Nagayama Sensei Visit

We are fortunate to host a visit from Nagayama Sensei next month. Sensei holds the grades of jodo 7 Dan, iaido 7 Dan and kendo 6 Dan is is the Jodo Techical Advisor for the Australian Kendo Renmei. He is pictured here (on the right) teaching at the recent national seminar on the Gold Coast. Sensei will arrive on Tuesday June 17 after leading training seminars in Melbourne and Canberra and depart on Saturday June 21. Please note there will be some changes to our regular schedule during this time. The Tuesday night jodo class will be changed to iaido and the Thursday night aikido class will be cancelled. Sensei will be teaching from 9-11.30am and 1.30 to 3.30pm on June 18 & 19 and from 9-11.30 am on June 20 at our dojo. These day time classes will be on an informal basis and will enable one on one training with Sensei in either jodo or iaido. This is a rare opportunity and should not be missed.

Canberra Seminar

During the Anzac Day weekend Naoko, Emiko and I went down to Canberra. The girls spent a fair bit of time shopping whilst I went training with the good people from the Kuroyama Kai and Canberra Iaido and Jodo Group. There was a good role up of about 18 people for the seminar and great to see the interest being shown. Thanks heaps to Damon and John for inviting me down there and also to Sue for looking after things on the bayside whilst I was gone. Here’s a photo of us and the autumn leaves near the old Parliament House.

Easter Training

Classes will continue as per normal over the Easter weekend from 21 to 24 March. Hope to see you then.

Singapore Shinjukai 20th Anniversary

I’ve just got back from Singapore where I attended the 20th Anniversary Celebrations for Aikido Shinjukai 7 to 9 March. It was a real privilege to be part of such a well organised event and mix with aikidoists from all over the world. Foreign guests came from a diverse range of countries including Russia, China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and a host of others. The highlight for me was a training seminar by leading teachers from the Asia Pacific area and Japan. The Japanese teachers included Tsuboi and Kubota Sensei who have previously visited Brisbane as well as Shimamoto Sensei, a close friend of our club. I’m pictured here catching up with Yano Sensei, Shimamoto Shihan and Takahashi san from Shosenji Dojo after training at the Shinjukai Headquarters. The seminar was headlined by the remarkable Hiroshi Tada Shihan 9 Dan, who certainly showed no sign of his 78 years. I’d like to express my thanks to Phillip Lee Sensei and everyone in Singapore for their hospitality and also to the Ronin and Sue who kept things going here in my absence.

Iaido and Jodo Seminar Photos

Photos taken by Sue Reilly at the Iaido and Jodo Seminar and Championships can be located here. Also at the bottom of the page you’ll notice a PDF of our article in the Gold Coast Bulletin, it should be apparent that press interviews are not my forte. Anyway, my advice is to bookmark the new site and keep up to date with plans for next year in Canberra.

Goodbye Gotaro

We bid farewell to Gotaro Kitayama and his parents who have decided to move back to Japan. Over the past few years Gotaro has become somewhat of a legend in Brisbane aikido circles and his boundless enthusiasm will be missed. Apart from aikido, Gotaro’s other great passions are food (preferably Japanese) and keeping things clean, especially cars. Gotaro and his family first moved from Japan to Adelaide then Canberra where water restrictions prevented them from washing their cars, this prompted them to move to Brisbane and bring about the onset of prolonged drought here. It’s probably no coincidence that the heavens have opened no sooner than they bought their tickets to return to Japan. Forget El Nino, it’s the Kitayama weather pattern at work!

Gotaro first started aikido down south, and in spite of those dubious beginnings he soon became a mainstay at the Brisbane Aiki Kai, with the picture of Janiv Sensei coming down from his bedroom wall along the way. Anyhow I’d like to say thanks to Gotaro for all his help and support over the past years and wish him and his family all the best back in their native Kansai. Take care and hopefully we’ll meet up on the mat sometime soon.

Congratulations

The good news for me personally is that the Iaido and Jodo Seminar and Championships held on the Gold Coast last week are now over and the stress is gone for another seven years. More details on the week’s events will follow but everyone seemed to have had a good time. Special congratulations to Sue Reilly, Bruce Eccles, and Lynford Rosos who were graded to 2 Dan in iaido. More congratulations to Sue and Lynford who were also graded to 1 Dan in jodo, and not to forget Georgina Sexton who powered her way to 3 Kyu in jodo.

Dojo Closure

Just a reminder that due to the AKR Iaido and Jodo Seminar on the Gold Coast, there will be no classes from Sunday 20 January to Sunday 27 January inclusive. Classes back to normal the following week. This year there are 6 top Sensei from Japan coming out. Details are available on the links page. This is a great opportunity to see some top level iai and jo, so come down and check it out. On another note, congratulations to the Ronin who passed his 3 Dan aikido grading at the Aiki Kai Australia Summer School. Word has it that his uke, the mediocre cobbler got a right pounding in the process. Not before time.

Christmas and New Year

There’s no rest for the wicked and classes will continue over the Christmas period. However, naturally there will be no training on Christmas Day itself. Why not get 2008 off to a good start and join us for aikido from 8.30 to 10.00 on New Year’s morning?

Visitors

We’ve had a bunch of visitors over the last few weeks. First of all Miss Wakana from Tada Shihan’s Gessoji Dojo in Tokyo dropped by for a Thursday night practice. Following that former rogue cop now Canberra bureaucrat, Damon Schearer turned during a weekend visit for his high school reunion in Ipswich. Damon has started an iaido and jodo class at the ANU and details can be located here. Then last but not least, Dave Brown Sensei led two inspired classes. I’d like to than Dave and everyone who turned up and filled the mat.

Guest Instructor David Brown Sensei

David Brown Sensei 6 Dan from Melbourne will be visiting Brisbane early next month and will our guest instructor for aikido on Thursday 6 and Sunday 8 December. Normal class times and costs will apply and everyone is welcome. This is a great chance to pick up something special from one of Australia’s most experienced and popular teachers. Drop me an email or call if you need more details.

Dojo Up and Running

Well the dojo is now up and running with the first classes having started last week. Thanks to everyone who helped out and came down. On Tuesday the Ronin learnt the difference between Wynnum and Wynnum Central Railway Stations and Flynn Jullyan earnt the honour of being the first participant in the juniors’ class. Sunday’s iaido class got off to a good start and a bunch of aikido heavies came down from the big smoke to shake off a few of my cobwebs and check for signs of dugong feasting on the sea grass beds down at the foreshore after training.

Iaido Seminar with Oda Sensei in Melbourne 27/28 October 2007

I have just returned from an iaido seminar with Oda Sensei 8 Dan Hanshi hosted by the Kenshikan Dojo in Melbourne. Sensei was in fine form and his seminar covered the first 8 kata of Zen Ken Ren iai in some detail, personally giving me a fair bit to work on. The event was very well attended by the various clubs affiliated with the VKR and included dan and kyu gradings in iaido and jodo on Saturday afternoon. My personal thanks to the Kenshikan for organising the seminar, and Tony and Andrea Pickering for their hospitality. Don't forget Oda Sensei will be joining us on the Gold Coast in January for the 2008 Iaido Jodo Seminar and Championships.

Welcome to the Bayside Budokai

Preparations are now underway for our first class due to commence on Tuesday 30 October 2007. There will be juniors aikido starting at 5.30pm and then our first jodo class at 6.45pm. This is a great opportunity to get in at the ground floor and start something new! Remember there is no obligation for your first class. If you have any questions feel free to call or drop me an email.