Copyright Peter Morton Academy of Judo Jujitsu Karate
Batemans Bay junior seminar 2005
20 August 2005
This article appeared in the 2005 newsletter.
The 2005 Batemans Bay junior seminar was held at the Batemans Bay Primary School in Surfside.
Hosted by Sensei Rod Patrick, the seminar started at 9am with a bowing-in ceremony and a welcome to everyone.
At the end of the introduction Sensei Rod asked if there was anyone with a medical condition that the organisers needed to know about. There was no reply so Sensei Rod added, "all parents wrote on the attendance forms that you're all allergic to Macas." To this comment a student replied "don't lie!"
After the introduction and some convincing Sensei Rod that they all did like Macas, the twenty-six participating students were allocated into coloured teams. This was followed by warm-up exercises with Sensei Rod.
The students were next taken through tsuki with Sensei Luke Baranowski, keri with Sensei Simon Ison and breakfalls with Senseis Luke Baranowski and Mark Tobin, then it was time for morning tea.
After a hearty cuppa and some scrumptious, but bad for the girlish figure, morning tea came the warm-up exercises with Sensei Alan Maconachie.
With food in the belly and the muscles warmed up, Shihan Edward Scharrer showed his style and prowess at a hip throw; then it was on for young and old as the student body sent each other into orbit. Ah, they love a good throwing bout.
Just before the need for an ambulance was reached, hip throwing was called to a halt and Soke Morton held court. The mainstays of the discussion were: why did you take up self-defence (aimed at the students by Soke); breakfalls in sport; and, when the academy was young.
While the students were quiet and focused, Shihan Eddie gave a lesson on what a student should do when training and some of the values that they should exercise in their everyday life.
He said that training should be brisk; that is, lively, quick, full of action and not half-hearted or mechanical. It must be sincere in that it should be free from:
- Deceit - not just in training but also in living your life
- Duplicity - what you say and what you do can mean two different things
- Hypocrisy - say or do something but not believe in your words or actions
He added further to this by stressing that you:
- Do not abuse the art - treat it with respect and treat others with respect
- Focus in your life - an attack could come at any time, be it physical or emotional, and you must be ready
- Have awareness of yourself - this includes others, your surroundings and of potential danger
After Shihan Eddie's warming up of the captive audience, Soke Morton once again spoke. He told of his encounter with Morrie Butt, the story of how he became Sugita's adopted son and of training sessions in Japan.
After Soke Morton had finished, a question was asked as to what the different types of belts are. Shihan Eddie explained these and their order. Then followed lunch.
To settle lunch and warm up the students, a bout of judogi folding and the judogi game were put into action.
After everyone found the judogi that they had arrived in, Shihan Eddie, with the aid of Sensei Luke and to dispel any confusion, revised the techniques Kneeling Kick and Arms Around Body From Behind Feet Together.
Following the technique demonstration, the students gathered into their coloured teams, not branch teams, for the Basic Steps competition with their allocated instructor. The instructor and their team were given time to run through the Basic Steps one or two times then it was on.
Considering that neither instructors nor students were used to each other, or how the instructor called the Basic Steps, the competition was fierce and closely contested and each performance ran smoothly. Finally with some debate the judges chose a winner and it was Sensei Alan Maconachie's (from the Radcliffe branch) green team that won.
To add a bit of amusement and variety to the day, selected dan belts put on a demonstration of the Basic Steps with attackers, then all dan belts, including the Principal and Deputy Principal, got up on the mat and performed the Basic Steps as a group.
When all the hooha had subsided, a small but loud voice of a 5-year-old white belt was heard to remark to Sensei Rod, "slow it down!" His complaint was that the demonstration was too fast and he wanted it slower so that he could see what the group was doing.
What is it about girls and Two-Man Attack? They usually defend like their life is at stake, which is a good thing, and this year was no exception as the girl winner, Regina Simmons, upheld this reputation to its fullest with an excellent defence.
The boy winner of the Two-Man Attack, Luke Riches, put in an admirable display also demonstrating that the boys can hold their own in this competition.
Now that all were revved up and had no place to go, the students were settled on the mat for a round of etiquette questions with Sensei Rod to earn more points for their team.
One question caused debate among a team instructor and the rest of those assembled. The question hotly contested was "what item of the judogi must be worn at all times?" The answer is...it will not be revealed here. If you do not know, find out. It might be revealed in the next newsletter. A compromise was reached and a point was allocated to the disputing team and two to the other teams that got it right.
To end the day's activities and to fill in some time while the judges sorted out who won what, a game of British Bulldog, where the students versed the instructors, developed. You can imagine the chaos and fun that this caused.
Finally the students lined up, there was one instructor left to be defeated, they charged and before he could be saved with some cheating from other instructors, Shihan Eddie was swarmed. As if in slow motion he disappeared slowly down into sea of kids which then folded back and covered him.
Sometime later he emerged with a glowing red face and a grin from ear to ear. Who says that these seminars are only for the juniors? The big guys love them too!
When the mayhem had died down and competition results finalised, all were called around the mat to end the day. Presentations were done, thank yous were exchanged and the closing ceremony completed. The clock chimed four and closed the day.
Competition results
Basic Steps
- Winners - Alan Maconachie's group
Two-Man Attack
- Girl - Regina Simmons
- Boy - Luke Riches
Best Student at the Seminar
- Girl Cheyne Dick-Lenehan
Overall winning team
- Red team