Abstract

The International Aikido Federation (IAF) is a federation of aikido organisations which are directly affiliated to the Aikikai Hombu in Japan, the ‘mother house’ of Aikido.

It is the only worldwide federation of such Aikido organisations and at present it has 43 members.

Organisation

The organisational structure of the IAF is a unique blend of the ‘vertical’ and the ‘horizontal’.

The IAF President is always the Aikido Doshu and a body called the Superior Council has the power to monitor the decisions taken by the IAF Congress, in order to ensure that the federation does not deviate from the ‘way’ of aikido, as taught by the Founder, Morihei Ueshiba.

These decisions are taken at the Congress by the delegates from each member organisation. The Congress meets every four years under the presidency of the IAF Chairman and makes its decisions by means of the democratic process of debate and voting. Each member organisation has one vote.

Membership

Membership of the IAF is open to national organisations which have Recognition from the Aikikai Hombu.
There are currently some 90 organisations which have Recognition from the Hombu, but not all of these organisations can be members of the IAF.

It is important to understand that Recognition by the Aikikai Hombu is quite different from Membership of the IAF. At present the IAF has a rule that only one organisation from each country may be a member, but the Aikikai recognizes any aikido organization that fulfills the conditions for Recognition.

Management

An important task of the Congress is to elect the officials who manage the day-to-day operations of the IAF. In between Congresses, the federation is managed by these officials: the Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer, and four other members. In addition a non-voting Technical Council is appointed by the IAF President, who is Doshu.

These elected officials are all accountable to a Directing Committee, which meets every two years. The Directing Committee, in turn, is accountable to the Congress.

Aikido Training

Many IAF Congresses have been held in Japan and an aikido training course has usually been held to run parallel with the Congress.

This training course is an important part of the IAF Congress, for it allows delegates and ordinary aikidoists to practise the art under the guidance of high-ranking instructors directly affiliated to the Aikikai Hombu.

A very successful training course recently took place during the last Congress, held in Tanabe, Japan, and a similar training course is planned for the 11th Congress, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan, some time in 2012.

This training course will be open to all aikidoists, whether or not they are members of IAF member organisations.

International Recognition

The IAF held its first Congress in 1976, in Tokyo, Japan. In 1984, the federation became a Full Member of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the International World Games Association (IWGA).

Admission to membership of GAISF and the IWGA was an important milestone for the IAF, for membership of these two associations gives international recognition to aikido, to Doshu and to the Aikikai Hombu.

As a member of the IWGA, the IAF has participated in the World Games. Though Aikido does not hold competitions, participation in the World Games is an important way of making aikido better known. The IAF participated in the last World Games, held in Germany in 2005. The IAF is planning to take part in a similar event, the GAISF Martial Arts Games, which are due to take place in China in 2010.

An aikido training course, open to everybody, is generally held on the occasion of these events.

Some Achievements

Since its foundation in 1976, the IAF has also been able to fulfil several important functions:

1. The IAF has provided a means whereby aikido practitioners from all over the world can meet and practise the art together under the direction of high-ranking teachers, especially those teachers directly affiliated to the Aikikai Hombu.

2. The IAF has provided an open forum in which aikido organisations affiliated to the Aikikai can meet in friendship and discuss matters of common interest.

3. The IAF has provided a forum for discussion between these aikido organisations and instructors affiliated to the Aikikai Hombu who reside abroad.

4. The IAF has, through its congresses and other meetings, provided an official channel of communication between aikido organisations and the Aikikai Hombu.

5. At a national and a continental level, the IAF has, through its member federations, helped to sow the seeds of aikido on new ground: to introduce and spread the art in countries where it did not exist.

6. The IAF has engaged in official contacts with various officially recognised sports bodies and has thus shown the face of aikido in places like the World Games, where the art risks being misunderstood.
The risks of misunderstanding exist, because aikido is not a sport in the ordinary sense of the term, for it does not hold competitions.

7. The IAF’s status as a recognised international federation has been of great assistance in enabling some member federations to gain recognition from their own government authorities.
Not all members need such recognition, but some do—and this is a fact which is of some importance.