Saku Shin Kan Dojo · Newcastle Aikido
7.11.2006 — 7.11.2026
The long way round
The mat you trained on this week has been walked on for 20 years. Some who bowed onto it are teaching now. Some moved interstate. Some you train beside every week.
Newcastle Aikido opens at 7 Bennett St, Hamilton.
Our first two students step onto the mat.
Children, beginners, black belts, uchideshi. Every one of them bowed in.
Twenty years to the day, under one roof.
The anniversary weekend
The anniversary seminar is open to all ranks. Bring your gi or borrow one. There are people you haven't seen in years who'll be there.
Saturday 7 November
9am – 4pm
All ranks, on the same mat you know. Twenty years to the day since it opened.
Saturday 7 November
6:30pm
Old faces, new stories, your photos on the wall. Register below so we can set your place.
Sunday 8 November
10am – 3pm
A second day on the mat for anyone who's still got legs left.
7 Bennett St, Hamilton NSW 2303 · Register below
Seminar, dinner, or both. Tell us you're coming so we can set the mat and the table.
The Roll
Every person who has trained here since 2006, 1,496 names from 20 years of sign-in sheets, hour logs and grading lists. It hangs in the dojo from 7 November. Come and find yours.
See the whole RollCall for photos
Send them in. Grainy, blurry, mid-ukemi, all of it. They'll be on the wall on the night.
Trouble uploading? Email your photos instead.
Who makes your training better?
Maybe they're the one who notices when you've had a rough week. Maybe they're terrifying to train with. Maybe they showed you the same technique eleven times without sighing. Maybe you've only been here three weeks and they already know your name.
Tell us who they are and why. We'll share some anonymously.
Shared anonymously. Approved by the dojo before they appear here.
Find us
7 Bennett St“Whether you've been here fifteen years or fifteen days, you're part of this one. There are people you haven't seen in years who'll be there. Come back to the mat.”
Sensei DariusChief Instructor