May 2010
Shihan Jones visit:
We were very lucky to have Sensei Gordon Jones (6th dan) visit Australia and conduct a 2 day Gasshuku at Makotokan Budo Castle Hill.
The seminar was well attended by students from varied dojos.
Yudansha testing was done and congratulations to Andrew Cronin & Christine Hendro for being awarded shodan as well as Tze Ling & Siuwo for being awarded Nidan.
Thank you and congratulations to Sensei Bill for organising a fantastic weekend and being awarded Shidoin status by Sensei Jones.
17 April 2010
Adult Gradings:
Congratulations to the following students who graded at Central Coast Aikikai;
6th Kyu:
Greg Reynolds, Grant Traynor, Ian Robinson also Scott Lennox & Josh Jetson.
5th Kyu:
Jess Johnston, Harold Faulkner & Mikey Abbott.
4th Kyu:
Paul Blakeley, Nissa Phillips, Geoff Nash, Allison Smith & Camia McGrath.
2nd Kyu:
Anna Sim, Vanessa Sutton & Tara Jones.
1st Kyu:
Sarah Cribb.
Thank you for all your hard work and thank you to the students who drove down to take ukemi and support their Dojo.
Also many thanks to Central Coast Aikikai for hosting this important day.
April 2010
Wednesday nights:
The 7.30pm class on Wednesday is now for students 3rd Kyu and above.
April 2010
Pre-testing:
Congratulations to all students who participated in the pre-tests for the upcoming gradings. Everyone put in a great effort and showed spirit in taking ukemi for a few days straight.
Special mention to Anna, Tara and Vanessa who completed their 2nd Kyu pre-test.
27 March 2010
Sensei Becart:
Saku Shin Kan was honored to host Sensei Michel Becart for a day long seminar. Senseis' instruction was clear and concise despite the language barrier.
Many thanks to Sensei for taking the time to visit Newcastle, JC for organizing the trip and all the students who attended the seminar.
  
March 2010
Interim timetable:
Due to our attendance at the 40th anniversary seminar for NZ aikido, Saku Shin Kan will have an amended timetable from March 4 to March 8. The timetable can be found HERE.
February 2010
Torii:
The latest issue of the Australasian AIkikai newsletter is available HERE. Please enjoy and consider the environment before printing.
January 2010
Happy New Year:
Classes started as normal on Saturday 9th of January and we hope all students return to classes with lots of energy after the holidays.
We are lucky to be visited by many exciting instructors in 2010 such as Sensei Gordon Jones (6th Dan), Sensei Michel Becart (6th Dan) and Sensei Suzuki (Kenkyukai)
There will be a number of small timetable changes starting next week. There is an extra class on Wednesdays and Zazen/Free Practice is swapped on Fridays. Please see the schedule page for details.
November 2009
Departures:
We say goodbye to Uchi Deshi, Andrew who is off to Japan for training at Hombu, then with Shimamoto Sensei and finally for a well deserved rest.
We also bid farewell to Ben who is off around Asia on a post PHD sabbatical.
They will be tangibly missed in the dojo.
21-22 November 2009
Australasian Aikikai Gasshuku:
Over 60 students from all over came together at Newcastle University for two days of Aikido, Weapons & Iaido training.
Classes were taught by Sensei Hackett, Sensei Seymour, Sensei Haynes, Sensei Probst and Sensei Wingate-Pearse.
Although the temperatures soared to over 35oC everyone trained hard and the weekend was a success on all levels.
Congratulations to the following Saku Shin Kan students on their successful gradings:
6th Kyu:- Daniel Coutts-Smith, Amelia Gilbert, Paul Hill, Greg Lourey, John Moen, Darren Pauling, Ignatius Verbeek.
5th Kyu:- Neville Anderson, Chris Burke, Louise Harrison, Ben Harvey, James Mortensen.
4th Kyu:- Zach Harrison, Richard Lever, Damien Southam.
3rd Kyu:- Phil Courtney, Kwong Sung, Steve Pitkin.
2nd Kyu:- Hide Kobayashi, Ben Duck, Zach Tobin.
Congratulations to all students from other dojos who tested.
