well the poor attendance for the competition was due i think to no one knowing exactly when it was , does anyone know when the exact date was put on the website ..i mean it has been said the date was on here since January ...but did it just say the competition was in April ... That is not a cast iron date if you get what i mean ...if the date was definately set as 22nd april back in January then it is down to the Instructors to let the pupils know ....or remind them , we all know nobody visits this website really ...another problem . .
Hi Dean you raise some interesting points, I'll try to answer them as best I can.
I put the competition date on in January 2007 & before that was a reminder that one was on its way.
We all knew about the competition - so I thought. There is two ways of looking at this one is through regular contact through training together or anyone can always ask me anytime.It's no good someone saying that they didn't see it on the site if they are not looking at it.
I will remind you that we all have an input with the Association, it doesn't just rest on Eric's shoulders to dictate & organise everything.If anyone would like to organise a competition then obviously you contact Eric , discuss it & away you go!
While we are discussing competition I must say that the Kumite (fighting) for children is very safe. The WKF rules forbid any face contact & not any body contact, the children always really enjoy it, it gives them great confidence & they enjoy competing. Eric & I would never allow any bashing about, I have never seen a child hurt in any way, the control is excellent, if you don't believe it come along & see!
Anyone who thinks children can get hurt has never been to ELWK competitions so I rest my case!
Just ask Eric, Yvette, Mike or me & we will all tell you that CHILDRENS KUMITE IS VERY SAFE ! WE HAVE NEVER HAD ANY INJURIES - SO PLEASE COME ALONG TO THE NEXT ONE!
OH & JUST ASK ANY PARENT !
Actually I did put out a flyer about 3 weeks before the competition, but it was only meant to be a reminder, as I also thought everyone knew (this was given mainly to parents although also copies to Ken and I think Dean took some - this also contained details of Sakagami Sensei course and the Clacton weekend camp). I intend to put out a newsletter probably every 3 months depending on if there is anything to report. Probably June / July time there will be another one with details of the Clacton weekend again, Dan grading results etc. I am happy to have a circulation list, if you want this to come to you automatically, then let me know, and of course if you have any ideas.
Regards,
John
Hi Guys
Yes you did give out flyers John & I passed them on - again as reminders.
As for no one looking at the site, that is not entirely true, it is being accessed, but no one is using the forum is more to the point.I can track the statistics page & that logs everything that you could imagine - so it is being read.
I did put the date on in January so that would give 3 months warning - wouldn't it ? Also bearing in mind we all discuss everything down the pub over a pint after training evry Monday evening (oooppss!) - so where is the lack of communication then ?
Answers on a postcard to...........
i think maybe the next time that a competition is done , when the date is actually confirmed ...ie 27th january , we should give out flyers then as well as put it on the website , reminders given out 4 weeks before the competition .
Possibly tatooing in reverse on peoples foreheads would also work, then they would see it when they looked in the mirror " src="/emoticons/emotion-3.gif">
Actually not a bad thought though, maybe we could do our own version of the WI calender, do you think Barbara would be up for Miss July, though I'm not so sure about Eric as Mr August lol.
I do hope that's not a glass I see in your hand Ray...tut tut
I don't think you can constantly keep telling people all the time anyway,sometimes even if you really did tatoo it on peoples heads they wouldstill claim nobody told them / they where abducted by aliens etc etc etc. Since we even had someone who came to visit us recently before the competition, who hadn't been here for months, and they knew about it, I find it a bit hard to believe that many people just didn't know. For my part, I will certainly put flyers out earlier, no problem, and probably one of us should give Eric a nudge to remind him to anounce it sometimes. But the senior gradesin the association all need to take some responsibility to find things outand actively do something themselves, and not just expect other people to constantly keep reminding them, I already have one Mother, I don't need someone else to fillthe role. The phrase, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink springs to mind. Incidentally, the idea that each club should bring at leastone adult team sounded quite good, although of course, the problem with peopleboth competing and judging, as before, provides a bit of a logistical problem. Yes, the pre-competition course was very good last year, but again it comes downto the organisation being done by the same person.
well i think people did ask when the next competition was and we also told them when it was . The problem was and still is ..how do we make them enter it ...more sparring in classes to encourage kids to enter the Kumite event . Keep on encouraging the kids in the Kata and build up their confidence ....give them sweets or something ...
The children & their parents need to be reassured that kumite is very safe & that we have never had any injuries.
Also we all need to be responsible for our own Clubs & fully support the Association at all times.
We can all access the web site, & ask about things when we meet!
I certainly don't need spoonfeeding as I am able to find out things for myself!
Dean I think Erics Kids were practicing for the Competition but as you & I only train in the Adults lesson we wouldn't know what Eric does in the kids class ? & Eric didn't have any Adults competing because he mainly has High grades at the moment who carry out the Official duties (including me & you).
As they say it 'ain't rocket science' - I don't see any problem apart from people not being bothered.
see you all soon!
Yes actually that was the thing with the adults, some dropped out to make the judging and officialling stuff run more smoothly. I know there where a few grumbles about the same people winning anyway (although I don't think this was always the case), and the idea was that the other adults would carry on. Unfortunately it all seemed to fold up for the adults (except for the ones from Kens club last year). At least with this years all the kids and parents enjoyed it, and as you said Ken, it all ran smoothly with everyone just slipping into their positions naturally. Anyway I guess we've got the same problem as normal really, the people who discuss these things and bother about it help our in all sorts of ways both seen and unseen anyway.
Clacton
Now that Sakagami sensei Portugal camp is off, I'm looking forward to another good Clacton camp (22/23rd September - I don't think there has been a bad one so far). Let's hope we get everyone who was at last years and some new ones too. Another plug for the indoor pool at the camp that most people spent the afternoon in playing a game of water polo (some dubious rules seemed to be in force, though of course I played with true professionalism at all times " src="/emoticons/emotion-13.gif">).