Club Instructors
Stephen Miller, 3rd Dan
Stephen Miller has been training in the Martial arts for twenty years, with the last 15 years being dedicated solely to Aikido. Stephen has made three long term trips to Iwama, Japan to immerse himself in full-time Aikido training. This dedication to Aikido and his teacher, Hitohiro Saito Sensei, was rewarded in 2006 Saito Sensei awarded Stephen the grade on San-dan (3rd Dan)
which carries with it the responsibility of teaching. Stephen has been teaching and training at his own club now since returning from Japan and trains closely under the guidance of Sensei Ken Campbell 4th Dan, who is the runs his own club in Glasgow and Mathew Hill 5th Dan who is the head of Iwama Aikido under Hitohiro Saito Sensei in the UK.
Ken Cambell, 4th Dan
Ken’s long experience in Martial arts began in 1974 when he took up Karate, achieving the rank of 1st Dan in 1978. Around 1980 an in Japanese weapons lead him to study the Jo (Staff), Bokken (Sword) and Iaido (Art of drawing and cutting) with the late William Coyle in Glasgow. By the time Morihiro Saito first came to to Scotland to teach a seminar, Ken was training mostly now in Aikido. Inspired by the teaching o Saito Sensei, Ken began to seek out instructors of Iwama Ryu in the UK and around 1990 started proper training in Iwama ryu under Gerry Hinton, who was one of the first people in Scotland to travel to Japan to train in Iwama. Since then Ken has travelled all over the UK and Europe to train and study closely under the late Morihiro Saito and his son and succesor, Hitohiro Saito Sensei. Ken continues to train and teach at his club in Glasgow as well as in the Edinburgh dojo.
Nacer Foudil Smail, 1st Dan
Foudil started Aikido in Algeria in 2001 whilst he was in his last year of high school. After one year of training, he came to the UK to continue higher education, where he looked for Aikido clubs within edinburgh city centre and after a long search, he came across this club. Foudil said ‘I was lucky to find this club as it was similar the club I attended in Algeria’ and he settled in from 2002 till present.
Foudil has been graded in our club from 5th Kyu to 1st Dan – he was graded by Matt Hill Sensei (the head of Iwama Aikido in the UK) for the 1st Dan and his certificate was awarded by Hitohiro Saito Sensei in 2010.
Foudil continues to train with us and teaches occasionally, he has undertaken the required period of training and instruction and has officially been awarded ’Coach Level 1′ certificate which has been approved by the British Aikido Board (BAB) in 2011.