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Hello All,
Jodo training will have a few changes for this week only (5-10 June). Monday (tonight) will be training as usual (1900 hrs or 7 pm), but Wednesday's training will start at 1930 hrs (7:30 pm).
Don't forget about the extra training session this Saturday in Brisbane (see previous posting).
Training will be at normal times starting next week (Mon. & Wed. @ 1900 hrs, 7 pm).
Eric
Hello All,
It's that time again for the inter-dojo Jodo training with Glen Henry Sensei and his students. Training will be at Chushinkan Dojo in Brisbane starting at 10:00 this Saturday (10 June).
We will be leaving Toowoomba at 07:30 with travel arrangements to be determined based on numbers.
Please let me (Eric) know if you plan on attending (contact number: 0410 475 447) by Wednesday.
Eric
Over the last few months I have been talking with the folk from the IT company Schoolbag about the development of an app for Android and iOS devices to better communicate with Club members and friends, especially around training sessions and Club events.
The App is now available to download across all formats. Due to a spelling error on the part of the company, you will have to look for "Bun By Ryo Do" to find it. Hopefully, this will be rectified in future releases.
At present we have a free trial of the app while we load content and evaluate whether the membership would find it useful. We will be able to host links to videos, relevant documents, links to sites and of course calendars and alerts, so you won't have to be linked to specific social media platform like Facebook to access our content easily on your mobile devices.
Please have a try of the app over the coming weeks and let us know what you think about it. It will take the next couple of weeks to load up the content as I am busy finishing off an assignment before I head to Canberra for the weekend. But any feedback will be appreciated, including what sorts of things you would like to see hosted by the app, If we decide to continue using it, we will have to pay for its functionality as a Club, so if it is not useful, we will not be proceeding with it.
Just a quick reminder that there will be no formal training this weekend for jujutsu or kendo as I will be in Canberra visiting my parents and attending the seminar organised by the ACTKR.
The MEAC will still need to be cleaned on Saturday, and folk are free to use the usual time slot for informal training. We will discuss further details in class tomorrow night.
Those of you who are subscribed to the Tozando news feed will know that they have changed their pricing from Yen to US Dollars. This will mean that we may not have as stable a price relationship for Tozando gear as the AUD/USD exchange rate tends to fluctuate a little more than the AUD/YEN rate. However, to smooth the transition, Tozando are offering significant discounts on a range of their goods. This, in combination with proposed changes to the charging of GST on all imported goods come July 1 (not just those over the $1000 threshold), may mean that it is a good opportunity to purchase something now rather than later.
Please let me know by week's end if you wish to participate in a Club order to reduce the cost of shipping. I note that in particular they are offering discounts on Kendo, Iaido and Aikido uniforms, so if you have been after something, now would be the time to purchase it. If you can select which items you are interested in, I can calculate a combined price (including share of shipping and any further Club discounts).
Saturday saw Matt G and I head down to Brisbane to get some one-on-one time with the kodansha of the Kenshinkai, and I would like to offer thanks to John Isaacs sensei for the generous invite and the excellent input. We both have things that we shall continue to shape and polish until the next opportunity to train, though I suspect the sole of Matt's foot will probably need some attention after a delamination caused by the surface of the Mt Gravatt SHS hall.
The end of June brings a number of things to a close. We reach the winter solstice on June 21, and the financial year ends on June 30, which coincides with the end of the Queensland Kendo Renmei membership year. Kendo and Iaido practitioners should be receiving reminders of new membership dues (and if you do not, please contact me as your details may be incorrectly registered with the QKR). Please attend to your dues ASAP as it will make life much easier for the QKR executive, and in turn for yourself as well. Remember that you must be a current financial member to be covered by insurance, and to participate in any QKR/AKR events.
We are continuing to evaluate changes to the training times for Kendo and Iaido, with the possibility of adding a short Iaido session either just before Jujutsu or Kendo on the weekends. Itakura sensei also expressed interest in making a visit up to Toowoomba one Sunday morning to whip us into shape, and we still are working towards some of the senior sensei to come up and participate in a public "relaunch" of Kendo in Toowoomba.
