In het weekend van 22 tot 24 april 2022 lanceerden we officieel Aikido Shoryukai België (ASB), een nieuwe aikidofederatie in Vlaanderen, gekoppeld aan de Shosenji-dojo van Shimamoto Shihan in Osaka, Japan. Om dit te vieren organiseerde Aikido Club MushaShugyo een groot seminar met de dojocho’s van de Shoryukai familie uit minstens 4 landen Mechelen (België) op een 720m² tatami.
NextGEN Gallery
Dear Shihan, We’re missing you but we’re having a great time with our friends.
Greatings from Belgium (video)
Ze’ev Erlich sensei has been fully dedicated to the martial arts since 1984.
He lived in Kyoto (Japan) for 7 years (1992-1999) for intensive Aikido training at Kyoto Aikikai under the teaching for Koyama Teruo Shihan, while learning Japanese culture and arts.
He established Masatake Dojo in 1999 in his home town Rehovot (Israel), and since then, goes to Japan annually for a month of further aikido practice and inspiration. After having followed Koyama Shihan for 14 years, he was accepted as a disciple of Shimamoto Katsuyuki Shihan.
His inspirations are Shimamoto shihan, Fukakusa shihan and the late Fujita shihan.
Ze’ev holds a 6th dan in aikido.”
Paweł Zdunowski sensei has been practicing martial arts since 1986 (Aikido since 1991).
He is a member of the Management Board and Technical Council of the Polish Aikido Federation and also a member of the Toyonaka Shosenji Dojo in Osaka.
Since 2001, he visits Japan every year, training in Hombu Dojo in Tokyo and since 2007 in Toyonaka Shosenji Dojo. As a student of Shihan Katsuyuki Shimamoto, he has been chairing Aikido Shoryukai Poland since 2011.
Aikido Shoryukai Poland cooperates with Ruud Shihan and Aikido Shoryukai Nederland.
Pawel holds a 6th dan in aikido since 2021.”
Ruud van Ginkel shihan began practising aikido in 1971. He came to the art being obsessed with Cassius Clay, alias Mohammed Ali, one of the most renowned boxers of that time. Ruud performed an aikido demonstration on 30 August 1981 in order to gather members to start a dojo. This event marked the beginning of his aikido school and the start of his life as a full-time aikido instructor.
Ruud met Shimamoto shihan at the suggestion of Kobayashi sensei.
Together, they established Aikido Shoryukai Nederland.
Jan Vanrompay sensei began practising Aikido in 1993 under the late Albert Merckx.
He lived in Japan in 2002-2003, where he was accepted as an Aikido student of Shimamoto Katsuyuki Shihan. He has been following shihan ever since, joining his seminars throughout Europe and goes back to Japan on a regular basis.
In 2018, he received shihan’s approval to establish the “Aikido Shoryukai Belgium” federation, which he is presiding.
Jan holds a 4th dan in Aikido.
Robin Ruelens began his Aikido practice in 1995 in the Mushashugyo Dojo of Albert Merckx. Five years later he also became a student of Matsumoto Yoshihiro sensei in the university town of Leuven. His Japanese studies led to a year as an exchange student in Japan together with Jan Vanrompay.
There they studied Aikido at the Shosenji Dojo of Shimamoto Shihan in Osaka.
After dividing his time on the tatami between the dojo in Leuven and Mushashugyo, he has now fully dedicated himself to the latter.
Robin holds a 4th dan in Aikido
Tom Vanrompay began practising Aikido in 1993 under the late Albert Merckx and enjoys studying the Aiki-way in the Mushashugyo dojo ever since, together with family and friends.
He enjoys broadening his view by keeping contact with other dojos and looks forward to a beautiful and durable new engagement within “Aikido Shoryukai Belgium”, with new people to meet and opportunities to explore.
Steven Beddegenoodts began practising aikido at young age with his sister under tutelage of their father and continued to practice in a familial environment with his wife and daughters in the Mushashugyo dojo which was lovingly named the dojo of “uncle Albert”.
Since 2005, from the level of shodan he shares, with his students, Albert’s aiki-way flavored with insights gathered from the Shoryukai school and the Shosenji dojo which he tries to visit as often as possible but never enough.
Steven holds a Yondan since 2022.
Niels De Nutte began practicing aikido in 2004 under the tutelage of the late Albert Merckx, Jan Vanrompay and Steven Beddegenoodts. Since 2005, he has joined other members of the Mushashugyo dojo in attending seminars abroad taught by Shimamoto shihan. Most noticeably, he has practiced intensely at Toyonaka dojo for two months in 2014, a period which continues to foster his joy for Aikido to this day.
He has been a youth instructor at Mushashugyo dojo since 2007 and part of the teaching staff of the Vlaamse Trainersschool (Flanders school for sports trainers) since 2021.
Niels holds a 3rd dan in aikido since 2022.
Katsuyuki Shimamoto shihan (°1937 ) is an influential aikido teacher and head priest of the Shosenji temple and dojocho of Shosenji dojo, located in the Toyanaka district of Osaka, Japan.
Between 1950 and 1956 he practised Okinawan style Shitoryu karate and obtained a 2nd dan. In 1956 he started practising aikido at Komazawa University. There he helped found the university aikido club and met his teachers, Suzuki Kakuzen and Kisaburo Osawa. During that same period he attended classes at the aikido Headquarters in Tokyo, including those taught by Morihei Ueshiba, better known as Osensei.
He started travelling abroad in 1995 and in 2000 he founds Shoryukai, the international offshoot of Shosenji dojo. Today, he has affiliated dojo’s in Belgium, Germany, Israël ,Poland, Australia and the Netherlands. He has also extensively taught in Canada and Singapore.
On the 1st of Januari 2010 he was awarded the rank of 8th dan by Moriteru Ueshiba.
