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History of Aikido in New Zealand
David and Hisae Lynch first began teaching aikido
in New Zealand in 1965, and opened the country's first dedicated
dojo in Central Auckland (10 Lorne St) the same year. In 1973
the family returned to Japan for a further 15 years when David
was Manager, Japan for the New Zealand Government Tourist
Office. On their return to Auckland in 1988 they opened a
new purpose-built dojo behind their home in Epsom. They were
responsible for extensive publicity for aikido, including
press and TV interviews, public demonstrations, and arranging
for senior Japanese aikido teachers to demonstrate at the
New Zealand Easter Show. The first of these big demonstrations,
in 1971, was conducted by a team from the Yoshinkan Dojo in
Tokyo (Kushida, Inoue and Ogawa Senseis), and the second,
in 1975, featured Koichi Tohei Sensei of the Ki no Kenkyu
Kai assisted by Shizuo Imaezumi Sensei. The Easter Show events
alone brought aikido to over 300,000 people.
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