Liz van Papenrecht, 5th dan, left, with master Hanan Janiv Shihan and Margaret Dinan, 6th dan Photo: Nathan Schmidt
MARTIAL arts exponent Margaret Dinan has studied aikido for more than 35 years and was recently promoted to the rank of 6th dan, one of only three in Canberra and of only a handful of women nationwide to reach that level.
Each dan refers to a rank above black belt, the widely-known symbol for martial arts proficiency, and takes five years each on average to achieve.
Joining Margaret, 63, at 5th dan is Liz van Papenrecht, 58.
The women were two of the most senior female Canberra students of Aikido Australia’s founding figure Seiichi Sugano, with whom Margaret trained for more than 25 years before the master’s death a decade ago.