Second Chances Are All The Rage

It turned out that Will Churchill had quite a bit to say as we sat on the verandah overlooking our reed-lined pond last night, waiting for the moon to emerge from mountain mists. So let's get straight into it:

DojoMojo Blog: Welcome as usual, Will, to the serene surroundings of the Dojo Gardens. We know you normally prefer to speak in 17-syllable poems, but do you think you might be able to elaborate a little on your thoughts about our game last week?

Will Churchill: Hell yes, Steve! Like a trip to the playboy mansion, being asked to visit the Dojo grove for a second time is like meeting God again and getting a chance to ask a question better than "why are we here?" Second chances are all the rage.

DMB: Excellent - let's get comfortable then with a nice cup of tea and a little shakuhachi music. Now, that was a pretty good first game of the season the other night, with both teams getting the feel for their new player mix, resulting in plenty of spectacular action, including a couple of big layout blocks from the Passion boys. What was your pick for biggest moment?

WC: I'm not going to float my boat too much but I have to say that layout D I got in the dying minutes of the match was pretty huge. Big distance, killer intercept. Not much can look sweeter. Speaking from UQ’s perspective not much else went that spectacularly. We did some basic things right but we also did a lot of them wrong even though the game was really competitive. I don’t want to come off as scathing and I understand that the boys haven’t played together as a unit for quite a while but I have big ambitions and plans for where I want us to end up. Some good work was done by Dan Young but Dan did what Dan does and that’s bring down the big ones in the end zone. We pulled our weight but I know we can do A LOT better as a unit. I’m really looking forward to our next meet.

DMB: So are we, Will. Sadly though it won't be on those super-cushy GU fields. The late change to Griffith didn't seem to cause too many problems in getting players there on time, and once underway the softness of the fields seemed to encourage horizontality. Looking forward to another game there this week?

WC: Those fields have some really nice grass! Big props to JDR for finding some alternative fields so quickly. Another game there will be really appreciated while our fields regenerate to all their glory. The rain doesn’t hurt them being soft either.

DMB: Some big (or at least bigger than usual) changes at UQ this season, Will, and you've got plenty of fresh young guys on the roster. What new tricks are you planning on teaching these young dogs this season?

WC: I can’t help but feel I have gimped the club a little this season. While we have reverted back to the “classic” split for UQ (Buzz and Jules aside) I’ve noticed how passion only has 3 players noticeably over 6 feet tall (Gref, Dan Young and myself). For the moment that means our game will focus on under cuts rather than risk “the precious” in an unfair contest deep. However we’ll be able to change things up significantly when spiritual leader Johnny Mac returns as well as when the Lovers “Old Guns” decide to start showing up so we can get Nathan Litzow back on the pink side. This time next week UQ Passion will be back to strength.

DMB: You might have noticed that the Dojo has a few new guys as well this season. Sure, they're not rookies, but how do you see the Dojo brand of ultimate adapting to this season's re-jig?

WC: I have noticed that the disbanding of Rawhide sent skill into teams which hasn’t hurt the balance of the league, which is good. Dojo now has even more capable handlers oozing out of your ears which makes throwing a zone upon you even more unappealing. As for the Dojo brand of ultimate changing with this new influx of players, math has an answer. Dojo+Rawhide= MORE HAMMERS! Actually, ANYTHING+RAWHIDE=MORE HAMMERS! Just look at the Buggers. Since Tony Ross joined the team Hammers and Hammer related turnovers have increased Hammer percent!

DMB: Yep - we love a good hammer, of course preferably when completed in the endzone. Who doesn't! And now it's time for an early form call. Finalist teams for the season will be (and why)?

WC: Ok, the BIG question. As much as Mike will probably throttle me for saying such, I don’t think we’ll see a Buggers team in the final this season. Word in the endzone is that Messy Buggers are really trying to bring their newer guys up to a high standard by sharing disc and getting everyone involved more often. While a great move to get some fresh blood into the Buggers club it’s not going win them a final least the idea is dropped in favour for the Mike/J-Ray show to get some points on the board and win games which I think is going against the whole mentality that is directing Messy’s path. That said, this whole statement could backfire completely and the new players pick the game up and explode into frizbee greats who don’t need the Mike/J-Ray show to win games.

As for “Old School” their line whilst always strong is manageable with no monster threats (Unless Jimmy has the disc within strike range and Wetty runs long because you can bet your ass that disc will fly) . These guys will play a great hucking game through the season but their defensive capabilities are on par with other teams.

