Newsletter - January 1994

- retyped by Wendy Wallace & Peter Philippson for the Internet


I would like to wish a Happy New Year to all members of the Lancashire Aikikai and look forward to meeting you in your training during 1994. Mr Mucha Principal

Contents include 1994 Course dates (Centre pull out) and an up to date class location guide


EXPANSION

The Aikikai has grown !? From September there have been thirteen classes. More are also planned. The number of people coming through our hands are now in excess of 350 people a year whereas 4 years ago the numbers were merely 150. That is a 133% increase.

This success must be partly part down to the product we are offering and the way it is presented and followed through.

The classes are now located as follows:-

  • Sunday :-

    Hazel Grove Dialstone Centre

    Altrincham Leisure Centre
    Monday Poulton Community Centre
    Tuesday

    Bury Seedfield Centre

    St.Helens Peter Street
    Wednesday

    Chorley Railway Street

    Altrincham St Johns Church

    Stockport Dialstone Centre
    Thursday

    Chorley Railway Street

    Trafford Lostock High School
    Friday

    Altrincham St. Johns Church

    Whitefield Community Centre
    Saturday Preston Martial Arts Centre Fylde Road.

 

To cater efficiently with this expansion certain job areas have been reallocated. Mike Lloyd the instructor at St Helens is now Membership Secretary dealing with Aikikai membership and BAB registration certificates. See Mike's letter else where in this newsletter. Keith Downs has taken on recording centrally all Aikikai grading results and course attendances. Andrew Baird will act as the External Liaison contact.

Bob Spence and Andrew Baird will continue to represent the Aikikai at Board meetings; and hold posts on the Board as Coach Tutor and Coaching Liaison Officer posts respectively.

 

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Course Dates 1994

  • February 6th General Course Chorley
  • March 27th Weapons Course Chorley
  • May 22nd General Course Chorley
  • June 19th General Course Altrincham 1.30 -5.30
  • July 10th General Course Chorley
  • September 4th Weapons Course Chorley
  • October 30th Weapons Course Chorley
  • November 27th General Course Chorley

 

Chorley Courses run from 10.30 to 5.00 (approx) on Sunday's at Chorley Community Centre, Railway Street, Chorley, Lancashire. Mr Mucha & Mr Spence generally conduct these courses. Lunch is 1.00 to 2.15 and a packed lunch is recommended. Weapons should be brought

Weapons courses - Iai, Jo and Bokken are studied depending on the course content.

The Altrincham course is 1.30pm to 5.30 at Altrincham Leisure Centre, Oakfield Road, Altrincham, Cheshire which is just to the rear of Altrincham Train / Metrolink Station.

 

Dear Editor

As everyone is probably aware of by now I have taken over from Andrew Baird as membership secretary for the organisation; so any future correspondence regarding membership or insurance needs needs to be addressed or phoned to me, usually via your club organiser.

I would like to thank Andrew for all his assistance in helping me acquaint myself with the system and with the transfer. Unfortunately the computer age hasn't caught up with me in St Helens yet, in fact mention chips round here and you usually get peas and gravy with them. However we have set up a manual system of recording, so armed with my abacus and quill I hope I can be effective and efficient as Andrew was. So thanks again to Mr Mucha and Andrew for their help and to Keith Downs for his assistance (cause he has a computer) with the grading recording / statistics.

Yours in Aikido

 

Mike Lloyd (St Helens)

British Aikido Board

British Aikido Board's business has now moved on from a substantial overhaul of its constitution to working on a four year development plan for the Board's own use and for grant aid from the Sports Council. Unfortunately the Board's secretary and treasurer post have fallen vacant after being held by Shirley and David Timms for a large number of years. Their departure will shake the Board up with more of its members taking on specific job areas.

The Board's Coaching development scheme to which all your instructors hold an award continues to establish itself. Progression to the awards of Assistant Coach and Coach Awards depends on holding the Aikikai's own teaching certificates at various levels. A extension to the Coach Award is likely to be approved shortly for teaching Children which is to be a one day course.

Exemption from the Senior Coach course weekend for instructors with 15 years plus of teaching can be available; in certain circumstances. The Senior Coach Award consists of NCF course options, a weekend course and a practical assessment session. (contact me for further details).

Andrew Baird

Many thanks to Lawrence Robinson for the cartoons. Articles / grading results / details about clubs should be sent on to the editor - Gary McClarnan.

 

A Club

What is a club ? The answer its the people who practice there. A club needs people without them then quite simply - "no club"! No club means no practise! No clubs means no Association!

So every one is vital to the development of Aikido both at club and at association level. A small club can be very cliquey this could put off beginners. A welcoming attitude is therefore very important from club members and the instructor.

A beginner will find the martial arts approach strange and awkward. Here the regular club members know what to do, why, and what is expected whereas a beginner has no idea where to sit, what exercises are coming and where to put their two left feet. He feels very conspicuous. This can turn to embarrassment and then lead to a feeling on not belonging. This is an infusion of negative ki; it must be displaced with positive ki or else the beginner will give up.

Beginners are important as they bring new life into the club. The pairing of a club member with a beginner produces rewards. The beginner can be guided directly and thus succeeds quicker and feels less awkward and receives/generates positive feelings and the club member can see whether their body movements control the incoming attacker. Both benefit - yin - yang.

It is important for a club to establish a pyramid structure of grades the higher Kyu grades at the top and beginners at the base. This symbolises the numbers also. It is no good having a club with only high grades. It will rarely retain beginners because they feel so out of place.

So how do you retain beginners :-

    • make them feel at home
    • give them easy challenges first
    • treat them as a person
    • explain things - why we do certain thing
    • make them belong
    • make them feel important
    • club members must help them grow in aikido experience
    • limit their frustration
    • high grades not to form cliques.

Why ? It comes back full circle to the question first posed. Think of a flowering shrub. If you cut off the source of water the shrub will wither. New members are the water which will enable the club and its aikido to mature.

 

Andrew Baird

 

Copyright Lancashire Aikikai 1994