The following article was prepared with the kind assistance of Steven Miranda of the USA..

On January 1, 1990 the Yoshinkan Aikido Hombu Dojo launched the "International Yoshinkai Aikido Federation." Our initial reaction at AIKI NEWS to this announcement was one of skepticism based on years of observing the workings of several international Aikido organizations. Many of the problems which have arisen within the different groups have been markedly similar and highly predictable suggesting inherent weaknesses in the structural models adopted thus far. Had the Yoshinkan too fallen prey to the same temptation to seek to bring its worldwide network under a single umbrella without due regard to the realities of individual dojos and instructors? Why had Gozo Shioda Sensei done the "unthinkable" of delegating the delicate mission of creating an organizational structure to a foreigner, Dr. Fred Haynes? Would this radical departure from the traditional martial arts approach to organizations avoid the pitfalls of its predecessors? AIKI NEWS interviewed Dr. Fred Haynes in April in an effort to explore the rationale and planning behind this remarkable new organizational model conceived by the Yoshinkan.

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Aiki News: Would you tell us something about the evolution of the IYAF and the committee which devised it? How did this unusual plan come about?

There had been some preliminary consultations with overseas people in the past, but nothing really ever came of them. At the end of last year, in October, there were more conversations in the dojo about how to organize an international federation. At that time a request was made by Kancho Sensei for us to sit down and design a proposal and so we did.

Now when you say "we" to whom are you referring? Who are the architects of the structure of this federation?

I wrote the first proposal. It contained several suggestions on mechanisms needed to develop such a federation and identified some principles on which it should be based. Key principles included trust, competency, and equality. That is, individuals of any nationality or race with competent technical training in Yoshinkan Aikido who wish to instruct are trusted to do so. It was clear that feedback and suggestions on the design of the IYAF from the leaders of all existing groups throughout the world was necessary. To further this, a one-year period for consultation was set. To keep discussions moving, an action committee was suggested. This committee would coordinate the collection of feedback and development of the IYAF for a one-year period. The committee was designed to include as wide a range of experience as possible. To assist Kancho Sensei, three Japanese and three westerners were suggested. The Japanese were Chida Sensei (7th dan), Shioda Sensei (6th dan), and Nakano Sensei (6th dan). In addition to lifetime uchideshi training under Kancho Sensei, Chida Sensei has had experience traveling and teaching in Europe and New Zealand. Shioda Sensei has spent some years teaching in England...

Father or son?

When I say Shioda Sensei, I'll be talking about the son. Otherwise I'll talk about Kancho Sensei... And then there's Nakano Sensei who has traveled to the U.S., Canada, and Australia. So we had a fairly experienced group of the uchideshi senseis. On the western side, there was Jacques Payet (4th dan uchideshi), who is French, and has trained at the Hombu Dojo for five years. He was raised in Africa, and has taught in England and France. Also there's Mark Baker (3rd dan uchideshi) from New Zealand with a background in Oceania and teaching experience in Europe and India. Kancho Sensei then gave permission for that particular committee to be formed.

He entrusted you with this in the first place mainly because of his personal knowledge of you and your professional experience?

Yes.

Would you briefly outline your professional background?

I am doctor, a Ph.D., in medical research. I received my degree from Toronto University, Department of Physiology. Before that I was a high school teacher for three years in the U.K. Afterwards, I was a lecturer at the University of Toronto, and held a hospital research position as well. So I had a lot of experience outside the martial arts. I was involved in designing the organizational structures of a number of different organizations, both as a professional and at the student level. I have twenty-one years in Aikido. In 1980 I joined Kimeda Sensei (7th dan) in Yoshinkan Aikido in Canada and trained under him and Kushida Sensei (8th dan) for six years before coming to Japan in 1986. In Japan, I trained for three years under Kancho Sensei where I was allowed to enter the nine-month course taught to special squads of the Tokyo Riot Police and as preliminary training for uchideshi. I was promoted to 4th dan in 1989. So we had quite a unique group in terms of backgrounds. In addition we had strong support from Quest Video. In the past the Yoshinkan has not had a good supply of video teaching materials available for overseas groups. These materials have proved to be vital in assisting overseas instructors. In addition, written teaching aids (books, magazines, etc.) are being prepared. AIKI NEWS and Quest are involved in these projects.

