The history of the Shudokan begins with Sensei Thamby Rajah. Known as 'the father of Aikido in Malaysia', Sensei Thamby began his Martial Arts career with the study of Judo. Travelling to Japan to further his studies, Sensei Thamby trained under Ichijima Sensei and Mifune Kyuso Sensei, who was 10 th Dan and one of the foremost teachers at the Kodokan.Whilst training at the Kodokan, Sensei Thamby was introduced to Soke Gozo Shioda. As a result, Sensei Thamby combined his training of Judo with that of Yoshinkan Aikido. A year later, Sensei Thamby returned to Malaysia , having been awarded a Shodan (black belt) in Judo (the first Malaysian to do so) and a black belt in Aikido.

Whilst in Japan , Soke Gozo Shioda gave Sensei Thamby the dojo name of 'Shudokan', 'Shu' meaning to study, 'Do' meaning the way and 'kan' meaning house. On returning to Seremban, Sensei Thamby established the 'Shudokan'-'the place tolearn the way'. Sensei Thamby taught Aikido there, introducing Aikido to Malaysia for the first time. Having opened the first Aikido dojo in Malaysia , Sensei Thamby subsequently pioneered Aikido in Malaysia .

Sensei Joe Thambu began studying Aikido under the tutelage of his Uncle, Sensei Thamby Rajah at age 11. During the early years, Sensei Thambu also studied some Kendo and Shindo Muso Ryu Judo.Sensei Thambu was awarded his Shodan in 1978. After coming to Australia at age 19, Sensei Thambu studied some ju-jitsu and tried some Aiki-kai whilst at University, but soon decided this training did not suit him.

In 1983, Sensei Thambu traveled to Japan to further his training. Whilst in Japan , Sensei Thambu stayed at the Honbu dojo. On his return, Sensei Thambu purchased the St. Georges Road premises and established the Shudokan.

Since 1983, Sensei Thambu has returned to Japan many times, the most memorable being in 1993, when he as awarded a fifth Dan by Soke Gozo Shioda. Consequently, Sensei Thambu became the youngest non-Japanese student of Aikido to be awarded this rank. He also had the privilege of being the last student to be tested by Soke Gozo Shioda before his death in 1994.

Sensei Thambu, Chief Instructor of the first fully-fledged Yoshinkan Dojo in Australia , has been training for 28 years. He has had the opportunity to train under many great instructors- Soke Gozo Shioda, (the founder of Yoshinkan Aikido), Sensei Thamby Rajah, (the father of Yoshinkan Aikido in Malaysia), Sensei Don Draeger, Soke Toshishiro Obata (the founder of Shinkendo and also a student of Soke Gozo Shioda) and Shihan Tetsuro Nariyama (Chief Instructor of Tomiki Aikido) - all world- renowned Martial Artists. In 1996, Blitz martial arts magazine recognized his ability and achievements by awarding him the Blitz Aikido Instructor of the Year. He is also a much sought after instructor in the security industry combining his martial training and security experience in a very unique manner.