A note from the new president of the BIA.

I would like to thank Allan Tattersall for his time as President of the BIA, having known Allan for many years, and in fact he would be the first to admit that I was his first Iaido student. So thankyou Allan, these are a big pair of shoes that you have left me and I will endeavour to fill them and indeed promote us even more.

Having been involved in Martial Arts/Budo for over 52 years, and at the tender age of 82 years young, I often find myself reflecting on my past experiences, with the various Sensei and Instructors that I have met and trained with on my journey. So it is at this point that I would have to say a heart felt thankyou to the key stone of my Martial Arts experiences, Sensei Joe Balko.

Having been questioned by my family and friends as to my getting up at 6:30am to go training three times a week, my answer is always the same, firstly I enjoy Budo, and it gives me a quality of life that people 30 years younger struggle to have, and secondly I have no wish to stagnate and deteriorate in front of the television.

So as new President my goals are to try and promote legitimate Iaido and increase membership, as these two seem to go hand in glove. I will also be trying to attend more seminars and putting it to the BIA committee that we have two day long seminars a year, as voted on at the AGM.