 
Mats up..... then down
The Gasshuku dinner.... for 58 :-)
October 2009
Latest Torii:
The latest issue of the Torii is out and available HERE.
It is a bumper issue. We ask that you consider the environment before printing it.
Sunday 18 October 2009
Darby Street Demonstrations:
Saku Shin Kan performed a demonstration at the Darby Street fair in front of a large crowd. Senior and junior Aikdio was shown as well as sword, naginata and weapons.
Many thanks to all students, friends and families who participated and supported the day.
 
 
August-September 2009
Overseas training:
Darius has returned from doing the San Shin Kai Iaido Summer Camp in Roscoe New York as well as undertaking a week and a half as Uchi Deshi to Sensei Robert Savoca at the Brooklyn Aikikai.
Sincere thanks go to students who made it possible for this trip both financially and with support in running Saku Shin kan in my absence.
I will post more details soon.
August 2009
Sensei Hackett Promoted to 5th Dan:
We are exited to report that Sensei Colin Hackett has been promoted to 5th Dan so Hombu!! This is a great achievement and is a good reflection of the work and commitment Sensei has shown to Aikido for the past 30 years.
Congratulations from everyone at Saku Shin Kan.
22 August 2009
Junior Grading:
Congratulations to the following junior Saku Shin Kan Students who graded on Saturday.
6th Kyu.
William C & Aidan P
5th Kyu.
Sean M & Joshua F.
4th Kyu.
Matthew F & Matthew N
3rd Kyu.
Oliver N.
Congratulations to other students who were awarded stripes and many thanks to the seniors who took ukemi.
7 August 2009
Timetable Change /Soto Deshi term starts:
Classes on Wednesday evenings have changed to facilitate the Soto Deshi course.
Beginners Aikido will be follwed by 4th Kyu and above weapons. Following this willbe 2nd kyu and above Aikdio.
1 August 2009
Adult Gradings at Ren Shin Kan:
Congratulations to all Saku Shin kan students who passed their tests.
6th Kyu.
James, Ben H, David, Chris, Mikey, Scott and Melanie. Ben E, Jessica and Peter have also been awarded 6th Kyu.
5th Kyu.
Camia.
Congratulations all, and to students from the other dojos who graded.
14 July 2009
Departure of Kane:
A hard training session was held to acknowledge Kane's imminent relocation to Bristol in the UK. Spirited class was followed by the traditional randori to farewell a very talented and committed student.
It was a pleasure to have you in the dojo and whichever sensei gains you as a student will be lucky indeed.
Kane will be attending a seminar with Chiba Sensei soon after arriving. Safe travels.
9 July 2009
6th Kyu Pre-Tests:
Tests to determine eligibility to grade for 6th kyu were held at Saku Shin Kan dojo. Congratulations to James, Peter, Mel, Scott, Ben, Mikey and David who's hard work over the last few months clearly showed and who were given permission to test on the Central Coast on August 1.
Saku Shin Kan students.
2 July 2009
Latest Torii:
The July edition of our newsletter is available HERE.
Please consider the environment before printing it and we ask that you start submitting for the next issue.
6 June 2009
Saku Shin Kan Kids Grading:
Saku Shin Kan held the second grading of the year for
junior students and we are pleased to congratulate the following on
their achievements.
5th Kyu (Yellow Belt)
Cyrus and Harlan.
3rd Kyu (Green Belt)
Zachary
Thank you to Sensei Hackett for coming up to preside over the gradings and teach the classes.
1 June 2009
Class alterations:
Please note that the Basic Aikido class at 12pm on Fridays will now be held at 12pm on Thursdays.
This will remain in place until the end of the current school term.
13 May 2009
Torii:
The latest edition of the Australasian Aikikai newsletter is out now!
It can be found HERE.
Please consider the environment before printing it and we ask that you start submitting for the next issue.
April 2009
Thank you to sempai:
Gabriel and I took Sasha away for a weeks holiday. The dojo was kept open due to the generous efforts of Sempai who taught or led classes so that there was minimal disruption to training.
The dojo is lucky to have you all.
I appreciate it and know that the rest of the students do as well.
18 April 2009
Australasian Aikikai Grading Course:
Sensei William Haynes and Makotokan Budo hosted a great day of training which included the first adult kyu tests for 2009. A contingent of approx 30 Newcastle students headed down and trained hard.
