It is 10 years since we moved the club to Alach Street.
Previously we had been at Welcome Bay Hall (1988 to 2008), Selwyn Ridge School (2009 to 2010) and then Welcome Bay Primary School (2011 to March 2013). In each of those venues we hired “floor time”, which meant we could not leave the mats down, store gear at the venue, or leave a personal item (like a watch) as it wouldn’t be there when we trained again.
In December 2012, Welcome Bay Primary School adopted a strict hirage policy, which had a flow on effect of increasing the hire fees, which we could not afford. So the hunt for a new venue began. Luck and hard work often come together, and we were able to find a venue that offered great space, but it was in Greerton, not Welcome Bay. So our name changed from Welcome Bay Olympic Taekwondo to Budo South Martial Arts.
The take over date was the 5th of April, 2013 but we moved in on the 1st of April. The TNZ Open Championships had just been held at the North Shore Events Centre (30th and 31st of March, 2013), and we had a truck full of our mats. So on the evening of the 1st of April, we opened the big roller door, put the mats down, and began training. The rest is now a part of history.
There have been many changes to the Dojang; some minor, some needed, some cosmetic and some irrelevant.
