Christmas party

Here are some happy snaps (thanks Matt) from the party!

Christmas break

The last class for 2008 will be on Saturday, December 20.

The first class back will be on Monday, January 5, 2009.

In between, have a happy and safe break!

Saturday reminder

1. No classes will be held this Saturday (13/12/08) on account of the Christmas BBQ.

 

2. In true Melbourne style it seems Saturday may be blessed with some rain. If the day is rained out the Christmas BBQ will be held at the Dojo instead of Temple park. If the weather looks like it could go either way, please come past the dojo first to ensure the party has not been moved there just to be safe. A note will be left on the door pointing you in the right direction should no one be there.

 

see you Saturday

 

osu

Test results December 2008

Results of Tests conducted in December 2008

 

The following students have been promoted to:

 

 

7^th Kyu

Rebecca Gosling

Kate Virgo

Alex Pyke

 

5^th Kyu

Kellie McLinden

Brian Townley

Matthijs Smith

 

4^th Kyu

Madelaine Imber

 

 

* Certificates and Belts will be issued shortly in class.

Starting Aikido

When you start Aikido you don’t really know what to expect. You might have an idea that since it’s a martial art, it would involve punching, kicking and dealing with a situation by using force and being aggressive. But Aikido is not like that. It’s more about using your opponent’s strength against them. At the start you probably will get mixed up in all the different techniques and steps. But after time you will get used to them. But it will be highly unlikely that overnight you will become a black belt. So when you start off it might be hard at first and you might have second thoughts. But then you stop and think, and you will realise how fun it is and what a good time you are having. That’s the best thing about it. It might be hard one day and easier the next. So you come to the dojo not knowing to expect. I know that I enjoy Aikido and that when you start everyone is really friendly. So why don’t you give Aikido a go? If you do I’ll see you there.

Patrick Morel-Shields

Testing times....

Christmas party

Another year is close to an end and it is time again for celebration and reflection. The Dojo Christmas Party will be held on Saturday December the 13^th at Temple Park in Brunswick (http://www.whereis.com/vic/brunswick/129-wilson-st?id=4395E51F257936). 

The event will be a BBQ from 12pm till 3pm and is combined for both Junior and Senior members, parents and family. Games will be organized for Kids and Adults so make sure you come ready for fun and laughter!  The Dojo will provide the meat for the BBQ, and from next week there will be a list at the Dojo of other items needed. Please mark your name against one of the items on the list. 

If you have any questions regarding this please speak to Keyla, Sensei Peter or myself. BYO alcoholic beverages. Last years party was a great success, so please come along for a feed and good laugh.

Thanks for your support in 2008 and we look forward to continuing to grow and improve the Dojo in 2009.

Osu

Alex Aldis

On the mats, he's superman...

..but with his glasses on, he's even brighter than Clark Kent...

University’s Brightest Continue To Shine

[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 9  10 November - 8 December 2008 ]

By Janine Sim-Jones

Research that could lead to brighter LCD screens, more efficient solar panels and improved biomedical imaging and high-tech security sensors is among work by University of Melbourne doctoral candidates awarded a 2008 Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in the PhD.

Dr Daniel Gomez, who completed his PhD thesis in the School of Chemistry, has shed new light on the properties of semiconductor nano-crystals, particles only a billionth of a metre long.

He is now expanding on his work as a Research Fellow at CSIRO where he is part of a team working to develop new sensor applications.

Dr Gomez is working on the fundamental science aspect of the project – determining how to tailor the optical response of semiconductor nano-crystals to use them as highly sensitive components in a variety of sensing applications.

With this sensing technology, it would be possible to detect very small amounts of particles – such as biological agents or explosives – in the air or a liquid. 

Outcomes could include more sensitive pathology such as detecting minute amounts of drugs or hormonal changes in urine tests.

Dr Gomez’s doctoral research examined the optical properties of nano-crystals of cadmium selenide, an element commonly used by the semiconductor industry.

“When pieces of matter become smaller they change color,” he says. “If you look at them individually against a dark background they blink like stars against the night sky.

“Typically this blinking is random, just like the night sky with the stars twinkling in green, red and blue.”

Dr Gomez’s thesis aimed to pinpoint the factors that contributed to this blinking and determine which chemicals could be added to switch off the blinking.

