The institutes journal, the IMAS Quarterly (IQ) has been assigned it’s very own International Standard Serial NUmber, or ISSN, from the British Library.

This is really great news, and further demonstrates the academic validity of the institute and it’s work.

IMAS would like to thank all those who have helped in realising this Important goal.

At long last, the first issue of our official journal, the IMAS Quarterly or IQ is due to be published this coming December.

This is a very important step in the development of the institute, helping to further establish it as a truly professional body dedicated to education and research in the martial arts and sciences.

The IQ will, as the name suggests, be published four times a year, and will be peer reviewed by various referees, in accordance with accepted academic standards. While it is only members of faculty who are both expected and required to publish manuscripts, members are also encouraged to submit articles and news. So, please start getting your ideas down on paper, and stay tuned for more information coming soon.

The Martial Arts Instructors Award (MAIA) is now externally accredited by the Qualifications Network (QNUK) a Government registered awarding body through Ofqual.

This makes the MAIA, which is already a very popular course, even more attractive to instructors who want the “Complete Package”, as it now comes with both QNUK accreditation and a years free membership of the IMAS.

The International Martial Arts and Combat Sports Scientific Society (IMACSSS) will be holding a conference in the ancient and historical town of Genova, Italy. 8th-10th June 2012. Stay posted for more details coming soon in the next Newsletter.

All members of IMAS are encouraged to support this important event.

We live in an electronic age. Communication technology has helped make the world a very small place indeed, with our ability to send messages now being almost instantaneous.

A good, strong web-presence is absolutely vital these days, and the way your website looks and the information and pictures it contains can convey the important messages you want far more effectively than any other medium.

Yes, I know there are ways of designing our own websites for free, but: We also know how dreadful these can end up looking, and this can reflect upon your club or association in an extremely negative way. You can do everything else as well as you might but all this effort will be in vain if you don’t carry this through to your website.

Once it is up and running, your website is there 24/7 for anyone, anywhere to access the information and contact details they need for your club/association and, in this way alone, a good website can soon pay dividends.

There are a lot of credible companies out there that will design websites for you, and do a very good job of it as well. Unfortunately, most of these charge an extortionate amount for their services and some won’t even listen properly to what you want, or advise you as to how to make it better.

In addition, very few of the people that run these companies are practicing martial artists themselves, and so are out of touch when it comes to appreciating your particular wants and needs. And that is what makes Martial Webs so very different.

Martial Webs is a company that is run by lifelong practitioners of the martial arts, and is dedicated to providing a professional service at an affordable rate to martial arts clubs and associations. They will provide help, guidance and advice and will listen to what you want and help you to achieve that outcome. With the result being a professional looking, informative website of which you can rightfully be proud.

I am not a great one for marketing, as some of you will know, but, as a lecturer and instructor, I do appreciate the value of effective communication and the importance of being able to get the right message across. And thats why I both understand and endorse the excellent services this company provides to the martial arts fraternity.

So, if you are considering getting your first ever website, or updating the one you already have, I would strongly advise you to have a look at what this company has to offer.

www.martialwebs.com

Important: Already being very reasonable, this company offers preferential rates to members of the IMAS.

Last year alone, over 200,000 students failed to secure a place at university here in the UK.  In addition, the recent increases in the fee structure has put a degree level education far out of reach of many bright young people.

The Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences is delighted to announce the following exciting alternative for any interested parties, and would appreciate it if all Fellows and Faculty would be so kind as to draw the attention of their students to this information.

The University of Tsukuba is one of Japan’s best respected universities, both academically and in its Judo reputation.  Tsukuba is currently ranked in the top 10 Japanese universities in terms of its academic performance, while in the last world championships in Tokyo, Tsukuba students and graduates won 10 medals – including four gold medals.  Their coach, Okada-sensei, is a two-time World Champion, Olympic Bronze medalist, and five-time All-Japan Champion.  Furthermore, Jigoro Kano – the founder of Judo, and father of the Japanese Olympic movement – was President of the forerunner of Tsukuba University for 23 years.  Studying at Tsukuba lets you get one of the best possible educations for your future, while also giving you the opportunity to train (in your spare time) in one of the best environments possible.

As well as Judo, they have an impressive record in Kendo, with their men’s team winning the All-Japan Universities championships 9 times, while their women’s team has won 7 times.  Their Kendo coach, Koda-sensei, holds the highest grade awarded in Kendo, 8^th dan, and is a former world champion.  His teaching team comprises two 7^th dans, a 6^th dan ladies coach and another 5^th dan.  They have three karate clubs on campus; the university’s official club (Wado-ryu), plus a JKA shotokan club and a self-defense karate club, and a wide variety of other martial arts, such as shorenji kempo and aikido.

Tsukuba offers new undergraduate degree programs taught in English in two overarching themes; Life and Environmental Science and International and Social Studies.  The Life and Environmental Science theme includes degrees in Biological Sciences, Agrobiological Resource Science and Geoscience / Earth Science, while the International and Social Studies theme offers a degree with majors in Sociology, Law (Japanese), Political Science, Economics, International Relations and International Development.  A wide range of postgraduate programs are also available.

University accommodation is guaranteed for first year G30 students, and starts at about 14,000 yen per month (about 100 GBP).  Japan is one of the world’s safest countries, and Tsukuba is no exception to that. Tsukuba is a small, green, relaxed university town with one of the most internationally diverse communities in Japan, nestled between the largely agricultural Northern Tohoku region, and the highly urbanized Kanto region.  With surfing in the Pacific Ocean only 50km away to the East, and the Olympic ski slopes of Nagano less than two and half hours to the West, there is something for every taste within easy reach of Tsukuba.

Global 30 students studying at the University of Tsukuba pay domestic fees – 535,800 yen per year (approximately £4,000).  Unlike domestic students, however, they pay no university entrance fee (normally half a year’s tuition), and for undergraduate students, the first year tuition is waived.   As well as their low fees, they also have a wide range of generous scholarships.  Undergraduate students with high academic scores can receive a Tsukuba Scholarship, providing a 100,000 yen travel allowance and either 60,000 or 100,000 yen a month (about 450 and 750 pounds respectively) living expenses during their first year (August – March), with a second year Tsukuba scholarship recently announced.  The second year Tsukuba Scholarship, like various other scholarships, covers tuition fees, further reducing the costs of studying at Tsukuba.   A wide range of other scholarships are available in years two, three and four, which our International Student Centre will help you apply for.  About 50% of students within the university receive a scholarship each year.  Depending on test score and scholarship success, an undergraduate education at Tsukuba can range from being free to a maximum of £12,000 – considerably cheaper than the UK or US.

Further information is available from http://www.global.tsukuba.ac.jp/

Questions can be emailed to Louis Irving at irving.louis.fb@u.tsukuba.ac.jp

This is really an outstanding opportunity, as it offers people the chance of studying at a very well respected and prestigious university, and to train with some of the best martial arts instructors in one of the traditional homes of the oriental combative arts.

It is certainly an offer which should be taken advantage of, and is one which I know most of us “oldies” would have jumped at.

The new book, The Complete Martial Arts Instructor. A manual for teaching martial arts effectively and safely” is available now (Dispatch from Monday, 18th July). 250 Pages packed full of useful and relevant information for all instructors.

Purchase your copy easily by using the convenient link on this website and support the IMAS in it’s important work.

A very important announcement concerning a prestigious university in Japan will be appearing here shortly.

Stay Tuned.