Having set up this committee, it was then decided that Kancho Sensei should launch the Federation on January 1, 1990. At that time there was no structure in place, so it was launched without one, with the indication that it would take one year to design. We had, however, identified some clear guidelines on the type of organization the IYAF should be to maximize the international growth of Yoshinkan Aikido. The first three months, January, February and March, would be spent gathering opinions from all the groups around the world. Then these would be collated in March and the initial structure proposal put out. I went on a seven country trip during December, January, February and March, and collected information from all the groups.

What countries did you visit?

America, Canada, England, Holland, Germany, and France, then back to Japan.

Did your work permit you to be away for these long periods? Was this your full-time job?

No. I was leaving Japan in November and Kancho Sensei specifically asked me to continue helping the development of the IYAF. So I actually donated my time, travel costs, etc. It was my contribution to launching the Federation after three years of training at the Hombu Dojo.

Is there any existing Aikido or martial arts organization whose structure or part of whose structure you used as a model?

No. Not one. All of my experience has been that these are not based on democracy, or upon trust. They've all tended to be based upon centralizing power to a small group of people. This was not felt to be suitable for the long-term growth of Yoshinkan. What we wanted in the future was for there to be within any one country numerous contacts with the Hombu Dojo, so that there could be a solid base.

How was it that an ultra-conservative Japanese martial arts organization allowed this loose structure to be set in place?

It was based on trust. Kancho Sensei trusts people to live up to his expectations. Kancho Sensei trusts his students. Also, the idea that only one person can control a country has proved to be very problematic. It has a beauty in terms of appeal to tradition. But in fact this kind of management style invariably becomes like a dictatorship, like the Communist dictatorships which are being swept out of Eastern Europe, and it was felt not to really have a long-term place in Yoshinkan. Coming back to trust, Kancho Sensei, when he has graded someone to a certain dan, trusts that person to teach to within their capabilities. So the ability for us to take this approach was based upon Kancho Sensei's trust in the committee and the Yoshinkan international community to launch this in a way that would be to the long-term benefit of Yoshinkan Aikido. If you look at the second paragraph of the International Federation bylaws, it reads "The administrative structure of the Federation is very flat; apart from the President, Mr. Tadashi Kuranari, Ambassador of Japan, it is comprised solely of Yoshinkan Aikido instructors. All instructors have a direct link to the Hombu Dojo. There are no directors or other officials." And the IYAF coordinating committee itself dissolves at the end of the year, 1990.

There's no way, given the current structure that any one individual can rise to the top of the pyramid, because there is no pyramid.

This is based on the recognition that the most important commodity in Yoshinkan Aikido, or any kind of Aikido, is the instructor. After the instructor, the students. Any other body that is put in place must be at the service of those two groups. The IYAF is designed only to teach and promote Yoshinkan Aikido. Now each regional group, every dojo, each national group, may very well set up a board of management, directors of some kind, which would take over certain kinds of functions, but they would have no power within the IYAF. Just as in Hombu Dojo itself, while there are management people, all power in the Hombu Dojo rests with Kancho Sensei. He is the founder of the style, and directly under him are his uchideshi. However, throughout Japan there are numerous Yoshinkan Aikido dojos and regional groupings. Each of these have a fair degree of autonomy and look to the Hombu Dojo for technical guidance. after training someone, Kancho Sensei trusts them to instruct to the best of their ability. There is no overbearing bureaucracy or complicated rules. So in fact we had a role model right here, in the Yoshinkan Hombu Dojo.

It's really an enlightened model, I must say.

