Kendo: End of an era

With some sadness I have to report that Kendo will no longer be practiced at the Clive Berghoffer Recreation Centre from 2017. 

Kendo has been held at the CBRC since 2007, first as a "Taste Tester" recreation program sponsored by the Student Guild, then regular afternoon training from 2008 onwards. 

Unfortunately, the Guild is reprioritising its space and restructuring its fees. While Kendo is not affected space-wise, the rise in court hire costs from $15 per hour to $48.40 per hour have effectively priced us out of continuing to use the facility. 

The last date that we will be holding kendo at the CBRC will be Monday 12 December. I hope that we can send out our last training session there with a bang, and I encourage as many of you as possibly to come and participate (whether or not you practice kendo) .

The BBRD committee is currently examining a range of options for securing a suitable space to continue training. We will decamp to the MEAC over the summer school holidays, and have something sorted by February next year. 

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