It was hoped that by modifying the surface of the nano-particles they could eventually be stabilised to emit a single, brighter source of light.

Although Dr Gomez has yet to completely achieve his goal, his research was the first in the world to show that the blinking of nano-crystals could be controlled.

During his PhD candidature he published nine articles in premier scientific journals and an international examiner described his work “as one of the best studies I have ever seen”.

Dr Gomez, an international student from Venezuela, set his sights on studying at Melbourne because of the international reputation of his supervisor, Professor Paul Mulvaney.

He was supported during his studies by a Melbourne International Research Scholarship and a Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarship.

His Chancellor’s Prize for Science and Engineering was presented at the University’s Menzies Oration earlier this month.

Squirrel Kata

Ok so it's not your traditional Bokken, and they're getting a little loose and free with the technique - but they're squirrels! And it's sort of almost Aikido ...

Thanks Keyla - and if anyone else has any good pics - send them through

Test results November 2nd 2008

The following students have been promoted to:

4^th Kyu

Brandon Hearne

Wilson Lim

* Certificates and Belts will be issued shortly in class.

Melbourne cup weekend

 

The dojo will be open Saturday the 1st of November. The Dojo will be closed on Monday (3/11) and Tuesday (4/11) of next week for Melbourne Cup Weekend. All classes resume as normal from Thursday the 6th of November.

 

Have a happy and Safe Long Weekend.

 

osu!

Congratulations Camilo!

Proving that determination and perseverance in the face of adversary is the path to true self knowledge.

Omedeto Gozaimasu!

Thank you!

A big thank you to everyone who scrubbed, lifted, dug, polished, dusted, swept, mopped, vacuumed, brought food and just plain helped out on Sunday. It made a massive job possible and showed that dojo is not just a place to train, it's a community.

"Too often, people think that solving the world's problems is based on conquering the earth, rather than touching the earth, touching ground."

Chogyam Trungpa

Osoji

Don't forget it's the big clean this Sunday 19th October at 10am (simliar to The Big Chill, but with more cleaning products).

Please bring along yourselves, any useful tools for gardening, climbing, fixing and cleaning and something to share for lunch (salads, sandwiches, susage rolls, muffins, that sort of thing).

Melbourne Yoshinkan Aikido Video - Take 1!

A few words from Dom

You guys are 2 good, I got home 2day and there on my front steps is a magnificant, huge bunch of colourful flowers.
my first thought was that it must b valantines day, and i've intercepted flowers sent to my wife from a secret admirer.

this colourful collection of flora is so big that i had to send trackers into them to retrieve the card!

u dont know how it made me feel to read your kind thought and again i was left speachless by your gift. (and its not often im lost for words!).

thank you(Arigato)to u all,thank u ,Keyla & Daniel,Andrew, Matty(the punisher),Madelaine,Brian,Wilson,Kelly and Soph.

last but not least thank you sensei,u have tought me to trust ,not only others but myself, Osu Peter.

God willing i may return, but what ever happens, whichever way the cards fall,i have had the good fortune to have known u all. god bless you

Dom


(members - Doms contact details are available by emailing the dojo)

The Aikido Blog

Thanks to everyone who's contributed to the blog since its inception. It's really been a terrific response, and great to see so many getting into it!

If you haven't left a comment yet and you're feeling a bit overwhelmed, let me reassure you that it's super easy.

Just click on the comments button underneath the blog entry and it will take you to a screen that shows other peoples comments, as well as giving you the opportunity to leave a comment. You write your comment in the box at the top (called leave your comment).

You do not have to be signed up for blogger to leave a comment, all you have to do is complete the word verification test (which can be quite tricky!!) and then choose name/url or annonymous from the choose an identity section at the bottom. If you choose name then you just type your name into the box that comes up.

Look forward to seeing more comments and if you'd like to post a blog please email to sensei at info@kicentre.com.au and he'll put it up.

Or if you have an annoymous photo or something equally silly - please feel free to email me at sophie_harle@hotmail.com or maddie at imadelaine@yahoo.com.au (so you can retain some dignity on the matts).

Who could it be ...

I think a quote from Usheiba is fitting here ...

"When your eyes engage those of another person, greet him or her with a smile and they will smile back. This is one of the essential techniques of Aikido"

This young fellow has that technique well and truly sorted!! He can raise a giggle even from the sternest face

So who is it?