One thing we did was to sit down and say, "If I was teaching overseas, what would I need?" And indeed a motivation for forming the Federation was that a number of people who had left Japan and gone overseas had difficulty fitting into the existing groups. And while these existing groups have done a marvelous job, some have been very resistant to taking in people from Japan or elsewhere who may come with new teaching ideas. So we need to make the family big enough so that it can accommodate as many different people as possible.

You know it's sort of like a computer network, there may be a central point, but anyone can have access to the central databank.

Yes. It was decided to create a situation that could evolve, so we put a loose structure in place so that no structure is needed. Ironically, we organized so that we didn't have to organize. The very looseness of the IYAF structure makes it surprisingly strong.

Obviously, this is a controversial idea. What were some of the objections and how did you deal with them?

Well, having sent out our first letters we collected the immediate responses and questions and produced a detailed 15-page discussion paper that we hoped would cover as many points as possible. It lists, for example, the proposed structure of the IYAF, and its background. Then it examines the existing situation amongst our instructors, the problems faced by certain types of organizations such as geographic problems and experience differences among instructors. Then we had examples of the kind of support materials that the IYAF would develop. We also had a financial structure because although the Hombu Dojo is launching the IYAF, there's actually no money to do it with, so the IYAF must be self-funding. We sent this document to every country and numerous individuals in each country and asked for feedback. It was this feedback that I was collecting while I was out from December to March. Based on this feedback, we came up with our fourth generation and current proposal.

I see. What kind of changes did you make as result of that criticism?

Well interestingly enough, our original document had nothing about finances in it. One of the major feedback concerns was cost. The overseas groups are almost entirely volunteer people, and any kind of large cost would be impossible to support. Since this was recognized early, there was no difficulty at all in cutting down costs. We did toy with the idea of some kind of annual registration of instructors and dojos.

From my experience that is the kiss of death. You absolutely need to avoid that.

Administratively, it's very difficult to do. Even just collecting a nominal fee is difficult and so we just abandoned that idea.

You did yourselves a huge favor, I can guarantee that.

So we decided on a lifetime registration, and a one-time fee. There are different support documents and services available for those who register. Here is our optional three-year registration card.

It's a card for individual black belts?

Individual students of any rank. Membership in the IYAF is free to all students and instructors and includes all Yoshinkan groups. No group is outside it. In certain countries the political environment within the martial arts community provides advantages to those with proof of membership in an international group. That's what this card is for. It's good for three years and costs 1500 Yen [$10]. All money that's raised from these cards will be used for air fares for uchideshi instructors visiting those countries. So in one sense it will assist in covering travel costs. Also you'll see that each regional federation has room to place its stamp on the card, as well as each national group. While many regional groups in one country can be recognized, and hopefully will be, there will be only one national group. How that will be worked out depends largely on each country.

As long as a regional federation can coexist with a national federation and have direct contact with the Hombu, I don't think you're going to have any major problems.

We hope not. What we'd like to see is regional federations comprised of dojos within a region. Then collectively, these regional groups would have representation to make a national group. But no one is coerced into that. Any national group that has coercion as part of its constitution would not be recognized by the Hombu Dojo.

Very interesting. So an independently-minded person can continue having direct contact with the Hombu?

Yes, there's no coercion to join a national group. The onus is on the national group to be so attractive in providing things that are needed, that you automatically want to be a member. The only criterion to be an IYAF instructor in Yoshinkan is a dan ranking, plus a recommendation from someone else who is an instructor of third dan level.

Any nationality?

Any nationality, anywhere in the world. We have to be a little flexible, of course, because the existing structures in some countries already have instructor requirements. Japan has an uchideshi system and instructor system under Kancho Sensei. Takeshi Kushida Sensei has an elaborate structure in the U.S. There's another structure that's fairly elaborate and quite different in the U.K. under Anthony Yates, and one in France under Jacques Muguruza. Joe Thambu in Australia has yet another system, Eddy Wong in New Zealand, Hiromichi Nagano Sensei in Germany, and so on. So the IYAF is open enough that each group can continue with their own structure. We just lay down a minimum requirement, at least dan ranking and recommendation by a third dan. Each instructor can grade to within two ranks of his own current grade, in terms of dans.

