[Dl-members] Ojukan New Year Events and Information

[Ojukan Judo Staff]

Folks:

*Club Pricing Change*
Beginning January 1, 2016, Ojukan will be increasing monthly student fees
from $35/month to $40/month in reflection of the increasing costs
associated with managing the dojo.

On January 1, 2016, Ojukan will also begin offering discounted pricing for
3-month bundles.  If you pay dues 3-months at a time, the cost for the
3-month bundle will be $105, instead of of $120.  By way of comparison $105
is the current price for 3 months, where students pay $35/month.  So if you
start paying dues 3 months at a time, there is no net increase in cost to
you.

Ojukan's policy of family rates for two or more students in the same family
remains unchanged.  Pay for two (2) students and the whole family is
eligible to train at that same low price.

Ojukan Judo is strictly a non-profit organization, but we need to routinely
replace mats, pay rent, and purchase supplies, so occasional price
adjustments are a necessity of keeping the doors open.

*Kagami Biraki, Saturday January 16th, 2016.*
*10:00AM-12:00 Noon*.  Open Judo practice.  All clubs welcome to join us
for practice and celebrate the new year!
*12:30PM-3:00PM* Kagami Biraki (part traditional Japanese ceremony, part
pot luck).
Location: Hillsboro National Guard Armory

This is a family oriented celebration.  Everyone is welcome!

*Kagami Biraki* (鏡開き) is a Japanese
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language> traditional ceremony
which literally translates to "Opening the Mirror" (from an abstinence) or,
also, "Breaking of the Mochi <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi>."
Ceremony

The ceremony nowadays is also performed at weddings, sporting events,
opening days at new companies, and other significant events worthy of being
celebrated.

In Japan, mochi was traditionally made at home, but most families today buy
it ready-made. Over the holidays, a pair of round mochi (kagami mochi
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagami_mochi>) the size of small plates --
one a little larger than the other -- is stacked on a stand and placed in a
household Shinto <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto> or Buddhist
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist> altar
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altar> or tokonoma
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokonoma> as an offering to the deities
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deities> that visit on New Year's. The
ornamental mochi is later removed and broken into smaller pieces before
being eaten.

Many Japanese martial arts <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_arts> dojo
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dojo> use the Kagami Biraki ceremony
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremony> to signify their first practice of
the New Year <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year>.

This will be a pot-luck event.  Tables, chairs, plates, platic-ware,
beverages and mochi will be provided by Ojukan.


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Ojukan Judo