Congratulations to the following Newcastle Students who have all been training in a very dedicated way and passed their tests.
6th Kyu;
Neville Anderson, Harold Faulkner, Louise Harrison, C McGrath, Alex Rzechowicz & Steven Skoumburdis.
5th Kyu;
Zachariah Harrison, Greg Chalkley, Geoffrey Nash, Richard Lever & Thomas Hickey.
4th Kyu;
Steven Pitkin & Phillip Courtney.
3rd Kyu;
Tara Jones, Anna Sim, Zachariah Tobin, Dominic Wenta, Ben Duck, & Vanessa Sutton.
2nd Kyu;
Jason Reed, Leigh Beattie & Amy Smith.
The following students have also been awarded grades as they were unable to attend the grading day. Matt Mockovic & Paul Thomas - 6th Kyu, Damien Southam, Allison Smith & Nissa Phillips - 5th Kyu, Sean Mendis - 4th Kyu, Kane O'Donnell -3rd Kyu.
Congratulations all and to students from the other dojos who graded.
March 2009
Warren Smith visit:
Long time student Warren Smith, who has been abroad, visited the dojo for an evening of training and catching up. It was great to see him, and hear stories of the seminar he attended with Chiba Sensei in Austria.
Lets hope it's not so long between visits next time.
Warren (middle) joins a class.
21 March 2009
Saku Shin Kan Kids Grading:
Saku Shin Kan held the first grading of the year for
junior students and we are pleased to congratulate the following on
their achievements.
6th Kyu (White Belt)
Luis, Joey +1 yellow stripe, Niamh, Joshua, Lauchlan, Perry, Tom, Luka, Coen +1 yellow stripe and Kane.
Abel, Cyrus, Shen, Sean and Miniko were all awarded yellow stripes
for outstanding progress and hard work.
5th Kyu (Yellow Belt)
Matthew F +1 yellow stripe, Matthew N +2 yellow stripe, Jackson and Joel.
4th Kyu (Orange Belt)
Jake, Mackinley, and Corey.
Oliver and Zac were awarded stripes.
 
Grading Day
9 March 2009
Monday night class changes:
Adult classes on Monday nights will have the following
changes;
6.20pm Basic Weapons (available to beginner students)
7.20pm Mixed Aikido, which will be taught by Sensei
Pierre Gouhier.
Sensei Pierre Gouhier
February/March 2009
Wednesday morning outdoor weapons:
While morning light allows us, the 6.30am class on
Wednesday will be a weapons class held near the skate pipe at Bar Beach
Newcastle.
Please bring shoes and a hat. If it is raining, a
normal class will be held in the dojo.
February 2009
New Tatami at Saku Shin Kan:
Over two weekends, we held a working bee to create
more training space and to install 14 new tatami.
Thanks to everyone who gave up a part of their Sundays
to assist.
Special thanks to Noel Smith who's doesn't train and
only sees his family on weekends yet gave up two Sundays in a row to
do most of the work.
  
New mat area and team in action.
17 January 2009
Newcastle Aikido Friendship Day:
Students from Newcastles' 3 aikido clubs came together
for a day of cross training. All students learned new things and made
some new friends which was the aim of the day.
Many thanks to everyone involved in the organisation
of the day and Jason, Amy and Pierre who gave up their time to cover
classes at Saku Shin Kan.
We look forward to the next one.
Newcastle Aikido Friendship Day.
1 January 2009
TORII:
Please check out the latest issue of the Australasian
Aikikai's newsletter located HERE.
12 December 2008
Soto Deshi Course Commences:
Saku Shin Kan Dojo started the first Soto Deshi course
on Friday evening. Friday evening 'Special" classes will be used
for the course until March 2009.
6 December 2008
Second Anniversary Party:
Saku Shin Kan Dojo was 2 years old and to mark the
occasion, a dojo party was held.
Gabriel and I sincerely appreciate all the hard work,
effort and commitment our members have given us over the last 2 years.
We look forward to many more to come.
November 2008
Newcastle Aikikai in Japan:
November saw 14 Newcastle aikido students travel to
Tokyo to train at Humbu dojo and enjoy Japan. All of the students trained
hard, many doing 3-4 classes a day.
