It is with much sadness that I inform the judo and aikido community of the death, on Wednesday 11 April 2018, of John Cornish. He was 89 years old.

John was a senior British judoka (BJA 7th dan) and aikidoka (8th dan). He studied judo from 1952 at the London Budokwai under the celebrated British judoka, author, broadcaster and scholar Trevor (T.P.) Leggett (1914~2000) BJA 7th dan, Kodokan 6th dan. From 1958 to 1964 he practiced both systems in Japan – specifically, judo at the Kodokan as a member of the Kenshusei [Research Student] class, and aikido and the Hombu [Headquarters] dojo. In particular, he studied Kodokan Goshin-jutsu as a direct student of Kenji Tomiki. After his return to the UK, he taught both judo and aikido at the Budokwai until his retirement in 2010.

In the early 1980s he published a booklet entitled “Go-Shin-Jutsu – Judo Self Defence Kata”, which is still one of the most technically detailed written resource on Kodokan Goshin-jutsu available in the English language.

May he rest well.