Regular programming this week

We should be back to a regular state of programming this week and for the next few weeks. Systema is planning a Saturday session, I will be at all of the week night and Saturday sessions, FlexiFit, after quite a bit of disruption this past few weeks will be on Sunday, as well and Tuesday and Thursday morning opportunities, and as for me personally, I made this morning’s gym session, and intend to do all my scheduled conditioning and gym sessions for the rest of the week.

It was great to hear from a few folk who have been away from training for a while that they are planning to come back over the next week or so. I’m always happy to see our “prodigals” and welcome them back to the training fold. I’d encourage some of you who I know are regular readers to consider whether you too might like to retake the training plunge, either in person or via video link. Your presence benefits everyone.

Any variations to programming (if they occur) will be sent through the usual channels. So as always, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the dojo.

Reminder: Gin Gin trip this weekend

I am looking forward to this weekend’s trip away to support our sister dojo in Gin Gin. Kateena, Sean and I will be travelling up on Friday afternoon from Toowoomba, and Takashi Itakura sensei making the trip up from Brisbane for a very full Saturday and packed Sunday morning training focussing on the requirements for the upcoming seminar and grading opportunity in December.

As a result, there will not be any Kendo or Iaido training in Toowoomba this Saturday, so I will hope to see folk at the Tuesday and Thursday evening sessions.

We will be trialling the use of video feedback over the weekend, which will be very interesting to use. We may even start to do similar in Toowoomba if the trial is successful.

Club systems and documents

As part of the end of year refresh/renewal of the Club’s systems, I will be spending some time this week setting up resources in our Martialytics student management software to make accessing your relevant grading documents easier, along with a range of other resources.

Keep an eye out in your e-mail for log-in details and links to the things you will need for your upcoming training/grading progression. I will also be trialling some of the additional features that have recently been made available, so I will be asking a few of you to help me over the next few days.

I will also want to take me updated photos of everyone from this week for the Club records. Some are many years old, and quite a few are missing all together. I’ll also be checking that all of your contact and other important details are up to date.

General dojo update

It is kind of nice to start a new month on a Monday. I know that it is an artificial alignment of “beginnings”, but it does help to sweep away some of the habitual excuses that we tend to fall into (I’ll start it tomorrow/next week/next month). So stripped of that framing, today provides a wonderful opportunity to start fresh and forge ahead on a few longer term plans.

First, we will be starting our run of preparation for gradings in jujutsu, kendo, iaido and jodo this week. I would ask that you have a look at your grading requirements in your respective arts, and bring some questions to the dojo to shape what we focus on in our sessions. This might be technical (the “how you do it” requirements), process-based (the “what you need to do” requirements), and conditioning (how to improve strength, balance and cardiovascular conditioning to achieve your goals). Everyone will be different in what they need to focus on, even if you are attempting the same grading level, so you need to be active in the process of your preparation in order to maximise your chance of success. Ask questions and we will tailor what you need to work on this week.

Second, Club group orders will be going into our suppliers. Knee pads are available at Grapplingstore, so have a think if you would like to purchase a set (knees are important after all), and have a look at their website to see if there is anything else you would like. Tozando ought be able to fulfil orders before the next QKR seminar if we get them in this week, so again, have a think about what you might like. This includes Kyudo related items such as a Kyudo gi, gomuyumi etc. that you may wish to obtain, and of course jujutsu uniforms.

Third, I will be trialling some new features within our Martialytics student database this week and spending some time at the back end of the Club’s systems to streamline some of our procedures. I will be checking that we have current details and photos for all members, so be warned that you may have a snap taken when you are in this week.

Fourth, we are scheduled to have an Executive meeting this Sunday, so if you have any suggestions or issues you would like to raise, please let your relevant instructor or discipline coordinators know.

Have fun everyone today, this week and this month, and, as always, I’ll look forward to seeing you in the dojo!

Kendo updates

It has been great to see some steady number back in the dojo this week for training. We are still working towards our two big events for the remainder of the year, the trip to Gin Gin next weekend (12–14 November) and the hosting the QKR State Seminar and grading opportunity (11–12 December).

Unfortunately, Greg Nicholas sensei, who was due to undertake some contract work in the Toowoomba region has experience some delays with the contract, so is more likely to be here to have a few sessions with us towards the end of the month. However, we will keep everyone posted as his timing becomes more clear.

I would also like to encourage interest in the remaining shiai practice sessions that are being hosted at the Kenshinkai both the 27th of this month and on 18 December. Again, we will remind you closer to the days we are going done in support of this.

As mentioned in the other post this week, we will be making an order with Tozando mid this week, so please get your item wish list into Sean or myself ASAP.

Finally, I am going to try to ensure that we start our sessions a little more promptly from this week coming. If you know that it takes you 15 mins to get organised from the time you arrive at the dojo in order to be ready to start training, please make sure that you give yourself sufficient time to do so. I will be making sure that Jodo finished early enough on a Thursday, and that I am early enough on a Saturday to facilitate this. Please take the opportunity to do the same.

Kyudo at Pine Mountain this Saturday

The next Kyudo session at Pine Mountain is scheduled for this Saturday 6 November.  While we have started to do some regular taihai in Toowoomba, I would strongly encourage you to make the trip down to solidify what we covered in the previous session. Tom and Madoka will be leading the session again, and Tom has just recently purchased some lighter weight yumi to make it easier to create shape and fire, and fixed the rubber on the gomuyumi so that we have a full set available for use.

