What’s coming up!

We have some significant planning to do over the next few weeks for a few significant events at the Club. 

First, The Club has been invited to participate in the Toowoomba Diwali Festival to be held at lunch on Saturday 3 November.  

We are in the planning stages of supporting a Gin Gin martial arts weekend towards the end of November Tamara Kelly will be solidifying arrangement in that regard over the next week, so we ought to have more detail by the next bulletin. 

We may have a visit from Kurt Graham, Sensei in November as well, and will be confirming details there in the next few days.  

The QKR Summer seminar will be held on the Gold Coast the first weekend of December. We will start doing some forward planning for that starting this week, including firming up who might be coming down so that we are able to secure appropriate accommodation for the event.   

And finally, the 10th Anniversary of the Club’s foundation in in November, and we will be looking to celebrate it in an appropriate way, and include a wrap up of the year’s events!

So an exciting and packed month ahead! 

Training back to “normal” this week

I hope that everyone has made it through the storms that swept through Southeast Queensland yesterday afternoon without too much disruption or damage. I still have to thoroughly look around our place, as flights were delayed coming in from Canberra to Brisbane yesterday, and we didn’t arrive back in Toowoomba till after 10 pm.

The plan at this stage is that training will resume a normal for this week, though we may have to be a little flexible, depending on what state the MEAC is in after the School’s Art Show. Any changes or variations to the schedule will be posted up on the Club’s Facebook page, and sent out via SMS to affected students. We may also be doing some minor tweaks to the timetable, including shifting kendo kata, Go sessions or Arnis, but we shall be consulting with the regulars to see what the best fit for the next few weeks will be. 

In addition to regular opportunities, we shall be organizing a few excursions down to Pine Mountain Dojo, as Russell Lawrence Sensei is visiting from Perth, and I certainly would like to take the opportunity to train with him while he is here.  

I am really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things , after what feels like an age away due to illness and end-of-term commitments for my studies. As always. I’ll look forward to seeing you at the dojo! 

Bon voyage to Minty!

With a tinge of sadness, I’d like to note that Minty Ma will be leaving Toowoomba at the end of this week to move back to Sydney. She has been successful in securing a speech pathologist role there, and will be off by the end of this week.  

I first wanted to express my thanks to Minty for being a phenomenal 2IC of Kendo at the Club. This has especially been appreciated over the past seven months that I have been travelling to Bundaberg and back in pursuit of my studies. Minty’s knowledge, skill, enthusiasm and diligence have always shone through, and she has made an enormous contribution to Sean T’s and Kateena’s kendo development. 

Given the disruptions to training this week, we will have to confirm a location for her final training session in Toowoomba (at least for the moment). However, we fully expect to see her at QKR seminars to come and join the fun of a weekend away! 

So on behalf of the Club, we very much wish her all the best, and will hope to see her soon!

MEAC unavailable this week

It is that time of year again, and the Holy Name Primary School’s Art Show will be set up for this week. 

This will mean that we cannot hold any classes at the MEAC. However, we are looking at some specific alternatives on a session-by-session basis. We will try to get the messages out regarding alternative training times before the Budo Bulletin is sent Monday Morning, but please consult with your individual discipline coordinators if you are unsure what this week’s arrangements will be. 

Jujutsu Wednesday 26 September

Hi all, my apologies for not getting a reminder out for last night's training so that everyone knew that jujutsu training was not on. Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to connect to the internet while out of Toowoomba.

Brady

International Jodo Federation Gasshaku wrapup

Hello All,

Apologies for the tardiness of this report on the IJF Gasshaku that was held in Brisbane last month…there were a few tidbits that were developing during the Gasshaku that are closer to being finalised.

The Gasshaku was an intensive week long training session that allowed everybody to develop their skills through practice with people from nearly all over the world and to receive instruction from some of the top practitioners of the art, including demonstrations and instruction from Pascal Krieger Sensei.

The Gasshaku started proper on the Sunday and finished on Friday, however when I arrived on the Saturday prior there were people already training. The days of the Gasshaku were as such: one hour of kehone training starting at 0600 hrs (6 am), followed by three hours of training (after official bow-in) starting at 0900 hrs, then after lunch four hours of training starting at 1400 hrs (2 pm). Wednesday was a day off (and much appreciated) where most attendees went for a day trip to Lone Pine Sanctuary.

Three Menkyo Kaiden (certificate of full transmission) were given after the Embu on Friday: Glen Henry, Paul Maloney and Andy Poulos. With additional Menkyo Kaiden to be presented to two other Australians in the near future (Mike Yates and Bruce Harris). This will give five active Menkyo holders to Australia.

