Shidoin & Fukushidoin

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[cbiazak]

SHIDOIN & FUKUSHIDOIN

Could anyone please tell me why some Aikikai-related schools use these titles and why some do not? I see from the Aikikai Hombu site that they use these titles. Why do some Aikikai schools not follow this lead?

My first dojo used these titles fully... they even "outweighed" rank. For instance a Nidan Fukushidoin was "higher" than a Sandan regular aikidoka. My current school and Aikikai affiliation do not use these titles (I think).

Can someone explain the discrepancy?

[Jordan Steele]

Shidoin=qualified instructor, Fukushidoin=qualified assistant instructor. Schools that use these titles are usually well established, with high ranking Shihans (Masters) as chief instructors, and also have a pretty direct lineage. Almost any school can use these titles if the dojo is run by a Shihan and can effectively run a teacher training program. Anybody can proclaim themselves an Aikido teacher, but Shidoin and Fukushidoin give you credentials and allow you to teach within the organization you are a part of. The fact is most schools, even with excellent instructors and a wide student base cannot offer enough training time to properly train qualified instructos.

[Jordan Steele]

Also, yes a shidoin or fukushidoin of any rank will outrank nearly anybody (except Shihans) because they are part of an elite core. Sort of like an able seaman in the navy seals. He is very low in rank but part of a far superior group than a regular service lieutnenant.

[aikidoc]

Shidoin and fukushidoin are not ranks but rather titles identifying levels of instructors. The aikikai makes fukushidoin from 1st dan through 3rd dan. Shidoin is 4th dan and above. Shihan or master instructor requires I believe at least 6th dan in rank. Organizations are required to notify the aikikai when they bestow such title on someone from what I understand of the aikikai rules/or perhaps its the IAF-not sure off the top of my head. Some organizations award such titles for instructor training program levels. Some organizations have rules about getting such titles-have to have your own dojo at certain levels, etc. You can hold any of the dan ranks without the instructor titles. Just being a 6th dan does not mean you are a shihan unless such title is awarded. As an example, I believe several American 6th dans who were promoted recently to 7th dan were also given shihan titles at the same time.

[cbiazak]

Thanks guys!

Let me be more specific; I clouded my question with the rank reference.

Does anyone know why one Aikikai-affiliated organization (like the USAF East or West) use the titles, yet another equally affiliated organization (like CAA) does not?

If the titles are part of Aikikai, via Aikikai Hombu, why don't all affiliated organizations use the titles?

[George S. Ledyard]

Thanks guys!

Let me be more specific; I clouded my question with the rank reference.

Does anyone know why one Aikikai-affiliated organization (like the USAF East or West) use the titles, yet another equally affiliated organization (like CAA) does not?

If the titles are part of Aikikai, via Aikikai Hombu, why don't all affiliated organizations use the titles?
The ASU does not use these titles except for Shihan. Reason? Saotome Sensei chose not to.

[Fred Little]

Thanks guys!

Let me be more specific; I clouded my question with the rank reference.

Does anyone know why one Aikikai-affiliated organization (like the USAF East or West) use the titles, yet another equally affiliated organization (like CAA) does not?

If the titles are part of Aikikai, via Aikikai Hombu, why don't all affiliated organizations use the titles?

Christopher --

It's a reasonable question and I believe the answer is basically historical.

The USAF, arguably, has the longest continuous history and is (now) likely the largest of all such orgs in the United States. But it was not always so.

To a much greater extent than is the case today, throughout the Seventies and perhaps into the early Eighties,many comparatively junior people who were actively training were permitted to start USAF-affiliated dojo in areas where no other opportunity for training exists.(This pattern has been visible in other orgs as well) It's a big country and the spaces between San Diego, Boston, Chicago, and New York are pretty vast, so that covers a lot of territory.

Over a period of years, Yamada Sensei publicly expressed concern about whether many of those individuals were adequately maintaining their own training. During the same period, Chiba Sensei instituted an intensive senshusei program. These two initiatives seem to have conjoined in the issuance of USAF Shidoin and Fukushidoin licenses.

As John Riggs put it, "these are titles and not ranks." It is my understanding that, unlike dan rankings, they are also subject to annual renewal. This provides a means for the issuers of the licenses to maintain quality control, both explict and implicit.

