GRAHAM’S AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Left Fresno for Los Angles on Wednesday August 19th at 8pm and connected to a Qantas flight to Melbourne that touched down at 8am Friday Australian time.
Meeting me from the airport was Peter Tasiopoulos (Tassie) a good friend whom I hadn’t seen for two years, five minutes later it seemed like it was only a couple of days since we had last been together.
Leaving the airport Pete drove the coastal route to his house in one of Melbourne’s outlying suburbs. I snatched a quick two hours sleep and then it was a short two minute walk to a great little café by the side of the lake near Pete’s home.
Aussie pies - “yum” couldn’t make my mind up if I should have the steak pie or sausage roll, decided to have both (decisions, decisions).
Back to the house for a short rest and a chance to catch up with Pete’s wife Jodie. She’s a great girl with an infectious personality and good fun to hang out with, also staying at the house was Tim Barnes and his wife Tracy who had driven all the way from Adelaide to attend the seminars.
Two seminars on the first day at Pete’s school - children first followed by the adults. Both were well attended and well received. Besides the local students people had travelled from other cities to attend.
A seminar over it was back to Pete and Jodie’s for pizza and beer with a few of the guys and then a very welcome bed.
Day two started with a late breakfast followed by a seminar with Pete’s adults. A while later and a little more chilled out, it was off for a quick look at Melbourne’s city centre, very busy but also very nice - similar to the water front at the London eye, a famous landmark on the river Thames in England, only difference was the Melbourne eye was broken.
A nice meal on the way home with Pete, Jodie, Tim and Tracy and it was back to the house and the land of nod.
Day three was breakfast at the café followed with some one on one with Pete before heading to the city centre again with Pete, Jodie and the kids. After a few hours in the city it was time to move on to my second location, Tony Billman’s on the other side of the city.
I first meet Tony and Wes Wheelhouse the previous year in New Zealand while I was teaching at James Rodriguez’s school in Hamilton, so it was great to have the chance to give seminars at their respective schools. Tony is one of those guys who never seem to run out of energy and his wife Liz is out of the same mould (a really good couple).
A short drive to check my bags at the hotel and it was off with Tony to a good old fashioned fish and chip shop for a take away. Full up with fish and chips and a couple of beers it was back to the hotel and bed.
The following day was a nice easy pace with a late breakfast and time to spend some one on one with Tony before Wes joined us after travelling down from Bendigo. Next day was much of the same and a chance to get into a lot more depth on techniques and forms.
In the evening I got the chance to work with some of Tony’s youngsters and they rose to the challenge of showing me some strong basics, with a few games thrown in for good measure.
The adult seminar that followed was very well attended especially as the biggest storm of the year decided to erupt at the same time as the seminars. Tony was worried that there would not be enough room on the mat, but we managed and had a lot of energy buzzing around which created a great atmosphere. Peter Tass came from the opposite side of Melbourne on a bleak night to get in an extra nights training before I headed north to Bendigo, good on you cobber.
We followed the seminars with a trip to an Italian restaurant that obviously didn’t know where the switch was to turn the heating on, but the food was good and with a few beers and Tony cracking jokes it was a good way to finish the Melbourne part of the tour.
After a late breakfast with Tony and Liz it was time for Wes and myself to head north (I think) to Wes and Helen’s home on the outskirts of Bendigo. Their house lies directly on a river bank, wonderfully peaceful and a lot warmer than Melbourne.
After a nice relaxing walk with Helen, Wes and their dog, who is actually more like a mid size pony, it was off to Wes and Johnny’s school to spend some time with the instructors, a motley crew if I ever saw one (just kidding). We covered the insights into the structure of forms one and two - something that I had covered with Tony and Wes in Melbourne and something that Wes wanted reinforced with his own team.
The following day was broken up into three seminars, instructors, children and adults. All were very well attended and we were joined by Tony Billman and a few of his students that drove up from Melbourne.
I have to say that the enthusiasm shown by all three groups for a better understanding of Mr. Parker’s system was a credit to Wes and Johnny and their school along with Peter Tass and Tony Billman’s schools in Melbourne are setting a very high standard of Kenpo in Australia.
Next day was a very early start for Tony and myself, after a quick breakfast with Helen and Wes and as much coffee as we could get into us we set off on the three hour drive to the airport for the flight to Brisbane.
A big thank you to Tony is in order not only for making himself available to get me to my flight but also for spending a long time the previous night working his magic on my damaged knee that had swelled to about twice the normal size. (Thanks mate)
After about a two hour flight it was next stop Brisbane where I was met by Simon Rea, who along with three partners has recently opened a new professional studio called Studio Plus.
After a short drive to the school we were met there by Jo one of Simon’s partners who I had met once before in Sydney. Jo gave me the quick tour of the studio, which would make most martial art schools jealous, before the three of us left for a light lunch.
After lunch it was back to the studio for a little one on one with both Simon and Jo before we were joined for a semi private by the Teston family “nice people” a little bit of down time while Simon took the little dragons class and then it was back to work with the kids class.
