What a fantastic Hapkido-filled weekend!

WOW! What a fantastic weekend!

It all began with the 5 Elements Seminar on Saturday.

5 hours of fun-filled Hapkido, there was something in this seminar for everyone. There were 38 students on the mats, the Dojang was buzzing with the fun and excitement of learning new techniques, of trying new stuff, of students at all levels able to play around with techniques they would otherwise not have gotten the chance to see, let alone practice!

There were takedowns and throws even white belts could try. There was pain enhancement and students were surprised that the techniques they had learnt could hurt even more with the application of 3 letters - T, L and/or C!

And once we had learnt how to enhance pain, we went through how to control pain, how to turn pain off! So easy and so effective - AWESOME!!

A personal favourite, we saw how easy it is to knock people out, with one of the Black Belts going down like a sack of spuds (yes, and all caught on film for later enjoyment!)

A highlight was the students of varying levels who lined up to feel what it was like to get knocked out, Master Geoff making his way through the crowd like the messiah healing people.

And ofcourse we finished up with Ki, every student getting to break a piece of wood using only Ki. Always a seminar favourite!

But that was only half the weekend!

Sunday was a Sun Bae training day for red belts and above. A great opportunity for senior belts to work through coloured belt syllabus material, the Black Belts to play with the new Black Belt syllabus, and senior students to spend some quality mat time with Master Geoff on their techniques.

There were 11 senior belts on the mats at the Sun Bae, and the training day was of huge benefit to every student in attendance.

Well done to those students who managed to do both days, no doubt today is a huge let down after a jam-packed Hapkido weekend like the one we just had!

What a brilliant weekend, what a fantastic way to kick off the IHA International Training Seminar!

For more photos from the fun-filled Hapkido weekend, click here.

The 5 Elements Seminar!

The 2009 ITS kicks off with the 5 Elements Seminar, its on this Saturday 28 March 2009 at CSD Moorebank.

The seminar runs for 5 full hours, from 12pm - 5pm with an hour spent on each of the 5 elements:


1. Earth - ground locking and takedowns
2. Water - throwing and breathing
3. Fire - pain enhancement and locking
4. Wind - wave techniques, movement and redirection
5. Void - mind over matter and Ki

This seminar is an opportunity for coloured belts to get exposure to techniques they would otherwise have to wait YEARS to see. And no doubt every student in attendance will see techniques they have NEVER seen before.

And just for added fun, we'll get to do Ki breaks on wood as part of the Void session!

So come along and join the fun! Don't miss out and regret it afterwards!

This Saturday from 12pm at CSD Moorebank. It's going to be awesome.

BBC Seminar - 'The Art of Striking'

The second seminar in 'The Art of' BBC seminar series is on this Saturday 7 March 2009 at 1:30pm.

The topic is 'The Art of Striking' and we're going to go through 30+ strikes, some not using your arms, most of which have never seen before, none of which are on the current syllabus.

That's a minimum of 30 new strikes to learn for every student at the seminar - some of which you will love and want to keep for your arsenal. For Black Belts this means exposure to new variation techniques to add to your list of weapons!

If the last seminar on 'The Art of Kicking' was anything to go by, the seminar this Saturday is going to be a great deal of fun.

Just a reminder also that 'BBC In The Raw' - the DVD of the last BBC seminar is now available to order. The DVD will set you back $25 and is footage of the last seminar - that's right, all 30 kicks! Great to have for those who attended the seminar (you might even see footage of yourself trying one of the flying kicks on the wavemaster) and a must-see for those who missed out on the last seminar. Order your copy today!

Master Geoff's Birthday

Master Geoff celebrates his birthday on Wednesday 25 February 2009.

And what better way to celebrate than by getting into your Dobok and onto the mats for a fun Hapkido seminar that will be run by Master Geoff himself and on his birthday no less!

Seminars are always fun, but without a doubt this special birthday seminar will be more fun than usual!

Of course no celebration is complete without cake...

