YOSHINKAN AIKIDO

Course Description

YOSHINKAN AIKIDO

Gozo Shioda, the -little giant of Aikido, named for his diminutive height and formidable technical ability, was one of the most outstanding teachers of Aikido, living or pasted.

Like so many other martial arts masters of Aikido, Shioda Sensei began his bud training as a youth with Judo and Kendo, finally discovering Aikido as a young university student. He entered the Kobukan Dojo in Tokyo in 1932, where he studied for eight years with Ueshiba Sensei (O’Sensei), founder of Aikido, until World War II interrupted his training.

When Shioda sensei became a student of Ueshiba Sensei, aikido was still in its formative stages and was then called Aiki Budo. The character of the techniques and the manner of their execution still bore the marks of the  Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu  curriculum, which O Sensei had learned. This was a forceful, martial style of  aiki jujutsu, concerned primarily with the efficiency and effectiveness of technique in combat.

Practice at that time reflected this spirit and was hard, fast and relentless. Shioda Sensei revelled in this form of practice and it undoubtedly influenced the nature of the training methods he put into place at his own school.

In 1954, after giving a demonstration at an exhibition of martial arts, Shioda sensei gained financial backing to found a dojo in Tokyo. He named it the  Yoshinkan Dojo, which means -to cultivate mind and spirit. Yoshinkan Aikido has become one of the largest aikido organisations with branches throughout the world.

Shioda sensei’s style of aikido is what he considered to be a faithful rendering of the pre-war Aiki Budo techniques which he learned first hand from Ueshiba, then at his technical peak. They are therefore much more combat oriented than some modern aikido styles, although the spiritual goals remain the same. Shioda Sensei, a man of unique personal spirit, lived the true budo life, until his death in 1997. Many noted him as Japan’s last true budoka.

The Yoshinkan remains true to the tradition of Ueshiba’s famous  Jigoku Dojo  (Hell Dojo), and provides an aikido with dynamic realism well suited to the needs of self protection and the discipline of the spirit.

MICHIHARU MORI SENSEI

Michiharu Mori Sensei, 8th Dan Shihan, was a direct student of the late Master Gozo Shioda for years at the International Yoshinkan Aikido Headquarters in Tolkyo, Japan, where he also taught.

The youngest Honbu instructor to receive the rank of 8th dan black belt, Mori Sensei has travelled extensively as a guest instructor at Aikido seminars in countries including Canada, India, Malta and Australia. Now settled in Brisbane, Australia he is developing a high quality, world class centre for Yoshinkan Aikido.

Mori Sensei is recognised worldwide by the International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation (IYAF) and maintains a direct link with the  Yoshinkan Honbu Dojo  in Tokyo, Japan.

Teaching experience includes:

• Qld. state police – Australia
• Tokyo Metropolitan Police – Japan
• Metropolitan Riot Police – Japan
• Commando and Special Forces
• General Public – Adults and Children
• International Seminars and Clinics