Fall 2008 Announcements
December 7, 2008
Winter Break
Dear Aikido Club,
Hope everyone's finals are going well. A few announcements.
-This Saturday, December 13, there is a rank test at our parent dojo Shinjinkai. The test will start at 1:00 PM. If you are still in the Chicago area and interested, please come. It is informative to watch the testing process and supportive of fellow club and dojo members. If you plan to attend and would like to coordinate travel, just email me. Following the test will be a holiday party at the dojo co-hosted by Shinjikai and Daiyuzenji (the co-located zen temple). All are welcome (including family and friends). The party is a pot luck, so bring a dish or desert if you can.
-During winter break, if you are still in the Chicago area, you are welcome to continue your training at our parent dojo, Shinjinkai, which continues to offer classes throughout the break. You can check the class schedule on the Shinjinkai website.
-Club classes at Blomquist gym will resume their normal schedule for winter quarter on January 5, 2009. You can always view the aikido club schedule on our website's calendar.
Everyone have a great holiday and I'll see you again in the winter!
Jared
December 3, 2008
Last Class and End of Quarter Dinner
Hey Club,
The last class of the quarter is on Friday! If you can make it, be sure to come. After class we will all be going out get pizza someplace in Evanston, compliments of Aikido Club. Good luck with your finals and see you on Friday.
Jared
November 25, 2008
Last Class and End of Quarter Dinner
Hey Club,
-There is no class this Wednesday (Nov 25), this Friday (Nov 28), or this Saturday (Nov 29) as Blomquist is closed for Thanksgiving break. Classes will resume as usual for the Monday, Wednesday and Friday of Reading Week (Dec 1,3, and 5). The last class will the be Dec 5 class. There will be no aikido classes during reading week. You can always check our class schedule on our website calendar.
-Dues are $25 per quarter. Be sure to get your dues to me before the class class.
-Newsletters are due this Friday, November 28th. Everyone should write a newsletter article. It does not have to long or even profound. The newsletter is a place for us to reflect upon our practice of aikido. If you don't know what to write about and you just started write about starting aikido. Have you done another martial art? Maybe compare the two. Have you applied aikido to your life in some way? Write about that. Whatever. Samples of previous submissions can be found in our online newsletter archives . Send artricles to Z at nguyend20@gmail.com in a word document.
-Sometime during reading week we are going to have an end of quarter dojo-hangout event. It will after practice on either Wednesday the 3rd or Friday the 5th. If you plan on attending, email back which day you would prefer.
-Some members may not be aware, so I just wanted to point out to everyone, that the Aikido club has a few Aikido DVDs in the locker that members are welcome to check out at anytime. If you want to borrow one, just sign it out on the video singout sheet that's hung in the locker. Watching instructional Aikido DVDs can be informative (particularly the test guideline DVDs). Watching aikido is of course no substitute for doing aikido, but they are there for you as a resource.
Everyone have a great Thanksgiving break! See you next Monday.
Jared
November 6, 2008
Bluhm Shihan Seminar
Aikido Club,
Just a reminder to everyone that at our parent dojo this weekend there is an aikido seminar taught by master instructor Darrell Bluhm Shihan. More information and online signup. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
And write your newsletter article and send it to Z!
Have a good week,
Jared
October 24, 2008
Announcements
Hey Aikido Club,
-Tomorrow (Saturday), there is testing at Shinjinkai (our parent dojo). We encourage all students to come watch. Rank tests are a community event and watching a test can help prepare you for your own test. I will be going down on the el tomorrow morning. Please call me tonight if you want to come and we can arrange a time and place to meet. My number is (713) 203-4449.
-Dues. So I still don't have lots of them. $25 either in cash or form of check made out to Northwestern University.
-Newsletter articles. The dojo newsletter is published bi-annually and is a chance for students and teachers to reflect upon their experience of aikido. We encourage all students to write articles for the news letter. Articles can be about anything: being new to aikido, a martial arts movie you saw, something you have trouble with, a way you have used aikido in your daily life, etc...For examples of articles, you can read past newsletters in our online newsletter archives. Please send your completed newsletter article by 09/26/08 to Z at duong-nguyen@northwestern.edu.
-If you don't have a dogi (training uniform) and plan to train regularly, please come see me and I'll help you order one.
See everyone at class.
Jared
October 14, 2008
Pictures, Dues, Testing
Hey Aikido Club,
Some announcements.
-There are some new pictures on the website of the club at the 2008 Northwestern Martial Arts Expo. Go to the Gallery section to check them out. A thanks to club member and Daily photographer Emerson for taking the pictures.
