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Old 04-12-2008, 08:00 PM   #24
JO
Dojo: Aikikai de l'Université Laval
Location: Sainte-Catherine-de-la-J.-C., Québec
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 292
Canada
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Re: Making sense of aikido lineage/associations

Hello Peter,
While I understand why the Aikikai is moving away from sending Japanese instructors abroad, I wonder why they would go with a blanket rule against Japanese instructors moving overseas to teach. What if they move for non aikido reasons (other job, marrying a foreigner, etc)? I also wonder about all the areas in the world where there are no high ranked instructors, if others are not allowed to come in from the outside, aikido may not make it into areas where it might be well received.

I also have questions about moving from one organisation to another. This must happen very regularly, as it is not particularly exceptional for someone to change cities or countries for work or studies and most organisations have a fairly limited geographical coverage. So what happens if you move to an area and join a dojo in another organisations where the last common point in the lineage goes all the way to O-sensei, where the head person may not even be on speaking terms with the head of you last organisation. I can't imagine that the Aikikai would require you to retest a rank they have already issued you. Doesn't one of the International Regulations of the Aikikai state that a Hombu recognised organisation must honor all dan ranks issued under the authority of the Doshu?

Of course, your right that for most people, these things just don't come up much. I was personally lucky (in my opinion) to have only moved once and stayed not only in the same organisation, but moved to a dojo that regularly invites my initial teacher for seminars and where I already knew several people.

Jonathan Olson
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