Thursday Notices – 11.1.07

 

This is your Thursday emailout of notices for 11.1.07 to club members and interested parties on Yahoo groups regarding club matters and upcoming events.  If you have something to include or a constructive comment to improve this newsletter, please let me know. 

 

 

 

Contents:

             

 

1. INCORPORATION – please take the time to read this
2. Aikido Classes Resume
3. New Club Instructors and Shodan Grading 1^st February
4. Ordering Quality Weapons
5. Club Marketing/Advertising Advisor - Expressions Of Interest
6. Naming These Notices
7. Griffith University Orientation Week
8. Maruyama Sensei 2007
9. Previous news (but good news) – worth another read!:

 

 

 

 

1.         INCORPORATION – please take the time to read this

Club members who are also students of Griffith University will be aware that Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) will significantly reduce the services available to students on campus.  Funding from the uni has become virtually non-existent and most clubs are closing down and ceasing operations.  Fortunately, our club is in a good financial situation due to forward-thinking management and planning by the executive committee over the past few years.  Our membership is strong and we have coped extremely well with the evaporation of assistance from the University.  In such an uncertain environment, however, the Club Executive feels it is an appropriate time to incorporate.

To protect the club and its assets, the Club President asked the executive and senior club members to meet and consider the advantages and disadvantages of incorporation.   This meeting took place last Thursday.  The outcome was basically that we felt the club should begin the process of incorporation, as there were significant advantages in becoming incorporated and no real disadvantages to doing so.   The possible disadvantage of uni disapproval of this process is not a factor as the uni has actually been encouraging clubs to incorporate.  The advantages are that incorporation provides the club with a legal status as a registered non-profit group.  It means that governments, businesses and other organisations see the club as a professional organisation and are more willing to deal with us (in the case of government it opens up significant possibilities for sporting, community and other funding options).  The change in legal status also protects the club executive and membership from personal liability for club debts (were we to have some). We will also be able to lease and hold title on land

The process of incorporation is a set procedure which the State Government requires and spells out.  Naturally, the first step is to seek the approval of members to pursue incorporation.  The club is its members, so this is an extremely important step and not taken lightly.  Approval takes the form of a Special General Meeting, notice of which is being provided by this item in our newsletter.

 

A Special General Meeting has been called by the Executive for Thursday 8^th February at 8pm (not 25^th January as I said on Tuesday night at training), for the purpose of considering and voting on incorporation of the Griffith University Aikido Club.  The 8pm timing allows you to train and then vote on the club’s future, but hopefully still get home at your usual time!!  A good night’s work, and the club will provide a cake afterwards to have with your usual after-class refreshments.  A great incentive to stay after class and be involved?

 

At this stage, the resolutions to be considered are:

 

“That the Griffith University Aikido Club incorporate as an incorporated association under the provisions of the Associations Incorporated Act”

 

‘That the Griffith University Aikido Club adopt [ the rules attached * ] for the purposes of incorporation”

 

*There will be significant work involved before the this meeting to draft a new proposed rules/constitution which retains what we can of our old constitution, but meets the requirements of the legislation so that we can become incorporated.  If you would like to be involved in this process, you would be very welcome.  Just let me know.

 

The Special General Meeting will also consider preferred names for the new incorporated body.  At this stage, the Executive is thinking that Griffith Aikido Incorporated would be a suitable name for our new incorporated club.  However, it is the members who will democratically decide on whether we incorporate, what the new name will be, etc.  The meeting will, if the vote to incorporate is approved, also appoint interim management committee officers, appoint someone to make the application to incorporate to the office of fair trading, and other ‘housekeeping’ matters.

 

I will be providing as much information as I can in the next few weeks to keep you informed.  Any questions can be directed to me or one of the executive members.

 

 

 

2.         Aikido Classes Resume

 

We have had our opportunity to rest over Christmas, although I’m sure many took the opportunity to practice on their own?  Nevertheless, we can break our respite from the mats this week.  Let’s get back into it and lose some of the extra kilos we might have added during the festive season!

 

The first few weeks of the year tend to be smaller as students find it difficult to turn up as they have been away long enough that it is a real effort to pack their gi, and get in the car or on the bus.  It seems to be just so much easier to stay at home lying sprawled on the couch!  Then at the end of January they feel so guilty that they’re falling behind in their aikido that they drag themselves to training, and then remember why they were doing aikido in the first place, and they realise how much fun they’ve missed, and they’re back into the routine again.

 

Remember, December mat fees cover January as well.  Start 2007 now, re-establish the routine, make use of mat time you’ve already paid for, and have some fun.

 

On an unfortunate note, we had the mats at Nathan steam-cleaned just prior to the Christmas break.  The mats were rolled back up by the steam-cleaner while still damp and developed mildew.  It means that there may be some minor adjustments as we sort this problem out, but training is still scheduled as normal.