Again just as it was in Melbourne there was a lot of energy in these kids and they were fun to work with, I think they enjoyed themselves.
Then came the big boys and of course the better looking girls, I don’t know what they feed them in that part of Brisbane but they sure are big, not at all fat - just big! I don’t even remember what we covered that night but I know they were enjoying themselves and a great bunch to work with.
After the seminar it was beer and pizza that Simon’s wife Angela had brought in and a chance to get to know the group socially.
An hour or so later it was time to say our goodbyes and head back with Steve and Merry Broadbent to their beautiful house where I was spending the night. They are just as nice a couple as you could ever wish to meet and although I had only known them for a few hours I felt extremely comfortable in their home.
The following day after being treated to a huge breakfast by Merry it was off to the final stop on the tour, Tony Perez who actually only lives a stone’s throw from Steve and Merry’s house.
A nice and easy relaxing couple of hours just catching up with Tony and his better half Leah (hope I spelt that right) and it was time for the first seminar, a women’s only self defense class. I don’t normally do much in the way of this type of class but we made it up as we went along and it turned out to be a big hit, they were a tough bunch of girls who with a bit of persuasion hit really hard. I also got to meet for the first time Jack Nylon one of Lee Wedlake’s Black Belts who had recently moved back to Australia. Jack had turned up to volunteer his body for the self defense class – fool!
From there we moved on to one of the local parks for an adult karate seminar and although the number of students taking part was disappointing we still had a good time and a chance for Jack and me to get to know one another.
Back to Tony’s house for a little rest before going through a gate in the garden fence to Richard’s house and a great curry dinner cooked by Richard. Richard is Tony’s co-instructor and incidentally shares the same birthday as me.
Next day was at the park again for the kid’s seminar and although the numbers were again very disappointing and too many distractions going on in the park for the children to really concentrate, we did manage to at least keep them smiling. After the seminar I had a chance to catch up with the adults from the previous day while sharing a picnic and a few beers, good fun.
Last evening in Australia was spent at Tony and Leah’s with a delicious meal that Leah had cooked. Richard and his wife joined us and what can I say, ‘good food, good wine and good company’ was a good way to wrap up this tour before making the long journey home to California.
Many thanks to everyone who made me feel so welcome especially to Wes and Pete who put in so much of the ground work to make this happen, I hope it’s not too long before I see you all again and remember my home is always open to you.
Sincerely Graham
Left Fresno for Los Angles on Wednesday August 19th at 8pm and connected to a Qantas flight to Melbourne that touched down at 8am Friday Australian time.
Meeting me from the airport was Peter Tasiopoulos (Tassie) a good friend whom I hadn’t seen for two years, five minutes later it seemed like it was only a couple of days since we had last been together.
Leaving the airport Pete drove the coastal route to his house in one of Melbourne’s outlying suburbs. I snatched a quick two hours sleep and then it was a short two minute walk to a great little café by the side of the lake near Pete’s home.
Aussie pies - “yum” couldn’t make my mind up if I should have the steak pie or sausage roll, decided to have both (decisions, decisions).
Back to the house for a short rest and a chance to catch up with Pete’s wife Jodie. She’s a great girl with an infectious personality and good fun to hang out with, also staying at the house was Tim Barnes and his wife Tracy who had driven all the way from Adelaide to attend the seminars.
Two seminars on the first day at Pete’s school - children first followed by the adults. Both were well attended and well received. Besides the local students people had travelled from other cities to attend.
A seminar over it was back to Pete and Jodie’s for pizza and beer with a few of the guys and then a very welcome bed.
Day two started with a late breakfast followed by a seminar with Pete’s adults. A while later and a little more chilled out, it was off for a quick look at Melbourne’s city centre, very busy but also very nice - similar to the water front at the London eye, a famous landmark on the river Thames in England, only difference was the Melbourne eye was broken.
A nice meal on the way home with Pete, Jodie, Tim and Tracy and it was back to the house and the land of nod.
Day three was breakfast at the café followed with some one on one with Pete before heading to the city centre again with Pete, Jodie and the kids. After a few hours in the city it was time to move on to my second location, Tony Billman’s on the other side of the city.
I first meet Tony and Wes Wheelhouse the previous year in New Zealand while I was teaching at James Rodriguez’s school in Hamilton, so it was great to have the chance to give seminars at their respective schools. Tony is one of those guys who never seem to run out of energy and his wife Liz is out of the same mould (a really good couple).
A short drive to check my bags at the hotel and it was off with Tony to a good old fashioned fish and chip shop for a take away. Full up with fish and chips and a couple of beers it was back to the hotel and bed.
The following day was a nice easy pace with a late breakfast and time to spend some one on one with Tony before Wes joined us after travelling down from Bendigo. Next day was much of the same and a chance to get into a lot more depth on techniques and forms.
