ABILITYKia ora!
Welcome to the second newsletter of the New Zealand Disability Karate Association.
The clocks have changed and the days are getting cooler. But, we carry on training because the dojo is always bright and warm.
18th April is a very special day for the club. We turned one year old. Yes, it is our birthday!
What a year it has been. For the two months there was only Sensei. Then on the 8th June last year our first student walked into the dojo, bringing the club to life.
How our club has grown
When the idea of the club was first set up we only though we would get 4 students in the first year.
We have 9 students, double our orignal estimate and on average we have 5 students at each class.
- Our very first student, arrived on the 8th June.
- Three more students joined a week later on the 13th June.
- Two brothers arrived the following month on the 6th July.
- We then had another student join us on the 10th October.
- On the 30th January the first new student of 2019 arrived.
- Our latest student and first adult, joined the club on the 8th February.
Summary of Annual Report
This reporting period is from October 2017 to October 2018. Registration was not approved until December 2017. This means the report only covers 29 weeks. Although there was set up activity before registration.
Here are the highlights from the report.
- 29 classes run during the reporting period.
- 22 classes had students in attendance.
- We had forecast 4 students would attend in year one. The actual number was 7 students.
- All 7 students graded to yellow belt.
- Our highest expense was marketing, which is likely to be lower in year two.
- Hall hire was the next largest expense.
- Followed by insurance, which was much lower than forecast.
- Our final major expense was uniforms and belts.
- Our operating costs have been lower than forecast. But, our fundraising is still below where it needs to be for the club to be self funding.
In summary the club is in a good position for the 2018-2019 period.
What is coming up
Our plans for the next quarter
- We are on track to see our first 8th kyu student, which is orange belt, this quarter.
- We have opened a second class and we are working on growing that class.
- We have chosen Kata Sanchin for students to learn to achieve the rank of 7th kyu, green belt.
- We are finialising the grading requirements sheet for the rank of 7th kyu. Students will get the sheet once they graded to the rank of 8th kyu.
- Generally we would like to see the club grow so we will be focusing on marketing and fund rasing.
Little Blue's karate tip
How to do an upper level block or Jodan age uke which is the Japanese name.
To prepare for an upper level block bring the fist across to your opposite shoulder.
Now roll your arm up so that it is above your head and is sloping down to deflect the strike.
The arm that was up above your head pulls back to your side adding more power to your block. Remember all our blocks use both hands.
Karate Quiz
How many karate questions can you answer?
- What is the colour of your first belt?
- What is the Japanese name for an upper level block?
- What is a mae geri?
- What is the first thing we do when we enter the dojo?
- What colour belt does Sensei wear? And for a bonus point - why?
- How many times do we bow at the start and end of class?
- What does Hajime mean?
- What is the number ten in Japanese?
- Why do we do kata?
- What does arigato gozaimasu mean in English?
Hint: some of the answers are in your welcome pack.
Look out for the Winter issue and feel free to share this newsletter with your friends.
Membership is free and open to anyone who wishes to take part in the martial arts training offered by the club. All the details are on our website. www.karatedojo.nz
THE END