December is coming …

In what has been already a “through the looking glass” sort of year, for me the realisation that we sit near the end of October has somewhat crept up.

I am still in the throws of clinical placement — another two weeks in Indooroopilly before a week five week stint at the PA hospital — so continue to have a sense of dislocation from the regular flow of the training year. However, COVID permitting, we are still scheduled to have our regular December commitments take place.

First up will be the QKR Summer Seminar and grading opportunity. This will be the weekend of 5-6 December, so straight after the last day of my clinical placements. We are holding it at Somerset College on the Gold Coast, where the past few Uni Games Kendo comps have been held.

While it is still just under seven weeks away, we need to make sure that all things are sorted well before then. First, as a reminder, to participate, you must be a financial member of the QKR. If you have not done so yet, please get this sorted by the end of this week.

Second, we will most likely be getting a group Air BnB for the weekend. If you wish to stay with us, could you let Sean T or Tracy C know ASAP so that we can get a booking made for what will no doubt be a busy time of year.

Third, if you wish to grade at the seminar, please talk to me this week about your eligibility requirements and what you will be examined on. We will start to tailor our training session to focus on your grading performance from this week.

Fourth, I still intend to hold a Jujutsu grading the following weekend (12 December) and have our end of year dinner and awards night for the Club that evening. Again, if you are intending to grade, please talk to me over the next two weeks, so that we are able to ensure you are getting sufficient practice to hone the skills you will need to demonstrate.

I’ll look forward to seeing folk face-to-face this Saturday, and virtually over the week. Keep well, train hard and I shall see you soon!

Vale Ian Webb

I wanted to pass my condolences to Sian Carlyon and her husband Mark for the recent passing of Sian’s Dad Ian.

Ian very generously had been a donor to the Club, and will be remembered as a fiercely independent and strong minded man. Ian’s health had been deteriorating for some months, and both Sian and Mark had been providing significant care and companionship for him while he had been in hospital over this time.

I would like to offer the warmth and support of the Club community to both Sian and Mark at this time, and ask that we keep them all in out thoughts.

Club orders

We will be sending off the latest Tozando order this week, so for those of you who have provided your list to Sean T , you ought to be in receipt of an e-mail in the next day or so confirming what you have on there, and the amount you will need to deposit into the Club’s purchase account.

This account is different from the usual one that we use to pay our regular fees into, so make sure that you check the details Sean sends so that you are correctly directing your contribution.

If there are any last minute alterations or additions (including if you have suddenly realise you want to get something) please let Sean know ASAP. If you ask really nicely, then we might be able to include it in the order.

Classes this Saturday 24 October

We will not be having a Kendo class this Saturday, and we are scheduled for a visit by Tom Johnson sensei to put us through our paces with Iaido and Jodo.

Class for Iaido will start at 2 pm and run through to 4.30 pm for the start of Jujutsu. Systema too will be unaffected and have its usual fortnightly 3.30pm start.

This weekend’s classes are an important check in for those contemplating grading at the December QKR event, which is now only a little under 7 weeks away. It will also be an excellent opportunity for those that have just started, or are contemplating taking up Iaido to see some high-level practice and receive excellent instruction to shape their foundations in the art. And remember that if you are physically remote from Toowoomba, you can always join us via the Saturday Virtual Dojo Zoom link.

I will talk through more details Tuesday night when I beam in to assist with running the class.

Change to FlexiFit time

FlexiFit is still being successfully run as a virtual dojo class, and getting good numbers week to week. Interestingly, the current composition of the class is almost entirely comprised of people outside of Toowoomba, with most of them south of the Queensland border.

As most of the class is currently under daylight saving time, we will be starting Sunday classes 30 minutes earlier at 5 pm (Toowoomba time) to make the class a little more accomodating for them over the summer period.

FlexiFit is a great way to finish off a weekend and just stretch and relax for the work week ahead. It is informed by Kit Laughlin’s stretch therapy approach, and my own physiotherapy studies to date. While it is a “general” class, we will modify the sequence of exercises to address particular areas that participants feel a need to address.

Remember that if you want to participate, you can either make monthly Club training contributions for all classes, or top up a virtual dojo pack of $20 for 10 classes.

Last night we discussed the possibility of running some lunchtime virtual FlexiFit classes tailored for those of us unfortunately chained to the desk. We will look to run those from December, so keep an eye out for announcement regarding those sessions when they are announced in a few weeks time.

