Club updates
Updates for our members and others about goings on at the club.
Club Christmas Sessions
Here is a list of the final practice sessions this year, hopefully everyone has a fantastic Christmas and New Years! I look forward to seeing everyone at the Christmas party.
Bexley Club:
Last Session Thursday 17th December 2009
No Practice Thursday 24th December 2009
First Session Thursday 7th January 2010
Otford Club:
Last Session Tuesday 22nd December 2009
No Practice Tuesday 29th December 2009
First Session Tuesday 5th January 2010
Shukumei:
Last Session Sunday 20th December 2009
No Practice Sunday 27th December 2009
First Session Sunday 10th January 2010
Christmas Party
The annual Christmas Party will be held at the Fighting Cocks Pub on Saturday 12th December, from 7pm.
Tickets cost £25 per person with a £10 subsidiary by the club for members. Please see Dudley Osborne for tickets, directions and any other questions.
Much food and booze will be consumed, so come along and get into the Christmas mood! A good time is guaranteed.
New Iaido Dates
The Otford Hall has been booked for Iaido practice on Saturday 21st November at 9am. For more details please contact Dudley Osborne.
Annual Summer School
The first annual summer school hosted by Shukumei Aikido in conjunction with the Goshinaikikwai was a great success. This year the focus was on the complete Dai San kata, all 7 sections. The dojo was filled to the rafters with eager Aikidoka, and the Sensei’s on offer were of an amazing caliber. Huge thank you to Dick Todd, John Sydenham, Tim Butler, Steve Powell, Howard Givney and the chief organiser of the whole event Robert Johnson. Amazing weekend, it will be hard to top it but i’m sure we will next year, see you then!
Burgers And Bangers
The annual summer BBQ has been and gone, thank you to everyone who helped in particular Dudley, Jo, Martin and Rob and congratulations to Dudley who celebrated his birthday on the same day! Another year of leading the Goshinaikikwai into the strong, flourishing club it has become. Happy Birthday!!!
Snow Storms!
Due to the Arctic blizzard conditions that we seem to be experiencing the last couple of sessions have had to be cancelled. We have a bad weather phone network set up so everyone involved should get a phone call just to confirm that the session has been cancelled, however some people may be missed off the list. Just a reminder, if the weather does look iffy contact someone as there is a small chance the practice will be called off. Otherwise enjoy the rarity of a snowball fight and hopefully we shall all be in the dojo soon.
Come All Ye Faithful.........
Training has been hard this year with much blood, sweat and tears so the annual Christmas meal is a great opportunity to eat, drink and be merry. An opportunity to socialise with your fellow Aikidoka outside of the white pyjamas and painful wrist locks, stuff yourself on an epic Christmas feast and get pleasantly drunk.
The venue this year is ’The Fighting Cocks’ pub in Horton Kirby on Saturday 29th November. We are meeting there for 7.30 with the meal starting at 8.00. Tickets cost £22.50 for non club members and £12.50 for club members thanks to a £10 subsidy from the club. Menu’s and directions can be collected from Dudley Osborne before or after training.
A good time is guaranteed so get yourself a ticket and come join us for a merry Christmas!
Autumn School ’08
Thanet Martail Arts club is once again hosting the B.A.A Autumn school. Lesson’s run from Friday 7th November through to Sunday 9th November, starting at 10.00 and ending at 16.00. The instructors for the weekend are Lesley Hepden, Adrian Tyndale, Harvey Goodman and teaching traditional Aikido, Tony Ward. The lessons cost £15 per day and there will be a kyu grade competition after Saturdays session and a grading after Sundays session.
If previous years are anything to go by this will be a monumental event in the Aikido calander, highly informative and very enjoyable. We look forward to seeing you there.
