Welcome to our Dojo Newsletter
December, 2010

• Birthday Corner
• New Students
• Student Anniversaries
• Around the Dojo
• Inspirational Ideas
• Upcoming Events
• Calendar of Events
• Articles Page
• Karate Promotions
• Aikido Promotions
• Jodo Promotions
• Archives

Birthday Corner

Happy Birthday in December

Sempai Christopher Naraine, Christelle A.

Welcome New Students

Please Welcome to our Dojo!

Alex L.


Good Luck in your chosen art and discipline!

Student Anniversaries

Student Anniversaries

Emily Finstad, Laura Kelly



Congratulations on completing another year in your life long discipline!

Heard Around The Dojo

Kagami Biraki Shiki 2011

Plan on joining us Saturday January 22nd 7pm., for our Annual Kagami Biraki Shiki (Martial Arts New Year Celebration). Plans are underway for some demonstrations and a pot luck dinner.

Winter Holidays

The dojo will be closing for our Annual Winter Holidays on Monday December 20th, and re-opening Monday January 3rd, 2011. Please join us for our End of Year training on Thursday Dec 16th (and Saturday December 18th) and our Start of Year training on Monday January 3rd, 2011. These will be two special evenings.

Barth Syndrome Raffle Fundraiser

Sensei Lynn Elwood's charity is Barth Syndrome and she has organized a Special Raffle Fundraiser for it with help of friends and family. Steve Kubien (Jodo - Sandan) is an extremely talented woodturner and is offering two very special items up for this fundraiser. But first a little about Barth's Syndrome. What is Barth Syndrome?
Barth Syndrome is a life-threatening, complex, genetic disorder that primarily affects males. It is passed from mother to son. Barth Syndrome was named after Dr. Peter Barth who first described the syndrome and did extensive research on the condition in the Netherlands. Death is more likely to occur when it is not recognized or misdiagnosed. Early awareness and diagnosis has already saved many lives; however, there are still many people who do not know about the syndrome, including medical professionals. Below is a brief list of some of the main symptoms:

• Cardiomyopathy: a weakening of the heart muscle, usually resulting in an enlarged heart and irregular heart beat (or arrhythmia).
• Neutropenia: a reduced number of neutrophils - a type of white blood cells which is part of the immune system and responsible for protecting our bodies from infection.
• Muscle Weakness: muscles, including the heart have a limited ability to produce energy. This increases fatigue and in some cases can be debilitating.
• Growth Delay: Below-average height and weight, often quite substantially so.

The Raffle Items:

	This peppermill is handmade from a piece of curly maple dyed a vibrant burgundy/purple! This peppermill features a special grinding mechanism that is the smoothest, most reliable available and is suitable for both pepper and salt. Its ceramic grinder will not be corroded by the salt. Created by Steve Kubien- Green Leaf Wood Studios www.greenleafwoodstudio.com
	This roller ball pen is made from a piece of amboyna burl. Amboyna grows in Southeast Asia and its burls are coveted by woodworkers around the world for its beauty. It features chrome fittings and takes a Schmidt refill. Created by Steve Kubien- Green Leaf Wood Studios www.greenleafwoodstudio.com

Raffle tickets are $5 each or 3 for $10. Please see Sensei Lynn for tickets or talk to Sensei. The draw will be Saturday December 18th so get your raffle tickets soon, and get lots of them. I can personally vouch for Steve's salt and peppermills as I have one of each. They are both beautiful and very, very functional.

Back From Okinawa

Please join me in welcoming home our karate black belts who all spent 2 weeks training, testing, demonstrating and sight seeing in the birthplace of our karate-do, Okinawa, Japan. It was an exciting time for everyone and after seeing the video of their demonstration at the Pacific Hotel, you can be very proud of how they represented both Renseikan Dojo and Canada.

Congratulations to Sensei Lynn Elwood on passing her Yondan (4th degree black belt) and to Sempai Joe Vallejo for passing his Sandan (3rd degree black belt) and Sempai Chris Naraine for passing his Nidan (second degree black belt) and to Sempai Tony Gibson for passing his Nidan as well.A great job by everyone and I understand with no corrections from the grading panel which included Soke Takayoshi Nagamine.