Newcastle Aikikai Students with Doshu
after morning class.
In addition to training with Hombu Shihan
and members, the rest of the days were spent enjoying Tokyo, Kyoto and
Osaka. All of the members developed their appreciation of the culture,
food and beauty of Japan.
Many are looking forward to the next
trip.
13 October 2008
Friday Interim Timetable Changes:
The 12pm basics class on fridays will run from 11.30am
to 12.30pm for the next four weeks. This will apply for Friday 17 Oct,
Friday 24 Oct, Friday 31 Oct and Friday 7 November. Classes will return
to normal after this period.
12 October 2008
Darby Street Fair:
Many thanks for the junior and senior students who
gave up their Sunday morning to participate in the demonstrations at
this years Darby Street Fair.
We had a very positive reception.
All your hard training was evident during the best
demonstration yet.
11 October 2008
Saku Shin Kan Kids Grading:
Saku Shin Kan held the final grading of the year for
junior students and we are pleased to congratulate the following on
their achievements.
6th Kyu (White Belt)
Miniko +1 yellow stripe, Sean, Matthew +2 yellow stripes,
Angus, Harlan, Hadrian, Shen and Jackson
Able and Cyrus were both awarded 3 yellow stripes
for outstanding progress.
5th Kyu (Yellow Belt)
Corey and Morgana.
Mackinley was awarded 4 orange stripes.
4th Kyu (Orange Belt)
Oliver.
Zachary was awarded 1 green stripe on his orange belt.
 
1 October 2008
Australasian Aikikai Forum:
Anyone interested in sharing their views on Aikido,
Iaido or just about anything is welcome to join the Australasian Aikikai
Forum at http://australasianaikikai.myfineforum.org/
12-14 September 2008
Sensei Phillip Smith 6th Dan:
Many thanks to Sensei Smith with came over from the
UK to give us the benefit of his unique Aikido experience. All students
trained well and enjoyed the Gasshuku at Terrey Hills. Most tested their
endurance to train again on Monday evening when Sensei taught at Saku
Shin Kan.
Gasshuku September 2008
 
Various training shots
3 September 2008
In-house grading results:
Congratulations to the following Saku Shin Kan students
who passed their 6th kyu tests;
Phil Courtney.
Ray Hansen.
RichardLever.
Alison Smith.
20 August 2008
Newcastle Aikikai Badges:
Club badges are now available at the dojo. These have
our symbol and make an attractive addition to your Gi.
10 August 2008
Wallsend Winter Fair:
Thank you to the students who braved the cold and
crowds to march in this years Winter Fair. Your support is appreciated
and is what keeps the dojo running.
23 July 2008
In-house grading results:
Congratulations to the following Saku Shin Kan students
who passed their 5th kyu tests;
Steven Pitkin.
Paul Blakeley.
Kane O'Donnell.
9 July 2008
Timetable Changes:
We have altered the adults' timetable on Wednesday
evenings.
5.10 - 6.10pm Beginners Aikido
6.20 - 7.20pm Weapons (minimum 5th Kyu to participate)
7.20 pm Close (or sempai led Free Practise)
This allows beginners to train at 8 classes/ 6 days
per week.
5 July 2008
Adults Grading:
An adults grading was held at Ren Shin Kan Dojo Niagara
Park. Over 30 students trained for two hours, then the tests were held.
It was wonderful to see students from the different clubs training so
well together and proving once again that we are all one big family.
The tests were conducted by the Australasian Aikikai
Technical Committee. All students showed good understanding of the techniques
required and the hours of training done in preparation were evident.
Results:
3th Kyu
Amy Smith (Awarded Hakama)
4th Kyu
Anna Sim
5th Kyu
Kwong Sung.
6th Kyu
Geoffrey Nash, Anthony Mills, Sean Mendis, Peter Hampton
and Stephanie Wilson.
Congratulations to Robert Johnson was awarded 2nd
kyu.
28 June 2008
Kids Grading:
Congratulations to all junior Aikido students who
tested on Saturday.
