Grandmaster Geoff really did save the best for last with Saturday's BBC Seminar - "The Art of Fighting" - wrapping up the 2009 "Art Of" BBC Seminars.

The seminar started with Grandmaster Geoff going through point sparring and competition sparring under some other styles and we were lucky enough to hear some of Grandmaster Geoff's stories from the days when he competed in sparring tournaments.

We were then all shown a few sparring drills to work on, and once we had a bit of practice, it was time to spar!

Of the 38 students in attendance, 37 joined in the sparring, which was great to see, particularly as a number of the students were junior belts! Everyone had fun sparring and everyone got to see just how tiring it is and how much you have to think about what your next move is going to be.

We then got to see something very special. Grandmaster Geoff explained the difference between sparring and fighting and then asked for a volunteer to step up so he could demonstrate to us what fighting looks like. Sir Adrian was quick off the mark volunteering and what followed was something no current active student has ever seen. It was an incredible display of prowess, skill, stamina and control, and though Sir Adrian did look the worse for wear straight afterwards, we could all see that Grandmaster Geoff did hold back and took care of Sir Adrian throughout the demonstration.

It is hard to describe what took place but it was an incredible experience for the students who were there to see it first hand.

This was a seminar not to have been missed and students were hanging around and talking about the whole experience long after the seminar was over.

A great way to wrap up the 2009 BBC Seminar Series and we are all looking forward to the 2010 "How To" BBC Seminar Series which is only going to be bigger and better!

2010 IHA "How To" DVD Series Now Out!

Released on December 6th, 2009 the 2010 IHA "How To" DVD Series takes the already great training series to a new level!

The new series covers all the IHA curriculum requirements from White Belt through to 4th Degree Black Belt. The DVDs are filmed in 1080p using 4 cameras to ensure every technique is clear and easy to understand. The DVDs are filmed with the focus being on the instructor teaching the camera the techniques required for each level. Each technique is personally demonstrated and explained by Grandmaster Geoff J. Booth - 8th Degree Black Belt and Chief Instructor for the International Hapkido Alliance (IHA).

The new IHA "How To" Series includes 4 DVDs with Over 7 Hours of footage and covers all the techniques for the IHA Belt levels of White through to 3rd Degree Black including Dan Bong and Cane techniques, plus Bonus material.

Cost: AUD $235 (Includes Postage & Handling)

To watch the Promo and to order your copy of this awesome DVD set today, go to
http://hapkido.netro.com.au/index_files/Page618.htm!

AHG Christmas Party - Be There!

The first EVER combined CSD (Moorebank), DSD (Parramatta) and CMA (Hurstville) Christmas Party is on this Saturday 5 December 2009 at a location specifically chosen with you in mind, a location that is central to all 3 schools!

This means no excuses for students from all 3 schools not to get there!

Where: Bankstown Sports Events Centre - 8 Greenfield Parade Bankstown

When: Saturday 5 December 2009

Cost: Adults - $45 buffet; Kids - $15 kids meal or $25 buffet

Lunch will be an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet which will cater to everyone's food needs.

Winners of the 2009 Spirit Awards will be announced at the Christmas Party and Trophies handed out to the winners on the day!

The AHG Christmas Party will feature the first EVER screening of the Intro to the new "How-To" Hapkido DVD series. And as if that is not enough, there'll also be competitions, prizes, trivia, fun, great company and other surprises in store for everyone!

Family and friends more than welcome!

Currently we have 197 people in attendance and looking to crack 200 before Saturday!

Speak to your Instructor today and get your name on the attendance list!!

Yesterday's BBC Seminar The Art of Self Defence was brilliant!

Grandmaster Geoff was in exceptionally fine form - it was a highly entertaining seminar with lots of jokes, laughs and anecdotes.

The demo put on by the Black Belts and Grandmaster Geoff was awesome.

The street psychology and body language discussion was highly interesting and useful and it was awesome to learn how to make even basic White Belt techniques nasty.

Great news also with the announcement of the 2010 BBC Seminar Series - the "How To" Series and the announcement of the first seminar in 2010 on "How To Be a Hapkido Student". This one will be a seminar no student will want to miss!

Looking forward to the last BBC seminar for 2009 - The Art of Fighting on 12 December 2009.

OTR Sydney 4 was held this weekend and what a fantastic training weekend it was!



Saturday started off with a Kids Seminar which was a smashing success! Each of the kids got thrown by Grandmaster Geoff at the end of their seminar, who said throwing was not fun?

In the afternoon Grandmaster Geoff took us through Old School Techniques from a Syllabus that dated back to 1986! Now these techniques were MEAN!



On Saturday evening we all headed to The Black Rose Cafe in Liverpool to celebrate 10 years of Kwan Nyom Hapkido - there was all you could eat pizza and pasta and it was a good thing the weekend was such a workout because we all ate way too much!



The Wing Tsun seminar on the Sunday morning was a lot of fun - its great to get exposure to another style of martial art without having to leave the Dojang and students soon discovered there was a fair bit of overlap between what we were learning and our Hapkido.

Yesterday afternoon Guro Floro taught a Kali Sticks seminar - this was a very entertaining seminar and we did Sinawali which was great fun!



All in all a fantastic training weeekend!

Have you got something (Hapkido or martial arts related) to share?

Have you got something (Hapkido or martial arts related) to say?

Contibutions for Issue 4 of The Hapkido Scrolls are now being accepted.

Issue 4 is due for release 2 November 2009.

Send your contribution to

hapkido@netro.com.au

before 15 October 2009, and be in the draw to win an awesome Hapkido prize!

September 2009 - AHG Grading

Grading success

Congratulations to the 10 students who were successful at the recent AHG Sydney Grading held at the Hurstville Dojang:

Green Belt

Steve M

Amadeus H

Yellow Belt

Neelab O

Adam M

Jun M

Ross B

Andy N

Shadi B

Nachi M

Callum J

Great effort and a terrific result for all those promoted! Well done!

Acknowledging the support and enjoyment of the 'impromptu seminar'

It was also wonderful to see the AHG Hapkido family attending from Parramatta, Moorebank and Hurstville Dojang's as vocal supporters during this grading. Your attendance and cheering was definitely felt at the front of the Dojang.

You would have to agree that the GMG 'impromptu seminar' was a big success following the Grading. Counting the supporters and successfully promoted students there were 55 Hapkidoists on the mat for Grand Master Geoff's seminar. The 'slam and jam' with 'ground and pound' was enjoyed by all students, from white to Black Belt, with everyone throwing one another to the ground ... with smiles on their faces.

Head over to the Hapkido Forum to offer your thanks to GMG for this seminar or to add your congratulations to those who achieved Grading success!

Regards