From a larger organizational point of view, this is a fairly typical development for a group which has moved out of its intensive growth phase and into a consolidation phase in which it actively prepares for pending transitions in leadership.

CAA, on the other hand, was the first major bloc of aikido dojo to move beyond the "one country, one organization" top-down model enshrined in the original IAF by-laws. In a variety of respects, it is quite different from the USAF, having been organized by by a number of now senior American aikidoka by a process of discussion, negotiation, and mutual agreement, operating more as a confederacy than a federation to use a governmental model, or to use a sectarian religious model, rather more Congregational than Diocesan.

Fortunately for all concerned, over the years, the previous Doshu, Ueshiba Kisshomaru, took a rather more tolerant and conciliatory attitude toward such developments than some of his students, who favored a strict reading of the IAF by-laws in this particular matter.

But to return to the initial question, while possession of a fukushidoin or shidoin license will be taken by many outside the USAF as a not insignificant measure of Yamada or Chiba Sensei's opinion of an individual's skill or potential skill as an instructor, it's an internal document most likely to be useful in circumstances involving either licensees moving to a new area which has a dojo but no one so licensed, or a difference of opinion between comparatively junior yudansha who are certified as shidoin or fukushidoin and more senior yudansha who have never been given such certification or who once had such certification and no longer do, for whatever reason. (Whether, in fact, anyone issued one of these licenses has had it pulled subsequently is an interesting question, and I too would be interested in the answer.)

Like the CAA, most of the other organizations in the US arose from conscious decisions not to affiliate with the USAF, so it would simply seem counter-intuitive to expect automatic emulation of the USAF model as it develops, for good or ill.

Hope this helps,

Fred Little

[Jordan Steele]

The only reason I can think of that another equal Aikikai organization wouldn't use the titles is because they don't have an active teacher training (Kenshusei) program. Teacher training usually requires more than a few dedicated students willing to train 15 hours per week or more for extended periods of time and a teacher that can offer that many classes. Also the lineage has a lot to do with it. Any Sensei can train his students to teach, but if the Sensei himself is not a certified Shidoin or higher within the organization, he cannot start a Kenshusei program. Mostly picky things. Bottom line...Fukushidoin and Shidoin teacher training is rare to find these days because the direct deciples of O'sensei are dying unfortunately and it is up to them to leave behind a generation of Shihans willing to certify more teachers. Most of these Shihans also call the United States home as well, so the program hasn't had a chance to spread. Japan, Britain, and France are the only other places I can think of. Some in Canada, only two or three though.

[Peter Goldsbury]

SHIDOIN & FUKUSHIDOIN

Could anyone please tell me why some Aikikai-related schools use these titles and why some do not? I see from the Aikikai Hombu site that they use these titles. Why do some Aikikai schools not follow this lead?

My first dojo used these titles fully... they even "outweighed" rank. For instance a Nidan Fukushidoin was "higher" than a Sandan regular aikidoka. My current school and Aikikai affiliation do not use these titles (I think).

Can someone explain the discrepancy?

The Aikikai Hombu has a shidoubu (instruction department), the members of which are all professional instructors, and the titles relate purely to that department. To my knowledge, the titles are not used in other Japanese Aikikai dojos outside the Hombu. The instructors in the organization to which I belong are all referred to as 'shidousha' or 'dojo sekininsha' (instructors / those in charge of the dojo).

The Aikikai Hombu allows overseas organization the option to use the shidoin / fukushidoin titles, or not. The kenshusei system is something else. Thus, while kenshusei will most likely be shidoin/fukushidoin, the converse is not necessarily the case.

Best regards,

[philipsmith]

Interesting thread.

In our association Fukushidoin is renewable annually subject to cetain conditions being fulfilled by the holder and yes the title has been removed from people on more than one occasion. Shidoin at the moment is not formally time-limited but would be withdrawn in the case of significant non-activity over a period of time (three to four years) or disreputable conduct.
You are eligible to be considered for Fukushidoin after 2nd Dan and Shidoin after 4th Dan.
Shihan title is the province of the Aikikai Hombu and so not our concern

Philip Smith
United Kingdom Aikikai

[roadster]

Sorry to dig up such an old thread. After researching it, I found that not only is my Sensei a Fukushidoin, but is also on the board of directors of the USAF. I wonder if the two go hand in hand?