Iaido seminar wrap-up

Saturday may have been one of the hottest and most humid day in quite some while, but the iaido seminar organised by the Kohokai and hosted at Kenshinkai dojo was one of the best training experiences I have had for quite  some time.  

Led by Toshi Tsukadaira sensei and Emiko Yaguchi sensei (after 90 minutes of kendo as a "warm up" for some of us) we engaged in a more Japanese-style seminar format, where we generally worked on kata of our choice and had the various sensei available provide input. This was incredibly useful in identifying and starting to address some of those niggles and rough edges in our performance, and I would love to see it employed more often as a seminar approach in the future.

Personally, I would like to especially thank John Isaacs sensei for the warm welcome, the considerable time he gifted to me to provide feedback on what I was doing, and the invite for Toowoomba-based kendoka and iaidoka to come far more often (and, indeed, regularly) to Brisbane to touch base and continue our improvements in both disciplines. 

I would also like to second Isaacs sensei's sentiment regarding Yaguchi sensei's  instruction. As he said, "sensei is the epitome of what a Sensei should be - humble, informed, great example, but most importantly she genuinely cares about the students and makes them the priority".

Many thanks also to Tom Johnson for having organised the event, which always takes considerable behind the scenes action. We are hoping to have another session with Yaguchi sensei before she leaves in March, and we will certainly look forward to that opportunity. 

Jodo additional training week of the 15th

Hello All,

The week of the 15th there will be the opportunity for some additional training for Jodo. In addition to our normal training on Monday and Wednesday (at 7:00 pm) there will be the opportunity for training on the Tuesday and Thursday as well.

Sensei Adrian Knight will have the chance to join us on Monday night and he will be participating on the additional nights of Tuesday and Thursday as well. Times to be announced (see Budo Blogs and What's On calendar [both under Member Services] for details once they are finalised).

Eric

Iaido and Kendo training opportunity this Saturday

Just a quick note to remind the Toowoomba-based iaidoka that this Saturday we will be travelling to Brisbane to train for the day with practitioners from across South East Queensland at the Kenshinkai, Mt Gravatt. 

Leading training will be Toshi Tsukadaira sensei, and it will be the first opportunity for Club members to be instructed by Dave Kolb sensei since he successfully challenged for his 6Dan. Yaguchi sensei 6Dan renshi), who is currently visiting the Tsukadairas, has confirmed that she will also be teaching, and both Stewie Owens and Klara Langtry will be up for the day from New South Wales. So it promises to be an excellent day for polishing one's kata and catching up with friends!

I will be confirming today with Isaacs sensei, but we may well also go down early and get a kendo session in before iaido. We are not sure yet whether this means being there for an 8 am start, or we just get a short sharp 1 hour from 8.30–9.30 am. Hopefully I can confirm at training this afternoon. 

This will mean that there will be no Saturday training at the MEAC for jujutsu as we will still be on our way back from Brisbane at that time.  

Sports Master order this week

I will be putting in an order with Sports Master later this week for a number of large bulk items including some kettle bells, a nagakomi mat and a few extra items for FlexiFit and Gym classes. 

If any Club member would like to get something in this order, please let me know ASAP so that we can work out the cost of the item and shipping. The Club has a wholesale account with SMAI, so enjoys a substantial discount on the retail prices displayed on their website. So if you are interested, please point your browser to: www.smai.com.au let me know what you are interested in before Wednesday and arrange to have the money deposited in the Club account by Thursday.

Happy New Year and welcome back to training

 明けましておめでとうございます！Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! trans. "Congratulations on the dawning (of the new year)."

I hope that everyone in the extended BBRD community has had both a recharging and enjoyable time over the past few weeks, and that everyone is ready to engage with the year ahead with energy, joy and good humour.  

While I am sure some have already indulged in hatsu geiko, or their first training session of the new year, the official Keiko Hajime for the Club will be Tuesday evening starting at 6 pm sharp. Prior to the start of training we will have a general dojo clean up, including mopping down the tatami. I will be there from 3.30 pm and invite all who are available to come and ensure that the keiko-jo, store room and toilets are in a suitable state to formally begin our year. 

Could those who intend to be there for the evening please make sure that you let me know you will be attending. As with previous years, we will have some light refreshments at the end of the training session, so ideas on numbers will be important.  

The evening will be scheduled in a similar fashion to previous years, with a spread of activities representing the disciplines and activities supported by the Club, and I am looking forward to seeing as many of you there as possible participating.

