Chapter 7

There is an interesting process one can distinguish time and again, that has to do with the creation of new groups. Bluntly put, the process is as follows:
– somebody starts a dojo because he is motivated
– he works hard to get if off the ground and feels it is his property
– he needs to involve students because that’s how dojos work
– over time tensions arise between the instructor that started the dojo and the seniors that outgrow their position as only student in the dojo
– at a certain point the seniors leave the dojo and start a dojo for themselves

In itself this should seem a healthy growth process, but more often than not this process is conflict ridden. As the students become more active in the dojo they also get more influence. This takes away from the position of the person who started the dojo and often leads to conflict.
Students look for new input. They find that with other instructors and start to focsu their attention outside of their own dojo. This takes away further from the position of the senior instructor.
The senior students want to take initiatives and have power of their own. They want to teach, conduct gradings, organize seminars, etc. This undermines the position of the senior instructor more and more.
If the senior instructor does not find ways to accomodate this process, it leads to disappointment and disillusion.

Why is this relevant for the issue of Hombu recognition and IAF membership? Well, every new dojo is looking for forms of validation. The first form of validation is to become member of a national organization. However, in the example given above, the members of that national organization are often the seniors of the instructor of that new dojo. They do not want to give validation to a junior that has just left with conflict. He will not automatically get the power to give grades just because he started a dojo.

The dojo will look for validation by joining up with a more senior instructor. This will often not be the seniors in their own organization. They will seek support from an outsider. This however will create more distance between the old and the new organization.

As a consequence new organizations will look around for support. They will find and create that around the new senior they have focused on. They will try to establish a group. And what will be the first focus of that new organization? Teaching and grading. Dan-grades will be processed through the organization of the new senior. But the next step is to be able to do that independently, and this implies a direct relationship with Hombu through Hombu recognition*.

These new organizations look for further validation. They recognize easily enough that the organization they left was member of an international federation. So, almost automatically they also seek recogntion from the IAF. However, the IAF does not give recognition. The IAF is an international federation with a policy of one member per country. This follows from its relationship with national governments and the world of sport, that uphold a policy of one organization per sport per country**. As a consequence the IAF can not give multiple membership to organizations in a country.

Over the last 25 years I have been in conversations with many people who wanted to start a new organization or were in the process of getting one off the ground. Almost always the question was how to get recognition from Hombu and the IAF. Almost always it was difficult to explain what the difference is.

So, in conclusion:
– you can apply for Hombu recognition if your organization is practising Aikikai Aikido, if there is an organizational and a teaching structure, if you exist for 5 years and if there is a senior instructor of 6th dan. The latter condition is negotiable.
– you can become member of the IAF if there is no other member in your country. In that case you must be a registred democratic organization in your country and have Hombu recognition. If there already is a member organization, join ranks with them. The IAF has recently introduced a policy that new members must cooperate with other existing groups.

* Until probably 1995 Hombu was relatively reluctant to give recognition to new organizations. After 2000 this had turned around and recognition is now given to new organizations big and small.
** Try to imagine how to organize the Olympic Games if is was not an event where countries compete.