Everyone did great tests and the standard shown by
all was very impressive. We are proud to welcome our first Junior 4th
Kyus, Zac and Paddy. This is a senior grade and I am sure you will both
thrive under the added responsibility.
Results:
Junior 4th Kyu
Paddy & Zac
Junior 5th Kyu
Cooper-3 stripes, Mac & Gabe-2 stripes, Oliver-1
stripe, Daniel & Jake.
Junior 6th Kyu
Morgana-1 stripe, Abel, Corey & Cyrus.
The following students were awarded stripes on their
Red Belt for hard work and progress:
Jackson-3 stripes, Miniko & Luca-2 stripes, Mason,
Matthew & Shen-1 stripe.
6 June 2008
TORII:
Please check out the latest issue of the Australasian
Aikikai's newsletter located HERE.
6 June 2008
Calendar Update:
Upcoming seminars and events are now listed on the
calendar page.
6 June 2008
MJER Kenjitsu:
Please note that MJER classes will not be held until
the 16th of June due to Sensei Scott's travels.
23 May 2008
Farewell to Warren:
Goodbye and good luck to Warren Smith. Warren was
the first uchi deshi at Saku Shin Kan. We wish him all the best in his
travels and look forward to him returning after all that great international
training.
11 May 2008
ARE YOU READY?:
Thanks to the many members who gave up their time
to attend our working bee on Saturday (THANK YOU ALL), the dojo is BACK
IN BUSINESS, ready for you to throw and roll as of 6.30am Monday
(May 12) when our normal, full-time schedule resumes.
The only outstanding issues which will affect members
will be office repairs, requiring entry via the middle door.
Again, thank you to all those members who made it
to the working bee on Saturday. At the height of what was a large-scale
operation, about 30 people got stuck into cleaning the dojo from floor
to ceiling and everything in between. Thanks also to all of you seeing
us through the interruption.
COMING UP:
THE NEXT DOJO DINNER will be held on Friday May 23,
one of our senior student's last nights with us before he jets off overseas.
Warren Smith has been training at Saku Shin Kan for about 12 months,
and has trained with us as an uchi deshi since the start of the year.
So lock it in and start looking forward to a rigorous training session
from 7.30pm ahead of a dojo dinner to be remembered. Anyone staying
for the POT LUCK dinner is asked to bring a plate of food to share (and
BYO drinks).
ALSO, we will be holding a fundraising JUMBLE SALE
at the dojo in the middle of June, so if you have clothes you have grown
out of, got sick of, or want to off-load, or pieces of furniture you
think people would part with cash for, or other worthy items, start
setting it aside. All monies raised will go towards some much-needed
dojo improvements, and what is not sold will be up for grabs (left overs
destined to charity). It will be a bit of fun and also attract a different
crowd (hopefully) to come by the dojo for a look-see at classes which
will be held as normal that morning. More details to come.
8 May 2008
Dojo clean up & re-opening:
The dojo is scheduled to re-open for all classes as
normal from 6.30am on Monday, May 12th!! Some repairs are still needed,
but the building will be ready to go, bar the office which will be off-limits
for a while.
To help this happen, members who have the time are
asked to join in a working bee on Saturday, May 10th, from 10am. There's
tonnes to do so all are welcome.
Please ensure you wear sturdy shoes and feel free
to bring a mop or vacuum etc to speed things up.
3 May 2008
Australasian Aikikai Course/ Adult Gradings:
Despite being out of a dojo, more than 20 Newcastle
Aikikai students attended a seminar at Makotokan Dojo in Castle Hill
last Saturday.
It was a great day of training with students from
Newcastle, Nelson Bay, the Central Coast and Terrey Hills joining in.
A perfect seminar... Hard training, new friends and no injuries.
Congratulations to the following Newcastle students
tested and were awarded the following grades:
6th kyu.
Ben Duck-Sakushinkan, Vanessa Sutton-Sakushinkan,
Dominic Wenta-Sakushinkan, Rebecca Blunden-Sakushinkan, Greg Chalkley-Sakushinkan,
Justin Nixon-Makotokan, Ozenc Koyuncu-Makotokan, Candan Koyuncu-Makotokan,
Nenad Capeski-Makotokan
5th Kyu.
