Sensei Thambu, the chief instructor of the Shudokan, Melbourne, Australia, and Tecnical Director of Aikido Yoshinkan Nottingham has been a student of Aikido for nearly 35 years.
2002 was Sensei Joe's thirtieth year of Aikido training and teaching, and he continues to spread the art with recent visits to Malaysia, Canada, Europe and Japan. In early 2008 he was also awarded the rank of seventh dan black belt by the International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation.
Damon spent four years training in a different style of Aikido achieving his Shodan. While training he worked at the Dojo full time and was lucky to travel to many countries meeting high ranking teachers and training in different dojo.
In 2002 he attended a seminar by Joe Thambu Sensei (7th Dan, Yoshinkan Aikido) and had his first experience of Yoshinkan Aikido. After that Damon made a point to attend Thambu Sensei's seminars whenever he could, travelling to Malaysia later in 2002, England and Poland in 2004 and Australia for a month in 2005.
Damon realised this was the path he wanted his Aikido to take so at the end of 2005 he left home to spend a year living at Thambu Sensei's dojo in Australia as Uchi Deshi re-testing in Yoshinkan Aikido.
Damon continues to train and teach Aikido under the guidance of Thambu Sensei and organises his European seminars.
Damon is certified to teach Yoshinkan Aikido by the International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation (IYAF) and is trained in first aid