May days

May has always been my favourite month in Toowoomba. Cool nights, warm days and plenty of things to prepare for with respect to the Club. At the moment, it feels even better as I almost have a fully functioning bathroom again after renovations the past four weeks — just the shower screen to go. “Al fresco” is nice in the warm sun, but it has been pleasant to have “inside” showers again, particularly after training in the evening.

A few thing regarding the Club for this week to note.

First up, just a reminder that the BBRD Jujutsu grading is set for the afternoon of Saturday 22 May, and we will be offering and opportunity to grade up to and including 3KYU. If you have any questions about what you need to demonstrate for your grade, please contact me urgently. We will be working on grading prep this Saturday, and I would highly recommend that you come this week to just make sure that you are on top of things.

For those interested and able to challenge for grade, please let me know definitely by Saturday so that we can have sufficient time to organise the appropriate material.

Second, the Toowoomba Language and Cultures Festival is scheduled for Sunday 30 May. I will be following up this week with the organisers to get more details regarding our commitments there. We will need to know exact numbers of participants, and the total number attending this year (both participants and public) is strictly limited.

Third, and quite excitingly, the Club’s order of mats has finally arrived in Australia, and is being prepared to be shipped to Toowoomba hopefully by week’s end. It will be marvellous to have the extra room to train on, meeting one of our long terms goals for the Club.

Fourth, we will be coordinating a Kyudo training session down at Pine Mountain in the coming weeks. For those who have been interested in trying it out, make sure that you let me know and do take advantage of the opportunity once it is locked in.

And finally, we will be putting in uniform and equipment orders very soon. Please discuss with your instructors and coordinators regarding what you might possibly need so that it can be sent off in a timely fashion. Sean Thompson will be putting out reminders over the next fortnight to get your item list to him so that we can place the order pronto.

Have a great week everyone and as always, I’ll look forward to seeing you in the dojo!

Switch for Jujutsu classes this week

A quick reminder that we will be switching Tuesday’s 6 pm BBRD jujutsu session with a KJR class to mirror the swap we made last week due to Daen’s prior work commitment.

This will be a great opportunity for those who may not be able to make the regular KJR classes to give it a go! All other classes shall be running as usual for this week.

Back to the dojo

I hope that everyone has had a good Easter period and is back ready to take up the challenges as we head towards mid-year. We are back to usual programming from Tuesday night with a full dance card of BBRD and KJR jujutsu, Systema, and Iaido.

I’d like to thank Jon H for his generosity in allowing us to requisition his garage and driveway to run some jujutsu classes while we have been away from the CBRC this past fortnight. We will be taking back the dojo mats this evening (Monday) , so if I could ask that we have a few people at the CBRC on hand at 5.40 pm to help get them back into the GX room.

Just a reminder that we are still practicing our baseline COVID/infection control procedures in the dojo. Please remember to

• Bring a towel (small or large), and “in dojo” footwear,

• Try and keep your gear neat and separate from others — we have 1.5 m markers to help.

• Do not come in if you are experiencing and cold/flu like symptoms. And

• Make sure you clean/sanitise any equipment that you are using.

New extended Executive

We had the first meeting of the Executive for the 2021-22 year on Friday, and I’m very please to announce the full extended executive that was appointed at that meeting. The key people for the coming year will be:

Core/elected executive

• President: Michael Baczynski

• Secretary: Brady Albrand

• Treasurer: Grant Vickery

• General Member: Tracy Campbell

Extended Executive portfolio responsibilities:

• Daen Fryar: Kyudo coordinator, KJR Jujutsu Instructor

• Garry (Ralphie) Watson: Taiko co-coordinator

• Grant Vickery: Judo coordinator

• John Gillies.: Member Protection Officer

• Jon Hoskins: Jujutsu coordinator

• Sean Thompson: Kendo coordinator, Procurement officer

• Michael Conroy: Systema instructor/coordinator

• Michael Baczynski: Coordinator for Arnis, FlexiFit, Go, Jodo, Instructor for BBRD Jujutsu, Kendo, Iaido

• Michelle Wiersma: Taiko co-coordinator

• Sian Carlyon: Iaido coordinator

• Tamara Kelly: Gin Gin/Club Diaspora coordinator

The folk who have been italicised above are taking on new responsibilities this year. I would like to welcome them into their new roles, and for some, into the Club executive for the first time.

If you have any queries regarding a specific supported discipline, please contact the relevant coordinator or instructor as your first line of enquiry,

Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival 2021

We are starting to get more details regarding the 2021 TLCF, to be held on Sunday 30 May. The Club is looking forward to once again supporting this highlight of the region’s community calendar and will be providing general demonstrations and Taiko performances.

This year is still restricted due to COVID-related considerations. There is a maximum of 10,000 people allowed to participate, whether performers, slat holders or the general public. Therefore, all members who are interested in supporting this will need to confirm their availability by week’s end so that we can register you as a participant in the event.

