The line we carry
Kobukai teaches within the Yoseikan tradition. Behind what we do are two teachers — and behind them, the founder who asked his teachers to make the art their own.
The line we carry
Kobukai teaches within the Yoseikan tradition. Behind what we do are two teachers — and behind them, the founder who asked his teachers to make the art their own.
My teachers
Jan Janssens Kyoshi
Darren trains under Jan Janssens Kyoshi, founder of Kobukai International Budo. Sensei Jan is the teacher Darren learns from today, and he contributed to completing the structure of the Australian branch syllabus.
The affiliation with Kobukai International Budo ensures an unbroken lineage carrying this Yoseikan line forward.
In January 2025, Sensei Jan travelled to Scarborough to present Darren's Shihan certificate in person.
Yoshiaki Unno Sensei
Before Sensei Jan, Darren trained for sixteen years under Yoshiaki Unno Sensei — his longest-serving student — until Unno Sensei's passing in 2006. It was from Unno Sensei that Darren learned the substance of the art, and he holds what he was taught with deep respect. It remains the foundation of everything he teaches.
Yoseikan Australian Representative
8th Dan Aikido | Karate | Iaijutsu | Kobudo
4th Dan Kenjutsu
2nd Dan Shorinji Kempo | Judo
Arrived in Perth in 1974 and regularly returned to the Yoseikan Honbu dojo in Shizuoka, Japan.
His legacy continues through several Perth martial arts schools operating today.
Making it our own
Yoseikan has always asked its teachers, once they've carried the art far enough, to make it their own. As Shihan, that is what Darren has done — and the tradition recognises it.
It shows in something small and precise. Certificates issued within Kobukai International Budo name the art Yoseikan Aikijujutsu. The certificates Darren issues name it Yoseikan Aikijutsu. Sensei Jan knows the difference and supports the direction Darren has taken — a distinction the tradition acknowledges without needing to set it apart.
This is not a break from the lineage. It is the lineage working the way Yoseikan intends.
My teachers' teacher: Mochizuki
Behind both teachers stands Minoru Mochizuki, the founder of Budo Yoseikan.
10th Dan Aikido | 9th Dan Nihon Jujutsu 8th Dan Katori Shinto Ryu | Iaido | Judo Menkyo Kaiden Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu
Direct student of the founders of Judo, Shotokan Karate and Aikido: Jigoro Kano, Gichin Funakoshi, and Morihei Ueshiba — three of the most significant figures in 20th century martial arts.
He built Yoseikan not as a museum but as a living, developing tradition — one that expected its teachers to keep developing what they were given, not simply preserve it.
That is the root of everything above. When Darren makes the art his own, he isn't drifting from the source. He's doing exactly what the founder of the tradition asked of every teacher who carries it far enough.
The Jo
The weapons aren't separate skills here. As Darren puts it: the jo is our Aiki, the sword is our posture. The staff is where Aiki extends beyond the body; the sword is where our movement comes from.
The Unno-ha Jo grew from early Yoseikan Aikido, was developed by Unno Sensei, and was developed further by Darren — with Sensei Jan contributing to completing its structure. Sensei Jan recognises it as unique to Darren and Unno Sensei.
Where it stands now
Darren Edwards Shihan 6th Dan has trained in the Yoseikan tradition for 35 years and taught in Scarborough for 23. His belt is coral red and white — a rank beyond black belt that most practitioners never reach.
What he teaches is one integrated system — empty-hand, the short staff, and the sword — held together by the same principles, and carried within an unbroken Yoseikan line.
Train in this tradition
There's one way to begin, whatever you bring to it. If you're new to martial arts, you start with the Foundations Course. If you've trained before, you come and feel it for yourself.
Kobukai International Budo - Australia
CLASS TIMETABLE
Mon/Wed 7:30pm-9pm
Sat 1:15pm-3pm
Setup 15mins before class
ADDRESS:
Scarborough Community Hub.
173 Gildercliffe Street, Scarborough, Perth, WA 6019
Minor hall next to Gym.
Free Parking, Showers available
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