jimbaker

It depends on how you define "Major"?

As an example, The Fugakukai is from a Tomiki Aikido lineage and probably has more students then the Shodokan Tomiki group. There are now several off-shoots of the Fugakukai all issuing Dan ranks in Aikido. They aren't affiliated with any Japanese organization or even with each other. So which ones are major Tomiki groups?

Does "major" mean "many students" or "short lineage" or some other criterion? And who defines "legitimate"?

For me, I'm willing to accept any group that doesn't lie to or mislead their students and has a teaching system that has some functionality.

Having seen at the various Aikido-L seminars the varieties of styles that the experience of Aikido has engendered, I find I'm more accepting of the different ways of looking at our art. Most of my Aikido friends are not Aikikai. Damn, I miss George Simcox.