UQ on paper looks “classic”. The Passion team has changed slightly but is the sleeping Juggernaut it was last year. Offensively it's a fast, quick moving short game team stocked with young players who are good with a disc, but it just needs to get its options re-opened deep to truly restore itself to power. When John, Nathan (and don’t forget Arlann Christie) come home the deep option will really open and get goals. Defensively the collective experience of the team will get a lot of turn overs in our favour. If I recall correctly our zone was devastating.

Lovers…..need to show up to games. They had an easy win last week but they have tougher games in front of them. On paper they are quite the team (even without aL). Buzz has slipped in quite nicely in aL’s absence whilst Finn and Jon Good give Cunliffe a chance to play deep reciever. Not to mention Jules who is not only a nightmare when he’s following you playing puppy but he’s Burwell’s best friend in the endzone.

THE DOJO! I’ll call Dojo in top3, leaning toward a grand final position. You guys have a solid team now that has no excuse not to score “O”-points. Keep the goals consistent and get that forced turn and you have a gamewinner. But I do have some thoughts. Germans are not a primary foodgroup and should be eaten sparingly for offence, they should be taken as a supplement to the offensive staples. Taller teams will make you lose easy “O” points if you play them too often. Finally get Coops to put that disc! Coops (I know you're reading this), you NEED to jack it once in a while! (*bleep*, do it often that’ll really shake up expectations of what will be thrown) There were a good few deep cuts that were very on when the Disc got swung to you and they have to be taken. You can’t become predictable. I am guilty for letting my man beat me deep on a swing to you because I knew it wasn’t on and I had him waaaaay covered on his return cut. I’m not saying be reckless, but players need to think twice about what a handler may pull out of his bag of tricks. Sensei I will leave it to you to devise the appropriate “encouragement” for the man.

DMB: Well there you go, Coops. Time to start hucking it to whoever Will is marking. Thanks for that detailed run down, Will. Your analysis seems spot on as far as we can tell, and we'll be giving Lankowski your number so you can sort out his long game.

WC: As always Stephen it’s a pleasure to come visit the Dojo grove. Now that I know I’ll be invited back occasionally I need to go return some items to the kitchen and the silverware drawer that I took after our last interview… no hard feelings right?. See you in the endzone. Will-i-aM


[Unrelated post-interview note: They may not be working yet, but very shortly we'll be trialling some AdSense ads here at the DojoMojo Blog. All proceeds (if there are any) will go directly towards the ongoing improvement of this blog and/or a seriously sweet new merchandise line.]

A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action Please

While we're waiting for Will Churchill to join us for some nocturnal haiku recitations on the moon-viewing platform, we thought we'd better get back into the habit of sharing news of Dojo on-field adventures.

For those likely to skip the blurb and go straight to the video - sadly you're out of luck this week. The change of location to Griffith Uni playing fields at Nathan meant that our resident filmographer Marijke Walls was more interested in doing some serious Financial Stimulus at the nearby Garden City shops than getting the usual gratuitous closeup videos of her man Dan. Next time...

So we'll have to rely on our own pocket thesaurus to help describe the action from Round 1 of BPL Season 1 2009.

The Kenshi had done some serious team training between seasons, sending many an email about what should and shouldn't be done on (and off) the field this year. Of course, the first actual "training" run last week saw an immense flow of apologies and unavoidable absences... The most memorable virtual training effort was without a doubt from evil mastermind Dr Phil Stocks who sent around several frankly brutal emails taking the team and even certain individuals (why is it always Eastburn that cops it?) to task over various areas of perceived sloppiness, only to send a bleating email prior to Game 1 advising of his unavailability. Cue much guffawing and circulating of witty ripostes... So the Dojo is taking it right back to basics this season and making "turning up at the fields" training priority #1.

And of course what makes getting the Kenshi interested in training so difficult is the fact that the Dojo wins games regardless. The first outing for this season against a youthful and very much work-in-progress UQ Passion was a case in point. With the pre-game warmup consisting of a bit of a chat, donning of cleats and a quick throw or two, and the average age of Dojo players being more or less 10 years beyond that of your UQ yoofs, the Kenshi still managed to roll out a 12-9 win.

