| President's
Letter - Fall 2009 |
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I'd
like to thank the JA representatives,
instructors, and members for your support
and trust. I take this responsibility
and commitment very seriously, and I am
absolutely dedicated to building a strong
and vital Jujitsu America by working closely
with all our members. I'd also like to
extend a heartfelt thank-you to our Past
President, Sensei Scott Merrill, and all
of the officers in the prior administration
for their hard work and dedication during
the previous term.
Going forward,
in order to achieve successful results
we need to focus our immediate attention
on those efforts that will deliver the
greatest value and impact for our organization.
We will focus on a few key areas designed
to deliver greater experience for our
members, increase active participation
and membership, and continue Jujitsu
America's role as a leading martial
arts organization. From there, we will
expand our efforts, but this is where
we'll start.
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and foremost, our primary focus will be on driving
a diverse set of training events and activities
for all our members. We will schedule regular
activities on a regional basis and promote them
in advance. For example, in the SF Bay Area,
we hold a bi-monthly instructor meeting and
clinic at rotating locations, with clinic open
to all members and non-members. We will now
begin to schedule these training events a full
year in advance and publicize the events on
the JA website, by email, and through other
communications vehicles, so everyone can plan
and schedule accordingly. Our goal is to achieve
higher participation levels among members and
non-members.
We will also
encourage each of our Regional Directors to
hold open JA training events at least on a
quarterly basis, so that we have regular training
activities open to all members and non-members
taking place in the various geographies and
throughout the year.
Tournament events
provide the best opportunity for our students
to apply the skills they are developing through
their training in a vigorously competitive
environment that is still safe and controlled.
This allows each competitor to find out immediately
what works for them and what doesn't - there
is no better way to test themselves and advance
their own training. And, over the past several
years and through the efforts of many dedicated
folks, we have developed a robust competition
program covering Sport Jujitsu, Kata, and
Freestyle Self-Defense. This breadth in the
JA competition program means that there is
truly something for every interested competitor.
We've recently
re-aligned our activities and are focusing
going forward on working with Tiger Claw,
our longtime martial arts supplier and partner.
Tiger Claw presents a full calendar of events
throughout the United States and has graciously
invited Jujitsu America to present Sport Jujitsu,
Kata, and Freestyle Self-Defense Tournaments
as part of the calendar of Tiger Claw tournaments.
We will start with a few selected events in
key locations and expand from there.
Looking to our
traditional training, we will absolutely maintain
and reinforce our longstanding commitment
to our historical roots and traditions, while
we also continue to develop, evolve, and grow
as an organization. We are doing so through
our commitment to our traditional training
(such as the JA Okugi 2010 being presented
in Spring 2010), through our continued commitment
to our Massage Therapy program, through our
competition program, and through our commitment
to regular interaction and training among
all our members. Each of these commitments
is realized through the diversity and ongoing
efforts of all our dedicated instructors,
competitors, and members. For that commitment,
and for all your support, I thank you and
I look forward to working with each of you
in building a vibrant Jujitsu America!
Contact me anytime
at eric.renner@comcast.net.
All the best,
Eric Renner
President
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