Zachariah Tobin-Sakushinkan, Tara Jones-Sakushinkan,
Mark Hocking-Sakushinkan, Brad Salmon-Renshinkan
4th Kyu.
Hideaki Kobayashi-Sakushinkan, Peter Aikins-Renshinkan
3rd Kyu
Don Cleur-Makotokan, Jonathon DeVries-Renshinkan,
Sarah Cribb-Renshinkan, Jason Reed-Sakushinkan.
2nd Kyu- Robert Johnston. Renshinkan(To try again).
Makotokan Seminar Group Shot
26 April 2008
Emergency Repairs:
Repairs to the dojo are going to take longer than
we first anticipated, with engineers, professional cleaners, and builders
all to play their part, starting Monday. At the present time, the building
has been fenced off as a WorkCover safety precaution while the clean-up
takes place. We are hoping to return to our regular schedule at Bennett
Street on Monday week (May 5), but it may take longer. We will keep
you advised.
In the meantime we have arranged to hold classes at
two other venues - outdoors morning classes at the tram shed on the
foreshore, as well as one kids' class and some afternoon/evening classes
at the squash centre at the University of Newcastle. Click on the schedule
page for times and directions.
We apologise for the disruption and thank you for
bearing with us during this time. We will be holding a clean-up day
at some stage, a mini-appeal to help replace lost or damaged goods,
as well as a re-opening day. Details to come.
20 April 2008
Damage to Saku Shin Kan Dojo:
Early Friday morning the dojo was damaged by an amateur's
explosive device planted in the wheelie bin. The result was substantial
damage to the front of the building. Police are investigating, but have
ruled out a targeted attack, linking the explosion to other similar
explosions last year in unoccupied buildings.
Thankfully no one was hurt.
Local media coverage can be seen below;
http://theherald.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/peace-shattered-by-explosion-in-street/1226710.html
We will advise of when we can effect repairs and resume
training once further information comes to hand.
Thank you to all members who have offered support,
I look forward to the dojo community pulling together through this difficult
time.
11 April 2008
Grading Results.
Thursday and Friday evenings saw pre-grading tests
for Newcastle Aikikai students.
All students performed well and everyone eligible
was encouraged to take tests at the upcoming course at Makotokan Budo.
Congratulations to Jason Reed who was awarded 4th
Kyu and Warren Smith who was awarded 5th Kyu. Both performed flawless
tests and received long overdue grades. Well done.
April 2008
Komei Juku Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu.
Saku Shin Kan is pleased to welcome Sensei Scott Probst
who will be teaching Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu at the dojo.
Classes will be on Tuesday evenings, Thursday mornings
and Saturday afternoons.
Details can be found HERE.
28 March 2008
Birth of Sasha Wingate-Pearse.
We are happy to announce the birth of Sasha Wingate-Pearse
at 3.23pm on the 28th of March. Both mum and baby are happy and well.
Thank you to senior members for their support and
for the many warm wishes we have received.
We look forward to Sensei Gabriel's return to training
soon.
16 March 2008
Beaumont Street Fair Demonstrations.
Newcastle Aikikai students performed a 20 minute demonstration
at the Beaumont Street fair. Both senior and junior students impressed
the crowd with good displays of Aikido despite nerves and a very long
drop off the side of the stage.
Thank you to our students and their families for giving
up part of your Sunday to assist.
 
15 March 2008
Junior Grading.
Saku Shin Kan held the first grading of 2008 for it's
junior students.
Tests were held for junior 6th (white), 5th (yellow)
and 4th (orange)kyu. A great standard was shown by all students and
sensei noted the improvement everyone had made.
Results:
Able: Red Belt +3 stripes
Flynn: Red Belt +3 stripes
Harrison: Red Belt +4 stripes
Daniel: 6 th Kyu +2 yellow stripes
Oliver: 6th Kyu + 2 yellow stripes
Mackinley: 5th Kyu
Cooper: 5th Kyu + 2 orange stripes
Paddy: 5th kyu + 3 orange stripes
Zachary: 5th kyu + 3 orange stripes
Congratulations to all students and thank you to all
junior and senior students who took ukemi and assisted with the tests.
 
23 February 2008
Comings and goings.