And you can see by the scant interest in this week's A&B voting that nobody really did anything out of the ordinary. But that doesn't include the Passion boys, who pulled out some spectacular layouts both on O and D, ran very hard and maintained their intensity throughout. This is a Passion team that just needs somebody like John McNaughton or Al Don at the helm to inspire all those young runners to greatness. And to instil a bit of order on proceedings. But as it stood on the night, the younger, faster, fitter, keener UQ Passion just didn't have the depth and patience to match the throws, experience and cohesiveness of the Dojo. We certainly don't expect this situation to last, though.

This week is sadly another "training" week (i.e. a bye) for the Dojo, so there'll be precious little to report on until the following week, but like any self-respecting news source we'll be doing our best to make something up. There are also just a few hours left in the Above&Beyond poll to the right, and hopefully just a few hours left until we hear Will's thoughts on last week's game.

DojoMojo 2009 in SF Style

Tomorrow night will see the return of the Brisbane Premier League to the Annerley Junior Football Club fields, and the first 2009 training run of a new-look DojoMojo roster.

We've been busy during the summer break refining strategies, honing bodies and inducting new recruits to the Dojo Way and, as evidenced by the roster below, Dojo '09 is an even taller, faster, bigger-throwing team than Dojo '08 was. Tone Loc may have said "'88 was great, but '89 is mine", but DojoMojo is bringing that into the right-now. Gen Y kids reading this may not immediately comprehend, but then they've got YouTube to provide their oldskool education for them.

So, as uncustomary as it is for us here at the DojoMojo Blog to indulge in vainglorious team bios, we couldn't resist the temptation to announce this year's frankly kickass team, especially when (to continue the oldskool theme) we discovered that 2009 will also see the release of the third sequel to Capcom's 1987 classic Street Fighter. Without getting too nerdy (we leave that to our buddies at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog) let's look at the team:














Andrew Goldstiver (aka Goldy) - a towering behemoth with long range and devastating moves, one cannot become the "Greatest Fighter in the World" without first getting past him.














Andrew Lankowski (aka Coopers) - flat-top hair and a special-ops field presence give Coopers the visage of a man who never quits, and who unfortunately also has difficulty tying his shoelaces.














Andy Mclean - has the smooth, textbook moves of a man who stays up very late at night training himself to exhaustion while listening to "Eye of the Tiger" on his headphones. How he found the time to acquire a Brazilian fiancee nobody knows.














Dan Blacklock (aka Blackcock - says it right there on the back of his shirt!) - is possessed of a diminutive presence that conceals deep and quietly seething agression. Dan likes to run a lot.
EDIT: Turns out Dan likes to run so much that he's taking indefinite leave from the team to focus on his illustrious distance running career...













Dan Walls - nobody can deny Dan's rightful title of "Master of the Disc", and he is without doubt the player that Dojo opponents least look forward to meeting on the field. The disc just comes to him - no-one knows how.













Dave Watson - one of the very original Kenshi, Watto can occasionally be heard breathing the word "Shoryuken" when sending the disc long. Legend has it that he founded the Dojo along with his sparring partner Ryan Black, nemesis Dan Walls and a few notable others way back when Tone Loc was still doing the wild thing.













Matt Eastburn - a very strong physical (sometimes a bit too physical) presence on the field and master of the seriously destructive "Spinning Piledriver" move, Matt has a strange enthusiasm for the colour red.













Mike Morgan - the fact that he's an Irish surfer says it all: the man is an unstoppable mutant and never, ever quits.













Dr Phil Stocks - his famous one-two combo of wink & smile conceal a fiendish mind and an all-consuming evil nature (just ask his students). Phil has seen things no human should ever wish to.













Ryan Black - THE original big hair Dojo kenshi. The moves of every single Dojo player are just their own interpretations of things Ryan invented years ago, and to this day no-one has matched his behind-the-back throwing prowess in the heat of tournament play. Without Ryan and his buddy/rival Watto, there would be no Dojo for its current sensei to curate.













Sean Flanagan - is peace-loving by nature, but lethal when challenged. Nobody knows how old Sean is, or how he manages to apparently suspend himself in the air, and some say that his incredible ability to catch and deliver a frisbee to and from any part of the field derives from some mystical form of teleportation.













Stefan Rappazzo (nickname witheld for political correctness) - is a non-stop slugger who wins his way to the disc with brute force and aggression. He is a monster on the field and in the huddle, constantly spurring his team on to play harder. He is Canadian, NOT American.













Stephen Cameron (aka Sensei) - is protector of the Dojo Way, keeper of the secrets of the Hadouken, the Shoryuken and the Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku, sends a pretty good email and writes the occasional self-indulgent blog post...