In my personal experience with international organizations, it is not really a matter of money or structure, but access to ranking that is the core issue.

Yes, that's a very vital fact we decided to address at length in the IYAF, and the whole thing is geared toward providing people with access to official recognition. In the past there was no set mechanism for processing dan rankings, but now we have a variety of forms for instructors. We have an instructor's application, and a dojo registration for those who wish to be registered. We have also prepared sheets on how to apply for dan certificates for your students, with space for the individual's name and that of the instructor. All of these things were locked away previously, and no one knew how to do this. It was an esoteric, kind of mystical thing that went on. In addition to these forms, kyu certificates are available.

Now in the past, these were not so readily available, and depending on the country you were in, they were often under the control of one person. But now all registered instructors can get their own supply of kyu certificates. For large established groups we would send out sets of say 50, and payment could be made as they're used. For new groups it may be payment up front. There is a sticky patch or seal that goes on the back of the instructor's certificate. It's not a direct translation, but a statement of what it says. It names the instructor, what country he is in, and it allows him to grade to a certain rank. It's signed by the processing uchideshi and it's stamped and dated. It will be stamped by the Hombu Dojo and the IYAF. We are aware that these things can be misused. In some countries certain people have said, "Well, you can't trust all these other people. You'd better only trust me in this country." There is a fear then that unscrupulous individuals could obtain these teaching licenses which are issued directly by Kancho Sensei and establish a direct link to Ueshiba Sensei through the Yoshinkan School of Aikido. So we're hoping to make sure that they aren't misused by having a clear translation on the back. Then we have the same system for dojo certificates. This is dan certificate. On the dan certificate the name of the instructor appears and the name of the student is put on too. Each instructor will be able to give his students their certificates under his own name if he chooses. Or if they decide to put it under some other instructor, that's fine too.

These certificates, are they primarily geared at dan ranking, or at both dan and kyu?

Dan and kyu. But dan certificates will be issued on a one-by-one basis. They'll be filled out at the Hombu Dojo and then mailed. So there will be tight control over these. Only recognized Yoshinkan instructors will be able to gain access to them. The kyu certificates will be shipped out in this form here: the left hand side is in Japanese, and on the right hand side the student's name and kyu ranking is filled in by the instructor who then signs it in his name and dates it. He then informs the Hombu Dojo of the result of kyu testing using this form here.

I see. So you can put 20 people on one form.

Yes, for example, he'll turn this in and get 20 more certificates. These forms will help us keep records of the growth of Yoshinkan Aikido. At the moment the Hombu Dojo is developing an efficient system of filing. So what we are trying to create within the IYAF is some way of keeping up to date information on overseas groups.

One tremendous advantage you will have over a period of time in setting up this structure, or lack of structure, is that you'll have very few breakaways, because there's nothing really to break away from. Organizations such as the Aikikai, the Ki Society, and other groups have had tremendous problems in this regard. When Tohei Sensei left the Aikikai in 1974, hundreds of dojos left with him. It was a huge schism. You're not going to have that kind of problem.

That's right. That's why membership is free. Just based on the fact that people practice Yoshinkan Aikido they are in this organization. It's just a case of which services they want to use in terms of registration, support documents, etc. For each of these we are trying to establish internationally balanced fees. These fees are intended to cover IYAF costs. It is not to make a profit. Kancho Sensei is adamant that Aikido is not a business for profit.

This is a dramatic thing in terms of what has preceded it historically.