We will be continuing to provide details as they firm up over the next few weeks, so please ask your instructors and discipline coordinators for any further information regarding this event.

New Fees

As indicated last week, from Tuesday, we will be increasing the amount of many of the contributions we pay towards supporting our various activities. This will be reflected on the Club’s website, where you can find all of the details, specifically www.bbrd.org.au/fees

We have not taken this decision lightly as we have kept the fees at their current level for many years now. There has been a significant increase in our costs over this time, and the increase in the number membership has not quite kept up. Our fees are still significantly lower than similar Clubs in the Toowoomba region, and there are still ways that you are able to make savings on regular trining contributions.

Check this evening for the full updated list. If you have any questions please ask your instructor/discipline coordinator or any one of the Executive members.

AGM Redux

A quick round of thanks to everyone who logged on yesterday afternoon to attend the AGM. We managed to get all core business done in just over 35 minutes and elect the Executive for the new year. The elected positions are:

• President: Michael Baczynski

• Treasurer: Grant Vickery

• Secretary: Brady Albrand

• General Member: Tracy Campbell

The full list of discipline coordinators and special appointed positions will be confirmed at the first extended Executive meeting, which will be held in the next fortnight.

On a general note, I want to thank everyone for their efforts on the extended Executive over the past 12 months. There have been a number of significant challenges to the Club that I would argue we have risen well to. I am looking forward to the year ahead, where we can bed down and extend the strategies we have been engaged with in the past year, and continue to grow interest and participation in the Club’s activities.

We have a rapidly filling “dance card” in May, including Taiko performances, Jujutsu grading, and the Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival, which has been moved from its historical August date. We will look to these events as an extended opportunity to share what we love to do with the Toowoomba (and wider) community, and continue to build the membership base.

As always, I’ll hope to see you soon in the dojo!

Late dues …

I would like to thank everyone who had managed to pay their membership dues by yesterday afternoon. I have noticed though that there are a number of you who have not renewed as yet. Just a reminder that you will not be able to participate in Club activities unless you are a financial member. This is to ensure you are properly on the books, and therefore covered by insurance.

I understand that it can be tricky, especially for full time students. Additionally there may have been some confusion regarding Brady’s e-mail regarding the fees due. To clarify:

1. To be financial, you must pay the Membership fee. This is $15 for current USQ students or any full time student at another institution (school or tertiary), $20 for a general community member.

2. If you train one or more of Jujutsu, Systema, or Arnis, you will need to contribute $30 to the Training Insurance Fund.

3. For each discipline activity you participate in, you need to contribute $10.

4. If you are training a QKR supported art (Kendo, Iaido, Jodo) you must be a current financial member of the Renmei. Likewise if you are training in Kyudo, you must join the Queensland Kyudo Association, and if training Judo, fees must be paid to Judo Queensland. Each of these State organisations have their own timeline for payment and banking details. If in doubt, please talk with your discipline coordinator or instructor.

Fees are due to rise this year. We have maintained the current fee structure for a number of years now, and the increase will be necessary to cover increases to our fixed costs. If you pay this week, you will be able to take advantage of the historical prices set out above. However, we will be setting the new prices at the first extended Executive meeting for the year, and you will be subject to them as they are then set.

Again, you will need to be paid up before you can train. Given we are still away from the CBRC this week, I would strongly suggest that you get things sorted before next Tuesday.

Grant and I will finalise the membership list this week, and sending our receipts to everyone who has paid up.

Thanks Tamara Kelly

We undertook our first outdoor and Zoom broadcast Iaido class since the end of last year’s COVID lockdown on Saturday, with the addition of a brand new radio microphone supplied by Tam. The radio mic was primarily purchased to improve the quality of cross dojo teaching via Zoom, and the test run on the weekend certainly proved its efficacy.

Many thanks to Tam, who organised and posted this off. I hope that this will encourage more of the Club’s diaspora to log into live sessions, and it will also make recording for the Club’s private You Tube Chanel to be much smoother and clearer.

Jujutsu: There are three slots …

Although we have been away from the CBRC this week, we have continued to train. Jon has generously provided his garage as a training space for jujutsu, and we have had two quality training sessions so far, and look to repeat that with three session this week.

Given the limited space we are operating in, we are restricting the numbers to 5 people. Given myself and Jon take two of that number, there are three slots available for each session.

Rules are simple:

1. When the call goes out for interest it is first in best dressed

2. You must be ready to start on time. That is dressed and ready to go. If you are late without decent excuse you will not be permitted to train.

3. If you are late or a no show, you will not be able to nominate for the rest of the week.

Last week we focussed on BBRD jujutsu ne waza and suwariwaza. The ceiling height is somewhat restrictive of KJR jujutsu sessions, but we will look to see if we can run an open air KJR session this week. Keep an eye on the Club’s Jujutsu Chat for your opportunity to put yourself on the training list!