About Aikido
Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba (top-left photo), who is often referred to by his title 'O Sensei' or 'Great Teacher', given to many respected teachers in Japan.
On a purely physical level it is an art involving throws and joint locks that are derived from Jujutsu (more specifically Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大東流 合気柔術), and some staff, sword and knife forms, throws and other techniques derived from weapon-based systems. Aikido focuses on gaining control of the opponent's movement to pin them or throw them away from you and dealing with multiple attackers. O Sensei emphasized the moral and spiritual aspects of his art, placing great weight on the development of harmony and peace. This is still true of Aikido today, although different styles emphasise the spiritual aspects to greater or lesser degrees. One of the longest and closest students of Morihei Ueshiba was Morihiro Saito Sensei (top-right photo). His aim was to preserve Aikido as closely to Morihei Ueshiba’s teachings as possible, while breaking it down into clear steps for pedagogic reasons. Iwama aikido also strongly emphasises the relationship between Taijutsu (unarmed), Bokken (wooden sword) and Jo (wooden staff) movements from the beginning, and includes a full syllabus for each aspect. After the passing of O Sensei, his son, Kisshomaru Ueshiba became 'doshu' (hereditary head), and the present doshu is his grandson, Moriteru Ueshiba (bottom photo - on his left: Bjorn Saw, my main teacher, on his right: Ulf Evenas, my dan grading teacher). |
Instructor
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Gabor Zsolt Szabo - 3rd dan
I started aikido in Hungary in 1998. My first sensei was Tibor Kökény, who trained under Marc Bachraty (6th dan) and Christian Tissier (8th dan). In 2004 I moved to London and started to train with Bjorn Saw (5th dan) sensei in his dojo, Aikido Alive London. His main teachers were Takeji Tomita sensei (8th dan) and Morihiro Saito sensei (9th dan). I received my dan grades from Ulf Evenas shihan (7th dan). |
Dojo History |
Our dojo opened as The Shoshinkan Dojo London (Aikido Alive Bermondsey) on 11th November, 2015. The first location was the Compass School for a short time, then we moved to the Bede Centre which was our home until the pandemic forced dojos to close.
After the restrictions were lifted, we reopened in Dulwich in the Charter School North Dulwich on 6th November 2021 under the new name 'Byakudo Aikido'. We are part of the Aikido Alive network and BAB, and we are a member of Traditional Aikido Europe (TAE), with Lewis Bernaldo de Quiros shihan as our technical director. |