Induction Weekend
9th and 10th June 2007
Kevin Pell Hanshi


Under the watchful eye of the instructors.
The end of weekend photograph in Honbu's Japanese gardens.


Soke delivering one of his lectures
to the new Ishin Ryu inductees.

On Saturday the 9th of June 2007, Students from the Honbu, Bushey, Thetford, Dereham and Borehamwood Dojos arrived at Honbu for 9:30am to register for the newly re-introduced induction weekends, designed to oh-so-gently introduce new students to the philosophy of Ishin Ryu's training.

During day one, students were give lectures by Soke covering Club History, Japanese and Samurai culture, Dojo etiquette and had the opportunity to ask questions on anything on the subject of Ishin Ryu Ju-Jitsu before being led through the full lining up ceremony, the meaning of Kamizar and more advanced Dojo etiquette.

The students then covered all their ground work from the white belt syllabus which included their hold downs as well as chokes and strangles from the mount, before moving onto all the various break-falls including picking up a fire-arm and knife.

The students were then taken to the Norfolk Golf and Country Club for a sumptuous dinner followed by a quiz written by Sempai Sheila based on the lessons they had learnt during the day. Following the dinner it was into the swimming pool for fun and games including a special aggressive version of dodge ball, tug of war and an aquatic version of rugby. The students then had the opportunity to grab a sauna and Jacuzzi before returning to Honbu for a good, albeit brief, nights rest.

Enjoying an early morning breakfast on day two.
The recruits just loving those logs.


A gratefully received opportunity
to relax at the end of day one.

Reveille was at 6:00am and we quickly moved down to the Thetford training area complete with telegraph poles for some early morning exercise and team building. Following a quick jog round the field to warm up.

The students were then divided into two teams to race each other around the circuit with the logs followed by overhead lifts and sit-ups using the telegraph poles. Then came the dreaded sand hill, which involved students sprinting up the sand dune and completing various exercises from the Ishin Ryu white belt fitness test at the top of the hill, before sprinting back down again.

The two teams were then given the task of carrying the logs across the river and up the opposite bank and back again as fast as they could without getting the logs wet, before completely submerging themselves in the river for the traditional baptism. Having got the logs back to the transport it was a quick change out of wet clothes into dry and then down to the Thetford Dojo for a nice hot shower and a full English breakfast, which I think by that time everyone had well deserved.

Group situps, Ishin Ryu style!
Getting heavier by the second - training on the logs.


Students enjoying their evening meal
prior to the evening's quiz.

Following breakfast it was back to Honbu for more break-falls, hip throws, training in the use of the Kubaton, passive and defensive stances and white belt syllabus revision before being presented with their end of course certificates. The students then enjoyed some group photographs at Honbu's Kamizar as well as in Honbu's Japanese gardens before dispersing at 2:00pm on Sunday afternoon.

I would just like to congratulate all of the new students on a great weekend, especially Brandy, one of our intermediate girls from the Honbu Dojo who is the youngest to date to successfully pass an induction weekend. These weekends certainly bring out the best in people and successfully bonded a group of relative strangers into a group of friends, now fully focused on their forth-coming grading.

Ishin Ryu Ju-Jitsu has always been very demanding of its students and these induction course weekends certainly prepare the would be students for the steep and un-even road that lays before them, once again from all your instructors, congratulations on proving to be very special students and being officially accepted into a very special school of Ju-Jitsu.

The infamous sand hills phase of the induction weekend.
The recruits log race in progress.


Simon Fletcher giving a lecture on shoe cleaning and how to
dress properly as only an ex guardsman can.


Seminar Thank You Letters


Ouss Soke,

I would like to thank you for such a good informative weekend. Although certain items were covered on the weekend which I already knew, there was still plenty of information that you taught that I still had not known. I enjoyed every part of the weekend, as I have waited so long to be able to attend an induction weekend due to missing previous ones due to work, this weekend turned out to be even more important than I thought it would have been.

Being the only affiliate on the course enabled me to gain a better understanding of Ishin Ryu and has made my desire to become a full member of Ishin Ryu more intense. I enjoyed the 'nature walk' which we done with our friend Pinky and Perky (love the logs!) As usual it was an honour to be able to attend the course and in the fore coming future will possible be back on the course again as it is such a memorable experience.

Domo Arigato
Leigh Keyte
Worcestershire Dojo's


Ouss Soke,

Firstly I wanted to say what a fantastic induction weekend. Thank you to you Soke, Renshi Trevor, Sensei Andy, Sensei Mark and Sensei Andy T. Same to all the Sempai who were great and a huge inspiration. Secondly, my highlight of the weekend was training with Sensei Andy H and I wanted to say it was an honour and a privilege to do so, I learnt and bruised a lot!

Better to be Uke for a day than a dummy for life!!
Domo Arigato to all involved.

Gabriel John
Borehamwood Dojo


Soke,

Just a quick note to thank you Renshi Trevor, Sensei Mark, Sensei Andy H and Sensei Andy T, Sempai's Vearnon, Kamal and Sheila and everyone else who made this weekend as enjoyable and enlightening experience as I have had for a very long time. Look forward to seeing you all at the end of the month for the gradings and to the coming adventures.

Domo Arigato
Best Regards
Daren Smith
Dereham Dojo





Ouss Soke,

Just thought I would leave a guestbook comment thanking you on such a good induction weekend. I enjoyed every part of what I learnt from the weekend. Yet again, it was an honour to train under you and with your students, as I don't get the chance to do that often, I really enjoyed every second of it. The 'nature walk'! How will I ever forget that, well we all now 'love the logs' as Mr. Fletcher kept saying.

Domo Arigato
Leigh Keyte
(Aka Ryu Ju-Jitsu, Worcestershire Dojo's and proud of it!)



Soke,

I just wanted to say thank you for a fantastic Induction weekend. Learned a lot and enjoyed the gentle morning stroll through the forest and the refreshing dip in the river. I think we all "love the log" well and truly now! Looking forward to the next one.

Respect and Honour,

James Pankiewicz
Bushy Dojo




Oussa Soke,

I would like to express my most sincere thanks for re-starting the Induction Weekend course. Having never been on one before, I had no idea what to expect, and greatly enjoyed the barrage of social, team building events held throughout the duration of the weekend. I particularly enjoyed the antics of Simon Fletcher - and his catchphrase for the course, "Love the Log!" I also doubt that I will ever be allowed to forget my crawl up the hill during the Sunday morning's exercises... A fantastic opportunity to get to know new students from the other Dojos, and it was great to see Brandie Smithson representing the intermediates. All in all, that was an absolutely fantastic weekend, and I look forward to the next one!

Andrew Crawley,
Honbu Dojo