Will Adams Festival
Members from various clubs in the B.A.A performed an Aikido demonstration at the Will Adams Festival in Gillingham to further promote Aikido. The Will Adams festival celebrates the relationship between Japan and England with a demonstration of all things Japanese, such as Origami, traditional dancing, calligraphy and of course the martial arts. The demonstration went down very well and we have been invited back again next year. So with more preperation time and more members getting involved next years demonstration is bound to be even bigger and better. Keep an eye on the notice board next year for practice dates and information on the festival.
Annual Club B B Q - Saturday 06 September
It’s that time of the year again so get your shorts and your shades ready, the annual Goshinaikikwai summer BBQ has arrived!
For just £5 a head you get treated to a gourmet BBQ feast of epic proportions. Family and friends are welcome with no charge for children. Supply your own drink and if you’re feeling generous bring a side dish; but no meat, we have that covered.
Tickets can be purchased at either the Bexley or Otford training sessions and a good time for all is guaranteed, so support your club and get involved!
The date to remember is Saturday 06 September we look forward to seeing you all there.
Climbing The Ladder
After a gruelling grading at Thanet Martial Arts Club in Margate, two of our kyu grades came away victorious!
Vincent Todd 3rd kyu green belt has been upgraded to 2nd kyu blue belt.
Simon Eade 2nd kyu blue belt has been upgraded to 1st kyu brown belt.
Well done guys! Keep up the good work.
The B A A Awards Dudley His Second Dan
Congratulations to Dudley Osborne who was awarded his second Dan by the BAA! As well as being a skilled, helpful and dedicated sensei Dudley has been responsible for the smooth running of the club since its inception. Everyone belonging to and involved with Goshinaikikwai would like to offer their heartfelt congratulations, but mostly their thanks and appreciation for all the work and training Dudley has given.
Thank you and well done!
Iaido Timetable For The Rest Of 2008
Dave Freed’s Iaido lessons for the second half of 2008 will be as follows. Please note there is no class in October.
Thursday 5 June
Thursday 3 July
Thursday 7 August
Thursday 4 September
No class in October
Thursday 6 November
Thursday 4 December
At these time we will split the class and you can choose to do aikido or iaido.
Aikido European Championships
The European Aikido championships are taking place at the end of September. This year they are being hosted in Prague. So if you fancy a weekend away seeing the best European Aikido has to offer, competing if you feel up to it, and sampling a few nice beers along the way, details are available at request after training.
Aikido Nationals
The Aikido Nationals are just around the corner this year being hosted in Buckinghamshire. This offers a great opportunity to experience true competition Aikido and see the squad players do what they do best. Anyone can compete and if we have enough people show an interest we can put together a team. For directions and more information please ask after training.
Lucky Number 7
Congratulations are in order for all team members who participated in the annual Kent Aikido Open, hosted at the Thanet Judo and Aikido club in Margate.
Despite a very tough opposition and this being the majority of the teams first experience of competition aikido, they came away with an impressive haul of 7 medals including 2 silver! Such a gargantuan haul of shiny accolades was bound to attract some outside attention, and as such the team were featured in the Sevenoaks Chronicle. Fame and glory at last! The article can be read through the link below.
So well done Simon Curley, Simon Copley, Alex Shumilov, Vince Todd and Scott Johnson. They can now be found in Chinawhite sipping champagne with Big Brother contestants and other minor celebrities.
http://www.thisiscourier.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=142759&command=displayContent&sourceNode=142742&contentPK=20132207&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch
Those Who Can, Teach!
Congratulations again go to Scott Johnson. He survived an intensive weekend and came away with a BAA level 1 coaching award making him an official instructor.
This increases Goshinaikikwai’s registered BAA coaches to a whopping 6! The kyu grades are very lucky in this club.
Well done!
Valentine’s Day Closure
Please note that there will be no training on the 14 February 2008 due to Valentine’s day. Normal service will resume the week after on 21 February 2008.
Agm 2008
The AGM will be held on Thursday 6 March at the Bexley dojo. Training will be 8-9pm with the meeting held afterwards. We encourage all our members to attend and welcome their contributions.
