Akido is an advanced self-defence system originally only available to the Samurai elite.

Akido is an advanced self-defence system originally only available to the Samurai elite. Its Founder, Morihei Ueshiba, said it was for “the loving protection of all beings”, reflecting Buddhist and Shinto ideals of nurturing all the world’s living things. It’s for protection in extreme danger, against armed aggressors and gangs, and so it holds no competitions. The original ANU Aikido Club was established in 1968 by John Turnbull Sensei and is the oldest Aikido Center in Australia. Turnbull Sensei has trained in martial arts for seventy years, and in Aikido for fifty, making him the longest training Aikido practitioner in Australia. He was a close personal friend of Seiichi Sugano Shihan who was a personal student of Morihei Ueshiba, whose spiritual stature in Japan, along with his extraordinary martial art ability led to him being called “O’Sensei”: the Great Teacher. The club’s instructors are certified under the Australian Government’s National Coaching Accreditation Scheme.