TLCF wrap up

Yesterday was the 10th time I have fronted up to Queen's Park on a brilliant August Sunday to participate in the Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival. It is now another Monday morning after, and I am feeling the joy of a body used for a full day in the sun, having shared my passion for martial arts with the broader Toowoomba community, among friends giving their best in that shared endeavour.

This year's festival saw the Club's Taiko group join us for the first time, who drew sustained crowds to our pavilion. We showcased the Club's weapon disciplines well, and even saw some live cutting action with Mr J Tamashigiri being brought out to an enthusiastic crowd towards the end of the day.

As always, these types of days do not happen in isolation, but due to the sustained and enthusiastic support of Club members. First to Tracy, who heroically helped me to pack a large portion of the dojo equipment into cars and trailers on Saturday afternoon. With many folks either feeling unwell or having other commitments that afternoon, I once again appreciated Tracy's steadfastness and dependability. 

Second, a thanks to all of the members who demonstrated on the day: Dylan, Eric, Jun, Kateena, Michelle, Minty, Ray, Sian, Stuart, Tomoko, and Tracy. You all cut fine figures and did the Club proud.

A third round of thanks to Cat for coming along to do the "meet and greet" and help with the bump out at Queen's. We will definitely grab the trailer off you next year! And Richard for popping past and giving us proof of life. Will be great to see both of you back at the dojo after your breaks.

And a final round of thanks to Sian, Stuart and Tracy who made it right through to the end of the day and repackage the dojo. Big day, big joy.

So I will once again look forward to next year and for time spent out in the sun, and hope to see some of those who came along and said hello in the dojo for class!

No Tuesday Lunchtime Go this week

Michael has a bunch of work and study commitments this week, and so there will not be any Go this Tuesday lunch. If you are hankering for a game, come along on Sunday to the Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival, or wait till next week! 

Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival 2017

The annual Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival is on this Sunday, and once again the Club will be providing some colour and movement for the assembled crowd.

The Festival is one of the most important public engagements that we have with the wider community, and each year we have managed to interest new folk to come and try what we have to offer and even sign up for the long haul.

Things to do this week in preparation:

1. Everyone is needed and useful on the day. There are a number of Club members who cannot attend due to other commitments, so even if you have not been regular to training in recent weeks, we will need your help. If you are injured, you can still interact with the public and hand out information flyers. And we would love to see some of our out-of-town friends and supporters come and join in the fun!
2. Make sure that your uniform and equipment are all in good order for Sunday— cleaned if not pressed where appropriate, and not damaged. If you need to borrow something, let Michael know ASAP so that we can see what can be arranged. I have a limited number Club t-shits that can be provided on loan if you do not have one yourself.
3. Come along on Saturday afternoon to help load up our equipment. We will not be training Jujutsu on Saturday as we will have opportunity to do so on Sunday through the day. Instead, we will do our equipment pack at 4 pm, after the usual weekly clean (so come along at 3 pm to help with that too).
4. "Bump-in" is before 8 am. I will be hiring a trailer for the day, which we can then leave parked where we need it to be, but obviously I will require some hardy early morning types to look after the equipment and start setting up while I relocate my car.
5. If you are less hardy/need the sleep in, come along to Queens Park (corner Hume and Margaret Streets) dressed in something that identifies you as a Club member — Training uniform, Club t-shirt, weapons etc. We will be located nearer to Gate 2 on Margaret Street You should not have any bother coming in if you say you are a part of the BBRD demonstration, and it should be free. I will provide an update late this week once final details have been released.
6. Gates open to the public at 10 am – 4 pm, and we will be physically doing things throughout that time, but the busiest time for us is usually between 11.30 am– 1.30 pm. If you can only be there for a brief period of time it it better if you can do so then. Please let Michael know ASAP when you are able to be there so that we can properly set the schedule for the day. 
7. We will be running 30-40 minute sessions throughout the day, with some that we will allow public participation. Make sure that you bring a water bottle and either some food or money (the food on offer at the Festival is delicious, but the line up can be long). Also make sure you have sun protection. The weather is predicted to be sunny, but much colder than what we are expecting mid this week. Again, it is just a case of being sensible.
8. "Bump out" commences at 4 pm, and we will need sufficient folk to make that process relatively painless. We will unload at the dojo straight away, though our major clean will take place next weekend.

So I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead. The Festival ought be fun as it always has been, and I'll look forward to seeing you there!

Reminder: Queensland Kyudo Association AGM this Saturday

Just a quick reminder that the QKA Annual General Meeting will be held at 12.30 pm this Saturday 19 August. 

The meeting will use the Zoom platform to enable anyone to be able to join and observe, though in order to participate, you mst be a financial member of the QKA. This can be done via any web browser or even you can phone in to participate. 

Details can be found on the QKA Facebook page, or you can directly contact Michael and he will forward those details to you.  

Congratulations Jack Baker

A round of congratulations is due to Jack Baker, who entered his first Judo tournament on Sunday, and came back with an equal third place in his division.  

Jack has been training Jujutsu at the Club for around 18 months, and has been also training at the Pittsworth Judo Club for the past few weeks in preparation for a tilt at the Australian University Games in September. From reports, Jack fought commendably, including scoring an ippon against an opponent three ranks higher. As a result, I don't think that Robin Day sensei will have much hesitation signing off on his grade in order to be eligable to compete at the AUG!

So in the little over a month left, we will have to help him to keep the momentum with his training in Toowoomba.  

Thanks again to Isaacs sensei and the Kenshinkai

I just want to provide a quick word of thanks to Isaacs sensei and Kenshinkai more generally for again providing Toowoomba-based kendoka with the opportunity to polish our practice and receive some high-level insight into our keiko. We all have our individual things to work on over the next month, and will continue the honing process in the dojo in coming weeks. 

Minty and Kateena were able to make the trip down with me this time, and we hope to be able to get a few more of the Kendo folk along for September's scheduled session

It was also great to see Tamura sensei from Shubukai who, as always, gave some very helpful words of wisdom for my practice. 

Kendo this weekend

A reminder that we are intending to head to Brisbane this Saturday to train at Kenshinkai. Training starts at 8.30 am, so we shall car pool and head from the MEAC at 6.30 am to get there in time (including the obligatory stop at Plainland for coffee). If all kendoka could please let me know ASAP if you are interested and able to come. 

Knife defence seminar wrap up

I just wanted to provide a round of thanks to Jason Griffiths, sensei for an excellent three hours of knife defense seminar. Thanks also to Andrea Walk, sensei for hosting the event. It is always a great opportunity to go on a road trip with Club members, and  speaking on behalf of Matt G, Tracy, Stuart B, Travis and myself, there was much of value covered in the session. It is also of benefit to touch base with where people from other dojo are at in terms of their practice, and to use it to refine and improve our own — or as I was on Sunday, quite pleased with how well BBRD folk are doing. 

Tozando order (part 2)

We will be putting in another Tozando order within the week to take advantage of the current exchange rate, the 5 per cent discount offer and the fact of needing a few extra items in the kit for the second half of the year, particularly for newer members. Please let me know ASAP what you would like, and we can then get final pricing including shipping out to you!

Club t-shirts

Just a quick reminder that if you don't have one of the Club's t-shirts, this week would be a great time to order one from the website so hat it can be printed up and send to you in time for our commitments in the second half of the month (Languages and Cultures festival and the IBF day). Basic Club shirts are available in men's and women's cuts, as well as discipline specific uniform shirts and "Art" shirts. 

If you point your browser to: http://bbrd.printup.com.au/ you can order on demand. If a few of you wish to order shirts at once, you can save a little one the shipping cost.