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As it says in the title, Systema will be running as Zoom only classes for the next four weeks. Mike C has taken the decision to do so given his current frontline work at the Hospital.
Currently, he has plans for an 11 am Saturday class and possibly others based on demand/availability to keep things ticking over while he is taking a break from the dojo.
Please contact Mike directly for the relevant link to participate.
It was a bit of an anti-climax last week. All ready to have our opening session for the year Thursday and hosting the BKC for some inter-Club Kendo training, and the shadow of COVID came and clouded over the week.
The CBRC staff had been amazingly efficient in their deep clean of the Centre post a confirmed positive contact in the gym. However, we had decided to be cautious and “watch and wait” for a few more days before kicking off our training year.
So Take Two! We will be holding kagami biraki/keiko hajime tomorrow night (Tuesday) instead. I would love to see as many of you there as can make it, noting our current COVID framework for attendance at training:
Be symptom free from the COVID watch list
Full vaccination (including booster if you are due for it) OR a negative RAT up to 6 hour prior coming into the dojo
Wearing of masks at all times save when (on a discipline-specific basis for particular plans) you are engaged in strenuous physical activity)
Maintain social distancing outside of the immediate training zone (keiko-jo), especially being mindful of your gear set up
Try to be as prepared as you can to start training straight away, including considering wearing most/all of your training uniform into the dojo (and leaving while still dressed in it)
Use the hand sanitiser, foot sanitiser and check-in codes provided.
Minimise the swapping of gear between training partners, and where you do, give them a sanitising wipe down before handing something over
Be a little bit flexible with how (and what) we train for the next few weeks.
As I said last week, these measures are temporary and are wholly about shaving percentages off the chance of a superspreader event in the dojo. We have a number of members who work with vulnerable populations, and we simply do not wish to be foolhardy to those risks.
We will continue to monitor how things develop over the coming weeks. At this stage we are expecting that we might continue with these protocols for between 4-8 weeks. For my part, I will be partially guided by the direction taken in the Hospital service, and will be taking cues from how it is being managed there. Changes to the protocol may be sooner, and, of course, they could be extended. However, we will be taking all active steps to ensure we are doing our part.
Regardless.
I’ll very much look forward to seeing as many of you as able tomorrow night, and all of you in coming weeks. Take care everyone, be safe (as you can) and watch this space for new 2022 Zoom video links so that as much as possible, those who are away from the dojo can still participate.
I am excited for the possibilities of the new training year, and have very much been looking forward to the start of our Club year with our traditional Kagami Biraki/keiko hajime practice this Thursday.
Due to the emerging COVID situation there may have to be a few modifications to the way we run Thursday night, including potentially skipping out on the light supper that we traditionally put on. And please note that there are some reinstated COVID precautions that we will have to follow on the night. However, we are working towards being able to bes replicate what we do each year.
At this stage we are planning to open the doors at 6 pm, set up the space, and then share some training or demonstrations as usual. The instructors and discipline coordinators will be working out particulars in the next few days, and if there are any major changes to what we usually do, we will let everyone know through the usual channels.
I hope to see may of you there this Thursday. Take care everyone, and let’s work together to create a challenging and successful training year ahead.
Over the past few weeks, the rapid increase in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID have had to force a rethink to the types of modifications to our general activities, including physical training. Unfortunately, the current COVID situation has again forced us to reinstate restrictions on the way that we will be able to conduct our training for the next few weeks and possibly months. This includes gyms and other indoor activities.
The Queensland Government has mandated that masks need to be worn for all indoor activities save when you are engaging in strenuous physical activity as an attempt to navigate a risk minimisation strategy that allows us to go about things as normally as possible while protecting vulnerable members of the community as much as possible.
This still leaves a gap in how we as a Club and in individual disciplines best manage this risk. In part this is up to the individual disciplines to implement. However there are some Club wide strategies that we will have to abide by.
I do not want to get into an extended discussion around the pros and cons of various public health strategies. However it is important to note the following:
The Omicron variant, while the indication is that its presentation is much less severe that earlier variants is many times more infectious. This means that the law of large number is in play. In other words, the sheer numbers of people that get infected will result in an absolute number of people badly affected still has the potential to place significant strain on health services.
Currently we have at least three Club members working at the Toowoomba Hospital, and between us we could potentially be in contact with almost every area across both the Base Hospital and Toowoomba North campus. We also have some members of the Club community that experience a larger risk of complications from a COVID infection
Vaccines (and boosters) provide only partial cover from infection, or indeed being infectious to others. However, they form our best first line of defence to slow the rate of infection and to reduce its severity.
Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) do run the risk of false negatives where people are asymptomatic. However, they provide the best method we have of quickly detecting someone being COVID positive and hence shaving off the percentage chance of a “super spreader” event .
As a Club, I want us to do everything reasonable that we can to shave the percentages, and give us the best chance to lower the risk of having a “super-spreader” event happen at the Club. The balance is to try and have training normal as much as we can while being sensitive to unnecessary risk. This is covered by the Club’s existing COVID plan, and so much of what we will be doing is already familiar to most of you. This will include reinstating the mask wearing rule for any time you are inside the CBRC and not engaging in strenuous physical activity (Government directive). We will also be observing social distancing where appropriate, especially when setting up our training equipment. Additionally, there will be discipline-specific modifications to practice that will be communicated via the normal chat channels.
There will be one significant change to the plan originally written last year before the availability of vaccines or Rapid Antigen Tests. Specifically:
In addition to being asymptomatic of any COVID-related symptoms, you must be either fully vaccinated (including the booster if you are eligible) OR you have returned a negative COVID Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) up to 6 hours prior to coming to the dojo.
We are aware of the discomfort that this may cause some of you. Everyone has the right to choose whether to get vaccinated or not. By offering an exemption by doing a RAT, we hope to assure you that what we are doing is a risk reduction strategy rather than be forced to go back to online-only training.
I also want to note that integrity is a core value of the Club. We are not in the business of “checking your green ticks” or demanding to see your RAT. We all know hat the determined person can find their way around those sort of things. We are expecting that you do the right thing. If you have any concerns, please talk with your discipline coordinators.
This Saturday we will be hosting members from BKC here in Toowoomba for a start-of-year kick off to our formal kendo training.
We will be running from 2:00–4:00pm in our usual training location at the CBRC (upstairs hall, entrance via the fire stairs).
This will mean that we won’t be training Iaido this Saturday, so the first regular Iaido session will be Tuesday night (11 January).
Also, we need to be mindful of the current COVID situation. Given the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, we are having to go back to our “Stage 4” COVID plan. This will mean:
Face masks are to be worn inside the building unless engaging in strenuous activity (as per the Queensland public health directive)
When setting up your equipment, please take care to socially distance 1.5m. I will be placing some taped markers this week to help people out with that.
When practising Kendo, either a mask or a face shield is to be used inside of the men. We will try to take regular breaks for rehydration. It would be useful to store a mask inside your nafuda so that you can don it once you have doffed your men.
If you are coming to training, we ask that you have been fully vaccinated (including your booster if you are eligible) OR have returned a negative COVID Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 6 hours of training. Remember that integrity is the foundation value of the Club. While we won’t be demanding to see your COVID vaccine certificate or physical evidence of a negative RAT, everyone is expected to do the right thing.
While we cannot reduce the risk of COVID transmission to zero, we are wanting to take as many active steps to minimise its spread while maintaining normal training as much as can be done. Given there are a number of us in the Club who work with vulnerable populations, or who have friends and relatives who are at risk, we want to be able to take what sensible precautions that we can.
But enough of the “heavy”! It will be wonderful to see Takashi sensei and the other BKC members this Saturday, and I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing a few previously absent faces there.
Everyone likes good merch, right? A way to fly the colours of what you love.
It’s been a while coming, but one of my projects over the holiday break has been to try and get up and running the Club’s t-shirt shop. This is an online, direct to you portal where you can order Club and discipline-based apparel (mostly t-shirts), including training shirts and “art shirts”. A while back, our old “store front” went offline when the hosting company — The Print Bar— changed its set up. At the time it had been a while since anyone had ordered a shirt, and sorting our something new had been thrown into the “too hard basket”.
However, you should now be able to point your browser to www.BBRDshop.theprintbar.com though do hold off on ordering until next week. At the moment the site is in a draft state where we have to set up some of the behind the scenes admin stuff and make a few tweaks to the offerings.
One thing you will be able to do once the site is full operational is to select from a range of your favourite colours to compliment your own sense of style. And if you have any suggestions for things that you would like to wear, please fire them through and we will see what we can do to make it available.
At present the site has some of the old and emerging designs that you may have seen me wear over the years. I’m still waiting on some final approvals from instructors/discipline coordinators, so there will inevitably be some final adjustments to the designs up at the moment.
I’ll look forward to seeing everyone resplendent in coming weeks!
It is an odd feeling looking at the tail end of this year as the Club is about to go into a two week hibernation over the Christmas/New Year period. It has certainly been an interesting 12 months where there have been both personal Club milestones achieved, and quite a bit of sweat and tears to get to this point.