 

 

 

3.          New Club Instructors and Shodan Grading 1^st February

 

I am proud to announce that our club has two new accredited instructors.  Ben Tan returns to the club this year as an instructor and Steve Mitchell as a children’s instructor.   Congratulations Ben and Steve on your continued dedication and commitment to the club

 

On Thursday Feb 1^st, Paul Crawley will be doing his Shodan grading prior to leaving for a dojo position in South America (with Gabby Sensei and Daniel Carne) in early February. 

       

Danny James

 

 

 

4.         Ordering Quality Weapons

 

I am getting together a bulk order from Things of Japan (http://www.thingsofjapan.com.au) to be made in the last week of January. I'm calling out for anyone who is thinking of purchasing, or upgrading, their weapons.

 

Things of Japan make quality weapons and other martial arts products at good prices. Even better, if we get a few people together to order we may be able to get a better deal again! A white oak bokken AND jo will cost around $130 - a good investment if you ask me. Once you have nice weapons you'll never go back!!

 

Have a look on their weapons page http://www.thingsofjapan.com.au/Martial.htm and please let me know asap if you are interested in buying any. Either get me in class or email gabrielle.paynter@gmail.com or call 0413 009 897.

 

Cheers

 

Gabby Paynter

 

 

 

5.         Club Marketing/Advertising Advisor

 

Everyone will have noticed that the club is growing well, and the vitality that new members bring to the club is wonderful, and very welcome.  We would like to continue our success in attracting new members, and spend our advertising dollars more effectively, if possible.  Do any of you have skills/ qualifications/experience in marketing and advertising that we don’t know about?  If you do, would you let us know.  We promise not to over-exploit you!!, unless you’re happy for us to! 

 

 

 

6.         Naming These Notices

 

Our club President suggested we give these Thursday Notices a name. 

 

Eri Takahashi has said that if we don’t want to be fancy, we could have ‘Shukan News’, as Shukan means weekly, and if we wanted to refer to Thursday, it would then become ‘Mokuyo Shukan News’.

 

Ben Tan has offered a smorgasbord of possibilities:   "Ukemi Shoutouts!" or "Atemi Ukemi News" or "Weekly Shin" or "Ukemi Weekly" or "My Taninzugake News" or "My Ukemi News".

 

John Ward, one of our previous Chief Dojo Instructors, has suggested that we combine the popular suggestions to make either Shukan Kiai or Griffith Shukan Kiai.

 

Ben Hamley has offered ‘One Point’, ‘Extend!’, or ‘The Misogi Bell’.

 

Great suggestions.  Let me know if you’re violently opposed to any particular name!!  Any votes for a particular proposal?  We’ll be making a decision very soon, so I want to hear from you if you have a suggestion.

 

 

 

7.         Griffith University Orientation Week

 

Griffith Uni will be holding its Orientation Week during the week starting Monday 19^th February.  I’m expecting some of our members, especially our uni students, would like to express their interest in promoting the club during that week, and/or the following week, in which there will be ‘club sign-on days’ and ‘market days’ at each campus.  These days are excellent opportunities for our club to promote aikido and recruit new members.   Our future as a club on campus, with all the uncertainty of voluntary student unionism, is to continue to attract more club members from the uni.  Further, our club is constantly invigorated by its new members.  Plus we have a responsibility to aikido to be unselfish!:) and allow others to enjoy the benefits we gain from aikido.  We can do that by showing we want others to join our club, letting them know how much enjoyment and fun we have, and by making them feel welcome.  If you can give us a couple of hours of your time late in February to do that, it would be fantastic.

 

If you would like to help out, please let me know via email or give me a call (see bottom of this page).

 

 

 

8.         Maruyama Sensei 2007

 

I am delighted to announce that we will again have Maruyama Sensei in Brisbane next year.  The dates are Friday 28th September to Wednesday 3rd October, which is very exciting!  These dates fall in the Queensland and NSW school holidays.

 

This seminar is also likely to be somewhat larger in terms of numbers on the mat and it goes for 6 days as well.   The Nathan dojo is probably not big enough, so arrangements are being made for an alternative venue, with the Mt. Gravatt showgrounds being the most likely contender. 

 

Maruyama Sensei’s 2007 tour will include Brisbane, Melbourne, New Zealand and Fiji as tour venues.  Melbourne’s seminar will be held from Friday 5^th – Wednesday 10^th October, which will mostly fall in the Vic. and SA school holidays.   Class times and venue to be advised.

 

Maruyama sensei will also be celebrating his 50^th Anniversary of teaching Aikido in Hawaii on the 12^th, 13^th and 14^th of July.  Tony Neal Sensei has already advised via these notices, that he is organising a contingent of aikidoka from Brisbane.  If you’re interested, please let Tony Neal Sensei know at tony@allsignsandplastics.com.au

 

Details about the seminar are available at www.akachawaii.com/aloha.html

 

I will post more information in these notices as venues and classes are finalised.

 

Danny James

 

 

 

9.         Previous news (but good news) below – worth another read!:

 

Fridge Genie

 

We have found a new fridge genie.  Aikido is not just about martial arts, self-defence and training, of course.  Service is also strongly valued and encouraged, so thank you to Ross Ebert, a relatively new member, for his enthusiasm and willingness to jump in and organise the replenishment of beverages, light liquid refreshments and nibblies for his fellow club members. 

