Falcons Martial Arts

Those that have been using our Matrix/Element chat for club conversations will have noticed that it hasn't been working for a while and may have been wondering if you have been missing out on things going on with Falcons Martial Arts.

A good friend of Ian's had been running the chat server as a personal adventure and has decided to the effort of running that by himself is less of a priority than it has been and has decided to shut the server down. This has also deleted Ian's previous matrix account.

Pondering how we do something similar again. In the meantime, you can get in touch with Ian through his new matrix account (get in touch here, txt, email etc for details).

Even if you are feeling old and/or broken, keeping active in some form is good for one's health and well being. For some a gentle walk around the block is enough, for some a more a challenging form of exercise.
In our classes there is certainly the consideration that not everyone has started their journey from the same place, or looked after themselves as well as they could/should have over the years.
Don't judge yourself on the achievements of others, but use them for inspiration and aim to be better than *you* were yesterday.

Being in your 70s is no excuse to stop improving, says 6th-dan black belt Mary Jaksch works out at least five times a week, and says it's good for the spirit as well as the body.

Vote for the Kārearea (New Zealand falcon) in this year's Bird of the Year

Vote for New Zealand falcon in this years Bird of the Year Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year recognises our unique birds and with each vote you give them a voice.

This is a great thing to see.

Hopefully by the time some of my students make it to our 'weapons' grading (4th degree), we'll have had some of this coming through in our syllabus.

Sport NZ investing $276k into international Māori weaponry school Te Whare Tū Taua The money will be used from the Te Ihi Fund, created in response to COVID-19 and the impact it had on Māori.

We are cancelling classes for February, will re-evaluate for March when we get closer.

It seems that each time we have made a post here over the last couple of years it is about a change in state of training because of Covid-19. We are a small club, and people not being at training does make a big difference to the ability of the club to cover the rent of our wonderful venue each month.

The recent change to Red on the Covid-19 Protection Framework has affected a number of our students. While the club (and the venue) does require all students and instructors to be fully vaccinated, many of the club haven't yet had their vaccine booster and are still uncomfortable with the risk. Although it would be great to get them out and about, interacting with other people, and getting some exercise in a time like this .. it is also not necessarily optimal for the anxiety levels getting to and from training.

Students reading this; please remember to take the time to relax, take time away from the various 'doom feeds' in social media and the news, get some exercise (20 mins a day), hug your cat/dog/partner/kids/tree, don't feel bad if you can't. If you are struggling, reach out via our chat.

Well, we managed to have one class this year so we did start well.

Te Whaea - National Dance and Drama Centre does allow us to train at the Red Covid Traffic Light. But after a discussion in our club chat we have decided to cancel this Wednesday (26th Jan) class.

This gives any POI and cases to show themselves after the timing of the Wellington Anniversary holiday and people travelling. At this point we are expecting/hoping to be back on the 2nd of Feb.

UPDATE: Last class of 2021 was last Wednesday (8th Dec).

It has been an 'interesting' year. Covid-19 has certainly further changed our lives.

Many people are anxious and stressed. They have had relationships with families and friends change, jobs on the line, looked at how/why they do things, had their values questioned, and found themselves questioning other people's values. Yet, on the whole we have managed to come through better than most.

During this coming holiday season give people some benefit of the doubt, take care, look after your friends and whānau. If you are travelling somewhere, watching out for idiots on the road and don't be one yourself.

Be wonderful to each other.

From this Wednesday 6th of October we are back at training. Our venue Te Whaea - National Dance and Drama Centre have done some planning that allows external hirers back in .. woohoo!

But we will need to keep in mind some of their requirements ..
* If you or anyone in your group is feeling unwell or has Covid-19 symptoms, please stay at home.
* For anyone entering Te Whaea, it is mandatory to sign in with the NZ COVID Tracer QR code or use our manual sign-in sheet
* The supervising person is still required to sign-in on the tablet on behalf of the group
* Only arrive 5 minutes before your booking to minimise time onsite
* Keep a record of who attended from your group
* Wear a mask in common spaces i.e. Plaza, foyer, dance, and drama streets and bathrooms
* Please avoid congregating in the common areas, including in the foyer, plaza, and streets.

It'll be kata, drills and exercise. No contact drills until we hit Covid Alert Level 1 or there are changes to the Alert Level 2. I'll be watching for recommendations about loosening distance/contact limitations once we are all double jabbed.

Speaking of being jabbed ..
* New students will need to have had both Covid vaccinations.
* Existing students need to have had their first vaccination, and their 2nd one by the end of November.

New students will also need to check before they plan to turn up so I can confirm we won't push the venue over their limit.

We've had an email from Te Whaea - National Dance and Drama Centre .. "The current Alert Level 2 .. to keep you, our employees, and the schools' staff and students' safe .. Te Whaea will be closed to hirers from Wednesday 8 September 2021 until further notice."

As disappointing as it is, we fully support and respect their decision. But it does mean that we are unlikely to be back training together until we drop to Covid Alert Level 1.

Please, as much as the automatic payments boosting the account for the future are nice, if you do have an automatic payment set up, please put it on hold until we can get back together.

Classes are on hold until Wellington gets back into Alert Level 2. We'll reassess with Te Whaea - National Dance and Drama Centre at that point to see when they are ready to open to hirers such as ourselves.

In the meantime wear your mask, wash your hands, be goodly to each other, your whānau, your colleagues, your neighbours, the people in testing/vaccinations queues, the people in essential services.

If we all do that, we can get back to hitting each other sooner.

Here we are again with a Covid Alert Level 4, there will be no training tonight as we won't be allowed in the venue.

We have been here before, it can be hard for some people but remember to give people the benefit of the doubt (they may be more stressed than you are), be caring, keep an eye on family and friends, scan, keep to your bubble.

If you are feeling a bit out of place, get up and take a moment to go through a kata to take your mind off things for a bit.