In the evening I got the chance to work with some of Tony’s youngsters and they rose to the challenge of showing me some strong basics, with a few games thrown in for good measure.
The adult seminar that followed was very well attended especially as the biggest storm of the year decided to erupt at the same time as the seminars. Tony was worried that there would not be enough room on the mat, but we managed and had a lot of energy buzzing around which created a great atmosphere. Peter Tass came from the opposite side of Melbourne on a bleak night to get in an extra nights training before I headed north to Bendigo, good on you cobber.
We followed the seminars with a trip to an Italian restaurant that obviously didn’t know where the switch was to turn the heating on, but the food was good and with a few beers and Tony cracking jokes it was a good way to finish the Melbourne part of the tour.
After a late breakfast with Tony and Liz it was time for Wes and myself to head north (I think) to Wes and Helen’s home on the outskirts of Bendigo. Their house lies directly on a river bank, wonderfully peaceful and a lot warmer than Melbourne.
After a nice relaxing walk with Helen, Wes and their dog, who is actually more like a mid size pony, it was off to Wes and Johnny’s school to spend some time with the instructors, a motley crew if I ever saw one (just kidding). We covered the insights into the structure of forms one and two - something that I had covered with Tony and Wes in Melbourne and something that Wes wanted reinforced with his own team.
The following day was broken up into three seminars, instructors, children and adults. All were very well attended and we were joined by Tony Billman and a few of his students that drove up from Melbourne.
I have to say that the enthusiasm shown by all three groups for a better understanding of Mr. Parker’s system was a credit to Wes and Johnny and their school along with Peter Tass and Tony Billman’s schools in Melbourne are setting a very high standard of Kenpo in Australia.
Next day was a very early start for Tony and myself, after a quick breakfast with Helen and Wes and as much coffee as we could get into us we set off on the three hour drive to the airport for the flight to Brisbane.
A big thank you to Tony is in order not only for making himself available to get me to my flight but also for spending a long time the previous night working his magic on my damaged knee that had swelled to about twice the normal size. (Thanks mate)
After about a two hour flight it was next stop Brisbane where I was met by Simon Rea, who along with three partners has recently opened a new professional studio called Studio Plus.
After a short drive to the school we were met there by Jo one of Simon’s partners who I had met once before in Sydney. Jo gave me the quick tour of the studio, which would make most martial art schools jealous, before the three of us left for a light lunch.
After lunch it was back to the studio for a little one on one with both Simon and Jo before we were joined for a semi private by the Teston family “nice people” a little bit of down time while Simon took the little dragons class and then it was back to work with the kids class.
Again just as it was in Melbourne there was a lot of energy in these kids and they were fun to work with, I think they enjoyed themselves.
Then came the big boys and of course the better looking girls, I don’t know what they feed them in that part of Brisbane but they sure are big, not at all fat - just big! I don’t even remember what we covered that night but I know they were enjoying themselves and a great bunch to work with.
After the seminar it was beer and pizza that Simon’s wife Angela had brought in and a chance to get to know the group socially.
An hour or so later it was time to say our goodbyes and head back with Steve and Merry Broadbent to their beautiful house where I was spending the night. They are just as nice a couple as you could ever wish to meet and although I had only known them for a few hours I felt extremely comfortable in their home.
The following day after being treated to a huge breakfast by Merry it was off to the final stop on the tour, Tony Perez who actually only lives a stone’s throw from Steve and Merry’s house.
A nice and easy relaxing couple of hours just catching up with Tony and his better half Leah (hope I spelt that right) and it was time for the first seminar, a women’s only self defense class. I don’t normally do much in the way of this type of class but we made it up as we went along and it turned out to be a big hit, they were a tough bunch of girls who with a bit of persuasion hit really hard. I also got to meet for the first time Jack Nylon one of Lee Wedlake’s Black Belts who had recently moved back to Australia. Jack had turned up to volunteer his body for the self defense class – fool!
From there we moved on to one of the local parks for an adult karate seminar and although the number of students taking part was disappointing we still had a good time and a chance for Jack and me to get to know one another.
Back to Tony’s house for a little rest before going through a gate in the garden fence to Richard’s house and a great curry dinner cooked by Richard. Richard is Tony’s co-instructor and incidentally shares the same birthday as me.
Next day was at the park again for the kid’s seminar and although the numbers were again very disappointing and too many distractions going on in the park for the children to really concentrate, we did manage to at least keep them smiling. After the seminar I had a chance to catch up with the adults from the previous day while sharing a picnic and a few beers, good fun.
Last evening in Australia was spent at Tony and Leah’s with a delicious meal that Leah had cooked. Richard and his wife joined us and what can I say, ‘good food, good wine and good company’ was a good way to wrap up this tour before making the long journey home to California.
Many thanks to everyone who made me feel so welcome especially to Wes and Pete who put in so much of the ground work to make this happen, I hope it’s not too long before I see you all again and remember my home is always open to you.
Sincerely Graham