2008 has seen a fantastic group of new students take
up aikido and they have all made great progress. The dedicated beginners
classes are proving popular and new students are learning well in this
environment.
Unfortunately a number of our longer term students
have left us. We will miss Garrett and Mario who have trained hard and
really supported the development of the dojo. Both have moved to Melbourne
and the sensei who inherits them will be very lucky. We also recently
said good bye to Florian who has trained very hard during the short
time he has been with us and was awarded a well-deserved 6th kyu at
his farewell class.
Moving on is part of life and I hope your travels
find you near an Aikido dojo in the future.
7 January 2008
Classes Resume / Timetable change.
All scheduled classes resume from 6.30am on Monday
7th of January. We hope to see you all invigorated on the mat after
a nice rest over Christmas.
Please note that we have made changes to the timetable
for 2008.
Most notably the segregation of beginners classes.
Beginners (first 3 months of training) are required to attend as many
of the 7 designated classes each week as they want (Unless given permission
by the Chief Instructor). This will allow a more targeted and comfortable
development of new students before they are ready to join the Mixed
classes. All other students are encouraged to attend these classes to
continue the embodiment of the fundamentals.
Wednesday evenings from 6.20pm will be Aikido and
Weapons for students who are 4th Kyu and above. With students graded
to this level now and our Yudansha members, this will allow for higher
level training.
Zazen and Free Practise are also swapped on Friday
evenings.
It is a testament to the hard work of all our students
that we are able to make these changes.
15 - 16 December 2007
Australasian Aikikai Summer Gasshuku.
 
Sensei Hackett addresses the first
class of the Gasshuku and the Sunday group photo.
Students from all over congregated on Saku Shin Kan
Dojo for the final Gasshuku of the year. Two days of hard training was
held. Instruction was provided by Sensei Hackett who was assisted by
instructors from the Central Coast, Castle Hill and Newcastle. All students
benefited and enjoyed the varied approaches and input of the different
Sensei.
43 Aikidoists trained over the weekend making this
the largest Gasshuku yet. Everyone trained hard and there were no injuries!!!
Kyu grading's were conducted on Sunday morning by
the Technical Committee. Successful students are listed below;
6th Kyu
Paul Blakeley SSK, Rachael Ireland SSK, Jefferson
Mobbs SSK, Bradley Murphy SSK, Moses Paul RSK, Edward Paul RSK, Stephen
Pitkin SSK, Kwong Sung SSK, Zachariah Tobin SSK and Josh RSK.
5th Kyu
Andrew Asfaganov SSK, Chris Dyer MKB, Matthew Ford
SSK, Al Geransar MKB, Kobayashi Hideaki SSK, Mark Shaw RSK and Anna
Sim SSK.
4th Kyu
Phillip Good SSK and Amy Smith SSK.
3rd Kyu
Michael Collins RSK, Christine Bremner RSK and Leigh
Beattie SSK (Awarded Hakama).
2nd Kyu
Christine Hendro MKB.
1st Kyu
Andrew Cronin RSK, Glenn Davy RSK and Simon Hatton
RSK.
Congratulations to you all.
Anna, Amy, Glenn, Leigh, Andrew, Pato,
Pierre (R), Kobayashi San, Sensei, Zach, Gabriel, Damien, Andrew (R),Stephen,
Phillip, Kwong, Bradley, Rachael & Jason.
15 December 2007
December Torii.
The latest edition of the Torii (Our Newsletter) is
out now!!!
Please check it out HERE.
December 2007
Promotion to Shodan!!
Patricio Jaime returned from a trip home to Chile
with his well deserved Shodan. 'Pato' was awarded his first Dan from
Sensei Daniel Brunner Shihan.
Pato travels down from Brisbane each month to train
at Saku Shin Kan and he is an important member of our dojo community.
Congratulations.
8 December 2007
1st year Celebration!!.
Saku Shin Kan Dojo held a party to celebrate one year
of being operational. Students family and friends all came along to
help us celebrate and enjoy a fantastic meal.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the dojo
in the past year, with your time, sweat, support and energy.
We are looking forward to 2008 and what the next year
will bring. Gassho.
 
Birthday Cake and Meal.
2007 News Items.
All previous news items can be found archived HERE.
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