The plan is for Iaido to run from 8:00–9:30am, and then Kyudo from 9.45 am till about 2.30pm, dependent on weather/ heat, with sandwiches again provided.

For planning purposes if you could let myself and Tom know if you will be able to attend by Wednesday.

Back to regular training this week

After a week broadly of “rest” from the regular intensity of training, I managed to make it back into the gym this morning for the first time in way too long. The regular time slot of 9:30 am, an infinitely respectable time to womble in and work out has been closed, and I got the courage to front up at 6:30 this morning to a much more packed space filled with young (i.e. school aged) athletes going through their programs.

It is always a bit confronting to feel a bit flat and be in the midst of everyone else seeming to be getting on with their own thing with far more grace and dignity that you feel you can muster. For myself, my continued struggles with my shoulder injury, lack of cardiovascular fitness, and just that niggling feeling of being a little bit too fat and a little bit too old have chipped away at my confidence. Normally, the gym and dojo feels like a refuge. I’ve noticed that for the past few months, it has been a bit more of a struggle.

Everyone goes through crises of confidence with their training at some stage, and with life in general. The real test is what you do once you hit the wall, not just as a test of character, but also as a process of living. There is a Japanese phrase, most often used in Judo and Jujutsu circles: Nana korobi yaoki (七転び八起き). Fall down seven times, get up eight.

Impermanence, transition, change, struggle. These are all givens of life. Sometimes it can feel much more negative than positive as we try to cling to the safely of the familiar and lament the passing of what we thought we had. However, in that discomfort is the opportunity to gain through getting through life one step as a time.

One phrase that has always stuck with me that Matt G introduced to the vernacular of the Club was “in one year, you will be glad you started today”. Today creates an opportunity to recommit and re-engage to the person you want to be. It doesn’t mean that there wont be hard days, days that you just can’t feel a connection to the process, or the point of continuing. However, in focussing on just today and picking yourself up and taking that one step to deal with the task in front of you, you build the foundation for resilience, and take that one step closer to achieving your goals.

So today I pick myself up. Been to the gym, have some tasks to sort out before evening, and planning to go for that run this afternoon. And the “regular” training for the rest of this week. One step. One time.

Take care everyone, be kind to yourself. I’ll look forward to having you all help me on my journey forward, and in my turn helping you with yours. Till we see each other in the dojo!

Kyudo beginner’s day

I would like to thank Tom Johnson and the Kohokai for organising the first QKA beginner’s day on Saturday. It was hot and steamy down at Pine Mountain, but we managed to gather 11 people from Sunshine Coast, Brisbane Ipswich and Toowoomba to step through the basics.

Special mention must go to both Tom and Madoka for leading us through the basics of etiquette, movement and shooting. It was wonderful to witness the enthusiasm of those for whom it was the very first exposure to Kyudo,

The plan is to hold fortnightly sessions at Pine Mountain on a Saturday morning after Iaido, so that everyone has the opportunity to build up their muscle memory and ingrain the fundamentals. We will now be looking to wedge in some time to do similar in Toowoomba, just so that we are able to keep the momentum up as well.

If anyone has any questions regarding Kyudo, please do not hesitate to contact either Daen or myself so we can include you on the communications list for various opportunities over coming weeks.

And for those that might hav caught the “Kyudo bug”, have a chat to either Sean or myself regarding the next Tozando order to get some equipment for yourself!

Tozando and Grapplingstore orders to be finalised this week

As we are rapidly approaching the end of the month and hence the time window to have orders arrive prior to December seminar and grading opportunities, could I please ask that you ensure you have told either Sean or I regarding any items you may wish to purchase by the end of this week. We will be ordering in a couple of stages. First will be any weapons or customisation that will take the longest to ship after manufacture. Next will be “off the shelf” items like standard uniforms protectors and maintenance equipments. Third will be any items to be purchased from Grapplingstore. However, we would ask that you nominate what you want no later than Thursday, so we can start to plan our purchases.

We will remind people in class this week, and let you know how much and where and when to pay for items by next Monday.

Gin Gin redux

It feels a little strange here this morning writing the Budo Bulletin having completed the last assessment item for my Physiotherapy degree. It was an intense couple of days preparing the final touches to the oral presentation of our major research project. In the wash up, we did very well on the day, acquitting ourselves very well to our examiners.

While up in the district I took the opportunity to run some training in Gin Gin across Jujutsu, Kendo, Iaido and Jodo. First I would like to thank Tamara Kelly for her hospitality and steadfast support of me over the past 3 1/2 years of coming up to Gin Gin. It has certainly meant that over this time I have had an incredibly important sanity break from the intense pressure of the travel and study I have been doing over the course of my studies.

It was marvellous to reacquaint myself with the now refurbished National Fitness Hall, catch up with long time dojo members and meet some of the beginners that have been training over video link to this point. I saw some great progress just in the course of this week, and it was so satisfying to see everyone’s enthusiasm and commitment to training.

I will be very much looking forward to the next scheduled trip up in support of a kendo intensive weekend mid November. Till then, I’ll hope to see folk over camera to keep the momentum going, and again want to extend an open invitation to all coming through Toowoomba to stop past and train.