Shidoshi Kai

Present:

Steve Boulton

Roy Bradford

John Edgington

John Gardner

David Keith Heald

Clement Michael Keily

Phillip Gerard McDowell

Robert D. Maynard

Jonathan Powell

Benedict St. John

Richard Steer

Paul Travis

Wayne Waterlow

Paul Whitmore

Apologies:

Simon Gaunt

Mark Johnston

Ben Jones

Rob Harris

Bill Liddle

Sandy Marwick

Brin Morgan

Lawry Muskett

Chris Roworth

Larry Watson

1. Formation Discussion

1. DKH outlined his reasons for calling the meeting (detailed in the invitation) and asked the assembly if they thought we needed an association for Instructors in the UK. The assembly voted unanimously to form an Association after some discussion about the role and principles of this body.
2. DKH proposed that a yearly fee be levied to provide funds for administration and upkeep of the association. This was agreed, again unanimously, at £5.00 per annum.
3. It was proposed that the Association should meet twice yearly at various venues around the country to provide more access for far-flung members.
4. Several questions as to benefits and aims were asked. DKH mentioned: - regular training sessions for instructors, information dispersal and an accessible database and website (It was later agreed to outline these proposals at the next meeting when the rules and articles are proposed).

1. Pre-asked questions (from persons unable to attend)

1. Chris Pearce asked about whether proceedings at the various Shidoshi kai meetings around the world at Taikai and in Japan could be recorded and information sent out.

It was agreed that generally this would not be practical unless someone from the UK was actually attending and was prepared to produce minutes. This may be possible in he future. As the meetings in Japan are in Japanese this would be difficult if the person attending was not fluent in the lingo! These meetings are open to all members of the Bujinkan Shidoshi Kai, i.e. holding a valid Shidoshi Kai Card.

2.02 Jake Sharpstone queried the sort of structure we have in the UK and the sequence of training throughout the year.

The first part of the question is answered in part in A.O.B., and will be clearer when the articles and rules of the Association are drafted. Most of the Shidoshi/Shidoshi-ho attending followed the lead of training of the Hombu dojo.

Jake indicated that he supported the formation and would like to join the Shidoshi Kai

2. Simon Gaunt proposed a general membership to create funds to enable instructors to operate more frequently throughout the year. This was answered in part by 1.02, but it would be some time before sufficient funds were available for use.

On the subject of training, Simon suggested a training meeting of instructors. This will happen as the assoc. gets underway, DKH reduced the cost of the training of his seminar to Shidoshi/shidoshi-ho and has organised a Shidoshi Kai training session, with a substantial discount to Shidoshi Kai members, at Hemel Hempstead for 27^th February. (See flyer) The meeting felt that more like this would occur as the Association evolves. (See 8.0)

3. Rob Harris raised several Questions via Steve Boulton. Most of these were answered within the meeting or will be finalised at the next meeting.
1. Will someone be in overall charge? No there will be a steering committee appointed.
2. Will they be voted in? Not initially.
3. Will the posts be permanent? No, annual.
4. Will the books be open for inspection? Not as a rule, they will be audited once a year for presentation at the 1^st annual meeting, with a updated report at the 2^nd meeting of the year. The actual rules will be formalised within the Articles.
5. If a Shodan is given Shidoshi-ho is it not reasonable, to ensure a good standard, to allow a period of time to elapse before the award. With regard to applications to the Shidoshi Kai, for promotion, this will be decided as the rules are formulated. If a person is awarded a rank or grade it is valid from the time of the award.
6. Will the membership fee be an annual one? Yes.

2.04 Larry Watson complained about the Madec insurance from the Buyukai. He apparently asked some time ago about this and has not as yet received a reply.

Several complaints regarding insurance and the Buyukai have come to the attention of the Shidoshi present at the meeting. (See A.O.B)

 

1. Further questions

None tendered

 

2. Training Calendar

David Keith Heald (01483 428013 (h), 0208 758 2196 (w), okabedojo@aol.com)

27^th February Hemel Hempstead - Shidoshi Training, open to all.

12^th March Lache Dojo, Chester – Koppoutsu/Ninja Biken

2^nd April Hemel Hempstead – Bikenjutsu part2

30^th April Hemel Hempstead – Yagyu Ryu Budo (Iai, Kenjutsu and Jujutsu)

 

 

Wayne Waterlow (01842 815622)

8^th and 9^th July Newmarket – Pedro Fleitas Gonzales

Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi Sensei

1^st to 3^rd June Taikai – Leeuwenhorst-Noordwijkerhout, Holland

 

3. Shidoshi-ho

There was a considerable amount of debate on the subject of Shidoshi-ho. There are many independent "satellite" instructors based around the UK. Many of these would like to become Shidoshi-ho and participate in the Shidoshi Kai and receive the benefits of membership.

DKH proposed that the Shidoshi Kai award this rank upon application to allow the association to grow. This produced an extended debate and it was agreed to postpone the decision on how and when, until the next meeting when the rules can be agreed.

WW offered to produce an information pack for Shidoshi-ho to be agreed at the next meeting, this was accepted by the company.

Stephen Hartland approached the meeting about promotion to Shidoshi-ho. He has had a raw deal in the past at the hands of a former Bujinkan instructor. The meeting decided to refer him to Steve Boulton, as he has been helping Stephen recently; Steve is to liase directly with Stephen.

 

6.0 Formation

1. DKH said that Bill Liddle has offered to produce the Associations Database. As there were no other offers the company voted unanimously.
2. JG offered to oversee the finances at this time as he had the infrastructure within his company to accommodate this; but he indicated that if pressure of work became critical he might have to step aside. The company voted yes to this.
3. Danny Campbell from the Okabe Dojo had offered to produce and update WebPages. DKH would initially be supervising this, but this would be done later by the Committee. The company also accepted this.

7.0 Any other Business

1. As previously mentioned WW is to produce a Shidoshi Pack.
2. PMcD queried whether we needed Articles of Association, several of the company thought that these would be required. DKH offered to assist PMcD to compile these for approval at the next meeting. (The rules and an agenda will be circulated for comment 1 month prior to the next meeting)
3. JG presented the meeting with a proposal to buy Insurance as a block. This would be advantageous financially to the Association and its members. After some discussion it was referred to the next meeting when a more detailed proposal can be formed.
4. WW noted that if we as instructors set up an independent scheme, we might detract from the purpose of the Buyukai. Many present are not at all happy with the way the Buyukai is being run. We as an association do not want to be in opposition to the mainstream association, but rather be a guiding hand to it’s running. It would appear from comments that the Buyukai is being run by one person, Andrew Jones. It was decided to invite Andrew to attend the next Shidoshi Kai meeting to explain and detail how the Buyukai is set up and run administratively. It may be that we can assist in making the Buyukai more efficient.

(Many of the points will be detailed in a letter independently of these minutes)

*post meeting note, Sandy Marwick also expressed his opinion that we should not set up against the Buyukai.

5. DKH asked the meeting if they were happy for him to carry on as co-ordinator at this time. The company agreed to this unanimously.
6. DKH asked that the application forms be completed before leaving. The Fee for joining can be sent on to:-

John Gardner

Candleford

The Street

Slinfold

West Sussex

RH13 7RR

Make Cheques payable to the: - British Shidoshi Kai

8. Date and place of the next meeting

WW offered to host the next meeting during the seminar at Newmarket in July. This was agreed by the meeting. It will be held after the training on the Saturday. Wayne also mentioned after the meeting that it might be possible to offer a discount to Shidoshi Kai Members. We would also invite Pedro to attend the meeting as a guest.

Distribution: - British Shidoshi Kai members