Brighton Aikikai

Congratulations to our friends and gracious hosts, Kritonas Christoforou and Elena Markitani, who passed their 3rd kyu gradings under Phil Rozier at the weekend course hosted by Cyprus Aikikai.

Congratulations also go to their students who passed 5th kyu gradings. The excellent level and attitudes reflect on their teachers and show that the club has both a strong foundation and great potential.

Much thanks go to Kritonas and Elena for their fabulous hospitality:

We hope to see you again soon!

Long-time student, teacher, and friend of the club Jeff Balmer has returned from injury to start Crawley Aikikai: a brand new Aikikai Aikido club in Crawley with our very own Phil Rozier assisting.

Jeff recently passed his nidan (2nd dan) grading under Pascal Durchon Sensei (5th dan Aikikai) and welcomes everyone to the grand opening on Tuesday the 24th of May.

Many regular Brighton Aikikai students will travel there in support to create a welcoming environment for beginners — helping the new club to really hit the ground running!

For venue information and times visit: www.crawleyaikikai.org.uk

Phil Rozier – 4th dan Aikikai – will host a course on Saturday the 4th of June at the Brighton Judo Club in Dorset Gardens.

The course will run from 11am to 4:30pm with a short break. The price for the course is £15, no pre-booking required.

A PDF poster for distribution amongst your fellow aikidoka is available for download.

Directions to the venue are available on Google Maps.

Check out the highlights video from the previous course:

Many thanks to sensei Pascal Durchon for a great course at the weekend, and thanks to all those who came from far and wide to attend! Pascal will return in November for another weekend seminar.

View at Picasa 07-May-2011 12:18, FUJIFILM FinePix E550 , 4.7, 20.2mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 200

View at Picasa 07-May-2011 12:14, FUJIFILM FinePix E550 , 3.4, 11.9mm, 0.026 sec, ISO 200

View the full gallery here.

Congratulations to Jack Tyrrell and Jeff Balmer who both passed their nidan (2nd dan) aikikai gradings under Pascal on Saturday.

Last but not least, many thanks to Tim Hewson and his wife who put on a spectacular barbecue on Saturday!

Congratulations to Gregor Scotland from the Sevenoaks School Club on his 4th Kyu grading success.

Gregor has been a commited student in the club for the last 3 years and is leaving the school after his final IB exams this term.

He did his grading with Muhsin Ogretme, adult student/staff member at the school, and demonstrated great maturity and control for a sixth form student.

Congratulations also go to:
Naquib Rahman, Michael Moore, Christie Mok, Alex Sandeford, Muhsin Ogretme and Matthew Maitra who completed a gruelling misogi practise with instructor Rowan Thompson at the school to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross for their earthquake and tsunami disaster relief in Eastern Japan.

Together the group have raised more than £650!