Training in the weeks ahead

It has been a nice start to my second block of clinical placement with four day weeks both the week just passed and this coming week. It has been somewhat of a break from the usual routine of training as I’m finding my schedule down in Brisbane, but I am hoping to start at least some Kendo and Iaido when the opportunity arises.

We have dates in December that members ought be working towards, including the QKR State seminar for Kendo, Iaido and Jodo on the weekend of 5-6 December and the Jujutsu shinsa opportunity on Saturday 12 December.

It was great to see everyone this Saturday. I am always impressed by members from our sister dojo in Gin Gin when they make it in to a Saturday in Toowoomba. This week, we saw Tamara K who was swinging through Toowoomba on her way to Jacobs Well with a home school excursion group. Unfortunately, Ivan H was unable to make it this time due to transport issues, and so we will very much look forward to the next time he is able to visit.

In the weeks ahead, I will only be able to make Saturday training in Toowoomba, and I urge everyone to try and make it in for the afternoon sessions. I have been speaking with Tom Johnson, sensei, and he is keen to make a trip up in support of Iaido in the next week or two, and I will pass on details as soon as we have bedded them down.

I am also wanting to better set up week night virtual dojo so that I can continue to provide input back in Toowoomba while I am away. We will be sorting out the technical end of this through this week, and hope to launch a fully supported live stream from the following week. And remember that if you are part of the Club’s diaspora, you are very welcome to participate in those ongoing virtual sessions.

Have a great week everyone! Train well, and as always I will look forward to seeing you in the dojo.

Successful grant application

One great piece of news this week was the notification that the Club has been successful in its application for a grant of $5000 to put towards the purchase of additional training mats.

The money received through the Active Restart Infrastructure Recovery Fund will contribute to expanding the matted surface to a 12x12 m Judo adult-sized competition court, with an 8x8 m centre and a 2 m safety border. It will allow for us to safely host even more members at regular training, and a suitable practice environment for members wanting to compete in Judo at the University Games.

We will be looking to order the mats in the next few weeks, and making some plans to host future seminars and competitions that the expanded surface will facilitate. So definitely watch this space for updates!

Tozando order

Our friends at Tozando in Kyoto have undertaken a significant update of their website, and are currently fine tuning some of their systems including being able to automatically add the Dojo Discount to orders placed, and a few of their for-sale items including Kyudo equipment. As a consequence, they are having to manually add the discount and items not currently listed as “addable” to the cart.

We are wanting to get a group order placed by mid next week so that we are able to kit out some of our newer members with uniforms and equipment. To aid that, could you please have a look at www.tozandoshop.com and then e-mail Sean Thompson at SeanSonOfThom@gmail.com by Friday with what you are interested in purchasing. He will then provide you with the details of how much you will need to deposit into the Club’s purchasing account (different from the one you usually place you Club fees into). Tozando lists its price in US dollars, so you will need to convert to Australian dollars. If you budget roughly for a rate where you multiply the list price by 1.26 you will get a rough approximation of what you will need to pay based on the current exchange rate and Club discount. This price is inclusive of shipping. The exchange rate is subject to variation, so you will be told exactly how much just prior to placing the order.

Once you have been told what you owe (and where to direct it), we will look to place the order mid next week.

Training this week

A very brief note this morning. I am rapidly coming to the end of my placement at the Toowoomba Base Hospital, and next week will be starting a 10 week period where I will not be in town for week nights. At this stage usual Tuesday and Thursday night should be covered by the relevant seniors for each discipline. Any variations and we will make sure that folk are given the heads up with plenty of time.

This week, Daen is out with a work commitment, so I will be picking up the Thursday jujutsu slot instead. Have a great week everyone, and I’ll hope to catch you in or out of the dojo!

Gin Gin trip this weekend

Just a heads up that the plan is for me to make a trip up to visit the Club’s sister dojo in Gin Gin this weekend. At this stage we will be running weekend classes as usual, though will let everyone know through the week if there are any changes/cancellations at the Toowoomba end of things.

I’m hoping to open up our usual virtual dojo links so that Toowoomba based budoka can join in real time with what the class up North is doing.

Train well everyone, and as always, I’ll look forward to seeing you in the dojo!