Shudokan Aikido

Shudokan Aikido

Logo of the Shudokan
Also known as	Shudokan Aikido International, Shudokan Institute of Aikido International, Shudokan Aikido the Black Belt Academy
Date founded	1952
Country of origin	Japan, Malaysia
Arts taught	Aikido
Ancestor arts	Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu
Ancestor schools	Yoshinkan
Practitioners	Thamby Rajah, Joe Thambu
Official website	http://www.shudokan.co.uk/

The Shudokan teaches Yoshinkan Aikido. Began by Thamby Rajah in Malaysia during the early 1950s. Whilst in Japan Thamby Rajah trained with Shioda Gozo and returned to Malaysia as the first Malaysian shodan black belt in Judo and in Aikido The words "Shudokan Aikido" have sometimes been misconstrued as a separate style to Yoshinkan Aikido. Some online sources suggested incorrectly it is a derivation from Aikido and Karate (perhaps due to the similarity in name between Shudokan and Shotokan). However, video and anecdotal sources suggest that Thamby Rajah has always taught a natural derivation of the techniques he learned at Yoshinkan Hombu Dojo (circa 1959). Thamby Rajah's technique is also influenced by extensive experience in Judo at the Kodokan, and his earlier Jujitsu training under Walter De Silva in Malaysia during the post war years. Thamby Rajah's Aikido is fundamentally the same as Yoshinkan Aikido, but is more reflective of the early days of Shioda Gozo's Aikido.

The name of Shudokan was given to Thamby Rajah by Shioda Gozo (please confirm in the Thamby Rajah article the name is given by Mifune). The word "Shudokan" is formed of three kanji:

Therefore, from a purely linguistic point of view, shudokan is the 'place to learn the way' (of the Yoshinkan).

Shudokan Aikido is the Yoshinkan style of Aikido. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "soft" version when compared to the "hard" Yoshinkan. It is a dynamic and combat-effective system of throwing, joint-locks, strikes and pinning techniques. It emphasizes practical efficiency and is the style used to train women and anti-riot teams of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. There are no tournaments and it is not classed as a sport.

The Aikido Shudokan has a clear lineage to traditional Aikido. Ueshiba Morihei a student of Takeda Sokaku was the founder of Aikido a form of budo. Shioda Gozo was a prominent student of Ueshiba. After the lifting of the ban of martial arts in the mid-1950s Shioda became the first person to demonstrate aikido to the general public at the very first post war demonstration of budo, attended by around 15,000 people, Shioda won the award for the most outstanding demonstration among almost 150 others, it was soon after this Shioda established the Yoshinkan. In 1961 Shioda became the first person to be awarded a 9th dan rank by Ueshiba. In the mid-1950s a young Malaysian, Thamby Rajah moved to Japan to learn the art of Judo having already trained in gymnastics and some Ju-Jitsu. He trained for a year at the kodokan with world-renowned teachers Haruyoshi Ichijima and Kyuzo Mifune becoming the first Malaysian to attain the rank of Shodan in Judo. Before his year was up Thamby Rajah chanced upon some senior Judo students practising unfamiliar techniques, and upon asking where they learnt such techniques they revealed they were studying Aikido under Shioda of the Yoshinkan. Prior to his departure Thamby Rajah visited the Yoshinkan himself and decided he would soon return to study this art. In the late 1950s Thamby Rajah returned to Japan and under Shioda attained Shodan in Yoshinkan Aikido. Thamby Rajah returned to Malaysia, as the first Malaysian with a shodan in both Aikido and Judo, he set up his first school under the name of Shudokan, the name given to him by Shioda, the first aikido dojo in Malaysia and one of the first Yoshinkan Dojo outside Japan.