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Kyushin
Ryu Ju Jitsu Past Events 2006
2006 |2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |2000 |1992-1999
Houston , Texas (
March):
Ten
of us flew out on a Saturday morning during mid-March to meet up
with other members that had been there for a couple of days. While
we were there we had a chance to visit and train with Darrel Craig
at his dojo and also to spend some time at NASA’s Houston Space
Centre. We experienced combat shooting as well as the delights of
this huge state where the truck rules. The visit was a little under
a week but we certainly crammed in as much as we could.
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Houston is a very large city and
is predominantly an oil town, we had time to visit Galveston
and Keemer Boardwalk while we were there and the welcome we received
was second to none a great experience and with the group that
travelled we all had a good time. Molly’s was a stop over
to remember but then again we will never know !!!
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Belgium (April)
Our annual visit to the Belgium Ju Jitsu national
course took place during late April as is our norm. We were met by our
friends from Essex, Hertfordshire and Sussex , boarded the coach and
away we went.
First down to
Dover to catch the ferry and then onto Bruges to break up the
journey a little and to stretch our legs.
Our hotel was in the town of Aalst
which was a little way from the course which took place during
Saturday afternoon, returning to our hotel it was soon back onto
the coach for the short journey to the evening venue where we
celebrated the weekend in traditional Belgium style. All to soon
it was Sunday again and we were back on board the coach for the
journey home via Calais but this was Bank Holiday weekend so
we had Monday to recover from the excess. |
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New Zealand
(May)
We were very lucky to receive an invitation to return to the “Land
of the Long White Cloud” and this time we were going out
at the end of their autumn.
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We flew from London
, stopped off in Singapore for a night and rejoined the flight
direct into Christchurch . We were met by ‘Murph’ and
took the long drive over the Southern Alps to Greymouth where,
having settled into our rooms, we went direct to the dojo for
the first training session. We were there to help Murph with
his training and to assist Big Ian Haussman with his as well
but with there being 6 of us we were able to run a couple of
general sessions as well. We trained every night for the 10 days
we were in the town using the days to travel around and see even
more of this delightful country. After spending a couple of nights
in Christchurch it was back to Singapore for three nights, and
a lot of shopping, before the flight back to London, but what
a wonderful experience again. |
Carlisle (June)
June
saw a group of us fly up to Newcastle and then hire vehicles for the
weekend so as to take the short drive over to Carlisle . We were met
by a group from Belgium led by Leslie Ottoey and together we were hosted
by Geoff Hodgson and his Fudoshin association.
The
course was held on Saturday at the Sands Centre in Carlisle
and a great time was had by all almost 100 students attended
with Geoff inviting other Ju Jitsuka from the area. Sunday
we were all in for a treat as a coach was laid on to take us
all to Keswick where we spent the day on the lakes, lunching
and wandering around this beautiful part of England . Then
it was off back into Carlisle for our last night before saying
our goodbuys and driving back to the airports, the Belgiums
off to Prestwick and us back to Newcastle and then onto Standstead,
what a cracking weekend. |
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Presentation
Night, (July )
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Our annual presentation
night took place again at the King Charles hotel in Gillingham
. A great night was had by all and as these social evenings continue
the association gets stronger. Very long time member Dave Elis
from the St Barnabas club took the Jude Silva Netto award and
is pictured accepting it from Sensei Philip Friend. If it were
possible to have more members and guests attend we would enjoy
that even more but distance, work and other commitments get in
the way all too often. Those that were there on this occasion
were all of the same mind which was that the association having
now entered it fifth year of independence is even stronger and
the members are enjoying many more opportunities, why didn’t
we make this move earlier. |
Hungary ,
(September )
We
took our largest group ever to the Hungarian capital, Budapest this
year for the national course and to say that it was a very full weekend
was no exaggeration.
Arriving on Friday 1 st. we settled into our
accommodation and were ready for the course the very next day.
Our host Laszlo has purchased an old factory unit which is being
converted into a martial arts centre on the third floor was the
venue for this course, from all of Yoshimi’s member countries,
with the exception of New Zealand , came the participants and
a happy thriving course was enjoyed by everyone there. Ever the
convivial host Sunday saw us all on a coach visiting medieval
villages, castles and spectacular view points along the river
Danube where we had dined the night before. A very full day that
ended at Ishmael’s restaurant for the most amassing Goulash
anyone has ever tasted. An amassing weekend in splendid company
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Will Adams
Festival, (September )
Shortly after returning from Hungary we
were very involved in the “Will Adams Festival” which
is held in Gillingham every year. Will Adams was the British
Sailor about whom the book ‘Shogun’ was written
and each year the local authority stage a festival celebrating
the culture and spirit of Japan, we are asked to gather
together various groups from the martial arts world to
give displays of the arts during the day. This year we
arranged for Kyudo (archery) Kendo (sword), Karate, Aikido,
Ju Jitsu, Judo, Iaido (sword drawing), Jodo (baton v blade)
and Tai Chi. The festival is always received very well
and it gives the local clubs a platform to promote themselves. |
Great Britain International,
(October )
Yoshimi members came from, Belgium , Denmark
, Ireland and Scotland to the International held once again
in Kent , arriving on Friday they came by ferry, car and
bus and the turnout this year was as brilliant as previous
ones. Friday night saw us all returning to the “Blues
Rock Café” at Gillingham’s Priestfield
Stadium and Saturday saw the course begin at a new venue
this year, Lordswood Leisure Centre, in Chatham a very
famous old military town and birth place of Lord Nelson’s ‘Victory’ The
course was busy and ran a fast pace with members training
with all of the British and overseas coaches for 25 – 30
minutes on each mat area. The theme of the day was self
defence and many of the coaches brought their own interpretation
to this which showed in the expressions on the faces chosen
to be guinea pigs. |
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The course
closed with the usual presentation to the coaches with one
exception, Sensei Geoff Hodgson was awarded his 6 th. Dan by
Professor James McDade and Sensei Roger Wilkes which was met
with a resounding response by those attending. The weekend
closed with the usual social gatherings and as we watched everyone
leave to go home we looked forward to seeing them arrive again
next year.
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Soke Yamaue
Seminar, (November)
November saw an opportunity to renew friendships
between our founder and Soke Yamaue, now living in Copenhagen
. Soke Yamaue is a master of Aiki Jitsu and the two gentlemen
first met in Bostard , Sweden in 1984. They renewed their
friendship by our founder hosting a seminar in Chatham
, Kent which was also Soke’s first visit to the South
of England. The event lasted two days and has renewed the
friendship to a level where our founder has been invited
by Soke Yamaue to visit his seminars in Scandinavia and
Europe during this coming year. |
Sensei Geoff
Hodgson
Unfortunately the year ended on a very
sad note with the passing of Sensei Geoff Hodgson on 5
th. December. Many of u s had known that Geoff was receiving
treatment for lung cancer having been diagnosed earlier
in the year and he was, as far as we were all aware, making
good progress towards remission. He travelled from hi s
h ome in Carlisle to Kent in October for our course and
taught for the full day, a day which culminated in his
being awarded 6 th. Dan. Shortly after returning home he
was taken ill once again as the cancer had moved and this
was the cause of his death, his condition sadly worsened
very quickly and after a short spell in a hospice Geoff
passed away just before midnight on Tuesday 5 th. December.
He leaves a wife and a son and was a very well known and
respected local councillor, his funeral was a testament
to his character and the world has lost one of the nicest,
honest men that there has been. RIP |
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