I hope that you have all had a very Merry Christmas and that 2006 will be a great year for all of you.

 2005 has been a great year with a large part of the adult’s group training very hard for their black belts. This has been one of the reasons that we have purposely held back on taking on any new adult members…so that Helena and I have been able to concentrate on getting our instructors up to standard, so they could grade.

 And, of course, it was a very proud moment when we eventually graded 5 new Dan grades (black belts). The standards displayed were fantastic! For them, it represents the culmination of 4-years of very hard slog.

 But remember guys…it is not the end of the journey – merely the beginning. The next two years (until you are eligible to grade again) is a very useful consolidation process – it is the process of turning the vast quantities of your knowledge into quality knowledge and working out exactly what really works for you. This means that you will be spending a lot of your time experimenting and modifying your technique until you are really comfortable with what you have.

 It is also the time where we hope to see you all instructing students of your own within the club. Imparting your knowledge is an opportunity to really help the community to build their physical confidence and self esteem. But, not only that, it is a unparalleled form of learning for yourselves – only when you can put yourself across effectively to other people, can you really be confident that you know your stuff!

 Congratulations, therefore go to the following people who graded successfully last term:

·         Nicke Bonning

 Junior Orange Belt

·         Brooke Brightwell

·         Ben Smith

·         Jake Wilkinson

·         Sam Wilkinson

·         Rob McGreggor

·         Jon Hopkins

·         Dale Hutton

·         Tony Pearce

·         Leighton Archer

 Well done all.

 Also, congratulations to the winners of last term’s kid’s kata competition:

Gold Medal – Brooke Brightwell

Silver Medal – Morgan Hopkins

Bronze Medal – Bronson Brightwell

Gold Medal – Theresa Smith

Silver Medal – Sam Wilkinson

Bronze Medal – Jelena Downey

 And last, but not least, the kid’s sparring competition was as exciting as ever with some really good techniques being displayed. Congratulations to the Red team who won 7-matches to 5.

 The website also contains this and all previous newsletters, information about our style and why we do what we do and numerous articles on the subject of martial arts that Helena and I have written throughout the years. I urge you all to read them and challenge our views – we can only progress through stimulating debate! We have many visitors to our website (usually around 1,200 visitors per month) from over 40-different countries – so if there is anything that you wish me to publish, you will truly have a global audience!

 The club badly needs to renew itself this year and we need a significant intake of adult members. So…all you parents who may be closet martial artists, now is the time to come out of the closet and give our stuff a shot. Or, even if you know people who might be interested or you are willing to put posters up at your place of work, feel free to contact us at any time for a chat.

 Also, instructors, this is most definitely your club now – you have all been very committed in the past, but commitment is the name of the game now more than ever! It is important to stress that we are a non-competition self-defence oriented club (one of the very few genuine ones in New Zealand). We neither adapt our style to conform to competition rules, nor do we buy wholesale into the Japanese culture, tradition, values, discipline or ceremony. We truly are a no-nonsense, functional style of karate with a strong sense of self discipline rather than enforced discipline and we also strongly emphasise a stimulating and enjoyable social interaction.

 The summer camp at Pukehina was great this year with lots of training, but also lots of good food, wine and lies – thanks to all who attended.

 Kevin Fox (our instructor since 1984 and someone who I have trained with since 1979) has immigrated to Hamilton with his family. We are very lucky to have him so close at hand. We are still in the process of working out where he wants to fit into our club and it is really up to you to let me or him know what you would like from him. Possibilities would include his own brand of advanced Itchikawa inspired Goju Ryu Karate, Tai Chi and a whole host of other stuff – as well as somebody that is at least as good as I am at socialising and telling lies!!

 And, finally, the dates for next term are:

 One last thing, I am in the process of folding our company Fit & Focused Ltd. It has outlived its usefulness since we stopped selling Merit Badges to other clubs. When paying term fees, please make out your cheques to either Helena or I, or cash – thanks!

 Cheers and see you soon!