We are excited to announce Aaron McConnell from the Kimori Dojo, Japan.
Aaron is living in Japan and has been training at the Kimori Dojo for many years. He is an inspiring teacher and is one of the top students of Sawada Sensei.
There will be a dinner on Saturday night – please note on the registration form if you will be attending.
Time: 9am – 4pm
Cost: $20 for the seminar, your grading fee is on top of this.
If you are invited to grade, please add your full name, grade applying for and contact email to the list on the Dojo white board.
Please remember, if you are planning to grade:
Every year the dojo gets hit. It’s usually the weather doing all the hitting. This year was no different. Oh, alright, this year is pretty different as the dojo got hit really hard. Most of you would have seen the water damage caused by the heavy winds and rain a couple of weeks back.
Most of you will also know that it’s business as usual. A little bit of water never managed to stop us in the past and it sure is not stopping us now. So if you’re not too sure about training, if you’re having doubts and don’t know who to ask if the dojo is still open… It’s still open and we’re still training following our usual time table. So come on down and join us on the matt for some mid-winter Aikido action. It will keep you warm if you do it right 😉
Winter is almost over. OK, I’m a hopeless optimist, but we’re half way through and that can mean only one thing—more exciting events on the horizon:
31 August – 1 September
Hastings seminar with Alan Wade and Papu Siameja
Hastings
7 – 8 September
Spring seminar with Yamashima Shihan
Christchurch
27 – 29 September
New Caledonia seminar with Sawada Shihan and Takase Shihan
New Caledonia
7 December
End of year grading seminar
Wellington
25 – 26 January
Aaron McConnell
Wellington
June 2013 attendance register. We would like to ask all members to consider setting up automatic payment for their fees. It’s very convenient and at $50 per month works out cheaper than paying for individual classes. All relevant details are available on our website. If you can’t commit yourself to this then please try to pay your fees as much as you can via internet banking. If this is too hard or not possible then please try to bring exact change when paying your matt fee in cash. All dojo administration is done by volunteers and any help that members can provide is always greatly appreciated.
See you on the mat!
We’ve had two major leaks on one half of the Dojo during last week’s storm. The landlord has been notified to fix the roof, but we don’t know how fast he will action it.
For the time being we are hoping to be able to use the undamaged half once the floor and mats have dried off.
For Monday evening and the morning classes we are able to use the Judo/Jitsu side of the Dojo as the training hours don’t clash. For all other classes please check status with your instructor.
Have you noticed how we’ve only just had a grading? I swear it was only a week ago. And there is another seminar just before the grading too. What’s up with that? I’ll tell you what’s up, lots of good training, that’s what. You may have clicked onto this already, Aikido, like any art, martial or not, relies on constant and diligent practice. The more you practice the better you get but as you get better you need to practice even more to get even a little bit better. It may seem like a process of diminishing returns but trust me, the returns are huge. It all comes down to expectations and perceptions.
There will be times when your expectations are high but your perception is muddy. Or your expectations are low and your perception is crystal clear. Those are not the best states to be in. In the former state you set yourself up for disappointment. In the later you’ll probably experience disillusionment. Attending seminars and training hard towards your next grading is a good way to bring your expectations and perception into alignment. In particular, a seminar is a great opportunity to be shown things from a different angle; to catch a glimpse how others think and execute. A seminar is a great way to experience a shift in perception—pay attention and you may experience an “Aha!” moment. A grading on the other hand makes you nervous because you want to do your best. You’ve set your expectations at a certain level (hopefully high) and now you have to live up to that. What a great test of managing ones expectations and emotional state.
I hope that this shows you how seminars and gradings go hand in hand in helping you not only evolve your Aikido skills but also to better yourself as person.
Last, but not least, a big ‘thank you’ to all those who turned up last weekend to help with the cleaning. You all did a great job and the dojo was a pleasure to be at on Monday, even though the weather was really nasty. For those who missed out on the opportunity to help with the cleaning—don’t despair. We’re planning on having more regular cleaning sessions from now on. Soon there will be a check list on the wall of what needs to be done and how often. We’ll also try to have a thorough group cleaning session once a month. It will be a good time to commune with your fellow practitioners. And remember, the floor doesn’t care what grade you are when you’re sweeping 🙂
Be sure to check your attendance so far and please pay any outstanding fees: April 2013 attendance register.
The red is creeping up again on the payments register. Please do try to stay up to date with your fees. If $7 is hard to pay, $14 will be twice as hard. Also remember that having your fees up to date is a prerequisite for grading eligibility. ou can only grade if your fees are up to date. That includes the annual registration fee.
See you on the mat!
