Gaurav began his journey in martial arts with Thang-ta, an ancient martial art from Manipur, in the north-east of India. He holds a black belt in this, and has himself conducted workshops and taught.
He has also explored many other martial arts, including Kalaripayattu and Judo. He discovered Aikido five years ago, and became passionate about Sensei Shoji Nishio’s style of Aikido. He has invited instructors from Japan and Ukraine to conduct seminars at NIRMAN in Varanasi, and visited Japan twice to learn from Koji Yoshida shihan.
Gaurav Saini 