2012 End of year message from Sensei

Last practice this year was last night, 19/12/12. I am looking forward to the new year. The club has made slow progress but still going forward.We would like to wish Josh good luck in Denmark, looking forward to seeing him back in July 2013. Hopefully 2013 should be a good year for us all. Geoff and Martin are now 2kyu, good luck. Also welcome to Mike, Michelle, and Andrew who have stayed with us.We are looking forward to the new year with  them,.

Happy NewYear. Have a good rest. Hope to see you all on the 02/01/13  thank you all  for your support.

Bill Ware

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Sensei asked me to pass on his wishes that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This year has been quite a big one for the club. We have entered more competitions than ever before and been out and about with the kendo community, making friends and building on the previous years foundations for good kendo.

We held three beginner's nights and managed to keep some of those eager to start the long kendo journey. We lost quite a few members for one reason or another but a few returned from absences which brought vital skills and spirit back to the club.

We also held our first seminar and Kyusha Taikai on behalf of the BKA, inviting Howell Sensei to impart some of his vast knowledge into our training. The event went with only a few hitches, to be expected considering it was our first time, but overall it was a great success with around 40 people attending the weekend and 8 of the 24 kyusha competitors being home-grown and one of these coming 3rd.

2012 will be very different no doubt. We will still be holding the BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai on 31st March/1st April 2012 but whether we can field the same numbers as last year is hard to say. A number of us will be attempting gradings, ranging from ikkyu to sandan and your continued input and support will be invaluable in helping us be successful.

A reminder also that some may need to renew their BKA membership. If you have had problems recently it's because the dojo has also had to renew it's membership, this includes the insurance cover for both Sensei and those of us with the Coaching level. If you've had problems then they should be sorted by the end of the week [or next] so please try again, it should be OK.

And lastly a reminder of the training dates over the festive period and beyond, please try and make Wednesday's last practice of 2011:

Monday 19th December [kata] CLOSED
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED

2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Thank you once again for your efforts over 2011.

CLOSED - Monday 19th December, Kata

Just to let you know that the Kata night of 19th December has been cancelled, as the school will be closed. Here's a reminder of the training dates over the festive period and beyond:

Monday 19th December [kata] CLOSED
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED

2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Christmas/New Year Training Dates

Some club dates for your diary, though I'll update the Calendar too. If the situation changes we'll let you know.

Wednesday 30th November CLOSED 

Monday 5th December [kata]
Monday 19th December [kata]
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED
2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Last Night's Visitors

Thanks go out to Tom Widdows from Kobudokan Kendo Club, Dave Parkes from Oxford University Kendo Club and Mark Welsh from York Kendo Club, who attended practice. Tom has visited a couple of times and helped out with our support for the Etsu Restaurant Japan Fun Day Charity Event. Having a squad member turn up for practice is always a treat.

It was Dave's first time with us, although he did come to the Kyusha Taikai back in April. His Kendo was a real challenge for me, as you saw when his near perfect uchi-otoshi waza on my failed attempt at katate-tsuki sent my shinai across the dojo, always there to entertain. Lastly, it was regular visitor Mark Welsh's last visit for a while as he moves down south to start a new job. It's always a pleasure to have him visit and his kendo has improved greatly over the years, hopefully we'll see you again at Christmas, good luck with your new job

It's great to have visitors, the variety their kendo brings is extremely useful to mix in with the people we practice week in and week out. It's for this reason Sensei is keen to have us compete in competition so we can get out and experience kendo from around the country.

Equally, when those people come to you it makes it even easier, so take advantage of the Squad training this weekend:

Hope Park Sports Hall, Liverpool Hope University, Taggart Avenue, Liverpool, L16 9JD
Saturday 20th 14:30 - 18:00
Sunday 21st 09:30 - 13:00
Each session costs £5.

Dates for your diary [your new 2011 diary that is!]

We hope you all had a good Christmas and have managed to get the shrink wrap off new shinais, hakama and keiko-gi. If you need advice on how to prep your shinai Kodokan Kendo Club has a nice guide. Meanwhile be terrified, I finally got a set of refereeing flags!

Anyway, moving on to the new year here's a few dates for your diary

Friday, 31 December 2010 - Renew BKA membership [for us oldies who still renew in December]

Wednesday, 5 January 2011 - Winter training [no bogu needed, just tracksuits, t-shirts and shinais/bokkens/suburi bokkens]

Monday, 18 January 2011 - kata [first kata of 2011]

Wednesday, 12 January 2011 - Winter training [bring bogu, just in case, but likele tracksuits, t-shirts and shinais/bokkens/suburi bokkens

Wednesday, 19 January 2011 - Club photograph, make yourselves presentable and turn up!

Wednesday, 26 January 2011 - Beginner's Night

Saturday, 2 April 2011 - Liverpool Kendo Club Seminar

Sunday, 3 April 2011 - Liverpool Kendo Club Seminar

See you in 2011!

Wednesday 22nd December practice is CANCELLED

The Egg is shut on Wednesday 22nd December so Kendo practice is cancelled. PLEASE DO NOT TURN UP YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED! Next practice should be Wednesday 5th January - Winter Training, bring your tracksuits, T-shirts, and suburi bokuto's. Bogu not necessary.

No doubt more will be said tonight. As this is the last practice of the year make sure you make this last lesson count and put in as much effort as possible.

Christmas meal - the morning after

Hopefully everyone got home safely. It was past midnight by the time I got in but it was a really good night and well worth going for the great company.

If you didn't already know I put the photo on Facebook of [nearly] all of us in attendance. You can find it here.
See you all Wednesday so we can work off the meal

Christmas meal

Just to remind everyone, Friday 10th Dec at 8. Etsu.

http://www.etsu-restaurant.co.uk/

Cost will be what ever you want it to be. Joe recommends the sushi platters shared. The sushi chef is from Osaka.