Aikido pic

Keyla is starting to get handy with the camera!

Osoji - The Big Clean

Hey All -

The big Dojo spring clean has arrived!

Keep Sunday, October 19 free.  From 10am, we'll be cleaning, tidying and generally beautifying our dojo.

There'll be sign up sheets for different tasks at the front desk next week.

Feel free to bring friends, family, anyone that can hold a broom...

Osu!

Monkey Magic

I'm not sure how many of you were fans of Monkey growing up.

But if you could have been part of Triptakas crew, who would you have chosen to be, and more importantly what was it about that character that rocked your world?

Was it Monkey with his magic cloud, magic staff and poor anger management skills, tormented by a painful mind control device?

Sandy, with his philosophical introspection and occasional water related adventures?

Piggsy with his quick wit and smart mouth, always landing everyone in trouble and feasting at the slightest provocation?

Or the horse, the misunderstood and fairly shy member of the bunch who none the less does the bulk of the work without any complaints (although he did seem quite concerned about how he looked most of the time)?

So which one would you have been?

The Aikido Top 10 Greatest Hits

From the incredible mind of the great Matty, the ultimate Aikido playlist ...

Stop Making Sensei – Talking Heads

Don’t Go Breaking My Arm – Elton John

In The Dojo – Village People

Should I Sh’te Or Should I Go – The Clash

I Should Be So Uke – Kylie

There’s No Waza Like Go Waza – Ethel Merman

Kamae Chameleon – Boy George

Ippon Me, Ippon You – ABBA

I Can’t Stand The Pain – Eruption

I’m Too Sexy For My Dogi – Right Said Fred

Kamae hamster!

What's the real test/grading?

I believe the grading is only a snapshot of the journey. It is merely a class or exercise so frequently practised barring all the nerves and hype of formality. If we drill the techniques hard and frequent enough with correct form and precision in timing and sensitivity of course we can reproduce it at a whim or whenever necessary.

The real test is coming to the classes day in day out as often as we can make it ... sore or not, motivated or not, injured or not etc... The real test is the regular class, the regular presentation to the task at hand, how we deal with each other being shites and ukes, being fellow trainees/ fellow students, our conduct and attitude toward our Sensei ... and the everyday practise list goes on ....

The real test is how we conduct our lives on a daily basis being Aikidokas on and off the mat. Gi or no ni.



Your anonynmous fellow student. Osu.

Guess Who?

Ever wondered what some of the other people at the dojo looked like before they started getting thrown around on the mats.


He's awesomely flexible with some sweet ukemi thrown in for good measure. Who could it be????

Alex's favourite quick meal after Aikido

Direct from Alex's Kitchen

Ingredients

Garlic - 2 cloves

Chilli, some butter, white wine

Capsicum - x1

Tomatoes - x2 or 3

Asparagus - 1 bunch

Tuna Cans - 1 or 2

Some olives

Fresh basil

Pasta - cooking while you cook the sauce

Sauté Garlic, Chili, in olive oil

Add Blanched asparagus and Capsicum & some good salt and sauté 1 min add a knob of butter sauté 1 more min

Add ¼ cup white wine and chopped tomatoes cook 1 minute, add two tins of Tinned Tuna in oil with chilli and 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives halved

Add pasta and 1/3 cup of left over water from the pasta.

Season and add Fresh basil

Enjoy !!

Keep your photos and posts coming!

Andrew looking very the part

Test results August 2008

Results of Test conducted on the 30th of August 2008

The following students have been promoted to:

7th Kyu
Sophia Davis

5th Kyu
Wilson Lim
Josh Burke


4th Kyu

Chris Tsernakis






* Certificates and Belts will be issued shortly in class.

August Test

August Test Practice

An interpretation of Ki and Do

Ki

Is in the purest meaning the vital principle that feeds the universe, being the cause of the existence and the movement of everything that is. Ki is the cosmic energy, is life, is creation.

Do

The DO begins the first day that we step on a Tatami of any dojo, and it should not end until the last day of our life.


Transalted into English from a Spanish book on Aikido (thank you Keyla!)

You know you're an Aikido addict when...

- You and your friends think a group hug involves flipping out of it.

