Newsletter #01 2009-2-21

Welcome to 2009 and the first newsletter for the year. After a very differcult start back in 2008, we have made excellent progress with a solid relationship created between Shitoryu Palmerston North and Bob Dalton Karatedo Shitokai New Zealand.

Shitoryu Growth

Shitokai Karate Do - Palmerston North although a very young club was born out of the need to continue the Shitoryu martial art style in the Manawatu. This was achieved with the help of some key people within the karate community. Gregor McLachlan of the WADO club was instrumental in introducing me to Bob Dalton, which has since grown into a solid relationship. This year I hope to expand the membership with a special interest in those people who had previously trained in Shitoryu.

Also the goal for 2009, is to achieve growth in new members. I have some plans on how this may be achieved, however if you have any suggestions, then I would welcome your feedback.

Finally, the dojo. Being a small club we have been very authentic and trained as many of the old masters did, in our own dojo's which was the garage. (Note here - Bob has some very good dan students who complete in the Nationals and Internationally, with all competition training done in his garage. 2nd note here. Consider it a  privilege if you are ever asked by Bob to train in his garage) The direction forward is to have a regular dojo which I am looking at now. As growth within the club expands, the options for this increases.

Shodan Grading

Last year a solid training program was put in place for Kieran Nuku and Jenny Nixey for their attempt at the Shodan Grading. Although training was intense in the previous 6 months prior, having returned back from overseas 2 months before their grading, the program was stepped up full time to six days a week. Not to mention, both experienced a number of bruises, however the effort was worth it with both completing, meeting the requirements and successfully achieving their Shodan grade. All Shodan gradings are examined by Sensei Bob Dalton, 6th Dan of Karatedo Shitokai New Zealand in Whangarei.

Upcoming Events

2009 promises a whole lot of new challenges. We are expecting to be competing at the local and national competitions. Gregor McLachlan could be holding a local competition and Robbie Smith will be holding an Open Tournament in Hamilton on the 29th March. There is also the New Zealand Nationals which we are expecting to have a presence. Finally the World Shitoryu Karate Federation (WKFS) in Shanghai, China in August 2009. More on this will be posted once I receive further information.

Training

Training has finally been scheduled with the two club nights being Tuesdays and Thursday for all members.

Other training is available and this will vary depending upon the requirements, however this will generally be on a Saturday and is designed for senior training and preparation for gradings and competitions.

Shitoryu Palmerston North will also be involved in seminars as and when they become available. These will be held in conjunction with other clubs within the Palmerston North area and with our affiliation with Karatedo Shitokai New Zealand.

Grading Requirements

Grading requirements have been completely updated to bring in line with Karatedo Shitokai. Grading documents are available for 9th to 6th Kyu as well as the examination papers for each grade. Also added is a number of resource papers which will help students understand the grading terminology as well as assist in meeting the grading standards.

Club Calendar

The web site calendar has not only been updated with events but also upgraded to allow self registration of events. As you review the Calendar, for special events there will also be an option for you to register your interest in those events. What this means is that as information is made available, you will be automatically email with the updated information. This should be quite a cool method of keeping oneself informed of current interests. You need to be a registered club member to have access to this function.

The Web Site

The web site is really starting to take shape with most of the core functions now in place and working. I will add further functions as time permits but one I hope to include more sooner than later is a option to be notified by email of site changes. I'm not sure how I going to do this yet but it is on the ToDo list. Also I will add a little icon when content has been changed or updated, but this will become redundant once I get the site change function in.

Finally, I'm looking forward to a great 2009 year. Enjoy training and enjoy the web site.

Regards