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!