We hope to have lots of pictures up soon.

New Children's Aikido Class

We are starting a Children's Aikido class on Tuesdays at 6pm. The class will be held at the hombu dojo until such time as we have sufficient numbers to move it to the Dunbarton Dojo. At that time we will be going to twice a week classes, Monday and Thursday at 5pm. pLease contact the dojo if you are interested in getting started in this new class. This class is also open to existing karate children students as well.

Special Outdoor Training Classes

We had so much fun training outdoors in November that we are planning on doing this again in January. We will update this newsletter wit the date soon.

Adult Winter/Christmas Party

Plans are underway for our Annual Adult Winter/Christmas Party. The date will be announced very soon but we do know that we are planninmg to have it in mid January/February, when everyone needs a party to cheer them up.

Our Newest Shodans

Congratulations to Mary Tuccitto and Matthew Naraine for passing their Shodan (1st degree black belt) in Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do. The test, held Saturday September 25 at 7pm, was very well attended by family, friends, fellow students and many of the Renseikan Dojo black belts. This was our first black belt test in our new location. Thanks to everyone who took the time to come out and support Mary and Matthew.Pictures to follow as they come in.

Jodo Seminars

We are pleased to announce we will be able to run Special Jodo Seminars throughout the year. Seminars will be tailored to your specific level and goals. Please call or write to arrange an Introductory or comprehensive Jodo Seminar for your dojo or group. Jodo is a 500 year old martial art that can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age or physical conditioning. It is a fantastic art to cross-train in or learn for it's own merits. Manuals, weapons and instructional DVDs can also be purchased as part of a package.

New Early Start Martial Arts Class

The Early Start Martial Arts classes will resume Tuesday September 14th. The 30 minute class will be held at the Hombu Dojo location from 6pm - 6:30pm. Additional classes will be added as required. Please contact the dojo for more information and to register. The class will teach younger children, 4 and 5 year olds, the basics of several martial arts, including karate, aikido and judo. This will allow the students to move easily into our Regular Karate Program when they are older.

Unschool / Home School Martial Arts Classes

Beginning Tuesday September 14th a new daytime classes will be offered at the Hombu Dojo location. The class will run from 11am to 12 noon every Tuesday morning. The class will teach karate, aikido and judo. Additional classes will be added as required. Please contact the dojo for additional information.

Help Feed the World

Please click on the new link on our sidebars (as well as above). By playing this educational game (vocabulary builder), you can help feed the world. The sponsors of this site donate 20 grains of rice for every correct answer you get while playing the game. They work with the United Nations World Food Program.

Inspiration

Need some inspiration?

Renseikan Dojo Shirts

We are taking orders for Renseikan Dojo T-Shirts, Crew neck Sweat shirts & Hooded Sweat Shirts. They come in a variety of colours and you have your choice of which martial art is on the front of the shirt. Print and fill out the order form and bring it in to the dojo to get your order processed. It can take 10-14 days to get the shirts so don't delay, order yours today. We also have weapons, uniforms and other good ideas. Please ask for our new price list at the dojo soon.

Renseikan Dojo Crests

The Renseikan Dojo Crests are now available at the dojo. They can be used in many ways, on your dogi it should go on the left side, over your heart.

Upcoming Events

Click on any of the upcoming events listed below to learn more:
Bring-A-Friend Week
Friendship Night

Friendship Night

We will holding our monthly Friendship night on Thursday December 17th, beginning at 8pm. We will combine the Adult Karate and Aikido classes for a special 2 hour class where we will focus on both Karate and Aikido Cross-Training. We will probably go back to Sensei's home for food and refreshments or go out. Please plan on joining us for this fun night of martial arts.

Bring A Friend Promotion

Introduce your friends or family to the martial arts. You can bring as many people as you like to try a martial arts class with you. All we need is a signed waiver (by a parent if the person is under 18 years old) and tell them to bring track pants and a t-shirt for the class.

Events Calendar for 2010

2010 Calendar of Events

Karate Promotions

Please see the Archives for past promotions.

Aikido Kyu Belt Promotions

Please see the Archives for past promotions.

Jodo Promotions

Please see the Archives for past promotions.