Hutt Kendo Club News

Calling all Competitors and Gradees

I hope that you are making your bookings to Auckland to get the cheapest fares possible. You can get $90 one way fares at the moment if you get in fast enough.

The rough layout of the NZ National Seminar and Championships will be as follows –

June 30 – Thursday – Seminar begins at 10am with Inoue Sensei

July 1 – Friday – Day two of the Seminar (note all people who are grading must attend the seminar)

July 2 - Saturday – National Champs – Individuals, Teams, Juniors and Kata (for people with Permanent Residence or a NZ passport)

July 3 – Sunday – National grading from 3 kyu to 3 dan (need proof of previous grade if this is not recorded by NZKF)

Sunday afternoon – Enbu champs for senior grades, style and requirements for this section yet to be confirmed.

Obviously somewhere in there will be at least one nice nosh up somewhere so bring your stilettos

Because Auckland is a big city, I would also recommend making early bookings for accommodation. I say this with some authority as this seminar happens around the time that the Lions Rugby Test will happen in Auckland (the following Tuesday). Note that McColl St is in Newmarket so accommodation in or around Newmarket, Ellerslie, Parnell and Symonds St area will mean a walk or short bus ride to the venue. Check out the weblink below for accommodation.

http://www.ki-wi.co.nz/auckland-accommodation.htm

Cost of the seminar and nationals will be advised in May. Don’t forget that you must also be a paid up member of the Federation to attend the seminar or nationals which for this half of the year is $15 for returning members and

$35 for new members.

Registration forms will be sent out in May and expected to be returned with payment by June 1st.

In the meantime, if you have any local queries, please contact xingjiangtao@hotmail.com who we also know as ‘Oscar’

Presidents Report - AGM 2005 May the Fourth be with you!

Fourth Birthday year!

What a year. The 12 months from May 2004 until now has flown. This is the year that we staged the Winter Camp, hosted four fabulous Sensei from Japan, had a growth spurt (and then some shrinkage) and had two weddings and no funerals thankfully.

Our assistant Secretary Anita has been working hard to find funding for the club this year and this is most appreciated. She and Sue helped find monies to support the Winter Camp, the visit by Umetsu, Higashiyama, Hayashi and Sato Sensei as well as more recently, support for our annual club rental to Naenae College. The club really pulled together for the Winter Camp. Colin became the design aficionado, Jackie, Malcolm, Richard, Yu Xian, the Potakas, Nic Philips, Scott and Anita with pretty much all other members (and their families) pulling their weight and then some, to create a fantastic event. The evening dinner and talent quest was voted one of the best yet and I think we did so well, no one volunteered to do the 2005 Winter Camp, maybe fearing they might not do such a good job.

Fortunately for this year though, the NZKF has decided to hold the Winter Camp and National Champs together in late June. This will mean only one major trip for the club to Auckland so we all need to plan that urgently. Sue has kept her end of her obligation as Secretary to the NZKF but sadly there has yet to be resolution around whether Anita is the membership officer for the Federation. This year we farewell Dan to Palmerston North but he still remains a member of Hutt.

Other significant events for the year were the gradings at the Winter Camp. We saw Scott pass Nidan and become our first home grown nidan (keeping his tradition), and a host of other members did very well in the Winter gradings. I am sure the spirit of the club made an impression on our four sensei and one day we may see them return.

Sadly it was only Sue and I and Marty who were able to attend the National Champs in June 2004 in Auckland. Sue came second (again) in the women's individuals and fought well in the veterans too. Marty did his usual failing over trick and ended up a friend of the emergency first aid team there. However this seminar with Inoue Sensei was one of the best that Sue and I have ever experienced so we encourage all members who can get there, to attend the Auckland event in June.

By the time the Rembuden Taikai rolled around we managed to enter three teams especially with spirited fighting from Jason against Sachiyo and Scott in his fights. Our shiai geiko is maturing! Scott was awarded a special Fighting Spirit Shinai from Ron Bennett - a real boon.

Then there was Xmas and our annual Kokoro award for the year went to Colin Phillips. He has been consistently there for the club this year and helped create our flag, redesign our flier and do all the imagery stuff around the Winter camp. Thanks a heap Colin.

This year only Sue and Marty went to the Australian seminar. Marty did not pass his sandan (only one of 14 did!) so keep trying Marty. As usual, however, it was a fine event with Sue getting lots of time with Ron. Sadly Ron was not feeling so well at this event.

Last month Sue and 1 were invited to Invercargill to run a seminar and grading for IKC. This was a great event and we are very impressed with the way Tatsuya has built up the level of his club and the family spirit we experienced there. We also refereed their mid year 'Chocolate Fish Championships' which were high quality and really enjoyed the 2 kilo crayfish we carried all the way back to Wellington.

And a final recognition to those weddings, a thank you to the club for all the help around our commitment in November and also congrats to Anita and Scott for tying the knot so well in March this year. Do we hear the swish swish of baby okuriashi? Hmmmmmmm.

Liz Dutton