2008 Nationals

From 23-29 March, Melbourne hosted the 27th JKA Australia Nationals, with ~250 Aussies and Kiwis coming together to train and compete. It was a pretty awesome sight to see that number of people training in sync (under the guidance of some of Japan's most accomplished instructors) and to see the camaraderie among those that have invested blood sweat and tears in the pursuit of karate.

See here for a recap of the week and here for the tournament victors.

On the Banks of the Mighty Murray

What do Victorians do while Americans get all soft chowing down on Turkey for Thanksgiving? Well, if they're in JKA, they go and spent the weekend at the annual Mildura Gasshuku. The weather was more favourable than last year, with temperatures peaking at only 28 as opposed to 38 (but the flies were there again to torment us).

After struggling with last year's drive from Melbourne to Mildura, I opted to wing it this time around, trading a six hour drive for a one hour flight. This gave me the opportunity to see the great line in the sand from above, and by that I mean the line where dryland agriculture (or attempts at it) in northern Victoria stops and irrigated agriculture starts. The contrast is quite striking - one massive brown band snuggled up next to a lush green one (as long as the Murray keeps flowing).