- You choose your job based on if it interferes with your training time

- You wear your dogi to work.

- You hear someone say broken and you think they said bokken.

- There are nearly 100 portraits of O-Sensei in your bedroom

- Every morning before breakfast you repeat basic moves

- You reply to controversy with "Oh yeah, Grab my wrist!!!"

- See a big hall and make decide forward rolls would get you through it quicker.

- You don't just open a door -- you extend into it from your center

- The Aikido dreams start.

- You find yourself with an irresistible urge to bow every time you enter or exit a room.

- The smell of rancid sweat has become oddly unnoticeable to you.

-  You immediately stop what you're doing whenever you hear someone clap their hands

- You no longer grip anything with your index fingers

- You meet an attractive person and your first thought is "Wouldn't they look nice taking ukemi?"

- When you see a straight wooden stick, such as a broken broom handle, you automatically refer to it as a jo.

- You blurt out "Osu!" when you're asked to do something at home, or at work.

-You find yourself "blending with and redirecting" your cat when it tries to jump onto your lap uninvited

- You wonder how you would flip someone in an elevator.

Adapted from a thread on http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/

Food for thought (and aikido)

So what do you eat in that short gap between aikido and sleep …?

If you have any quick meal ideas with a Japanese twist please email them to sophie_harle@hotmail.com – and we’ll post them on the blog – or perhaps put them together in an aikido inspired cookbook!!!

My personal favourite is …

Super fast Japanese Inspired Udon Noodles

1 zucchini sliced
3 mushrooms
half a broccoli
and some tofu, cashews or other protein related goodness

Fried up super fast in a little oil

Throw in some of those udon noodles (obento?) once the vegies are cooked

While this is happening mix up the sauce in a cup using
3 tbs soya sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
A knob of ginger grated with a fancy Japanese grater and the juice squeezed into the sauce (discarding the non juice part)
½ cup of water

Add the sauce in right at the end – giving it a good stir and letting it bubble away and soak into the noodles

Delicious, nutritious and ready in 10 minutes

Please send me all your fabulous meal ideas!!!!!

Mat talk

"The only way to get the the end, is through"

-Alex, during a particularly tough set of backfalls.

On training

In the dojo the beginner rushes to learn. The teacher rushes to teach. The Aikido eludes us. To sincerely look within one technique would reveal the secrets of all the teachers who walked the way. Then why do we hunger so feverishly for the new? If we approach fishing in this manner all becomes clear. You bring all your tackle to the rivers edge. You carefully fasten and bait your hook. You nestle into your favourite spot and cast your line with great expectations. Yet as your line reaches but inches from the waters surface you reel it in. You gather your tackle, move to another spot and start again.

How elusive the fish you cry!

Peter Koussoulis

Rock climbing photos - 2

Well, here they are - photos from the dojo rock climbing day.

Going against the (wise) advice we are always given in class, we lifted our feet off the mats and climbed the walls instead. There are more photos, which we will try to load onto a linked web album.  We'll let you know when this happens.

Stay tuned - we're going to start doing some member profiles, so keep checking in to find out mroe about the people you train with.  They're bound to surprise you.

Osu!

Rock climbing photos - 1

Congratulations

Hi All,

Congratulations to those who tested!! And thanks to Sophie took a stack of photos (those of us sweating it out on the mats may have been to focused to notice). She can burn them onto a CD for you if you bring one in to training.  The six photos in an earlier post as samples of her superior photography skills. 

If you have any info that you want posted up here, or any other photos or...anything aikido related really, just let Peter,Sophie or Madelaine know.  We want to keep this blog as active and useful as possible. 

Keep the blog bookmarked - rockcliming photos will be posted up very soon!

Osu!

Test results

Results of Test conducted on the 26th of July 2008

 

The following students have been promoted to:

 

6^th Kyu

Kellie McLinden

Brian Townley

Andrew Jameson

 

5^th Kyu

Madelaine Imber

Elly Davis

 

4^th Kyu

 

Quang Kwanon Truong

 

 

 

 

* Certificates and Belts will be issued shortly in class.

Test photos!!!

Welcome

Welcome to the Melboure Yoshinkan Aikido blog! Here you will find dojo information, events, photos, test results and much more. For even more info, go to www.kicentre.com.au

Osu!