Join us for the seminar which will start at 7:30pm and to wish Master Geoff a HAPPY BIRTHDAY with cake cutting (and eating) straight after the seminar at 9pm next Wednesday 25 February 2009!

But... does anyone dare sing Happy Birthday? ;)

08 was great! ... the year gone by

Here's a brief re-cap of what went on with our Complete Self Defence Hapkido in 2008, with links to the Hapkido Forum, Master G's blog and this blog. There is no doubt that '08 was great!'

We had the opportunity to 'pose' and have some professional pictures taken with family and Hapkido friends. With so many taken you've got to have a couple to treasure.

One of the biggest events during the year was Moorebank's CSD renovation, truly a fresh face and new beginning for the Dojang. It also marked the start of the OTR Sydney, again an awesome mix of instructors, techniques and fun with Masters Tooby, Cale, Floro and MG.

We also held our 10th Annual Ki Award Celebration to announce our yearly award winners (called 'Ki Awards') and to hold a dress-up dinner. This was the last of the current Ki Awards and it was fantastic to have all the nominees in attendance (a new award series will be announced next year).

Of course, the attendees certainly looked spectacular in their pants, shirts and dresses (not all at once of course). Throughout the night we congratulated the award winners (and heard their impromptu speeches), enjoyed the company of our Hapkido family and a good meal and competed in our first 'Martial Arts Trivia' night.

We did some travelling with the Sydney metropolitan Dojangs kicking off the first year of the 'Tri-Series' seminars (lookout in 2009 for this series, bigger and better):

• 'Body' at Parramatta (Dynamic Self Defence), go here
• 'Mind' at Hurstville (St George Self Defence), go here and there
• and topping it off with 'Spirit' at Moorebank (Complete Self Defence), go here.

And our Regional Dojangs hosted wonderful OTR's in Melbourne (Power Hapkido) and Wagga Wagga with great hospitality and events; 'old skoole' and the world famous Hapkido olympics.

Back in Moorebank CSD there was more training, training, training throughout the year. We had Technical Focus Classes taught by MG on 'kicking', 'striking' and 'difficult techniques' (to name a few) and several Black Belt Club Seminars including 'Free sparring' and 'Street fighting for beginners'. Of course there was the 'Sun Bae' training for Red and above, instructors courses, along with the UHS Lite and the Return of Hell Week.

We also managed some Senior Degree promotions along with Colour Belt promotions througout the year!

And did we mention the opening of the full-time Parramatta Dojang? What a year!

To wrapup this 'look-back' we must go back to the start of '08 where we held a huge celebration to herald the 15th Anniversary of the AHG in style.

With the return of guest instructors Sirs Terry and Elias along with techniques presented by Sirs John, Jimmy, Phil, Hassan and Maam Tina, the day was a fantastic gathering of Hapkido family (past and present).

Master Geoff wrapped up the day with some techniques and fending off the '20 questions' from the crowd where he shared his thoughts on the creation of our Hapkido and his experiences with GM Ji Han Jae.

Look out for the New Year which is coming fast and full - it's already packed to the rafters so check out the list of 2009 events now!

Regards

The CSD Team

CSD Christmas Party

The CSD Hapkido Christmas Party is on Saturday 6 December 2008, starting at 12pm.

The Christmas Party will feature presentation of the annual Eagle Awards (I have heard there are some surprise winners this year!), all the pizza and pasta you could possibly eat, and the announcement of a very special event to be run mid-next year! Rumour has it that those in attendance may also get a credit towards this special event - I can't wait to find out what it is!

There's a change of venue for this year's Christmas Party - its being held at the Black Rose Cafe, 170 George Street Liverpool.

The Christmas Party costs $30 for Adults and only $15 for kids under 10.

Friends and family all welcome ofcourse!

Make sure you see CSD staff at the front desk to get your name on the list so you don't miss out on the CSD Hapkido Christmas Party, its going to be a great deal of fun!