Aikido - the organizational context

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.

Chapter 6

Many people who practice in a dojo will never notice a lot from the organizational structure above their dojo. It will be limited to attending a seminar and receiving a passport, perhaps a newsletter and an insurance most of them will never claim from.

Still, the national organization fulfills a number of functions, both directly and indirectly.

Perhaps the most unnoticed function of national organizations is that through their shere existence they create an environment necessary for Aikido to be recognized at a national and international level. Its a bit of a vicious circle, but the early Aikido organizations actually faced this challenge.

If you practices Aikido and wanted to be recognized as anything, you needed some sort of validation. One form of validation was Hombu recognition. But this only had meaning within the Aikido community. To be recognized by local or national government these groups needed something else.

We are no longer there to question why, but somewhere in the late ’70-ies or early ’80-ies it was decided by Hombu and a number of Aikido organizations in countries to found the IAF, to become member of the International World Games Association and participate in the International World Games. This established Aikido as a sport in the international community, and it allowed governments to recognize national Aikido organizations. However, to enter IWGA and become a recognized organization, it needed to have a minimal number of members in different countries. So, these countries actually needed to cooperate to establish Aikido as a sport and maintain an international body to maintain that recognition*.

As Aikido participated in the World Games this cost money which the IAF did not have. The first World Games where Aikido participated were in Germany. The financial burden was carried by the German Aikikai under the leadership of Asai Sensei. To cover some of the expenses and make the most of the senior instructors attending, a seminar was organized.
The second time Aikido participated was in the Netherlands in 1993. Dutch Aikikai didn’t have the resources to cover all the expenses of hosting the event, and this was the first time the IAF had to provide the means to organize the event**. Again, a seminar was organized to cover some of the expenses.

These seminars slowly took on a life of their own. As the IAF started to organize its 4-yearly general assemblies it became a habit to organize a seminar as well. These seminars became so popular that over time they were intricately linked. In 2016 2000 participants attended the IAF seminar.

Participation in the World Games and participating in the seminars of the IAF were the earliest spin-off. As time passed more and more examples of that spin-off became apparent.

Virtually every national organization was looking for some form of justification of its existence, other than just being there. Simple things like organizing national training courses started happening. Developing instructors courses and getting them recognized was another step that was appropriate in the development of Aikido as well as just the right thing for a national organization.

As the list of topics grew, it reached a point where there was sufficient justification for national governments to start paying attention to Aikido:
– an international body, member of SportAccord
– participating in the World Games
– with a larger number of dojos covering a wider region in the country
– with national seminars
– with a recognized instructors course

Such a track record was just the boost Aikido needed as a phenomenon to be recognized in its own right. It went from ‘what is Aikido?’ to ‘we know Aikido’. And its unprobable that this would have happened without the national and international Aikido federations.

Today national Aikido organizations provide a larger number of services, ranging from supporting starting dojos with tatami, information, experience, instructors, etc. to special programs for gender equality, physically challenged athletes, Aikido for business, and so on.

So, if anybody asks what’s in it for dojos? Realize you wouldn’t be in the position to ask without the national and international organizations.

* Today some people question whether Aikido is a sport. We will discuss that at some point in the future.
** Since it didn’t have the funds Dutch Aikikai covered the expenses, and these were ‘repaid’ through an installment of its membership fees.