A PROPER birthday party....

[Chidokan]

ok, I'm getting older....no jokes....

Anyway, to celebrate I have decided to have a seminar/party for two days on 15th/16th December. Training is 9-5pm both days, with an evening intermission at the local chinese restaurant and various drinking establishments. The hall is big enough to split up into a few areas with nice big curtains to hide the kendo from the iaido from the tameshigiri.
The venue is in... wait for it...the worst place to live in the UK as voted for on national tv...!! yes you've guessed, it's Middlesborough!

Hall use as usual is free of charge, so bring bogu, swords and shinken for cutting mats if you have them. (some mats provided, but if you have some bring them along...)
I reckon the place will hold about 100 people for training, so places will be limited in the following order... my old MA teachers/friends, old and current students, then others if there is space. All welcome from on here of course!

Friday night before, an opportunity for longbow/kyudo practise at the local archery club.

Sign up below...

[Ken-Hawaii]

...versus an IMproper birthday...??

[Kim Taylor]

Happy Birthday Y'old fart.

I'd be there if I weren't over the pond.

Kim Taylor

[Chidokan]

it may get improper on saturday night... Fortunately we are not staying in the hall so a blend of shinken, tatami mats and whiskey at 3am will not result in a discussion on the effects of tsuki. Anyone who has tried that will know it takes at least three goes to hit the mat... because it keeps moving...

[Ken-Hawaii]

And probably no argument on who gets to cut the birthday cake, either - right, Tim?

How many years has your body been around, by the way? Notice that I'm not asking how old you are....

[Chidokan]

in cricketing terms, I've hit a half century bodywise... mentally I still have the mind of a teeenager, thus qualifying OFFICIALLY as a dirty old pervert.

Finally... an accolade I can be PROUD of!

How did you guess I was using a wakizashi to cut the cake? It will be katate waza of course... I am also having a cake in the shape of a sword, like we did for Iwata sensei on his last birthday here!

[Ken-Hawaii]

Just an eddykated guess on the wakizashi, Tim - that's almost what I did for my 60th birthday last year. Sensei & his wife had us over for a gorgeous sushi/sashimi spread, but when he brought out the cake, I cut it with my shinken from jodan. Wish someone had a camera ready, just to catch Sensei's expression!!

I like your idea of a sword-shaped cake, too. We can use that for our next dojo anniversary party.

Have a happy 50th, Tim, & be sure to have someone there sober enough to document it!

[Chidokan]

the other cake I had done one time was a Musashi tsuba... now that looked really good!