Having done Aikido now for almost two & a half years, I have had plenty of time to assess the potential effectiveness of my design using the experiences of both myself & my fellow students & Senseis.

 Mindmap: My design exercise went very well & putting the mindmap together was particularly satisfying. Books: I have been very fortunate to find a good collection of interesting Aikido books, some of which are now out of print. Stretching exercises: These really did make a significant difference to my flexibility when I was doing them daily & this effect has continued despite having reduced their frequency for the time being. Lift sharing: On the whole, lift sharing to courses around the South West & up to Oldham has worked quite well. The club now subsidises full vehicles entirely & part-full ones only to the degree by which they are filled.

 New teachers: Our club now has two home grown Senseis who have recently taken over from our original Sensei, who has taken on another club at which the Sensei retired (old age). The other club that our original Sensei was running has also been taken on by new Senseis & so the system is beginning to bear more fruit. Appreciation: I initiated buying a beautiful Acer (Japanese Maple) tree to which other students contributed, for each of our Senseis last year to show our appreciation for their efforts, & they were both very gratefully received. Sign: I was really pleased with the Aikido sign that I made; it has since been used regularly at sessions & has a special place in my caravan in between. Fun: There is no doubt that we do have plenty of this & it really helps the group to bond together. Club socials occur most months after training & yes, we do have the Christmas parties too.
 

 Injuries: I haven't yet managed to consistently avoid injuries as they have also occurred as a result of my gardening work & once from going over the handlebars of my bicycle. Dojo: So far the club's attempts to find a suitable Dojo have not yielded anywhere suitable. In the meantime we have been moved back & forth from different venues, one of which was on the outskirts of town & was difficult for some students to get to. DVD: Trying to convince Sensei Kolesnikov that it would be worth his while updating the video, especially as I don't have a digital video camera & the skills to do it myself!

 Double booking: Despite doing my best to avoid it, some things have still clashed frustratingly. Perhaps the most frustrating one being the date this year that I had planned to host a Council of Management meeting at my home for the first time, clashing with my one opportunity every six months to grade for my next Aikido belt. Training: Finding the self-discipline to train regularly on my own. Trying to arrange to train with others outside normal sessions, when I live so far from everyone else. Books: Finding the time to read all these great Aikido books that I have acquired. Being frustrated at having lent two books out now & having never seen them again (people who stopped coming to training); it doesn't give me much confidence to donate the others I have to a club library!

 Numbers: Keeping enough adults coming to training despite their other commitments. Helping with the childrens' class (to help out Sensei), but finding them difficult to deal with. Getting other adults to come & help with the childrens' class, so it's easier for us all & there is less chaos. There are a lot of children (25-30 per session) & it is important that there are enough adults there for them to get what they need too, so that they will keep coming. Turnover: Keeping new members has been difficult as they have often found themselves on their own as beginners & I remember how daunting that can feel. I had a lot of determination to learn the art, but not everyone has that much focus.
 

 Not a great deal..... Inertia: I probably should have taken more account of how difficult it might be to get these ideas across to people, especially Sensei Kolesnikov. He is obviously a very busy man, though spending a little time implementing some of these strategies could make life easier for him in the future. New members: Also I might have put even further emphasis on keeping new students from giving up early on, as the proportion of those that have stayed against those who haven't is very low. One way that was successful before was doing a big publicity drive which brought several new students in together & then they didn't feel so much on their own. Now there are four of them who have graded to green belt together.