Copyright Peter Morton Academy of Judo Jujitsu Karate
Annual National Seminar 2003
Woodhouse, SA - 3-5 October
This article appeared in the 2003 newsletter.
Friday. For most people this particular Friday was just another end to the working week. For those that gathered at mid-afternoon in the carpark of the Woodhouse Camp Site, in Piccadilly, SA, it was the beginning of forty-eight hours of physical and mental workouts with a whole lot of fun for good measure. This was adults-only territory.
People were arriving by the carload and standing around like lost sheep. There was a slight problem - they had nowhere to go. The prime organiser had not arrived. No one had heard from him.
Time passedstill no leader, so some of the bodies wandered off and found the cave that was going to be their place of refuge for two nights. Fortunately names had appeared on each of the doors so future residents entered and claimed a corner as their own.
Sometime later, things had started to move and the compulsive smell of fresh beast being made into a meal by fire filled the senses. Soon the evening feed was well on the way to being nothing but a memory.
After the feeding, the Board of Directors met. Following this was the Annual General Meeting.
While meetings were in progress, a bit of body slamming took place as combined training amused those that were not otherwise engaged.
When all had finished, and with the humdrum out of the way, a small group gathered around an open fire in the hall. Accompanied by sausages and beer, they told tall tales and true until the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Saturday. Morning dragged itself from a curled-up position, bleary-eyed, slow-moving and demanding to be fed.
One, two, sweat, sweat, sweat. Saturday was keen to move on with the program. Boxercise was being dished out in ample portions and eager forms were lining up for more as the music pumped up the heart rate. What a (cruel?) way to start the day!
With hearts still racing, all lined the mat in order of rank to officially kick off the two days of self-learning. The formal opening ceremony focused minds on why each person was there.
A fitness and personal training workshop got underway and part of it focused on trying to get into the minds of academy members, finding out why such an organisation is so popular and why it has survived for so long.
The guest speaker, Nigel Jamieson, had everyone choose a photo, come back around the mat and then one by one explain the relevance of the photo as to why they took up life with the academy. This produced some amusing results.
An interesting fact emerged from this section of the workshop: not one person had ever found themselves in a situation where they had to use their martial arts skills to defend themselves. The guest speaker found this to be very surprising. We did not. He then made the comment that we all train to fight in the hope that we will never have to use our skills. The speaker found this to be unique in a martial arts organisation and he was extremely impressed at our approach to others as well as to ourselves. He finally, after many years' association with Renshi Swingler, started to understand and touch on the fundamentals of the academy.
A couple of 'get to know you' exercises followed. Team members tried to pass an orange to the next member with their knees. Then in the next exercise a team member tried to pass an orange held under the chin to another team member in the same manner and the winners of each exercise were rewarded with a lolly each. I think he must have remembered these games from a 1970s Tupperware party.
The session ended with a general discussion on the academy and how a person's skills and way of thinking can be, and quite often are, practised in everyday life.
After all this brain drain the mob was let loose to take in some refreshments and have a chat.
The next session involved weapons. We were handed such things as Nunchaku to play with. There is nothing like a hit in the head with one of these to make the user realise that they are not as easy to use as they appear to be when they are seen in a movie.
There were a couple of other weapons that we tried to inflict our mastery on. One was a Tonfa (baton with a handle) and the other was a Sai (hand-sized metal three-pronged fork that looked like a small hayfork without a handle). They both hurt the toes when dropped. Fortunately the Sai was blunt.
The movements with both of these weapons are basically the same and involve rolling them around the hand, striking and parking them under the armpit. All exercises were done with a weapon in each hand at the same time. This was great for coordination and balance.
Have you ever heard of one-eye dominance? This is a thing that people have. They are usually not aware of its existence and it was explained and demonstrated by Sensei Colin Essery.
A person is either right-eye dominant or left-eye dominant. It has nothing to do with whether a person is right- or left-handed and their eye dominance can be opposite to their hand dominance.
A simple test to see which eye of a person is dominant is to hold up a finger and ask them to look at it. You will see their eyes move either left or right. Movement to the left means right-eye dominance and vice versa.
This has a big influence on the way people coordinate their body movements and it helps explain why some people have trouble doing techniques both left- and right-sided. People are better on their eye dominant side as their area of focus is concentrated on that side of their body. This can be overcome with lots of training and practise.
After the coordination session the group was given about twenty minutes to come up with a self-defence skit that used techniques and was amusing (to be performed later in the day). This finished the morning and lunch was served.