In addition, the most senior Australian jodo practitioners met during the Gasshaku to discuss the possible formation of the Australian Jodo Federation. This with the granting of the Menkyo can lead to exciting times for jodo in Australia.

As a final wrap up to the Gasshaku, Glen Henry Sensei gave Oku Iri certificates to six of his most senior students on the 8th of September.

Links: IJF 2018 Gasshaku Report Pascal Krieger Sensei comments

Class modifications Arnis and Systema

Both Arnis and Systema will have to take a break from regular scheduled classes for a while. Dylan G has secured a new job, and is uncertain of his ability to coordinate Arnis classes for the foreseeable future, until he is able to settle into that role. I wanted to thank him for all the work he has put into running things this year while I have been stretched thin with my study committments, and with him all the best with his new role. It will be great to see him back when he feels he is able. 

Second, Michale Conroy will be heading back to Canada on 29 September for the funeral of a close friend. I would like to offer him condolences on behalf of the Club. He shall be offer there for approximately two weeks, and we will again re-evaluate the best schedule to run the Systema classes once he gets back into town.  

So please bare with us until we have the new schedule bedded down. We will. Of course, let everyone know what arrangements will be possible once we have them sorted.  

Last push for the summit ...

I am heading into the last few weeks of my University studies for the year, and as a result will need to make some modifications to my Club teaching schedule for the next three weeks.  

First, in recognition of the weekend just past and the amount of work I have to complete this week, I will be running FlexiFit, but not kendo kata nor Jujutsu for tonight. I think an hour stretch will be good for myself and everyone, but need a rest from other committments. 

Second, I will be staying in Bundaberg this weekend as I need to attend a residential school in Rockhampton the following week, and then have to be in Bundaberg again for my final exam on Tuesday October 12. It will be safest to say that I will be unable to teach any Toowoomba classes until after that time. I will confirm with Brady and Minty regarding their availability for the classes I will be missing, so please stay tuned.  

I have really enjoyed my studies this year, though the travel has been quite tiring. However, I am looking forward to getting clear air from November through till the end of February to put some more concentrated time into training and teaching at the Club! 

2018 Uni Games wrap up

Once again, the Club has made an incredibly good showing at the Uni Games. With these weekends, I always measure success against three criteria — first, whether Club members go above an beyond in service to ensure that the weekend goes smoothly for both competitors and volunteers. Second, that everyone who participates from the Club has both a fun and a valuable time. Third, that we have a modicum of success in the field of competition. 

On all measures we did incredibly well. We were highly commended by a number of people, including Kendo Competition Manager Dave Fitzgibbon on the role we played to ensure that the event ran smoothly. We had tremendous fun both Friday and Saturday night at the shared accomodation (with Isaacs Sensei in great form as usual), and goodwill keiko gave us a fantastic opportunity to receive feedback from the out-of-state senior sensei. And both USQ competitors did amazingly well, with Jack Baker winning Bronze in the under 73Kg Judo competition, and Kateena Martin in her very first National event winning one of her pool matches with two decisive Men cuts. So under the terms of the incentive agreement, there are three cherry ripes heading her way!

A weekend like this always leaves us looking forward to next year, next time. We shall certainly see if we can build numbers of competitors for the next event, and continue to do what we love. 

What’s on this week

Just a few things to be mindful of this week.  

We are fast coming up to both our Uni Games and Carnival of Flowers commitments. Detailed planning will be set and distributed mid this week so that we have a clear idea of what we are doing in that regard, so please keep an eye out, and let the various discipline coordinators know your availability, especially for those not heading to the Gold Coast that weekend. 

Second, after talking with Michael C on Saturday, we may be heading towards an “opt in” notification process for Systema on Tuesdays and Saturdays. We really require a minimum of two students to make the sessions worthwhile, and at least initially you will have to confirm your attendence no later than 90 minutes before class is due to start. If we don’t here from you, we will have to assume that you are not coming. Dylan has also indicated that he will not be in a position to run Systema on Monday, so it up to you to ensure these sessions are taken advantage of. 

While on Systema, I just wanted to formally congratulate Michael C for receiving his official authorisation to instruct/Instructor in Training in Vasilliev Systema. It is great after so many years of running a study group after Andrew relocated that we again have someone with a teaching qualification to take charge. The website will be updated later today to reflect this. 

Regular training is scheduled for all normal sessions this week. However, if you can’t make a session, I’d like to remind everyone that it is polite to let the session instructor know ASAP so that they can modify their session plans accordingly.  

So as always, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the dojo!