Mark Thomas Sensei
February 2008
|
Bushey Dojo
It has been quite a busy month here, not only has everyone been working really hard on their syllabus work for their forthcoming grading but we have also had a session with the kick shields and also a fitness test competition for both the infant and junior classes, the winning teams were awarded a medal each for their efforts. They were tested on their technique for ten press-ups, sit-ups, leg raises and burpees we were looking for the best effort made and not necessarily the fastest, I must say we were suitably surprised with some of the results. The kids have also been working tirelessly on their syllabus work in preparation for the grading, they will be tested on their Tonfa Kata as well as up to five techniques. Student of the Month has been awarded to Paige Goman from Monday Junior class. Paige has shown some great enthusiasm in her work and has done exceptionally well with her etiquette, she is always first to acknowledge with a loud “Ouss”, she definitely leads from the front.
This month we welcome new comers to the intermediate class, Christian and Nathan and their friend Rory. They seem to have settled in straight away and are already pounding each other with their syllabus work We also welcome Paulette into the adult class which is great as she can now practise with her son Jaden who is in the Monday Infant class. This seem s to be a growing trend as 3 other adult members also have kids in our classes. It's great to see some regular faces from Borehamwood Dojo, Mark Couch has taken the opportunity to get some extra training with the Bushey White belts and we have already had some excellent technical Kubaton sessions.
|
||||||||||||
|
Borehamwood Dojo Infant & Junior Classes Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday All the kids from all the infant and junior classes were given a fitness test this month, the classes were split into teams with the emphasis on individual effort for the best technique NOT necessarily on who is the fastest. The more points each individual earned the more points their team accumulated the winning teams were awarded with a medal for each team player. Overall everyone worked really hard to earn their team as many points as possible and there were quite a few surprises. Student of the Month has been awarded to Joseph Riessner from the Wednesday Junior class, we had to look hard for Jospeh as he is a quiet young man but he is there working hard with his partner or sometimes his sister. Well done Jospeh, keep up the good work.
Just for good measure decided to put the intermediates through their paces this month and as well as having a couple of hard driven sessions we also had a fitness testing session, just like the junior classes the group was split into teams and the team with the most points at the end won a prize. Points were awarded for technique only and NOT speed. |
||||||||||||
|
Potters Bar Dojo
Well done Jack, Eddie and Emily who have all settled in to some serious training with us, the boys have started taking big lumps out of each other and Emily has impressed us so much that we have decided to name her Student of the Month for February. As well as lots of practice with the Side Handle Baton for their forthcoming grading next month we have also covered some new throws, such as Sweeping loin and Half Shoulder which seem s to have gone down quite well.
|
||||||||||||
|
St Columba's Boys School I have been rightfully impressed with all the students here as we are well under way for their forthcoming grading next month. The boys will be tested on the Tonfa Kata and up to 5 techniques as well. |
||||||||||||
|
St Andrews We say a fond fair well to Sophia (Matthew's younger sister) as she has moved on to pastures new, we wish her well in her new school. But we also welcome on board Shahil, who seems to have settled in quite well with his regular training partner Tim. |
||||||||||||
|
IJDS I am very happy with the progress these classes are making, the infant class are settling down to some good training and their dojo etiquette has greatly improved. The junior class are doing very well with their baton work and it looks as if they have got to grips with the Tonfa Kata. |
||||||||||||
|
Lockers Park You should have seen their faces when I said "Fitness Test", a mix of Shock and Horror and one might even say despair, but nevertheless they all had a go and very well they did indeed. They were tested on technique alone and not speed as the were tested on 15 push-ups, sit-ups, leg raises and burpees and of course I awarded the winning team a medal each. |