2017 looks to be a period of considerable opportunity for the Club, and I am looking forward to building of the solid foundations laid down over the past twelve months. University Games is on the Gold Coast again this year, there are many upcoming opportunities to train with senior sensei and test our progress, and chances to share our passions with the wider community. 

However, as always, it is important to remember that the strength of any organisation is rooted in the people who comprise it. And I have been enormously proud to be associated with everyone here— active members, supporters, friends, visiting sensei. All our lives would be poorer for the absence of anyone in that  community. 

Last drinks for the year — Training this week

Just a reminder to everyone that this is the last week of classes for the year across all of the disciplines. We will be taking time off from (and including) Saturday 24 December till Monday 2 January. I'm both looking forward to having a rest and dreading being away from training, as usually happens at this time of year for me.

This week, we will be polishing the footwork in Kendo Monday afternoon, Fire and Flow will be on as usual Monday evening, we hope to have Tom Johnson sensei and Rob Doncaster come on Tuesday for Iaido, we will be finishing off our month of ground work in Jujutsu, working on breathing and movement in Systema,  perfecting the swing in Jodo (Monday and Wednesday), stretching out on Wednesday night in FlexiFit, and having one final twirl of the canes in Arnis on Thursday. 

Could I again ask that if you have any Club equipment, especially uniforms, that you are not actively using (i.e. It has been more than a month since you have put it on and come to training) that you arrange to return all items before New Year, either at the dojo this week or to Michael directly in the interval. We do need to have a stocktake and evaluation of all the Club's gear so that we can make plans for what we need to purchase in the coming 12 months. I will be chasing up with some folk, but please arrange a time to bring it in before I contact you ...

Keiko Hajime will be on Tuesday 3 January, where we will do our usual tradition of a New Year clean of the MEAC (and the tatami)  a spot of integrated training and then have some tea and nibbles afterwards. Could you please let Michael know if you intend to come to Keiko Hajime before the end of 2016 so that it can be appropriately planned and catered for. 

 

End of Year dinner

Dinner at Kajoku restaurant was an excellent way to cap off what has been a red letter year for the Club. Personally, I cannot think of much better way to celebrate the end of year than in the company of fine folk and excellent food.

I would like to send a hearty round of thanks to Sian Carlyon for organising the particulars for the evening. Sian has been the heart of the Club since its inception, and indeed has been the only continuously active Club member other than myself since the Club was founded in late 2008. It is not an overstatement to say that without her efforts, the Club would be a much poorer entity, if indeed it existed at all.

On one last administrative note: For those of you to yet attend to it, can you please put money directly into the Club's account to cover for your meal. If you are unsure of how much that might be, please contact Sian as she has the official receipt for the night. And should you require the bank details, you can find them on the Club's website under www.bbrd.org.au/fees

 

Dojo Day wrap up

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the BBRD Dojo Day on Saturday. Although the after-lunch sessions were a little down on numbers, those that were there for the day got much out of all the sessions.

Many thanks to those who took the extra time to properly spruce up the MEAC, particularly Adrian and Tracy who helped both Friday and Saturday morning. And thanks to Eric and Jesse for running their respective sessions. Fire and Flow was well attended in the morning as was Jodo in the afternoon, with a number of folk trying it for the very first time. I would be wonderful to convert some of them to more regular practitioners on a Monday and Wednesday evening!

This is our last "public" commitment for the year, though training will continue as usual over the summer holidays. The only major break scheduled is between the 24th of December and 2 January, though there may be some variations and additional classes offered on a discipline by discipline basis. Stay posted to the Budo Bulletin, the BBRD Facebook page and group, and announcements at regular training sessions for any changes.

Jujutsu grading results

I am very proud to announce the results of the Jujutsu shinsa held on Sunday morning, specifically that three candidates were successful in challenging for 7Kyu. Adrian Cooper, Jack Baker and Matt G all demonstrated significant spirit in demonstrating the requirements for the grade across all six curriculum categories, in most cases exceeding the level required for the grade.

Commiserations to Matt M, who was unable to complete the shinsa process. We will continue to work over the coming months to prepare him for another challenge for the grade, and I am sure that with continued application he will be successful in his next attempt.

Thanks also to Tracy for being the photographer for the day. We will be selecting a tranche of the best photos for everyone to have a look at later this week!