January 16 - 17, 2004
The Last Samurai: Hutt Kendo Club will be providing demonstrations prior to screenings of The Last Samurai at Hoyts Lower Hutt on Friday 16th January (7:30pm & 8:30pm) and on Saturday 17th January (1:30pm). Come along and see the art of Kendo before one of the movies!

January 24, 2004
Asian Martial Arts Demo: Join us at the Open Air Stage in front of the Petone Settlers museum (on The Esplanade) from 2pm for demonstrations of several different martial arts. Hutt Kendo will be on stage around 3-3:30pm. If the weather is wet, the venue will be Petone Service Centre on Brittania St.

February 6 - 8, 2004
Summer Camp: The annual summer camp hosted by the Nelson dojo. An opportunity to practice kendo in the sunshine capital of New Zealand (last year's did not disappoint!). Gi-geiko on Friday night followed by two days of foot-blistering kendo. There is also an opportunity to grade. See here for more details.

February 29, 2004
Cuba Street Carnival: Hutt Kendo Club will be doing a demonstration at the Cuba St Carnival on Sunday 29th February at around 12:10PM on the Pub Charity World Dance & Music Stage. Watch out for us!

March 27, 2004
Race Unity Day (near Naenae pool): A whole day of celebrations of the many cultures that make up New Zealand. The Hutt Kendo Club will have a stall there all day and will also have a demonstration. Check the Hutt City Events Calendar (or revisit this site) for details of demonstration times.

April 12, 2004
Chado: Sue is inviting those interested in studying Chado or Tea Ceremony to come to 55a Rintoul St, Newtown from 3-6pm on Monday Arpil 12th. Wear loose clothing and white socks. There will be a lot of seiza (kneeling), so bring a pillow or two if you are unable to kneel for long periods of time.

April 18, 2004
Chado: Following on from April 12th, there will be a chance to continue studying Chado with Sue's kiwi tea teacher Lesley Maclean. Once again, loose clothing, white socks & pillows for kneeling (optional). Same place, same time.

May 1, 2004
Engagement Party: On Saturday May 1st, Scott and Anita are having an engagement party, starting at around 11am and going on until we get sick of everyone & kick them out. All Hutt Kendo Club members are welcome. Bring food & whatever you prefer to drink (we'll have some soft drinks and maybe some beer) - weather permitting the BBQ will be fired up. Weather not permitting, the BBQ will be in the garage and damn mother nature! If you need directions to the venue, ask Scott at class.

May 10, 2004
Club Grading: There will be a club grading on Monday 10th May for beginners and those under 5th kyu wishing to grade. We will also be going to Ichiban in Lower Hutt for drinks and nibbles afterwards to bid bon voyage Marty & Fiona before they leave for Auckland.

May 15, 2004
AGM: On May 4th, HKC will be 3 years old! We will be having the AGM on Saturday 15th May at 3pm at the home of Steve & Miyuki Potaka. All Hutt Kendo Club members are encouraged to attend. Bring drinks & a plate as it is a pot luck dinner. For directions, ask Steve or Miyuki at class.

June 12 - 13, 2004
National Competition: The annual NZKF kendo competition, this year in Auckland. The main event is on the 12-13 June (Sat & Sun) with an advanced kata and kendo seminar on the afternoon of the 11th. There will also be a special guest from Japan. See here for more details.

July 18, 31, 2004
Additional Training: On Sunday July 18th (Naenae College hall, entrance off High St) and Saturday July 31st (normal dojo) from 1-5pm, there will be additional training on kata and kihon techniques for grading. ALL are welcome, whether you are wearing bogu or not. There is no extra fee but bring some snacks & something to drink to keep yourself going through the afternoon. At the end of each session (around 4:30pm), there will be a meeting regarding the upcoming Winter Camp.

