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Apologies won't be training tonight

@Everyone

Dear Deshi,

Firstly, congratulations to Fred and Wayne on their successful gradings last week. I hope this gives you some confidence and acknowledgement of the effort you have both made since starting your Iwama Aikido study early this year. Thank you for your commitment and positive energy, it is great to have you in the Dojo 🙇‍♂️

Also, a big thank you to Janet for being so willing to provide assistance to fellow students, and the support provided around the Dojo. A great example to us all.

Gotta Keep Moving!

Where to from here? In the spirit of being part of a Japanese Dojo, I ask all deshi (students) to please take ownership of their ongoing development and focus on the following points:

Hi Deshi,

A few enquiries about clothing, so sharing options:

• Hoodie $81- $70, see pictures below, new design.

• Tshirt $30-

Hi Team!

Whilst I am mot entirely comfortable with the online nature of running a martial arts club these days, it is something I am trying to do better.

It would be great if you can spend 3-5 minutes writing a review on our Google page (if you haven’t already). It’s easy to do, simply go to the link below and go to the ‘Reviews’ section, then select one of the stars to write, it will then open to a box to write some details (e.g., what you like about training, what you get out of it, dojo atmosphere/community, etc.).

https://share.google/1htE6bTGGbDUOVt1B

No pressure though! 👍🏻 Only if you feel comfortable!

Domo arigato gozaimasu,

A famous Japanese swordsman, we were discussing him as using two swords last month. The video is good, not boring to put you to sleep (but ok to listen to as you fall asleep I suppose!). His philosophies are interesting and relevant, I think.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/FRLfY3CxIpM?si=tfyjV8HOteJC3jNL

Had to share…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX9QrjcufOF/?igsh=aDU5bHdwcnNrOXJy

Enjoy!

Hi Deshi,

An interesting discussion in the dojo last night regarding the use and ownership of an iaito (blunt katana) in SA. It is now illegal unless you have an exemption. Accordingly, I have emailed SAPOL to seek direction on how to obtain an exemption for myself and students of our dojo. Will keep you updated.

Also, sharing for Fred and others, here is some footage of a young Yasuhiro Saito Sensei using the katana as part of a demonstration in 2014. It is at the very end of the video, around the 2min50sec mark. Unfortunately it is only a snippet, I will see if I can find the full clip. However, you can see how agile and precise his technique is, quite inspiring 🙏🏻🙇🏻‍♂️

https://youtu.be/Wff5-Z2BdCg

@Everyone

Hi Deshi

Friendly reminder about Saturday class, outdoors weapons training, focused 1 hour of bokken or jo (sometimes both!).

We train in regular gym clothes, no need to wear your dogi.

This week will be at the Glandore Community Centre (and there’s a decent cafe right around the corner for a coffee and a friendly chat afterwards ☕️😀).

Please try to attend and get in an extra class as often as possible, every bit helps!

So I have been thinking about the cleaning and mat scrubbing we do in the dojo. In the Tanrenkan in Japan where training occurs we would wipe down the walls and surfaces and clean the floors before and after every class, even though everything appeared spotless and free of dirt and dust. I personally find it a good way to focus the mind. I then leaned that the ritual of Soji is integral in Japanese culture, especially in martial arts, where it engenders respect, purification, discipline, humility, and attention to detail. This is elaborated in the podcast I am sharing (the pronunciations are weird but the content is cool) hope you guys enjoy it 🙂🙇🏻‍♀️

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/miciver/episodes/Sji-Cleaning-as-Martial-Arts-Path-e331vm5