or negative).

Default position will be another session in the Japanese Garden. Se you there!

Kendo in the Japanese Garden Monday 23 May

Unfortunately we have not been able to secure a venue for kendo keiko this afternoon, and we will be practising at the same spot in the Japanese Garden from 4–5.30 pm.

Michael will be "bogu-ing" up, so you will be able to practice striking as well as the kata that we touched on last week.  Look forward to seeing you there!

Jujutsu shinsa this Saturday

The month is fast drawing to a close and we are rapidly drawing towards the culmination of many months of sustained effort at training with the Jujutsu grading opportunity on this Saturday.

I would like to congratulate everyone for their efforts to this point, and wish all candidates the best for the peak event.

A little house keeping:

• The shinsa will start at 10 am sharp. Could folk please try to be at the dojo from 9am so that we can properly prepare the dojo, including a good tidy of the main hall and setting up chairs for observers.
• For those jujutsuka not attempting a grading this time, it would be good for you to observe how a grading is conducted, and to simply support those who are grading. In addition we could use the hand of folk to take photos, help to organise lunch and welcome visitors on the day.
• Friends and family are very welcome to watch and have lunch with us at the conclusion of the shinsa. If you know who might be coming (some have already sent this information through), please let Michael know ASAP, along with any dietary requirements so that they can have something to eat with us.
• If you have not formally put in your expression of interest, an extension has been provided and you will have till this evening to contact Michael and discuss your eligibility to grade. If you do not, you cannot attempt a grading on Saturday. 
• Thursday night training will be a partial "dress rehearsal" for Saturday. While not compulsory to attend, it is strongly recommended that you do. We will not be holding Iaido nor Systema on Thursday night to allow for more time to practice.

So gambatte folks! Will look forward to seeing all of your efforts this week!

And back to a regular week

It feels a little odd mentally getting back to things after two long weekends in a row. However, we are back to "regular" programming this week with Kendo on from 4 pm today at the CBRC, both PunchFit and Fire and Flow arts tonight in the MEAC, and more preparation for upcoming gradings. 

The Jujutsu 5th Kyu requirements will be reposted in the BBRD Group page this evening. If you require a copy sent directly to you, please e-mail Michael. Remember too that you will have to e-mail Michael with a formal request to grade and have your grading application fee put into the Club's account by Saturday 21 May. 

We will start to look more specifically at grading requirements for Kendo and Iaido this week, having received some excellent advice from Isaacs Sensei and Johnson Sensei, respectively, for those disciplines. 

Finally, we will be starting to look for accommodation options for the QKR seminar in July. Please let Michael, Sian or Tracy know this week if you would like to come and stay so that we can get a few options together. Given it is the last weekend of school holidays, we will need to move reasonable quickly on securing something at a reasonable price.

I'll look forward to seeing many of you at the dojo this week!

Iaido update plus QKR seminar and grading

Seitei Iaido study group is now training on Tuesday nights as well as Thursday nights from 7:45pm to 9:15pm at the MEAC. 

Tom Johnson sensei is back from his trip to Japan so that means that Kohokai is back to regular training down in Ipswich with the exception that there will be no more training at Collingwood Park, all the training will be at the Pine Mountain Road venue. Tracy is still making the trip down as often as she can so if you would like more details or to discuss car pooling be sure to contact her. 

Also, there is an upcoming seminar and grading opportunity on the 9th and 10th of July to be held at the Tallebudgera Leisure Centre. It will run from 8:30am to 5pm both days. Seeing as it is a two-day event we will be looking at renting some accommodation down at the gold coast. Anyone who might be interested staying overnight please contact either Michael or Tracy so we can organise it as soon as possible.
It is important to note that those wishing to attend need to make sure that they have paid their QKR membership by June 30th so that they can be registered before the start of the seminar.

Thanks.