First session after lunch was the Kata competition for the Peter Morton Perpetual Trophy. Batemans Bay, NSW, won this, showing their usual crisp style.
St Edmunds branch put on an unusual demonstration of the Kata. It was performed with slow, deliberate and hard movements.
Not to be outdone, and to show that that they could do as well as teach, all dan belts got onto the mat and put on a totally unrehearsed demonstration of the Kata. I think the trophy should have been awarded to them, not so much for style but because they all knew and could do the moves in the right order.
Next up was the competition for the National Self-Defence Trophy. Kaleen, ACT, took out this one after some very strong competition.
The main host of the seminar could not stop laughing or shaking his head in disbelief after all teams had performed their self-defence skit. He could not believe that people could come up with such different ideas in such a short time and that none of the acts were even near the same. It was a hard job to pick a winner and in the end a show of hands decided.
The winning act was called The Power of the Mind. This took place with a defender surrounded by attackers. As he was attacked the defender looked at the attacker and without batting an eyelid the attackers moved about as if they were having a technique applied to them. Bodies flew through the air, arms were goose-necked and screams of pain were emitted. This continued until all bodies were writhing on the ground in pain.
There was some controversy over this being the winning act as the judge said that no techniques were actually done. The voters disputed this by pointing out that the attackers all did breakfalls and that these were techniques. The power of the mind won.
When everyone had settled and stopped laughing from all the frivolity, afternoon tea was devoured and those that still found the need for more torture took to the commando course. It was rumoured that the swinging rope crossing of a wet area claimed many victories and not many a soul crossed in a dry state.
It was while the majority was on the commando course that some of the less adventurous stayed behind and had a chinwag about the day.
As the group conversed, a team was busy setting up the hall for the evening's dinner and presentations. Our Honourable Principal was adding his fair share to the conversation. A well-earned beer lubricated his throat. Then, in a lull in conversation, a voice from beside him directed "you can help with the setting up of the tables as well". Our Honourable Principal had been brought down to mortal status by Mrs Principal. He looked at the group and they looked at him. No comment was made and the conversation continued as smiles appeared on faces followed by a few jibes as to just who was boss.
Saturday Night - 25th anniversary, Adelaide
Early evening and the crowd started to filter in. Faces from the past appeared and long-enduring friendships shook hands, hugged and greeted each other. Music started and in the background the crack of melting ice cooled the liquid amber to a drinker's taste. Dancing flames of a wood fire accompanied all and weaved a feeling of relaxation. Laughter and chatter floated around the friendship.
Soon, lines for food radiated out from the serving tables and plates filled to appease the appetite. The folk were eating, drinking and sprouting merriment. Having a good time was a requirement. Speeches were made and promotions presented.
This night was extra special as the Adelaide branches were celebrating twenty-five years as part of the body that is the academy.
To commemorate the occasion the academy presented a plaque to the South Australian branches.
One particular presentation of the night stood way above the rest. This was the awarding of life membership to Colin Essery. To receive this acclaim a person has to donate at least thirty years of continuous service to the academy and be of an exemplary character. Colin more than fits the mould for such an award.
Colin's reaction when the award was announced was ""oh shit". He had been taken completely by surprise. This reaction was so Colin that all that were there just laughed.
Colin made a very emotional speech that tugged at the heartstrings and, looking around the room, many people shed tears as he spoke of some of the physical hardships he had endured in the past. It was not a sympathy speech but one that demonstrated that a person should never quit or just give up. Those that heard it will always remember it and hopefully they were inspired by it.
After all the seriousness the night got into party mode and it did not quit until the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Sunday. Breakfast went a little longer than planned. This could have been due to most people arriving in slow motion to eat. Some had red faces and heads that played its own private tune of drumbeats.
Finally things started to function and students were shown some of the jujitsu style of Barry Bradshaw. As usual it was entertaining and got the brain focused and functioning.
Because of the late start, morning tea soon dropped by. This then gave way to a session with Frog. This man's knowledge, experience and stories never cease to amaze. Everything that he has in his head will never be fully known.
When Frog finally came to rest, Dave (#1) and Eddie (#2) took the students through some new techniques that were officially introduced into the syllabus at the seminar. While these are new to some, they really are techniques that are from the past and somehow they got lost in time. Demonstrations and pointers on current techniques followed these.
Lunch was a laid-back affair and this led into the closing ceremony. The seminar had left the building.
This was a casual and flexible seminar that did not overtax the body but at the same time it offered something different to the normal training that the academy usually has. There is always something to learn and experience and this seminar definitely delivered.