Formal Education
- Bachelor Degree in Science, majoring in Computer Science from Flinders University, South Australia (2000)
- Government Accredited Diploma in Remedial Massage (2007). Natural Health Academy of South Australia
- Practitioner Advanced Diploma in Oriental Therapies (2008) (i.e. not government accredited). Natural Health Academy
- Government Accredited Diploma in Shiatsu and Oriental Therapies (2008)
- Enrolled in a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Science endorsed in Occupational Health and Safety at the University of Otago for 2010
- Member of the International Institute of Complementary Therapists.
What this boils down to is I have good computer skills with 8 years experience in I.T. . My massage diplomas have given me a good background in Western and Eastern modalities, with a focus on Traditional Chinese Medicine and five element theory as applied to massage and diet. I am not qualified in acupuncture or chinese herbs but do practice acupressure. Application of Chinese medicine in this respect is by manipulation of the physical and energetic bodies. I am currently self employed as a massage therapist.
In most of the jobs I have done I have been responsible for mentoring, and writing and providing training to new employees, though I have no formal qualifications in this respect but experience.
Other work experience
I've held a number of part time jobs, principally while studying my Uni degree. I have done canvassing, telemarketing, promotions, sales, DJ'ing, cleaning houses and factory work. Most of my work has involved working with people, building rapport, interpersonal communication and 'reading' (not psychic reading but intense observation) of people to better sell/serve/communicate with them.
Martial Arts Experience
I joined the Flinders University Judo club in 1995 and practiced Judo for 2 years, grading to Level 3 in the process. I then moved to Melbourne (another state) which did not have many Judo clubs for me to train with, later that year I competed for Flinders Uni at the Intervarsity games (as I was still a Flinders student, finishing my degree by getting credit for classes taken at Melbourne Uni) and broke my leg in the final game of my weight division. I gave Judo up after healing as my leg could no longer take the pounding on the mats, and took up Wing Chun Kung Fu. I practiced this for 2 years, once again grading to the mid-levels before becoming pregnant with my first child. While I was unable to train my club closed down, and we moved back to Adelaide where I found another Wing Chun group to train with for about 5 months before becoming pregnant again.
With two little kids I didn't train for a while, but in 2007 I took up Tai Chi, and completed learning the Yang 24 form and the Sword Form in 2008. I have done a small amount of Tai Chi instruction.
In 2009, I moved to Dunedin, New Zealand. Soon after settling in I joined the Otago Kendo Club, and at this point in time I have graded to 5th kyu level and participated in several seminars and competitions. I am greatly enjoying kendo, which is a good combination of physical skill and mental manouvering. I am working to actively promote and build the local kendo club member base.
To summarise, I have only trained to mid-levels in a few different martial arts, but have been involved in a general way with the martial art community for some time. I believe I am capable of taking care of myself to a reasonable degree, and also enjoy reading and researching about martial arts and the principles behind them.
General Information
I'm an introspective sort of person, I've done a lot of reading, writing, soul-searching and have worked hard on myself to become the sort of person I want to be. Age, family and experience are (slowly) helping me to identify and work on my faults, for example in my early twenties I used to take criticism very hard, get defensive and angry, and these days I can hardly remember why I got so upset (must be all the practice I received in getting it).
I have some skills, or talents, or whatever one might term them, in the 'psychic' arts. I've had a few precognitive events, these have mostly been unsought. I can usually pick up on what others are feeling, and am also 'good' with animals. I've studied Eastern practices and am starting to look at Shamanism and Western practices as well. In 2008 I undertook the full cycle of initiations in Munay Ki, which are South American shamanic initiations.
Sustainable Living
I am very interested in matters of the environment and sustainable living, and have been doing a lot of research and practical application in this direction for a few years now. It is my belief that in future, our communities will be under a lot of stress from problems caused by, for example, depletion of oil stocks, food shortages etc. Coming from a rural background, I've been refreshing myself on the growing and care of food plants, livestock etc for example. I can give further details on my plans and training goals in this area to anyone who's prepared to be bored silly by my enthusiasm for this topic.
Jedi Academy
I started out at the JEDI Academy as a student counsellor, then ended up helping as an Admin, and over time sort of fell into an instructing role. I have been Principal of the current Jedi Academy and stepped down last year to Vice because I didn't feel I had the time the role needed. Currently I am working with the rest of the team on a revamp of the site and its curriculum. I am honestly not entirely sure how long I've been with the Academy but I think it might be 6 years. I think that one of my stronger areas in teaching is writing clear and informative material.