Thank you, Tomoko Sneath!

After a long period of deliberation, Tomoko Sneath has made the decision to step down from the co-coordinatorship of Toowoomba Taiko. She will still be actively involved in the Group and help to teach Taiko through the Club.

I want to pay a special thanks to Tomoko for all of her efforts in the role since the initial thoughts were put together to set up a Taiko group in Toowoomba. Over the years, she has been central to the creation of the group, a driving force behind the amazing donation of wadaiko by the City of Takatsuki, and a lynch pin of the group’s public performances.

I would also like to thank her for all of her personal support over the years in my role as President, and her thoughtful contributions to the Executive committee. While we will all miss your presence there, I will be comforted by your continued involvement with the Club, and look forward to the creative direction that Taiko will take.

Michelle Wiersma will be going forward representing the interests of Taiko at the Executive, and as the first point of contact for people interested in taking up the practice of Taiko in Toowoomba.

One more week (and pause for breath) …

I am currently hitting the straps of my final week of exam period, with two more clinical exams to go before I can take a slight pause and refocus on Club matters.

The most immediate consequence of this will be my absence form online Jujutsu classes this week, as they are the night before each of my final two exams. However, Brady will be ably covering those classes, so please attend if you are able.

I have also received my draft clinical placements for the latter half of the year. My first block of five weeks is set to be in Toowoomba starting late August, and the second following immediately afterwards at the CQUni clinic based in Indooroopilly. This will meant I do get to have some time before these start around the point that we expect to be transitioning back to face-to-face classes, and can get some policy and procedures updates done for us too. And while there may be a little bit of disruption from late September through to the end of October, I am certain that we will easily absorb that into our schedule.

I will also plan to be in Bundaberg the weekend of the 11th July to finalise a few things up there, which will mean that Gin Gin will most likely have the opportunity to have returned classes with me before we officially start back in Toowoomba.

In aid of our return, the Executive Committee has been activity planning for all the things we need to cover regarding our COVID-19 related obligations, and Brady will be providing more information via the Budo Bulletin next week regarding what we are doing, and what you will have to do to help us facilitate our return.

As mentioned by Sean last week, now it the time to put some serious thought into preparing yourself to come back to training. For those who haven’t been regularly attending online classes, you will need to be considered regarding how far you push yourself. After an extended break callouses fade, specific strength and endurance diminishes, and technical skills become blunt. The great news is that with careful preparation you can quickly get back to your pre-shutdown performance.

But you need to be starting now.

None of us want to experience injury, minor or major, during our return. So start with regular aerobic activity (150 minutes a week, 30 minutes a day, 10 minutes minimum each block in a day, for 5-6 days a week of medium intensity exercise is the recommendation for adults). Then start doing some barefoot training to condition your feet, even if that is just walking around your house barefoot. Check all of your equipment/uniforms and repair/replace as necessary. And start doing some of the technical drills/suburi that will resharpen your skill set.

You have about 6 weeks to get ready. So … GO!

And finally I want to wish best of to all our members, regardless of where they are studying, who are sitting exams or in the process of awaiting results. Gambatte kudesai!

COVID-19 return to activity

Today marks the start of both the USQ and CQU exam periods, and I’d like to wish everyone all the best over the next two weeks. This semester has been particularly difficult for students normally accustomed to face-to-face delivery, and even those who usually engage in an online mode have had changes to the way that they are both studying and are assessed.

As mentioned previously, we have been working behind the scenes to bring our return to usual dojo activity as quickly as is possible. At the moment, we are hampered by the fact that we are unlikely to be able to hire indoor facilities for the bulk of our classes till the State government progresses us to stage 3 of eased restrictions.

That being said, we are looking to stage returns to our own face-to-face classes as soon as we can. Taiko are currently looking at what specific hygiene protocols might mean for their practice, especially the use of the wadaiko and keeping them cleaned. Systema have pencilled in an in-the-park training session for Saturday 20 June where social distancing can be maintained, and Matsuyama Dojo (For those that may want to head down to Pine Mountain to train with Tom sensei) is back to iaido and jodo on a Wednesday night and Saturday morning.

We are continuing to work through the Club’s COVID-19 plan, including developing the necessary protocols to keep our training areas clean, and the equipment to do so. Brady, as Club Secretary, will be updating us soon and what the coordinated Club plan will entail for our return to activity.

So be well, keep safe, and good luck with everything you have to do over the next couple of weeks. And remember that we are still running our virtual classes for Jujutsu, Systema, Kendo, Iaido and FlexiFit through the week (and will do till things return to more normal).

Covid-19 Update

It is shaping up to be a relatively warm start to winter here in Toowoomba today, with a cold front expected to arrive tomorrow, bringing with it a crash in the temperature. However, our spirits ought be buoyed with the early relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland, and the prospect that we are getting even closer to a restart of out regular classes.

The new stage of our journey back is due to begin at 12 pm today, two weeks earlier than initially announced. What this means is that for non-contact community sport and cultural activities, we are permitted to have up to 20 people in one indoor space, so long as we are able to maintain social distancing of 1.5 meters per person, a floor space of 4 meters squared per person, and can guarantee that all people and the facility can maintain hygiene and decontamination protocols.

As we have mentioned earlier, at this stage it means a return to Taiko, Iaido and ZKR Jodo is possible, while the other Club activities will have to go on hold till restrictions are relaxed to Stage 3.

