Dear parents and students,

It is wonderful to see you back in the Dojo again. A warm welcome to new families and students. I hope your experience with us has been a pleasant one so far.

We started our year in September practising on fabulous brand new mats. Thank you Gordon Head Recreation Centre! The Saturday classes have also been going very well in the new time slots of 10am and 11am. Especially excellent was having a whole batch of pre-school Aikido students graduating onto the weekday classes. They represent a batch of students already grounded with Aikido practice and principles coming onto our young youth classes, so that has presented me with a whole new generation and level of students embarking on their semi-intermediate journey. Our full-year registration option has also been very successful, bringing a new perspective to our Aikido School Year as well. Very exciting. It is such a joy to share Aikido with you. As our Dojo matures, I am looking forward to practicing more with our up and coming senior students.

While it was a nice change taking my first August break from classes this past Summer, we have a small number of students already due for their Grading Test. To address to the slightly adjusted time frame, I will invite those ready for grading to register for the test soon, and hold the regular November Grading Test a little earlier; either mid/end October or the first week of November.

Just a reminder that there will be no classes in December as I will be away in Singapore visiting my parents. This is not an annual affair, and classes normally go on until mid-December before taking a Christmas and New Year break. This year, I felt a need to visit my parents as they are getting on in age - so I'm just physically and personally checking that they are fine. Classes will resume on Tuesday 10 January 2012. The year-long registration option will still be available from January: pro-rated from January to June 2012. Feel free to invite your friends or family if you think Aikido may be beneficial to them.

For updates, do click on the link to the Notices webpage on our website.

If you have any concerns, questions, or need clarification about anything, feel free to contact me.

Have a lovely Autumn Season, and Happy Thanksgiving!

See you in the Dojo.

With peace and harmony,
Rafael Oei Sensei.
Ueshiba Aikido Victoria
© Ueshiba Aikido Victoria – OWH Industries: Oct 2011.