Kancho Sensei was 100% behind this idea and he doesn't want any breakaways. He wants to have an international family of Yoshinkan Aikido. There are some groups that have their own distinct way now of doing Yoshinkan Aikido. It's still recognizably Yoshinkan, but they have evolved in the years they've been overseas, and they don't have a strong interest in the Hombu Dojo telling them how to do Aikido. At the same time, they're still Yoshinkan Aikido, and we have to cater to that. One time we thought about creating sister organizations. But this approach became very complicated and seemed to promote factions and breakaways. So that prompted us to come up with a universal framework which all, or at least the vast majority of' Yoshinkan groups would feel comfortable with. Indeed, all existing groups are provided with a special status within the IYAF, where they can keep their own system. We don't expect any physical action to join, you're already a member. For other groups who wish to form, the IYAF presents a simple system of registration, so that new instructors can develop without having to break away from Yoshinkan Aikido.

That's brilliant. One thing that you mentioned that's interesting is that Kancho Sensei wants all of Yoshinkan Aikido worldwide to be a family. I really saw last time we met how important friendship was to him in his personal life, because some of his old cronies are friends from prewar days. And he has this entourage that get together two or three times a year for their various events. I could see that his family is a very important part of his emotional life, and he is extending this, maybe consciously, to this international organization.

Yes, and Kancho Sensei said that anyone is very welcome to join the IYAF. So we then had to think about how to regulate non-Yoshinkan groups. Are we going to recognize their ranks? How are they going to teach? In what ways can we help them?

You mean if a non-Yoshinkan group wishes to join the Yoshinkan they may do so? For example, if you've got an outside group which for whatever reason has become disenchanted with their organization, their technical curriculum will be quite a bit different.

Yes. So what we've come up with at the moment is a one-year program for these groups. We plan to have an uchideshi visit them, teach them some basic techniques, and evaluate their existing level. The core of our teaching style is the kihon dosa, and Kancho Sensei has developed a book about them as a teaching aid. His belief is that if you train with these, eventually you'll start to do Yoshinkan Aikido. In addition, groups which are not Yoshinkan, and who wish to retain their own styles, but who need official recognition to overcome political problems, will be considered for recognition by Kancho Sensei within the IYAF. This provides assistance to the overall growth of Aikido and Kancho Sensei strongly believes that no Aikido group should try to close down another. Instead, we should all help and cooperate with each other. In fact, one of the motivational forces behind the IYAF has been requests to Kancho Sensei from non-Yoshinkan groups who are being pressured to close down by larger groups. This situation is especially prevalent in Europe and Brazil

And how many people are currently practicing Yoshinkan Aikido worldwide?

I'd guess that we have some 300 overseas dojos. We are in the process of finding out exactly how many there are. I don't want to understate our strength, but I estimate we have five thousand students outside of Japan. Perhaps three thousand in the U.S., about one thousand in Canada, under one thousand in Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Holland) and low hundreds in each of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, India, and Africa. One problem in counting is how to classify students, i.e. active/semi-retired/retired, registered/unregistered, recognized breakaway. For example, some estimates in Canada alone have three thousand or more individuals who have trained in Yoshinkan. At present, however, we can identify only about one thousand students. Also, a number of instructors initially trained in Yoshinkan Aikido are heads of other groups. For example, the head of the Aikikai in the U.K. So, estimating Yoshinkan numbers is a challenge.

Profile of Fred Haynes:

Born February 9, 1952. Taught high school for three years in England, where he began Tomiki Aikido in 1969. Received his Ph.D. in medical research from Toronto Uni?versity. Joined Yoshinkan Aikido in 1980 and came to Japan in 1986 to train at the Yoshinkan Hombu Dojo. During three years of training there, including a nine-month instructors course, he was promoted to 4th dan and was instrumental in developing the IYAF proposal. He presented that proposal on his travels to various countries before his return to Canada in 1990. He is now a Business Consultant in the field of health care and resides in Georgetown, Canada. He is the instructor and co-founder of Halton Hills Yoshinkan Aikido Association.