Gozo Shioda

Gozo Shioda was born in 1915 in a family of rich doctor. As a consequence Gozo Shioda practiced kendo, gymnastics and Judo as a youth. Gozo Shioda, studied and earned a 3rd Dan in Judo while still a teenager.

Gozo Shioda had a great sense of humor and incredible technique. On his first visit to the Kobukan, Soke Gozo Shioda was invited by O'Sensei to use his Judo skills to try and throw him.

Skeptical of his opponent ability, Gozo Shioda launched an attack only to find himself flying through the air head first. A dazed and bewildered Gozo Shioda was awed by what had taken place. The very next day which was 24th May 1932, Gozo Shioda joined the Kobukan Dojo as an uchideshi or
"residence disciple". Gozo Shioda left the Kobukan in 1941 upon the completion of his university studies. Born in 1952, Yasuyuki Shioda started training in Aikido in 1965 under his father, Gozo Shioda, the founder of Yoshinkan Aikido.

Yoshinkan

Yoshinkan Aikido is taught throughout Japan and the world. Yoshinkan has spread around the world and there are now approximately 150 dojos affiliated to the IYAF, International Yoshinkai Aikido Federation, which is its central organizing body.

Yoshinkan Aikido has some 150 basic techniques which are practiced repeatedly, these enable the student to master the remaining ones, which total some 3000 overall. Yoshinkan', or house of cultivating the spirit' is made up of three words- yo meaning cultivating, shin meaning spirit and kan
meaning house. Yoshinkan Aikido is made compulsory to the Tokyo Metropolitan Women's police force and the annual training of an elite group of Kidotai or Riot Police.

Yoshinkan Aikido is occasionally called the "hard" style because the strict and sometimes gruelling training methods are a product of the pre-war military period Gozo Shioda spent as a student of Ueshiba. Yoshinkan Aikido was first taught in the Tsukudo Hachiman area of Tokyo and from there
spread to Yoyogi, Koganei, and eventually Kamiochiai, Shinjuku where the present Honbu Dojo now stands.

Training

In The Early days, aiki budo was still a very hard martial art and training at the Kobukan was intense. With proper effort and training, it is an extremely effective form of self-defense.

The techniques are presented often against traditional grabs or overhand strikes, however much of the material can be used just as readily by simply training with someone shoving, throwing a punch or going to tackle. As part of aikido
training students must therefore learn both sides of the aikido equation,  strong attacks as well as strong defense with aikido techniques.

Course

Large numbers of Western students train at the Honbu, and to support overseas instructors, Shioda Sensei created an intensive 11-month International Instructors course in 1991. The riot Police course has been running for well over thirty-five years.

China

Shioda spent most of the war years in China starting as a secretary of General Shunroku Hata in Beijing and had more than one close brush with death. What we do know about the Shido School is that one of its graduates (Uraoka, whom
Shioda met when he was in China) became a member of the secret service for an agency associated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was set up to deal with the political organization of foreign territories,in other words, kill everybody who isn't in favour of the chosen leadership of collaborators. He spent the war in an administrative support capacity in
China, Taiwan, Celebes and Borneo. He was posted to China in 1937 as part of the Imperial Japanese Army.

Iyaf

In 1990, Gozo Shioda established the International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation (IYAF) to bring together and organize virtually all global Yoshinkan Aikido dojos and instructors.
His legacy lives on through the IYAF and Yoshinkan Aikido throughout the world. Kuranari the Foreign Minister of Japan became the president of the IYAF. Through this process the
IYAF bylaws were created. On creating the IYAF Shioda Sensei's official title became "Soke", which translates as founder and father.

Passed

On July 17, 1994, Shioda Sensei passed away leaving in place a strong dynamic style of Aikido which continues to grow and develop.