Rusper Aikido Club
(Founded in 2014)
A member of
Aikido for Daily Life
Adrian O Brien - 3rd Dan
Principal Teacher
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I started aikido in 2012 under the tuition of Piers Cooke Sensei 7th Dan. I’d been interested in it for some years and felt it was really different from other martial arts.
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Aikido has principles of calmness and empathy that you can introduce to everyday life. It increases your awareness of always maintaining correct posture as well as improving your physical and mental fitness.
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Although it may be calming, it’s also a truly effective martial art. So come and have a go… if you think you’re calm enough!
Morag Warrack -1st Dan
I began aikido at the age of 59, never having done anything remotely like it before.
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I was extremely anxious and stressed at the time, having been overwhelmed with the demands of full-time teaching, dying parents in the Midlands, and teenagers at home. It has been one of the hardest things I have ever done, while also one of the most rewarding, in so many unexpected ways.
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I am now in a place of great fulfillment and much of this has happened through the practice of aikido in a small, caring, diverse community. Its power is to transform the mind by way of the body, rather than the other way round.
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Come and see for yourself.
Nick Bland- 1st Dan
Nick has been involved in martial arts since he was a child. He started with Judo, then as a teenager took up Uechi-Ryu (Okinawan) karate. He then began aikido and also trained in Kick Boxing.
Nick returned to aikido when his daughter Joely began to train aged 5. He has been training continuously over 10 years, and graded to 1st Dan (Shodan) in December 2021 under Piers Cooke Sensei (7th Dan). Nick is also a British Aikido Board level one instructor.
Nick has also been continuously training and studying karate with other members of his family for over 12 years. He is now an instructor with Ren Ryú karate based in Reigate under Anthony Wren Sensei 4th Dan. He graded to 2nd Dan (Nidan) in 2018 .
Nick is a remote student of West Wind Dojo, Sarasota Budokan, Florida and has been training weekly with Sensei Rick Hotton, 5th Dan for the last two years. Nick is part of the ‘Sunday Morning Keiko’ international community, who study budo, karate and aikido. Rick Hotton Sensei has studied karate for over 50 years and aikido under Saetome Sensei for 20 years (one of the last live in students of O’Sensei, the founder of aikido). Hotton Sensei's syllabus contains both arts. Nick travels to America to participate in their seminars.
Nick always strives to expand his knowledge of martial arts and regularly attends seminars and courses in both disciplines.
Nick is also interested in Japanese history and collects Japanese antiques.
Rusper Aikido Club, Rusper Village Hall, Horsham Road, Rusper, W. Sussex RH12 4PR