I had a great year, and thank you for being part of my 2015. I am a strong believer that martial arts can benefit everyone. Confidence, self-esteem, concentration, discipline, fitness and self-defence are just a few of the benefits that can be gained from martial arts training. I particularly want to thank the people who encourage or enable other people to attend Sobukan, including members who invite their friends and parents who make sacrifices and invest time into the healthy mental and physical development their children

Unfortunately due to renovations at the dojo, we will not be able to restart classes on Monday January 4^th as planned. Instead, the first class will be Saturday January 9 at Himeji Gardens, South Tce in the city. We will then recommence at the dojo from Monday January 11^th.

Umehara san has offered to run a kakizome calligraphy session to mark the beginning of the New Year. Please consider what you would like to achieve in 2016.

A concrete (SMART) goal is more likely to motivate you, but an abstract theme is also acceptable. Umehara san and I can help you translate your theme into one or two Japanese characters that you can brush and hang at home to remind you of your goals.

When setting a goal, plan exactly what you want to achieve, and set a timeframe. Make sure it is challenging and meaningful, but possible. Then work out exactly what you have to do on a monthly, weekly and daily basis in order to succeed. Craft a sentence along the lines of: I will (daily effort) every day in order to (achieve goal) by (timeframe). Then hold yourself accountable by letting everyone know what you will do!

A few goals that I have for 2016 include:

• Greater integration between diverse Sobukan arts and skills
• An increased focus on self-defence skills
• Using leaders within the dojo to achieve a better balance in classes for all grades
• Medals at the Kudo Nationals (including for myself)
• Brown belt in Kudo

Important dates

Bonenkai

What a great day – and night! Thank you to everyone who came to the picnic at Himeji Gardens, I really enjoyed the opportunity to sit down with a cider and relax with our members and their families. I know the children enjoyed the games – suika wari (smashing a watermelon with a wooden sword while blindfolded), bocce and more.

Round 2 was at iDarts for the games for the adults. Unbeknown to me have a few darts stars in our midst, but unfortunately no up and coming karaoke stars!

Both sessions were a lot of fun and I look forward to the next opportunity to let my hair down (don’t laugh at that!) with you all. Sean is currently investigating a Sobukan training camp at Walker’s Flat on the river. Watch this space!

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Grading tests

Congratulations! We have a new batch of junior and senior yellow, orange and green belts – in particular a massive congrats to Jaden, Tarcan and Anastasia who passed with an amazing 100%!

Kudo preparation weekly schedule

Please find a rough schedule below to assist competitors in preparing for the 2016 Kudo Nationals in March.

In order to peak in March, this is what our training schedule will focus on:

January & February

• Cardio
• Combinations & counters
• Sparring

March

• Cardio
• Your ‘game’
• Weight control

Sobukan goods

Sobukan merchandise is available online! The drink bottles and performance t-shirts are very popular. You can wear the performance t-shirts under your gi, or instead of a gi on days over 30o.