Nihon Matsuri wrap up

It was great to see the turnout on Saturday for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Toowoomba-Taketsuki Sister city relationship. The weather mostly held out till the end though we were not able to undertake the jujutsu demonstration due to the thunderstorm. The food was lovely, the drummers awesome, and it was gratifying to see Toowoombans get out there and support an event such as this. 

Many thanks to Dylan, Peter and Tracy for the load up and unpack into the dojo on the day, for Tom Johnson sensei for the loan of the yumi and ya to add to the general display and coming up to observe proceedings, a big special thanks to Raymond for not only driving all the way from Kingaroy for the day, by stepping into the breach when no other Toowoomba-district kendoka were available to assist Michael with the demonstration, and to Eric for being a stalwart and staffing the information booth along with Tracy and Michael in the heat (and his marshaling of kids during the kendo demonstration and his Jodo demonstration under time pressure).  

It was also lovely to see Lauren Ole and Dave Johnson in the heat, and many thanks to both of you for assisting in the hurried pack up as the rain hit!

We had quite a bit of interest in folk wanting to do iaido, kyudo and kendo, so we will look forward to seeing that translate onto the dojo floor in coming weeks.  

Combined Jodo training: BBRD and Chushinkan Dojo

Hello all,

It is time again for Jodo training to be held down in Ipswich on the 19th of this month (November) with BBRD members training with members of Chushinkan Dojo of Brisbane.  Tentative start time of 10 am, meeting at Nerima Gardens at Queens Park.  Last time we had four members attend (1st of October) including myself.  These are intensive training sessions under the direction of Glen Henry Sensei with additional input from and participation with his most senior students.

These training sessions are to be held every 5-7 weeks.

As usual Jodo training at the MEAC is on Monday and Wednesday starting a 7:00 pm (19:00 hrs) every week.

Eric

Nihon Matsuri this Saturday

Just a reminder that this Saturday the Club is going to be participating in the Japan festival. This will mean that there will not be any Jujutsu training this weekend.

Our commitment is for much of the day. We will be meeting at the MEAC at 7.30 am to load up and will be finishing around 3.30 pm. We have been asked to do Kendo, Jodo, Iaido, and Jujutsu demonstrations, and will have a booth where we will be displaying our activities including Go. The demos will be on stage, and mostly held in the afternoon.

Please let Michael know ASAP is you are able to assist!

Congratulations Damien and Grace

Once again I want to pass on the Clubs well wishes and congratulations to Damien and Grace for their wedding on Saturday. The day was glorious (if a little warm), the bride beautiful and the groom filled with the emotion of the event.

Be well, and don't be strangers! We will all look forward to see you blossom into the next phase of your lives together.

Thanks to Cormac for a great weekend of training!

Just wanted to express thanks on behalf of those of us who made it in for training with Cormac Farrell over the weekend.

It was great to spend time with him on the mat after such a long time, and I can speak on behalf of everyone there that we gained some important insights into the techniques we explored on Saturday. And it is always lovely to introduce folk to my other passions, including Kendo.

We also had an opportunity to say goodbye to the Mort Estate Hotel, which finished trading on Sunday. Let's hope that there is replacement as a Dojo pub set up soon, as we will certainly miss the convenience otherwise.

We have both made a promise that we will try to keep up the training far more frequently. Until next time!

Heading to the tail end of the year, and there is much to look forward to

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! 

Jujutsu seminar this weekend

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. 

Congratulations to Damien and Grace

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!

Nihon Matsuri, Saturday 12 November

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. 

Confirmation of grading details for QKR seminar

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.