Darren Edwards (right) with Yoshiaki Unno Sensei.

Unno Sensei was a 7th dan in aikido, karate, iaido and kobudo. He also held dan grades in judo, Shorinji kempo, kenjutsu, aikijujutsu and other forms of karate. He was a direct student of Minoru Mochizuki 10th dan.

In 2002, I started Scarborough Dojo under Unno Sensei. Sensei had encouraged me to train hard and understand many different styles of martial arts.

It was through broadening my training that I meet John Langley Sensei. I continued as a student of Unno Sensei until his death in 2006.

The Scarborough Dojo officially joined the Institute of Aikido under John Langley Sensei later that year. Training with John Langley Sensei has developed my art to be more flexible in mind and more free flowing. I have also continued to develop the use of my Ki and center.
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David Simmons (left) with students of the Bridgetown dojo.

In those early days classes of only three or four people were common. Slowly the classes grew. Now with multiple locations and an amazing depth of talent and skill, many remarkable people make it an incredibly rewarding place to train.

One of the most satisfying aspects of my aikido journey is the friendly spirit of the Institute with its open attitude to learning and cooperative focus on achievement. This is a reflection of those who have been instrumental in its success and the values of the founder.

To me, the incredible options available in aikido to respond to situations involving weapons and multiple opponents are among its greatest strengths.

The philosophy of protecting the attacker and having the choice to control or harm as the situation requires provides the vision of the ethical warrior which strongly resonates with me.
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Wing Chung (right) with David Simmons.

Wing has been practicing aikido since 1993, having begun with Sensei Brett Nener at the University of Western Australia aikido club.

He joined the Institute of Aikido Australia at its inception when Sensei John Langley established the dojo at the Subiaco Police and Citizens Youth Club.

He also trains at Ai Aikido under Shidoin Fredy Appeli on a regular basis. Wing regularly attends various seminars including Aikido Friendship Seminars and seminars held by Shihan Igarashi Kazou and Shihan Kobayashi Yasuo during their visits to Perth.
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Fiona Evans with uke Wing Chung (and Sensei John Langley in the background).

I found that exercise helped me manage the stresses of my full-time career and part-time study. However, lifting weights and running on the spot soon became boring, and when I finished my Masters degree, I decided it was time for a new challenge. Seeking a means of exercising my brain as well as my body, I spoke to people about different types of martial arts, and decided that I was more interested in learning one of the 'softer' martial arts. That is, one of the arts that rely more on blending and timing than on blocking and strength.

I was told that it could take at least ten years to become any good at aikido. When I passed my 1st dan grading in June 2002, I realised that aikido was something that I would be learning for well past ten years.

Aikido has become a passion for me. Every time I walk onto the mats, I am faced with both physical and emotional challenges: from the early days when I really didn't want to punch someone (even knowing that they could easily avoid my attack), to the first time I used a live blade in practice, right up to my purchase of a 16th century katana. I believe that I'll keep learning more about aikido for as long as I keep training, and that I'll train for the rest of my life.

In 2005, I moved to Brisbane to work for a year. During that time, I trained with Sensei Thom Hansen of Aikido Yuishinkai. The challenges involved in learning a new style of aikido were balanced by the realisation that everywhere I go, my aikido partners become a family to me. The trust required to practice aikido builds bonds that will last a lifetime. In 2006, I was overjoyed to bring my two aikido families together when Thom attended the Institute of Aikido winter school as our guest instructor.

I was awarded my 4th dan grading in June 2008."
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Shaun Duffy with uke Wing Chung at Subiaco dojo.

Shaun has been practicing martial arts for 25 years.

He joined the Institute of Aikido Australia at its inception with Sensei John Langley in 1996.

Prior to Aikido, Shaun trained in Shotokan Karate, Kenjustsu, under Sensei Morozumi and Yoseikan Budo under Yoshiaki Unno Sensei.

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Steve Nener (right) with uke at Scarborough PCYC.

The journey of any martial artist is to learn your own physical strength, boundaries and limitations.

Once you have achieved and understood your physical boundaries, you'll start to understand your inner spirit and mind, and the different perspectives of the art.

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Sete Tele at Curtin University dojo .

However, at that time (I was fourteen) I did not understand this Aikido. Over the years I have dabbled, tried out Boxing, Hapkido, Goju Ryu Karate, and Choy le Fut Kung fu. Late last century an opportunity arose to try out Aikido with John Langley Sensei and so one circle has been completed.

“Aikido works, if your Aikido doesn't work then you need more training.”(Unknown Yudansha)

Aikido is first and foremost a martial art, so we train with that in mind. All movement regimes have in common the steep learning curve of training the body to produce and reproduce shapes in space in relation to the function of those particular forms (katas). Through this process of training the body, the mind is then provided the time and space to see the conflict and to make the appropriate decisions. My understanding of Aikido has become sincere and dynamic.

“Open hand, open mind. Closed hand, closed mind.” (John Langley Sensei).
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Paul Denne with uke Mark Snell (Scarborough PCYC).

I played football in my youth, boxed for 3 years in Tasmania training and sparring with 2 national middleweight title holders with 1 going on to win the national junior welterweight, senior middleweight and heavyweight titles.

I had started surfing at the same time as boxing and continued on until 2002 as I moved from Tasmania to Adelaide then Melbourne. I kept my fitness up and had looked for a martial art with aikido in mind as a friend was a black belt in that art.

Upon moving to Perth in 2004 I found an aikido dojo close in Subiaco by run by John Langley and have trained under his tutelage since then.

Training expanded to include the Scarborough dojo which affiliated with IOA Australia from John's relationship with Darren Edwards under a shared sensei, Yoshiaki Unno.

Numbers of students has increased greatly in the past 2 years. Sete and I discussed options and locations for another dojo a bit closer to where we live with good facilities. It is very hard to find space anywhere and I knew some people at Curtin and asked if they knew of anything in Bentley, there comments suggested we ask Curtin Stadium as it is a versatile and modern facility.

That brings me to this point in time hoping to establish a club here in a mutually beneficial relationship at a place where we can share and enjoy our martial art.

Paul attained his 2nd Dan black belt in 2010.
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