10 Facts About Joe Thambu

Joseph 'Joe' Haridas Thambu is a teacher of Yoshinkan Aikido, currently ranked 8th Dan, Shihan.

Joe Thambu began his training in 1972, at the age of 11, training under his uncle, Thamby Rajah.

In 1980, Joe Thambu emigrated to Melbourne, Australia to undertake tertiary studies.

In 1983, Joe Thambu first travelled to Japan to further his Aikido training.

From this time onwards, Joe Thambu focused on the modern Yoshinkan syllabus, including knowledge from his earlier training.

Joe Thambu was the first person to teach, and disseminate Yoshinkan Aikido in Australia.

In 1993 Joe Thambu became the last person to be graded by Yoshinkan founder Gozo Shioda, before his death in mid-1994.

Joe Thambu was awarded his eighth dan by Kyoichi Inoue, former director of Yoshinkan Aikido in November 2015.

Since 2000, Joe Thambu has taught widely outside of Australia, generally at the invitation of younger teachers in other countries.

Joe Thambu continues to teach from his school in Melbourne, Australia, frequently hosting students from overseas, of whom, many are aspiring teachers staying for extended periods, coming from countries such as the United Kingdom, Poland, Malaysia and Indonesia.