-So club dues for active members are $25 per quarter. You may either bring cash or a check made out to Northwestern University. Everyone try to bring your dues within the next 2 weeks.
-This Saturday (the 18th), Blomquist is closed. Consequently there will be no class. Instead, as last weekend, students may attend the Saturday class at Shinjinkai. If you are interested in coming, email me with your phone number and where you live and we'll coordinate going down together.
-Next Saturday (the 25th), there will be rank testing at our parent dojo, Shinjinkai. Last week there was a mistake on our website calendar and in the email I sent. The rank test is the 10/25, not 10/18 as it was previously listed. Rank tests are important community events for the dojo, so be sure to attend if you can. Observing rank tests can also be helpful in preparing for your own test.
See you on the mats,
Jared
September 29, 2008
Aikido Practice
Hey Aikido Club,
I hope everyone had a good first week of school last week. It was a good first week for the aikido club and we have gained some great new members. This week we will have class from 5:45 to 8:00 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as is usual, in Blomquist . This is just an invitation to everyone that wasn't able to make it out for class during their first week. Anyone may join at any time during the year, so if you're interested but wasn't able to make it make it to class last week, come by and we'll get you started.
See you on the mats,
Jared
September 22, 2008
First Class and Welcome
Hey Everyone,
For many of you this will be your first email from the Aikido Listserv, as you only just signed up for the listserv today at the Norris Activities Fair. Welcome to the Aikido Club!
Our first aikido class will be this Wednesday, September 24th in Blomquist Gym from 5:45 to 8:00. We'll set up the mats from 5:45 to 6:00, there will be class from 6-7, a short break, and another class from 7-8. Please feel free to come to just one or both classes. Chief Instructor, Mazza Sensei, will be teaching the class. We encourage everyone, old members and interested new students alike, to come out to the first class of year. If this is your first time doing aikido, just come to class wearing free moving clothing that covers your knees and we will get you started. Hope to see everyone there!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at NUaikido@gmail.com.
See you on the mats,
Jared
September 7, 2008
New School Year
Hey Everyone,
I hope everyone has had a good summer and I hope everyone is excited to begin another year of training. The school year is fast approaching, and I just had a few announcements to make and some dates for everyone to pencil into their calendars.
-The first aikido class will be on Wednesday, September 24. Starting on the 24th Aikido classes will resume their normal weekly schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:45 to 8:00. On Saturdays we will have open mat time from 3:45 to 6:00. We could potentially reinstitute a Saturday Class this year, but until further notice it will remain open mat time. Everyone be sure to come out to the first class if you can! Coming to the first few weeks of classes is not only a great way to start the school year of training on the right foot. It is also important for helping the club recruit new members. The first few weeks of school is when we get the most prospective club members stopping by to try the club, so its important that we have lots experienced members around to help. If your training tapered off last year or this summer, a new year can be new beginning. Come to class!
-The Northwestern activities fair for student groups will be on Monday September 22 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The Aikido club will have a booth (most likely outside under the tent near the other martial arts groups). This is a very important recruiting event for the Aikido Club. It would also be beneficial if we had a handful of members that would be available to work the booth and answer prospective member questions. Closer to the date you will hear more about helping out with this event from our new Vice President, Alex Adler.
-New Student Week begins Tuesday, September 16. During this week and the first week of classes we will probably be doing some sort of campus publicity (flyers, chalk, something...). The more of you that can come help, the easier it will be and the more flyers we will put down. You'll hear more about this later from Alex. Just a heads up.
-Saturday October 4th, there will be a Northwestern Martial Arts Exposition. Basically all the martial arts groups at Northwestern give a demonstration of their martial art and are available afterwards to answer questions. We did this last year. I've been personally involved with organizing this year's exposition and I think it will be a big success. This is be a great way to show people what aikido is who might otherwise have been too intimidated to go to a class or have never been exposed to aikido. Again, the more people we have from our club here, the better.
-On Saturday and Sunday September 27 and 28 there will be an aikido seminar taught by T.K. Chiba Shihan. Chiba Shihan trained with founder of aikido and served as his uchideshi for seven years. This seminar is a rare opportunity. Interested students should register ASAP, as space is limited. The registration cut off date is september 19th. Interested students should also contact me for purposes of arranging carpools etc...
Okay, that's it. Pencil these dates in your calendars. You'll probably get another email or two before school starts reminding you of these things. Hope everyone has a good rest of the summer.
See you on the mats,
Jared