UK TaiKai.....

[matthew18]

hi all

just a few questions about the uk taikai in june,
1. Is Hatsumi Sensei signing anything?
2. Can people observe and not train? if so how much is the fee for spectators?
3. will Noguchi shihan be acompanying soke

hope u can help

matthew morgan
BUJINKAN Budo Taijutsu

[paolo_italy]

Hello,

If you wish to get more info, just refer to the Taikai website (http://www.taikai.co.uk) , expecially the Terms & Conditions section.

Cheers,

Paolo

[matthew18]

hi

well that was my first place to go, but u never guess what, it ant on there:D

so i thought id get some better info on there.

but thanks for your reply, i see this is a very popular post:D

matthew morgan

[paolo_italy]

hello matthew,

:rolleyes: the information the organizers want to spread is in the website.
if you have any other curiosity, just ask them directly.

_that_ was the underlying meaning of my previous post. ;)
as you may see, it's not so obvious to catch (no flame intended).

hope to c u there :smilejapa

[matthew18]

hi

i emailed them and it is still under discussion, nothing final yet.
Well if 1day training only is not allowed, i will not be attending as it is too expensive for me.

thank for your reply

matthew morgan

[paolo_italy]

Did you check out this? http://www.taikai.co.uk/Training.htm#Single%20Day%20/%20Days%20Training

[matthew18]

hi mate

yeap i checked that out and emailed them, but they said if a lot of people turn up, people on 3 day packages will take priority. so at the moment it is under discussion on how many are attending

matthew morgan

[Rokushakubo]

Just out of interest, how many people in the UK are actually planning on going to the Tai Kai this year? I've heard many people talking about boycotting it due to the high costs.

I've just filled in my form and it's going to be sent off by the end of the week. £330 is a lot of money, but going on the only other Tai Kai I've been to (1995) it'll be worth it.

Ah well, if the hall is empty, at least we'll be able to whirl the kyoketsu shoge around our heads like loons rather than have similar problems to 1995 where we had a packed out sports hall, with 4-500-odd people trying to learn naginata techniques! Crazy, it were!!! (But good!)

[Bradenn]

I'm not going. I can't afford it and even if I could afford it, I like to think that I would boycott it out of protest.

I am still indignant about the high price and I think it punishes people who do love the art but don't have the money.

I noticed that lots of people who said the price is not that high and that we can afford it if we choose to make the sacrifice were in America. This is not meant as an attack on our American buyu, but something I noticed when I visited the USA for the first time was that the average person is far far more affluent than in England. Food is cheaper, petrol is cheaper, transportation is cheaper etc. AND salaries are a lot higher for the same job. People have far far less disposable income in the UK.

For example, a teacher or university lecturer over here earns around £22000 per year (more or less). I know one who only gets £18500. If you convert that to US$ that is around about $35 000 per year. The teachers I spoke with in USA earned a lot more than $35 000 per year and one 30 year old university lecturer I know told me she earns around $70 000 per year (over £40 000). And to top it off, one $ goes a lot further there than £1 goes here.

Bottom line is that £330 in the UK is not the equivalent of $330 in the USA. It's probably the equivalent of $1000 or more.

Keep in mind also that there are Bujinkan people in England who earn a lot less than £22 000 per year. That is actually considered a fairly high salary can you belive it? It may be a "white-collar art" in the USA, but it's not only professionals that study in the Bujinkan in the UK. People I used to train with included milkmen, carpenters, cleaners and builders. Good people and helluva dedicated. These are people who probably only take home several hundred (not thousand) pounds a month. These people have trouble affording a new gi or even a bokken, so how are they expected to pay £330 on a 3-day taikai?

That's my rant for the day.

No offense meant to the US folks and yes we are still with you on Iraq
:)

[matthew18]

hi all

ive only been a bujinkan member 4 years, so the last u.k taikai i missed out on, this one is i wouldnt of missed for the world. It is killing me cos i cant attend, at the mo am gonna try to get to one day only, this is just because i havent seen Hatsumi sensei in the flesh. so £125 will be worth it just to see him. But i am off to japan next year, so i dont think ill be attending anymore taikai, well unless the price drops alot.

matthew morgan

[Rokushakubo]

Fully agree on the cost.

I hear that Brin Morgan's courses are always a bit expensive. In fact, I'm going on one of his courses an around 9 days time for one day's training and that's going to cost £35 (it's £65 for the two days, compared to the £25 I paid for one Moti Nativ course in September and a Julio Toribio course in October).

As I said, the last Tai Kai I went on was the 1995 one and that cost me £150.

The only reason I'm able to go to this one is that I won't be needing accommodation as I only live an hours drive away. £330 is horrendously expensive, but Tai Kai's are very good places to learn. It's still a hell of a lot cheaper than going to Japan! (Something I intend to do one day, though...)

[Bradenn]

The maddening thing is that it is only an hour and a half drive from my home and yet it may as well be on another continent.

:mad:

[paolo_italy]

hi guys,

have you checked-out Ohashi's website recently?

bye

[Bradenn]

About this being the last Taikai?

[paolo_italy]

exactly...

[william northcote]

I too have heard that it will be the last of the Tai Kai's. But that rumour was going round last year also.

but the price is steep. From what I have been told, you cannot go if you only wish to watch. Even for my pennies, it is way too much for me to attend, if you do you may have to pay a fee and that is not stated as to how much it may be on the web site.

Manchester is only 40 minutes drive from here by transprtation. Even when the price was announced it was way too much for me.

So is anyone willing to pirate any Tai Kai videos (kidding :D )

[Dave Pawson]

Will

"So is anyone willing to pirate any Tai Kai videos (kidding )

Don't even go there, I know your joking but some will get the wrong idea.

See you on Saturday at the Seminar hopefully

[paolo_italy]

Originally posted by Will Northcote
I too have heard that it will be the last of the Tai Kai's. But that rumour was going round last year also.


IMHO if George Ohashi (he usually is alway very careful on what to put on the net) has written the statement on his websit, I'm almost :D sure it's not just a rumour, this time.