We're a brand new club and the first of this kind in New Zealand. Our hope is that the people of New Zealand come to enjoy Daito-ryu and we can grow to become a strong representative of this Martial Art.

How Did Shouyoukan Come to Be?

This information has been taken from an interview with Ozeki sensei conducted by Luke Fryer.

Q. How did Shouyoukan come to be?

A. In 1987 I started the Daito-ryu Aiki-budo Daitokan Kyushu Soshibu Fukuoka dojo. I started here because Fukuoka is my home town and a dojo did not exist.

I began this dojo under Oostuka sensei. I supervised this dojo in the beginning. Later the Kyushu branch changed to Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu Takuma-kai. Their home dojo is in Osaka.

Okabayashi sensei was the head of the Takuma-kai dojo teaching department. In 1995 Okabayashi sensei separated from the Takuma-kai, and began his own school, the Hakuho-kai. The Fukuoka dojo then became the Fukuoka Prefecture Hakuho-kai main dojo.

In August 2002, Okabayashi sensei founded the Hakuho-ryu aiki-budo style. My passion has always been for old style martial arts, and I felt a strong connection to the name Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu. For these reasons I chose to continue with Daito-ryu and began Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu Shouyoukan.

Shouyoukan's meaning comes from Zhuangzi teachings. Shouyou means go for a walk, during this walk remain flexible and open. It also means to be free like a cloud in the sky.

Ozeki Shigeyoshi sensei

Ozeki Shigeyoshi started Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu in 1987. His qualifications are:

·        Shodan: Received from Takeda Tokimune Soke Sensi.

Nidan: Takumakai Mori Hakaru Sensei

Sandan: Hakuho-kai Okabayashi Shogen Sensei

Yondan: Hakuho-kai Okabayashi Shogen Sensei

Godan: Wakeijyuku Ootsuka Toranosuke Sensei

Chuuden Mokuroku: Wakeijyuku Ootsuka Toranosuke Sensei

Okuden Mokuroku: Wakeijyuku Ootsuka Toranosuke Sensei

Ray Yamasaki

I have always had a passion for Japan and Japanese martial arts, so it was inevitable that I would one day end up there. After finishing high school I caught a plane to Japan and spent my first year travelling around the country.

I had studied Karate in New Zealand, and initially I planned on continuing with this, but while living in Yamaguchi Prefecture I was invited by a friend to see some Aikido. Right away I was impressed by the graceful movements of Aikido and I decided to join the club.

About four months later I went to Fukuoka to visit a friend of my fathers. While I was in Fukuoka I wanted to continue with my Aikido training so I asked if there were any local classes. He told me about a martial art called Daito-ryu that was being taught at the Fukuoka Budo-kan. I was familiar with the name, having heard it mentioned in many Aikido books and I was curious to see what it would be like.

I was totally amazed by the beauty and sheer power of Ozeki Sensei's techniques. He made such an impression on me that I knew straight away that this is what I wanted to do. Needless to say I enrolled that same night and I have never looked back. My 2 week visit to Fukuoka turned into a 5 year stay.

I eventually decided to head home to New Zealand for family reasons. After receiving the blessing of my teacher, Ozeki sensei, I set up the Daito-ryu Shouyoukan New Zealand Soshibu.

My most fervent hope is that people will come to love training in Daito-ryu as much as I do and together we can improve both our technical ability and understanding of this Martial Art. A major priority for me is to maintain strong ties with our head dojo in Japan through regular trips and hosting Ozeki Sensei here in New Zealand.

My qualifications in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu are:

Shodan:  Hakuho-kai. Okabayashi Shogen sensei

Shodan: Shouyoukan Ozeki Shigeyoshi sensei.

Nidan:  Shouyoukan. Ozeki Shigeyoshi sensei.

Sandan: Shouyoukan. Ozeki Shigeyoshi sensei.