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The Takemusu Aiki Association trains across Sydney. Each dojo shares the same Iwama tradition and a common teacher in Takayasu Sensei.

Students of the North Sydney dojo with Takayasu Sensei Students practising in pairs at the North Sydney dojo

基本 Fundamentals

North Sydney

Saburo Takayasu Sensei

Saburo Takayasu Sensei

7th Dan Shihan

The association's main dojo, and the seat of our chief instructor. Takayasu Sensei follows Saito Sensei's wish to preserve Aikido as it was taught by O-Sensei, and asks every student and senior instructor to keep purity of technique and martial spirit. He holds that training should be strong and martially effective, good for the body and the mind, and at the same time develop the underlying principles of Aiki.

The work of the dojo is the constant practice of kihon, the fundamental techniques and principles of the art, with the aim of turning students into capable teachers in their own right. Black belts are encouraged to pass on what they have learned to beginners while developing their own Aikido, and senior students to branch out and start dojos of their own. Dojos in this association have grown from exactly that.

Class times

  • Monday6.30 to 8.00pmGeneralTakayasu Sensei / Sze Ding
  • Wednesday6.30 to 8.00pmGeneralTakayasu Sensei / Soon Yuen
  • Friday6.30 to 8.00pmGeneralTakayasu Sensei / Marcus / Tim
  • Sunday9.30 to 11.00amWeaponsMarcus Liang · Redfern Park, weather permitting
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Ku-ring-gai dojo Students seated in pairs in the hall at the Ku-ring-gai dojo

森 Upper north shore

Ku-ring-gai

Derek Minus Sensei

Derek Minus Sensei

6th Dan

The Ku-ring-gai dojo was established by Derek Minus Sensei in 1982, on Sydney's upper north shore, and has been teaching continuously ever since. The practice here is Takemusu Aiki, O-Sensei's final expression of the art, together with the weapons work, aiki-ken and aiki-jo, as Saito Sensei taught it in the Founder's own dojo at Iwama. Sunday weapons practice is held outdoors beneath the blue gums of Sheldon Forest, and there are children's and beginners' classes alongside the adult ones.

Derek Minus is ranked 6th Dan by the Aikikai and holds four weapons teaching certificates awarded by Morihiro Saito Sensei, as well as NCAS Level 2 coaching accreditation. He came to Aikido in 1972 from Kyokushinkai karate, Taiki-ken and Shindo Muso Ryu jodo, met Takayasu Sensei in 1976 and has studied with him since, and in 1980 travelled to Japan for an extended period of practice with Saito Sensei at Iwama. He is vice-president of the association.

Class times

Ku-ring-gai keeps its own timetable, including children's and beginners' classes, on its own website at aikido.com.au, where it is always current.

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Students of the Marrickville dojo Takayasu Sensei with members of the Marrickville dojo, where he was guest instructing

西 The inner west

Marrickville

Ian Thomson Sensei

Ian Thomson Sensei

6th Dan

The newest dojo in the association, created in 2024 under the leadership of one of our most senior instructors, Ian Thomson, and with its support. It began with a group of Takayasu Sensei's students who wanted to train closer to home after the main dojo moved to North Sydney. Every founding member here has studied under Takayasu Sensei, so the dojo's approach is shaped directly by the main dojo. It is steadily adding classes to the timetable and welcomes students of all levels.

Ian Thomson began training with Takemusu Aiki in 1987, having come to it from karate and kung fu. He holds that up to shodan the fundamentals and basics are the key components of learning Takemusu Aiki, and that once that foundation is solid a student should draw on it to research and develop Aikido as a martial art of their own.

Class times

  • Friday6.30 to 7.30amGeneral
  • Friday6.00 to 7.30pmGeneral
  • Saturday8.00 to 9.00amWeaponsCentennial Park · no fee
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