We will be finalising plans this week to stage our return to training. However, there are a number of factors that will need to be resolved before we can do this. This includes:

  • Finalising our COVID-19 components of the Club’s Risk Assessment and Management Plan (RAMP), and getting all Club instructors and discipline coordinators to understand our obligations under it

  • Obtaining all of the cleaning equipment and supplies necessary to fulfil our obligations under the restrictions

  • Providing clear advice to members so that they are clear about their obligations in a return to training

  • Establishing with the owners of the facilities that we use (specifically the MEAC and the Hear and Say Centre/TRC) what their protocols are with respect to hygiene so that we can be sure that our members are not at risk through the use of their facility.

We all need to be vigilant at this time. While we have collectively done extraordinarily well to keep community infection rates low, four weeks of inattention would be enough to spark a second wave of infections that would have us locked down for many more months to come.

Every one of us has a part to play in getting us to the point where we can return to the activities we love. Things that you can do include:

  • Continuing to maintain social distancing when out and about in the community.

  • Only make necessary travel, particularly to places that are crowded, and minimise your time there.

  • Maintain good hygiene, including hand washing

  • If you feel unwell, stay home. This is especially important once we do go back to classes. If you have a cold, a sniffle, a cough, a sneeze, a temperature, a sore throat, an unusual or unexplained headache, enlarged lymph glands, or you just “feel funny”, please stay away till the symptoms resolve. We will love to see you there, but only when you are well and not posing a risk of infecting someone else.

Just remember that there are a number at the Club who work in the fields of health and disability/aged care support, servicing vulnerable patients/clients. We do not want to be in a position where we are forced off work, or worse still we pass on something to someone who becomes critically ill as a result.

I will post another general update next week once we have a clearer picture of our pathway for return. At this stage, we will still be continuing with our online classes till at least we reach Stage 3. Again, as I have mentioned in previous Bulletins, we are looking to continue our video feed to support the broader Club diaspora that have rejoined our classes over the past couple of months.

So exciting times ahead! Stay tuned, keep safe and I’ll look forward to seeing you soon!

Second call: Expression of Interest for Harassment Contact Officer

I want to put in a second call out for anyone interested in filling the role as the Club’s Harassment Contact Officer.

This is an important role to fill in the Club as it is central to our ability to provide duty of care to members in circumstances where our ordinary procedures unfortunately fail us.

You do not require any special experience or training, as this will be provided to you. You just need to be the type of person that others are comfortable enough to approach if they have a serious concern about behaviour or other issues that they feel uncomfortable about.

Please consider if you might be able to do this. It is a job with a very small workload that is incredibly important for us to ensure that every member is properly protected, and can trust that there is an independent process where their concerns will be heard.

Please e-mail me directly at michael.baczynski@bbrd.org.au, or call and have a chat on 04 1144 2081

Update of member details for reaffiliation

Just once last quick call for everyone to let us know your USQ Student ID (whether you are a current student or an alumni) or your USQ Staff ID number.

Most of you have done so, which is great, but if you have not yet, can you please do this by Close of Business today so that we can square this away with USQ Student Life.

Thanks in advance!

Iaido Update

This week’s drop in temperature has not deterred some of our clubs most dedicated members, many of us braving the cold on Saturday afternoon to participate in a virtual dojo session of both Kendo Suburi and Iaido. Having our classes online has provided an opportunity to those members who have moved away as well as friends in the broader community to join our classes. This has meant that we have seen a very welcome spike in numbers and it has been wonderful to see so many faces on-screen. Both familiar and new to the club.

Adapting to this new style of training has come with its challenges, whether it be from uncooperative technology, finding space in our own homes and yards to safely swing a sword (and convincing those who share that space to let us do so), poor internet connections or less than ideal weather. Despite this there has been an amazing effort from everyone to continue to show up.

It was a pleasure to have Tom Johnson Sensei also join our session to offer much valued and appreciated feedback. I look forward to once again having the opportunity to travel down to the Pine Mountain Dojo to train with him once the restrictions allow us to do so.

Thank you to everyone who have been signing on and contributing to the classes, great effort everyone and hope to see you next week!

Change to Saturday Kendo and Iaido online sessions

In acknowledgement that we are rapidly heading towards the winter solstice, from this week we will be starting online classes for both Kendo suburi and Iaido a little earlier.

Kick off times for Kendo will now be 3.00 pm and Iaido at 3.30 pm, so that for the majority of us who are training outside, we do not run out of light by the end of the session. I shall update the Club’s COVID-19 page to reflect this later today.

With COVID-19 restrictions slowly easing, we may look to take a trip down the hill to train with Tom sensei when we can, so keep an eye open for that!

COVID-19 update

With government updates each Friday, I thought it important to provide an update regarding what this means for the Club.

Although restrictions are steadily being eased, we are still some time away from reopening classes at BBRD. While some other martial arts Clubs are returning as of this week to limited and socially distanced training, our best advice is still that for the majority of our Club’s activities, we are unlikely to be able to get back to training till July.

There will be some exceptions to this, and at yesterdays Executive meeting, we discussed a return to Taiko in the coming weeks. Additionally, advice from the Australian Iaido and Jodo boards have suggested that a return to training is possible, which may make a trip to Pine Mountain to tracing with Tom sensei feasible. I will provide another update next week as our plans for the return become more firm.

Stay well, everyone, and in the interim I hope to continue seeing you in the online classes!