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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.
P A
Goldsbury, IAF Chairman |
