Management Team

Aikido Shinryukan is guided by an experienced team of instructors and administrators who are dedicated to the growth and integrity of Aikido across all our dojos in New Zealand and abroad.

Nobuo Takase Shihan

Founder & Technical Director

Born on 6 February 1947 in Himeji, Japan, Takase Shihan began his Aikido journey at Kogakkan University in Ise, where he trained under some of the art’s most distinguished instructors – among them Chiba, Kanai, Ichihashi and Watanabe Shihan, as well as O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba himself, the founder of Aikido.

In 1969, at just 22 years of age, he emigrated to New Zealand with a clear purpose: to introduce and establish Aikido in his adopted country. What followed was more than five decades of quiet, determined work. He founded Aikido Shinryukan, built a network of over 20 dojos across New Zealand, and became the first person in the country to be awarded the title of Shihan – presented by Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, grandson of Aikido’s founder – in recognition of his standing as a master instructor. He also serves as Technical Director for New Zealand Aikikai and as New Zealand’s official representative to the World Aikido Headquarters in Tokyo.

In 2020, Takase Shihan marked 50 years in New Zealand. He continues to teach regularly at Shinryukan Hombu Dojo in Auckland, oversees regional and international gradings, and travels abroad to teach. He and his wife Barbara live in Thames and have three adult children.

Paul Davidson

Dojo Cho & Instructor

Paul discovered Aikido in London in the early 2000s with Aikido Kobayashi Dojos UK, achieving Shodan in 2006. Following his move to New Zealand with his family in 2009, he continued his training at Shinryukan Hombu Dojo under Nobuo Takase Shihan, and was awarded Godan in 2025.

Over that time Paul has become a central figure at Hombu Dojo, both on and off the mat. As a senior instructor he teaches across multiple classes each week, and has developed his practice further through seminars in New Zealand and abroad. Appointed Dojo Cho in September 2024, he sets the instructor schedule, maintains oversight of training standards, and works closely with students and instructors to guide progress and preparation for grading.

Paul also chairs the Hombu Organisational Committee and contributes to the Hombu Operations Team – much of it work that happens behind the scenes, but which shapes the environment everyone trains in.

For Paul, Aikido is as much about connection as discipline. The relationships built through training are central to his practice, and his focus as Dojo Cho is on creating a dojo where people can genuinely challenge themselves, support one another, and keep growing.

Darryll Stewart

Regional Grading Director & Instructor

Darryll started AIkido in 1994 at Hombu Dojo on Kitchener Street, before moving to the Howick branch where late-evening classes fit around his work schedule. His Rokkyu grading in 1995 – the first of many – marked what he considers the true beginning of his journey, and the friendships that have defined it.

More than 30 years on, Darryll has trained across every iteration of Hombu Dojo, from Kitchener Street to Cross Street to the current home at Aberfoyle Street. He serves as Regional Grading Director and is one of Hombu’s senior instructors, sitting on the Hombu Grading Committee alongside Sarah Baker and Wayne Nahi under the guidance of Takase Shihan. He also contributes to the Hombu Operations Team, the Aikido Shinryukan Organisational Committee, and the Appointments Panel of NZ Aikikai Incorporated.

Beyond his committee roles, Darryll is a constant presence at major events – the annual International Gasshuku, seasonal workshops, Japan Day – involved in the planning, logistics and demonstrations that make these events worthwhile for everyone who attends.

For Darryll, Aikido is community as much as practice. Having seen many members come and go over three decades, he takes genuine satisfaction in welcoming them back – knowing Hombu Dojo remains a place to train, reconnect, and keep growing.

Rochelle Sherriff

Complaints Officer & Children’s Head Instructor

Rochelle came to Aikido Shinryukan as a parent – her children were already training at Hombu – drawn by the prospect of a practice the whole family could share.

Awarded Sandan in 2022, Rochelle remains an active presence at Hombu both on and off the mat. She contributes to the Aikido Shinryukan Organisational Committee and serves as Shinryukan’s Complaints Officer, providing members with a safe and confidential point of contact for any concerns within the organisation.

As an instructor, Rochelle particularly enjoys working with adult beginners navigating the early stages of their Aikido training. She also leads the Aikikids Programme, bringing Aikido to younger students and hoping to set them on a path of their own. What began as a family decision has grown into something much more: improved fitness, genuine confidence, new skills, and a deep connection to the wider Shinryukan community.

Dane Mitchell

Operations Manager

Dane came to Aikido in 2010 after years of running a business getting in the way of training. He had dabbled in various martial arts and boxing in his younger years, but it was a desire to get fitter, do something he genuinely enjoyed, and finally achieve a goal he had always set himself – a black belt – that brought him back to the mat. He decided it was time to earn one in something other than procrastination.

It stuck. He began his training under Rosso Fernandez Shihan, one of Takase Shihan’s first students, before joining Shinryukan in 2014 and being awarded Sandan in 2022. Dane has works quietly behind the scenes, managing day-to-day dojo functions, maintaining communication with Shinryukan’s regional dojos, coordinating Takase Shihan’s travel, organising overseas seminars, and building the systems that keep the organisation running – including the website and grading systems. He is also a part of the team that organises and runs the annual Gasshuku, Shinryukan’s flagship national training event.