Quote:
Christopher Li wrote:
There is no organization in Hawaii, everything pretty much goes directly to the Aikikai from the individual groups. There are periodic discussions about forming an organization - but that hasn't gone well so far. I know that there are some people in Hawaii who would like to receive a shihan title, but the last time that they asked the Aikikai the reply was that there could be no shihan titles without some kind of officially recognized organization.
Hawaii may seem large, but it's actually pretty much a small town, with small town politics.
Best,
Chris
|
Hello Chris,
Thank you. That is more or less what I thought. When I became involved with the IAF, I learned that the 2nd Congress had been held in Hawaii and that one of the IAF officials was Don Shimazu, who I believe was a US Army veteran with direct experience of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. I was briefly acquainted with Mr Shimazu, but he ceased to be involved with the IAF and the connection with Hawaii gradually disappeared.
Which is somewhat ironic, really, since the one person who did most to persuade the Aikikai to create an international shihan system was Yoshimitsu Yamada, who heads the USAF. Not surprisingly, there are loads of American shihans in the USAF. It was the USAF that organized the IAF Congress in Hawaii, but any connection with Hawaii seems to have disappeared and it seems from your post that the good folks in Hawaii have no desire to be part of the USAF.
Best wishes,