Congratulations to the following new junior grades. Keep up the hard work!
9^{th kyu}: Hikaru & Oto
5^{th kyu}: Kazuya

Pacey, Daniel C, Sam, Jacynta and I will be travelling to Melbourne on Friday June 16 for the national Kudo seminar/ tournament/grading. There has been a lot of demand in Melbourne for Kudo, and this event will go down as a pivotal moment in Kudo history. Kudo Australia head Paul Cale will teach a Kudo seminar and a novice tournament in, and grades may be awarded afterwards. We will have an opportunity to watch some elite Kudo matches on the Sunday.

Consequently there will be no Karate-bu or Kumite class on Saturday June 17. Most of the regular Jujutsu students will be in Melbourne with me, but Geoff will be available to open the dojo for Jujutsu if students are keen. Classes will run as per normal on Monday June 19.

We have been invited to demonstrate Japanese martial arts at the Japanese Cultural Day at Burnside Library from 2pm on Saturday June 24. The plan is to demonstrate:

1. Kihon geiko (everyone – juniors and seniors)
2. Naifanchi shodan kata and applications (higher belts)
3. Jujutsu techniques (everyone who attends Saturday Jujutsu)
4. Kudo combinations (everyone who attends Kumite classes)

Saturday Sobukan classes will be held as normal. Japanese Hoshuko Karate-bu will be held from 12:40pm until 1:30pm on June 24, and I hope everyone can then head straight to Burnside Library for the demonstration. Please confirm your availability to participate at your earliest opportunity.

We have been invited to a seminar with Judd Reid shihan from 6:30pm on Thursday June 29 at Goodwood Primary School Hall. Reid shihan is a legendary Kyokushin Karate-ka; one of the few westerners to complete both the three year uchi-deshi programme with Kyokushin founder Mas Oyama Sosai and the 100-man kumite! Several people have advised they will attend. Please email me if you wish to attend by June 3.

Pacey, Sam and I will escape winter to climb Mt Fuji and train at some of the best dojo in Japan. We promise to bring home a plethora of new ideas, techniques and training methods to share with you. Classes will run until July 10, and resume on August 16 – please get together to train just like last time I went to Japan. Fees will be payable in July only to cover classes in half of July and August.

Competition training

Sunday training is back – for a limited time! Times and locations will be posted weekly on the Sobukan and Kudo South Australia Facebook pages. We are focussing on the 3Cs of Counters, Combinations, and Conditioning.

For those competing in June, make sure you:

• Attend all classes
• Run at least 3 times a week, including sprints
• Know your game; practice your counters and combinations daily
• Visualise yourself winning

Important dates