July 23, 2004
Zatoichi - Blind Samurai: On Friday July 23, 9 pm at the Embassy theatre, is the only evening showing of the acclaimed Japanese movie Zatoichi - Blind Samurai as part of the International Film Festival. It costs $10 students and $12 adults (with small subsidy from the club). Sue will make a group booking on Tuesday July 6. So if you want to go, get your name and $ to Sue ASAP.

August 11, 2004
Special Training: On Wednesday 11th August, the sensei attending the National Camp will be present at our normal training session. ALL members are welcome, beginners & kids included. Be at the dojo by 7:30pm with bokuto, shinai & bogu for this rare chance to be critiqued by high-ranking Japanese sensei.

August 13 - 15, 2004
National Camp: The annual NZKF winter camp, this year being hosted by Hutt Kendo Club. Once again, a great opportunity to lock shinai with the country's best kendoka, as well as with some international guests - Hachidan Umetsu Sensai, Nanadan Higashiyama Sensai, Rokkudan Hayashi Sensai and Rokkudan Sato Sensei, all flying over from Japan.

There will be the usual Friday night gi-geiko then two days of intense kendo training. There will be an opportunity to grade. There will be some cheap accomodation available on the Marae at Naenae College (right by the dojo).

The Saturday night bash is just around the corner from the dojo as well, with catered meal, music & karaoke. More details can be found here (Word document, 66KB), including available accomodation & transport and a draft timetable of events. The seminar fee is $70. This covers lunches on Saturday & Sunday, Saturday night dinner & the seminar itself. If you are grading, you will also need to pay the NZKF grading fee.

Lunches and Saturday dinner are available for non-participants. The cost is $35 per adult, $28 per child (12 or under).

The registration form is available here (Word document, 57KB). Registration must be received by 31st July 2004. Payments must be received by 6th August 2004.

Note - to participate in the seminar, you must be a fully paid up member of the NZKF!

Update 10-08-2004: How to get to the Avalon Pavilion for Saturday's dinner

Refer to this map

To get to Avalon Pavilion you return to Fairway Drive travelling West (or back to the highway). On the right is Taita Drive. Go up this drive (relatively slowly and with eyes peeled) and once you have passed Tennyson Ave on your right, look for a sign saying Entrance to Avalon Park.

Turn left into this park and go along the interior road basically until the very end. You will then see on your left (hopefully we will have HKC people out there to direct you) a small unmarked drive. Take this and drive to the back of the Avalon Pavilion – there is plenty of parking. Enjoy the party.

For Marae people, it is possible to walk from the school to the Pavilion (if not raining hideously). Best way is to walk up High St from the College and turn left into Frederick St and then a shortcut across the grassed area to the back of the Pavilion.

August 21 - 22, 2004
Japanese Cultural Weekend: Hutt Valley Community Arts presents Yokoso! at the Farsite Gallery on Petone Avenue. This is a Japanese Cultural Weekend with Japanese art, craft demonstrations.& workshops. Special attention for sister cities Hutt City & Minoh City. Open daily between 11am - 6pm. Check for more info: www.huttcity.govt.nz or www.japan.org.nz .

Yokoso! (= Kia ora). This cultural weekend will present Japanese art forms like ikebana, bonsai, carving, tea ceremony (chado), kimono's, sushi making, martial arts, calligraphy, Japanese singing and Japanese language. We will create ways for you to learn about the Japanese culture and enjoy the beauty of it. You can also find out more about the Japanese sister city to Hutt City: Minoh City. And do bring kids along, we offer a special kids programme!

October 2 - 3, 2004
5th Rembuden Kendo Taikai: The annual Poneke Kendo competition hosted by Rembuden dojo at the Victoria University Recreation Centre (Kelburn Campus). One of the highlights of the national kendo calendar, there are individual and team events with prizes for the winners and runners up as well as Fighting Spirit awards for the people who show the most kendo spirit. Spectators are more than welcome.

HKC Xmas Party

We agreed to have this at Petone on Saturday December 11. Meet at the Petone Settlers Museum at 2 pm for fun and frivolities. Bring beach toys and small and easy snax and drinks.