yet another trip to Glenisla dojo this coming weekend... this time we have John Honisz-Green over from Oshita sensei's dojo to cover seitei iai, neil Kemp and myself with John will go through MJER and Richard will be turning up to practise his Katori Shinto ryu (Otake sensei)

 

The dojo is hosting the 'end of term seminar'...B&B available at £25 (special rates instead of £80, thanks Nicola!). There is a niten seminar ongoing for those interested, and hopefully a MJER grading at the end for Roshukai members. contact me for further details.

 

 

Thanks to all who turned up for the weekend, especially people from the USA, Sweden, Scotland and the deep South and far East of England. A good hard couple of days training always goes down well, (as did the chinese meal on the saturday night...) and all have promised a return visit for the next 'bash' later this year...

Congratulations to those who did the gradings and passed. An improptu test for kyu grades for the club's junior students gave good results, and I am pleased to note one passed shodan. Well done everyone!

 

 

 

 

I always look forward to this one and wasnt let down this year... training til 1 am and nearly snowed in as usual! Skiing/driving over the little road back to the main one was...interesting... people travelled up from as far a field as Eastbourne, Stoke and Osaka! Great to see John from Oshita senseis dojo, and even funnier to see his bragging about his super inflatable mattress go to hell when the electric pump only half inflated it as the battery ran out. A mixed training session, comparing notes, getting students to study hard and finishing with tameshigiri was very satisfying.

The student seminar on 18/19th was a great success with the bulk of the class turning up, the missing ones having already left for the Xmas break. A good coverage of seiza no bu with kae waza, and capped by tachi uchi no kurai and tachi uchi no kata left them all tired out and brains fried...

A trip up to Glasgow as Neil Kemp has returned from Japan... its useful for me as I have a terrible memory and Neil is my memory jogger for the bits I forget to do! Its a good opportunity for us to get together and to shout at each other for making mistakes, as well as catching up on gossip etc...

Two weekend practises this month, one coinciding with the Southampton Boat Show, so a visit to the local dojo, and of course Freshers week at the University.

An attempt to hide at the back and just practise for a change at Southampton was thwarted by me not knowing all the seitei kata....it is over ten years since I've done them however... This was then totally blown by a reference to nukiuchi, which of course I said I knew (last seiza no bu of course!) It turned out to be nowhere near what the seitei version is, however the class then decided to 'have a go' at my version. You could then see the pain in their faces as I followed up with the last version of itamagoi....and they were just watching! It doesnt hurt, honest! A comparison with the two mae from each I hope was thought provoking for them, and will hopefully promote them to look more closely at their koryu training...

My thanks to the sensei there, Ian, for letting me come along, four days of no training would have been hell....

Freshers weekend was fortunately not as busy as last year, with an average of 20 per session turning up. The problem is that the bulk of those who came along have come back for more....even with some senior students missing there were over thirty in the hall for the first two nights. We will see how many turn up this weekend given the intensity of wednesdays' session....

August 13th and 14th Main Roshukai seminar Leeds

Congratulations to those who passed the grading on the Saturday evening, and to those who didnt, well some useful advice has been passed on ready for their next attempt. My seminar was cut short due to the arrival of my grandson halfway through my mothers 50th wedding anniversary lunch...six weeks early, how come babies cant stick to a schedule??!!

It was nice to meet some new faces as well as the 'old faithfuls', and I will be adding some photos of the event shortly, so have a look to see if you recognize anyone.

 

 

The club will be running beginners sessions at the beginning of October in Teesside University over the weekend for new students. Please e-mail for details, but all are welcome to come and train, from beginners and up. This will also be a chance for up and coming instructors to try out their skills under the watchful eye of the Roshukai senior grades. There is a local Japanese restaurant for the 'Saturday night out' in the middle of the course, drinks will be provided but bring lunch or pop out for a sandwich.

 

I went to Japan with a couple of  other Roshukai teachers May 28th til 10th June, so classes will of course include the latest hints and tips to help students progress. The diary is now complete, along with some photos, so if you are contemplating a trip, have a look to see what you can do. Hopefully it will give you some ideas...

November 17th and 18th seminar

well done to the folks who turned up... a lot of hard training done with plenty of different exercises. Although the main drive was to focus on the seiza no bu set, all kae waza for this one were also covered, and Sunday also saw the complete sets of tachi uchi no kurai and tachi uchi no kata done in detail.

Edinburgh seminar March 2008

 

Two days in Edinburgh with a mixed group to see John Green (on holiday from Japan) and his students, along with Neil over from Glasgow...Neil and I hammered our guys with MJER, John gave his lot a good grilling on seitei iai.  Its nice to see the Scottish dojos are expanding, although we were missing one or two clubs who were tied up that weekend. Good job they didn't come, as the hall was packed out!

 

Now preparing to go, tickets booked, Japan travel worked out, places to stay sorted out. I will do a little diary for people to read and get an idea of what is involved in organising a trip over...