In September 2007 Dunken founded The Institute of Aikido Auckland dojo in Okura.
For most of the last decade, Dunken was Sempai (senior student) and assistant instructor to Sensei H. W. Foster, 7th Dan at the headquarters of the Institute of Aikido (The Hut Dojo) in West London - the birthplace of Aikido in the UK.
He trained under H.W. Foster sensei since beginning his Aikido career as a child in 1974, and for a several years was also a student of Ron Russell sensei.
Training at The Hut dojo instilled in Dunken a commitment to the principles of Riai – "Blending of Truths", and he is a strong advocate for the regular practice of Aiki-jo and Aiki-ken.
In 2005 he moved to Auckland with his wife and daughter, and due to the association with Ron Russell sensei, found a home-from-home training and teaching at Kyu Shin Do Aikido in Albany.
Recently Dunken has built a beautiful 110 mat dojo at his farm in Silverdale. Training by invitiation (call 0223 201202 for details).
Mainly focusing upon teaching beginners and trying to bring new people into the art, and to help newcomers clarify the myriad of techniques and technical terms used in our art, "Aikido – A Beginner’s Guide" was published in July 2003 (see www.aikido4beginners.co.uk .)
The book has been very well received (and is used as a standard "beginner's text" in many dojos around the world), as has the accompanying DVD "Aikido – The Next Steps", covering everything a beginner needs for reference in their first year of training. To see excepts from this DVD please visit the club's YouTube Channel.
Affiliated to the Institute of Aikido UK
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dunken@xtra.co.nz
Dunken's long-running Aikido blog