Our Philosophy

At Shobukai Aikido Daleside Dojo Nottingham, we believe that the martial art way or Budo is about transforming your body and mind into a place of physical and mental strength together with a winning mindset, both at the Dojo and in life. No matter how experienced you are, there’s always more room to perfect your form and master the art of self-defence. This class will help you grasp the techniques from a deeper, more disciplined perspective. Aikido Shobukai Daleside we follow the technical direction of Robert Mustard Sensei, 8th Dan Yoshinkan Shihan (“teacher of teachers “). Mustard Sensei studied 9 years at the Yoshinkan hombu dojo under Gozo Shioda's leadership. Mustard does not consider himself to be a direct student of Gozo Shioda, because his instruction was mainly under Takafumi Takeno and Tsutomu Chida.

Our objective is to create an environment where everyone feels included, motivated and supported – a culture designed for the wellbeing and progress of all.

We do the right thing, no matter what, and are accountable for our actions.
We work together and embrace each other’s unique contribution to achieve amazing results for all.
We put safety at the heart of everything we do, to safeguard people.

Browse our site to learn more.

Aikido

Aikido 合気道, is a modern Japanese martial art. The word "aikido" is formed of three kanji:

合 – ai – harmony, unifying

気 – ki – energy, spirit

道 – dō – way or path.

Originally developed by Morihei Ueshiba 1883–1969, as an amalgamation of his martial and philosophical studies. According to the Ueshiba's philosophy, the primary goal in the practice of aikido is to overcome oneself instead of cultivating violence or aggressiveness.

Morihei Ueshiba used the phrase "masakatsu agatsu katsuhayabi" (Japanese: 正勝吾勝勝速日) ("true victory, final victory over oneself, here and now") to refer to this principle.

Yoshinkan

Yoshinkan (養神館) which translates as "Hall of Spirit Cultivation", is a style of aikido that developed after by Gozo Shioda (1915–1994), one of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba's most senior students. Shioda held the rank of 10th dan in aikido.

Shioda sensei developed a more structure and consistency in the training process, creating a logical and highly structured method in which beginning students would learn the foundation principles of aikido by constant repetition of clearly defined forms. This emphasis placed on correct form in the early stages rather than flow and timing is the trademark of Yoshinkan.

Shobukai

At Aikido Shobukai Daleside we follow the technical direction of Robert Mustard Sensei, 8th Dan Yoshinkan Shihan (“teacher of teachers “). Robert Mustard Sensei studied 9 years at the Yoshinkan hombu dojo under Gozo Shioda's leadership. Mustard does not consider himself to be a direct student of Gozo Shioda, because his instruction was mainly under Takafumi Takeno and Tsutomu Chida.
Born in Toronto on May 19, 1956. Robert Mustard took to sports at an early age, playing hockey and Canadian football. He martial arts journey commenced in Kung Fu instructors, he also studied kendo achieved the rank of nidan. In 1977, Mustard discovered Aikido and joined a club led by Takeshi Kimeda and would train under him for over a decade rising to the rank of san-dan under Kimeda's instruction. In 1986, he traveled to Japan to train at the Yoshinkan hombu dojo where he enrolled into the senshusei training program. He trained for 9 years at the hombu dojo under Gozo Shioda's leadership but his instruction was mainly under Takafumi Takeno and Tsutomu Chida.
After Gozo Shioda's death, Robert Mustard left Japan and settled in Vancouver, BC where he opened the Aikido Yoshinkai Burnaby dojo in Burnaby, British Columbia. Robert Mustard attained the rank of Nana-dan (7th degree black belt) in December 2006 and was awarded the title of Shihan in August 2011. He was awarded Hachi-dan (8th degree black belt) by the Yoshinkan Honbu Dojo in November 2014.