I want to commend everyone for their efforts over this past 12 months. Whether it be logging into a Zoom class for those outside of Toowoomba, taking the plunge and deciding to “be terrible” at something new, or facing considerable personal challenges throughout the year and getting to this point, somewhat bloodied but still here. We finished this year with many uncertainties but also a number of key opportunities ahead of us. In what will be the 15th year that the Club has existed, we are poised to build on relationships we have strengthened this year with our sister Club in Gin Gin and the Brisbane Kendo Club, continue to support the development of regular training opportunities in Kyudo in Queensland, build on our broader community profile and capacity to deliver weekly training across the diverse range of disciplines we support, and provide opportunities for personal growth, support and community for our members.
COVID still rumbles on in the background. And for me there are the uncertainties of leaving an identity as a student and re-entering the world of full time work starting January 10. So in one sense we will have to play our hand as it comes and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to rise to the challenges that will inevitably be presented in this coming year.
Of course there are many things to still do over the next fortnight (in addition to cooking and eating). There is the annual update to Club policies and procedures that I always do at this time of year, and a number of QKR-related things, including the development of the State level anti-harassment and anti-bullying framework.
So I hope that you all have an excellent few weeks, regardless of how you choose to spend it. The next scheduled Budo Bulletin wont be till the new year. The last training session for this year is Thursday 23rd December. And keiko hajime will be on Thursday 6 January.
I am very happy to announce that all candidates attempting their BBRD Jujutsu grading on Saturday were successful. So big congratulations to:
Rayan Bashir (9KYU)
Mustajab Bashir (9KYU)
Matthew Clulow (8KYU)
Heather Butler (8KYU)
Rebekka Caudell (7KYU)
Imogen Caudell (7KYU)
As I mentioned at the conclusion of the grading, I thought all candidates certainly exceeded the requirements for their grade, but wanted to make special mention of both Heather’s and Imogen’s performance. Heather’s tenacity, dedication and focus over this past year has been inspirational and she showed true steeliness to make it through the physical demands of the day. Imogen has likewise shown exceptional engagement and focus in her training, and is always providing a maximum effort in her training, which was abundantly obvious in her command of the nyumon syllabus and technical competency.
Gradings are wonderful opportunities to provide a window on what you need to work on next. This is as much for instructors as it is for the candidates as we look to shape the training opportunities over the next few months.
Many thanks to Brady, Daen, Sean and Jono for their efforts to make the grading run smoothly filling roles on the grading panel, dojo steward, and as uke. I am also very much looking forward to seeing the photos taken by Grant from the afternoon, and will no doubt make for some excellent calendar pictures!
I hope to see everyone at the last training for the year tomorrow (Tuesday)!
It has been a big weekend hosting the Queensland Kendo Renmei’s Summer Seminar and grading opportunity. Toowoomba turned on near perfect summer weather for our visitors from Cairns, Townsville, Gin Gin, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, for training across all three supported discipline — Kendo, Iaido and Jodo.
While COVID-related restrictions meant that we were not able to offer a grading in Jodo, all candidates acquitted themselves well in their respective Iaido and Kendo gradings. In particular, Gin Gin and Toowoomba folk did us all proud with Quentin Brandt double grading to achieve 4KYU, Ivan Hills achieving 2KYU, and both Kateena Martin and Sean Thompson realising the benefit of all the hard work they had put in to be successfully meet the challenge of 2DAN.
I wanted to thank everyone who went above and beyond to help with the event. This includes our grading panel members and those filling support roles, those that instructed across the weekend, and those that filled in all of the important background jobs to set up and clean up. In particular I wanted to mention the Gin Gin crew for their efforts Sunday afternoon to return the CBRC to the state we found it, and to Takashi Itakura sensei, who as first to arrive, last to leave, filled many roles from staffing the reception desk to stepping into a teaching role at short notice on Saturday when our scheduled person did not arrive.
And so we now refocus on what is upcoming for 2022. The next major events will be a pencilled-in regional kyu grading in March and then the Winter Seminar in July. We will also be encouraging more regular inter-Club events across all three arts and hopefully more opportunities to engage in taikai. Rest up today, everyone. Will look forward to seeing everyone later this week as we start to wind down the training clock on 2021!
Just a quick reminder that we are holding the December grading opportunity for BBRD Jujutsu this Saturday from 2 pm. As a result there will not be any Kendo or Iaido sessions.
Systema is potentially unaffected, and just dependent on interest from folk to train on what will be the last weekend session of the year.
We will be discussing with everyone this week the possibility of having an end-of-year dinner on Saturday night, so keep a look out for those conversations.
Training for the year will finish up on Thursday 23 December, and then we will have our first dojo session back on Thursday 6 January, so I hope that everyone enjoys the fortnight off and can rest up, chip away at personal training, and come back to the new year refreshed.
Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.