Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.
We are just about in November, with University Semester 2 exams almost over and a rush of activity at the Club as we head to the end of the year.
Lots in this week's budo blog/bulletin #jujutsu #kendo #iaido #seminars #dojoday #celebrations
I'll look forward to seeing you over the coming days and weeks!
Most of you who have been regularly attending class will be aware that this Saturday the Club will be hosting Cormac Farrell, one of my training partners from the "old days" as an undergrad in Canberra. Cormac is taking the opportunity to come up and visit Toowoomba on the back of a professional conference he is attending in Brisbane this week.
Cormac and I used to train together under Chris Bishop in Yu Shih Tao Kung Fu, and he is a Jujutsu yudansha under Peter Moreton's school. Earlier this year, he attended the Kodokan Judo intensive Summer School in Tokyo, and is very keen to share some of the tips an insights he developed while there, and to meet as many of the Club members that make up our community.
The plan is to have a morning session of training with lunch afterwards at the Mort Estate Hotel. We will be at the dojo from 9 am to give the MEAC its usual Saturday clean and preparation, then train 9.45am – 12.30pm before heading to lunch. This will replace the usual Saturday afternoon training session, as a few of us will be attending a wedding later that day.
I'd urge everyone to try and make it for this session, even those of you who have been away from training for a while. There will be plenty to learn and fun to be had. Regular mat fees apply for participating.
On behalf of the broader BBRD community, I want to pass on our well wishes and congratulations to Damien Parker and Grace Anderson, who are getting married this Saturday. We hope for a happy future together in what promises to be a significant time in Damien's life particularly, as he not only enters married life, but transitions into professional work having completed his requirements for the Bachelor of Education and teacher registration.
Well done, and best of luck to both of you!
Toowoomba will be celebrating its 25 anniversary of sister city status with Taketsuki by holding a Japan Festival on Saturday 12 November.
The Club has been invited to participate in its usual fashion, and will be running an information booth and performing some specific demonstrations on stage. We will, of course, be focussing on the Japanese disciplines that the Club supports, including Kendo, Iaido, Jodo, and Go. We may also be asked to demonstrate Jujutsu and providing some information on Kyudo, but will be confirming that later today.
Could you plese let Michael know ASAP your availability for that day either to perform or to support the information booth.
The QKR seminar is rapidly approaching and we have received confirmation that Kendo kyu grades will be examined at the event. House keeping as a result entails that the paperwork to apply for a grade needs to be sighted, signed off and submitted to the QKR, and all fees paid, no later than November 20. I will sign off on any Kendo paperwork, while Iaido paperwork needs to be signed off by Tom Johnson sensei.
Cost for the seminar is $50 for both days, $30 for one day. You must be registered as a QKR member before the seminar, so please attend to that immediately if you need to.
As mentioned earlier, our intention is to stay down on the Gold Coast both Friday and Saturday night so as to be able to make the best of the training opportunity on both days. Please confirm with me this week if you wish to share in the accommodation, as we will been to make a booking sooner rather than later.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.