Pictured above: Chris Mooney with Ian Parker of John Truslove

A new martial arts academy for the Midlands is to open under the supervision of one of the world's leading martial arts trainers.

Fifty-year-old Chris Mooney Sensei, a 6th Dan Shihan and a leading figure in martial arts training, is to open his new Ei Mei Kan - the House of England's Light - at the Gospel Hall, Barnt Green Road, Cofton Hackett.

He has signed a lease to rent the building from Cofton Hackett Parish Council in a deal organised by business property consultants John Truslove.

Chris Mooney said: "This has been a community project involving many people including at least 30 of my students who have helped me financially, along with the parish council who gave us a rent-free period, and donations from overseas.

"We have spent several months working hard to gut the interior and now have a Dojo facility that is second to none in this country dedicated to many of the various forms of oriental discipline including Aikido, sword drawing, meditation and calligraphy.

"We aim to reach out to as many as 60 students including children, youth, adults and what we call 'the wise people' over the age of 50."

The new Dojo replaces one run for the past eight years at the YMCA in Northfield and before that at Bearwood and Digbeth.

Ian Parker of John Truslove said: "Our firm was delighted to be involved in the development of what is an extremely important community project and one that puts the West Midlands at the forefront of martial arts."

Mooney Sensei first began teaching at Aston University in 1981 and continues his connection to British and foreign universities, believing that the message of Aikido has particular relevance for young people in the modern world.

Over the course of his Aidido career he has travelled widely throughout Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia 

Four years ago, on the 10th anniversary of the formation of the British Aikikia he was awarded the title of Shihan "master instructor".

In 2006 he travelled to Japan and personally received his Shihan accreditation.

He sits on the Senior Council of the British Birankai, overseeing the work of the Teaching Committee and the cultivation of the next generation of teachers.