Iaido Programme For 2008
Dave Freed’s Iaido lessons in the first half of 2008 will be as follows. Please note there is no class in January.
Thursday 7 February
Thursday 6 March
Thursday 3 April
Thursday 1 May
Thursday 5 June
At these time we will split the class and you can choose to do aikido or iaido.
Xmas Holidays 2007
Please note that the last session for 2007 is Thursday 20 December and we reopen on Thursday 4 January 2008.
The instructors and committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all club members for supporting the Goshinaikikwai during 2007 and to wish you all a very happy xmas and a successful new year.
The First Step...
Congratulations to Scott Johnson for obtaining the rank of Shodan! He graded at the Thanet Martial Arts Club in Margate, at the end of the Autumn school. The grading panel consisted of many high ranking Aikidoka including Lesley Hepden, Bob Jones and Harvey Goodman, so you can wear your black belt with pride!
The first step of the journey has been taken.
Well done!
Club Xmas Meal - 24 November 2007
The annual Goshinaikikwai xmas meal will be on 24 November 2007 at the The Fighting Cocks in Horton Kirby, starting at 7:30pm. You can find it at: The Street, Horton Kirby, Nr Dartford, Kent, DA4 9BY.
Autumn School 2007
Thanet Martial Arts Club in Margate will be hosting the BAA Autumn school this year.
The course runs over the weekend beginning on Friday 9th November at 9.00 and ending on Sunday 11th November with a grading.
The days will be split into sections with a different Sensei taking each class. Depending on the turn out it may also be spread over two dojos. Classes are being taken by the likes of Lesley Hepden, Harvey Goodman, Brian Elgood, Bob Jones, Adrian Tyndale and Paul Wildish. So as well as being graded by the highest ranks of the BAA, you can have the honour of being taught by them as well. With such high caliber Sensei it would be foolish to miss.
Relocation From Dartford To Bexley
Due to the scheduled closure of the our old venue at Bridge Court QEF in Dartford, we have relocated a short distance to The Scout Hall on Leafield Lane, Off North Cray Road in Bexley, Kent. Training times remain 8pm to 10pm every Thursday.
We look forward to seeing you all in our new venue.
Dudley Osborne Awarded Dartford Sports Coach Of The Year
Goshinaikikwai’s senior instructor, Dudley Osborne has won yet another award for coaching, this time in Dartford’s Sports Awards where he was a joint winner of the Bergman Osterberg Sports Coach of the Year 2005.
Dudley Osborne Receives Certificate Of Merit From The B A A
Dudley Osborne, a senior instructor and Chairman of the Goshinaikikwai Aikido Club in Dartford, has been recognised by the sport’s governing body for over 30 years service to aikido in the UK. The British Aikido Assocation (BAA) presented a Certificate of Merit to Mr Osborne at a special training session held at the club’s premises at The Queen Elizabeth Foundation in Brent Way in Dartford last Thursday, and thanked Mr Osborne for his tireless work and commitment to aikido.
Kent Sports Coach Of The Year Awards 2004
Goshinaikikwai’s senior instructor, Dudley Osborne, received a Highly Commended award in the Lifetime Contribution to Coaching section at the Kent Sports Coach of the Year Awards, held at Maidstone County Hall on the 29th of March 2003. The award was presented by Olympic sailor Hugh Styles.
With over 20 years as an instructor at Goshinaikikwai, the award organisers said his dedication and commitment to his students and the club was highly regarded. Even at the lively age of 73, Dudley’s enthusiasm and energy continues to inspire new and old students alike, and recognition for his exceptional service is long overdue.
Kent Sports Coach Of The Year Awards 2003
Goshinaikikwai’s senior instructor, Dudley Osborne, received a Highly Commended award in the Lifetime Contribution to Coaching section at the Kent Sports Coach of the Year Awards, held at Maidstone County Hall on the 29th of March 2003. The award was presented by Olympic sailor Hugh Styles.