Dojo Day and end of year celebrations Saturday 10 December

We have now locked in Saturday 10 December as both a dojo day and awards night for the year.  

As plans progress, we will be confirming the line up of which training opportunities will be offered, and invites to our friends outside Toowoomba will be sent.

The evening will see the presentation of both grading certificates and Club awards.  

I always enjoy these events as it provides an excellent opportunity for us to come together as a community and celebrate the benefits of being part of a supportive, inclusive, and skilled network of martial arts practitioners.  

Iaido training this Saturday with Tsukadaira Sensei

Most of the Club's Iaido practitioners will be heading down to Ipswich this Saturday to participate in a special training session with Toshi and Hiroko Tsukadaira Senseis in Ipswich. This is an excellent opportunity to have an extended session with some of Queensland's highest ranked Iaido practitioners and get some polishing up before the December grading. 

Will forward specifics of where the session will be held (possibly Fernvale School but TBC), though will likely run 9 am–3 pm. 

QKR summer seminar

The date and location for the QKR summer seminar has been confirmed. It will be held on the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of December at the Tallebudgera recreation centre. They will be full days, with sessions running from 9am till 5pm both days. 

We are not sure of the grading arrangements as yet, though there is likely to be Kendo dan grades up to yondan, and iaido kyu and Dan grades up to sandan. Kendo kyu grades may be held over till February, though we will confirm in the next fortnight.

The seminars are always excellent learning opportunities and we will be looking to stay Friday and Saturday nights down the coast. Please let me know ASAP if you are interested in going so that we can arrange for appropriate accommodation.  

Back to school

I hope that everyone has had a good break from the regular routines over the past fortnight, and that the time has been productive and enjoyable. A few things to remember now that we are in Term four. 

Firs, for those that train on the  tatami we will once again be setting up and putting them away Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Could you please ensure that you arrive as close to 6 pm (or 4 pm Saturday) so that we can start at quarter past the hour sharp. 

Second, we will be using Martialytecs to track training contributions from this week, so if you could make sure that you talk with Michael in order to log what form of contributions you are making (such as direct debit, cash, or dojo dollars). 

Third, I'll be talking to folk directly, but could you please bring in any Club equipment *especially jujutsu jackets* this week so that we can service/clean them in the next fortnight. 

Have fun everyone, and I'll look forward to seeing you this week!

No kendo training today (Monday 3 October)

Just to confirm that we will not be holding  kendo keiko this afternoon due to the unavailability of the CBRC. I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend, and the last day of school holiday/mid semester break. 

If there is some interest, we might have a kendo kata session later this week. Otherwise, I'll look forward to seeing folk on Sunday morning at the MEAC!

Jodo inter-dojo training

On Saturday the first of October BBRD Jodo practitioners participated in a cross-training session with Glen Henry Sensei and his students from Chushinkan Dojo of Brisbane.  We trained at Queens Park in Ipswich.  There were four members from BBRD and five members from Chushinkan Dojo working on their techniques in jo kihon and Omote kata after a warm up with the bokken.

I hope I speak for everyone in that we pushed our skills to the limit, and gained valuable insights and experience with our techniques.  Overall an enjoyable and educational time was had by all.

This is planned to be a regular event with the next one tentatively scheduled in six weeks time (12 November).

Jodo training continues as scheduled on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:00 pm (19:00 hrs) at the MEAC.  See everyone there.

Eric

Video production this week.

We will be starting to record and compile footage this week for a number of Club video projects that we have discussed over recent months, taking advantage of the school holidays and the fact that we have access to the MEAC through the day.

I will talk with folk at training today and tomorrow, but we are intending to have some time Wednesday at the MEAC to record the fundamentals of etiquette and other training basics, as well as start our new series of discipline-based intro videos.

Hope to see you there this week!

Jodo training on 1 Oct

Hello All,

Further information for the practitioners attending the combined Jodo training down in Ipswich on the 1st of October...you will need to bring: a jo (obviously), a long [tachi] bokken and a short [kodachi] bokken as well as appropriate wear (either gi, or uwagi and hakama.

Training will concentrate on kihon and Seitei Kata up to Tachi Otoshi.

See all attending member there.

Eric

Jodo training in Ipswich

Hello All,

On the first of October (Saturday, 10 am) Jodo will be having a training session with Glen Henry Sensei and his students.  This is the start of many shared training opportunities with the group from Chushinkan Dojo.  This training is also in preparation for the International Jodo Federation Gasshuku in 2018 down in Brisbane.

Please contact me (0410 475 447 or e-mail: tazman1492@yahoo.com) for further information.

Eric

Changes to the fee structures

I would like to let everyone know that we are going to have to re-evaluate the range of fee structures that we charge for training and membership of the Club.

Holy Name Primary School has been exceptionally generous over the years, and has charged a minimal rate for us to use their facility. Due to significant increases in their operational costs (especially electricity) they have asked us to increase the amount we are paying from an effective $10 per hour for evening classes to $15. This is still a very generous rate compared with similar facilities. However, it still poses a 50 per cent increase in our rental costs.

Although the Club has been in a sound financial position to this point, we need to ensure that we have ongoing viability, particularly going into the summer where we have a natural ebb in students due to them taking time away from Toowoomba. As a result, the Executive will be discussing a range of options as to how we can best manage this.

The first, and most likely is that we will have to increase the amount we charge for training contributions, both monthly and per session. We are still very competitive with other similar Clubs in the district, but are mindful that we will continue to be one that supports full-time students that often have minimal capacity to make direct financial contributions.

Second, we will also be looking to ensure that folk make their contributions in a timely manner, whether that is financial or in-kind work that attracts "Dojo Dollars".

The third option is to look carefully at how we are currently providing our spread of classes, and we may have to rationalise by reducing the number of sessions that we offer through the week. This is personally my least preferred option as we had set up the timetable with an eye to maximising member's opportunities to participate in a wide range of activities. 

From October, we will be using Martialytics to keep track of all member contributions to the Dojo, so please bear with us as we bet this system down over the next fortnight. We also intend to have an Executive meeting early next week to decide on the best way forward for the Club so that it can continue to provide the excellent level of service to members.