 

If you have any particular or unusual requests, please let Ross know.  If you haven’t gotten to know him yet, I can point him out for you.

 

 

“Taking Stock”

 

Yet another year is drawing to a close & we once again find ourselves taking stock of our efforts that has brought us here.  We ask the questions, “are we where we wanted to be”, “have we done our best” “could we have done more”,  “what do we have to show for our efforts” & so on.  With our Aikido it can be quite simple & for those fortunate enough to wear a coloured belt, some of these questions are easy, you just need to look down & see if the colour has changed.  But we need to judge ourselves beyond the rank & file & take an honest look at whether we have be doing all we can.

 

It can be as simple as counting the classes we attended but that really is a little hollow. Look further & we can judge whether we paid true homage to the art & to ourselves.  Did we turn up on time & help set up?  Did we maintain a good Seiza posture?  Did we pay 100% attention to the class?  Did we talk ourselves into not going to class?… and so on.  But I’m here to tell you that, as easy or as hard it is for you to answer these questions, it’s still a shallow perspective of the potential of Aikido training.

 

Now, can you give a true answer to the following:  How much training have I done off the mat & away from the dojo?  Answer this one question & all the other ones may seem a little worthless.  As we enter a short break from regular classes, it is timely that we review our efforts of solo training. Many new students hold the belief that we need mats, Ukes & a Gi to be able to practice our beloved art.  This thinking is OK for a new student, but for those that have done at least one grading, experience will have told us otherwise.  Leading up to that first grading we would have danced around the back yard or lounge room, visualising Uke, correcting our posture & body alignment as we went through the moves in slow motion.  This type of solo training is essential to our growth & development as it provides us with an environment that cannot exist with an Uke.

 

Only in this solo environment can we traverse new heights & depths in our understanding of the art. In solo training we rely on our mind to push our will & our mind to lead our body.  It forges the shapes & forms of our art into our body & then into our subconscious mind.  I would go as far as to say that solo training accounts for 70% of our potential, which means that just training on the mat in the dojo will only deliver 30% of our potential.

 

If you are not yet converted to the idea of focused solo training, spare some time to think back on the year’s events & look for the times when your Aikido shapes & forms came to the fore without your thinking.  For those who were lucky enough to attend the Systema Knife Defence workshop that was held 2 weeks ago, would have heard, or found themselves saying things like “I was doing this or that & suddenly Shihonage (or insert other Aikido technique name here) came out”. Most of the feedback I got from the Systema workshop was not about the Systema but about how surprised students were that their Aikido came out & worked without them consciously thinking about it.

 

Think about how much more could come out & how much more effective it would be if there was more in there to start with. And how do you get more in there??  Solo training.  We are really lucky in this club in that we have regular classes with lots of Ukes so it’s easy to think that the class time is training.  This thinking should be changed around & instead we should be taking what we learnt from class, going home & practicing it to death & then bringing it & our newfound facets back to the next class to try them out on the unsuspecting Ukes.  If you’re not sure, try it over the Christmas break, what have you got to lose?  It’s a poorly guarded secret that the keys to improve our Aikido lie in the Taiso, the weapons kata & the technique kata. Three not so secret aspects that can & must be trained by ourselves.

 

I hope you can all come back from your Christmas break feeling newfound strengths from your solo training.

 

Simon Russell

 

  

  

Club Sponsorship

 

We are proud to announce our new sponsorship arrangement with Brisbane based residential home loan manager, Direct Credit Home Loans Australia.   As part of an ongoing relationship, Direct Credit Home loans has made an attractive home loan offer to our club members, their family & friends.   In addition, they have offered to pay us a spotter’s fee on each home loan referred through the club.   

I sent a separate email three weeks ago detailing our sponsorship arrangement with Direct Credit Home Loans Australia.  If you didn’t receive it but want the details, please let me know.  Many thanks to Gary Weigh, one of our brand new 3^rd kyu’s, who has arranged this sponsorship.

 

 

Mat Fees and Club Membership Fees

 

I just want to remind everyone that you will need to complete a new membership form for 2007, when you return in January.  There is a membership fee.

 

Membership fees are due at the beginning of the year and should be paid in January.  Remember that mat fees paid in December cover January as well, so it will be the usual mat fees in December and then membership fees in January.  The University requires University clubs to charge a membership fee.  The University has also recently required us to charge Griffith University students a lesser membership fee than other members (this does not apply to other students from other educational institutions).  Great for GU students, same as always for the rest of us.

 

Please be advised that annual membership fee in the new year will be $15 for all members who are also bona fide Griffith Uni students.  For other members, including instructors, annual membership fee remains at $30.  Children whose parents are financial members (and therefore have paid the membership fee) don't pay membership fees. Other children pay a membership fee of $10.

 

Also, if you have graded, there is a small grading fee. 

 

 Jutta Dowdy

 

 

 

Steve Mitchell

GUAC Secretary

Mob.  0432 269 534

Email:  stevemitchell@ecn.net.au