I will be heading to Canberra in just under two weeks to visit family and participate for one session of the Iaido seminar with Nagayama sensei, which I am most looking forward to. This means that Kendo training will be without me on Sunday 11 June. However, in light of the QKR winter seminar, it may be good to still have an informal keiko that day to keep the training edge sharp.
The seminar will again be hosted on the Gold Coast, which will mean that Toowoomba-based folk and friends are most welcome to join us in getting an AirBnB rental for the Friday and Saturday nights. However, if you do wish to share accomodation, please let me know no later than the end of this week so we can look for an appropriately sized venue at a reasonable price.
If you are intending to present for grading at the seminar, you will need to have the appropriate paperwork in within the next two weeks so that I can sign off on any Kendo candidates and Tom Johnson sensei can do likewise for Iaido candidates.
Best of luck to all who are preparing for gradings. And I'd love to see absent friends and new recruits come to train with us over the coming weeks!
Two bits of kendo news for the coming week. First is that we are going to start a trial from this week of doing Kendo on a Tuesday night from 7.40-9.15pm in an attempt to get some more regular practice in. This will be replacing the currently scheduled Iaido session, which has had a significant drop off in attendance over the past few months. We will be evaluating the new arrangements through June in the lead up to the QKR winter seminar series.
Second, BBRD is scheduled to attend Ken Shin Kai training in Brisbane this Saturday morning from 8.30 am. Could those interested in coming down please confirm with Michael no later than Thursday evening. We are hoping that we can put more emphasis on growing the number of kendo practitioners over the coming months, particularly with the Australian University Games being held on the Gold Coast in September this year.
As a result, we will not be holding Sunday kendo training this week. If you are interested in giving kendo a go, please come along and try it out. No previous experience is necessary, and we have a range of great that can be loaned before you obtain your own equipment.
I wanted to officially convey congratulations to all candidates who successfully rose to the challenge of their grading on Saturday, and to all of those who made the day possible by volunteering for the numerous tasks that make a day like this run smoothly.
First to the results. All candidate who presented for grading were successful. Specifically:
All now face the new challenges ahead of them in their budo journey: Cat, with her first grade ever in martial arts has made her first, most important steps toward success; Matthew and Peter now have to consolidate their learning and polish the finer points as they work towards 6KYU and their blue belt; and Adrian who having competently acquitted himself in the nyumon portion of the syllabus now restarts his learning journey be starting work on the chuden syllabus.
I would like to give specific thanks to Stephen Witney sensei and Jason Griffiths sensei for offering up their Saturday to form the grading panel. Thanks to Brady Albrand and Raymond Undery for dojo steward and uke services. To Amber Ole and Scott Currie for taking photos and video of the day. And to Tracy Campbell for organising lunch for everyone.
So now to the next opportunity to be set in November. Congratulations everyone, and remember to continue with your focus. I'll look forward to seeing you all in the dojo next week!
Hello All,
This past Saturday (13 May) was the Taste Tester for Jodo. Prior to the taste tester was a seminar on the sword arts open to all practioners of the ken.
In Jodo, we not only learn how to be good with the "stick" (jo) but we also have to be compentent in the use of the sword. During the sword seminar we covered general sword kehone and we also watched videos on how the sword is used in Jodo and in a few other sword arts.
During the taste tester we concentrated on the jo kehone and worked on the first three strikes. A short demonistration of the first Setei kata was conducted with the assistance of Ray Undery (one of Jodo's longest participating students).
Thanks to those who participated, and hope to see you in the future.
Eric
Jujutsu shinsa is now less than a week away. I would like to commend all of the effort put in by those who are challenging a grade on Saturday morning, and thank all those of you who have been assisting them with their preparations.
A number of the potential candidates have unfortunately been unable to commit to the date due to work and family commitments, reducing the number participating. However, I would still strongly encourage everyone who is not otherwise engaged to come and help on the day. Things that will need to be done include:
Proper preparation of the dojo space (from 9 am)
Assistance with the shinsa (from 10 am)
Bump out (from approximately 12.30 pm)
With a reduced number of candidates, we should certainly be finished slightly ahead of schedule. We will need folk to take responsibility for
Please let Michael know ASAP if you wish to take specific responsibility for one or more of these tasks.
And finally, good luck everyone! And gambatte!
Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.