Where do they have Aikido Tournaments?

I was wondering when and where do they have Aikido tournaments in the U.S. I'm having a hard time finding anything about it.

You will find none because there aren't any. Aikdo is the way of harmony. For that reason, and based on the teachings of O'Sensei, founder of Aikido, we do not have tournaments of any kind.

NOW... I think there MIGHT be one branch that broke away from the rest of aikido in Japan and there may be tournaments there. But that is based on speculation and if it were true, would still be against the teachings of the founder.

If you're looking for a tournament to participate in, try another art. If you're looking to learn a new skill, attend the Seminars given all year long by various Shihan and high level instructors.

Good luck!

Hmmm...I wonder where all the shodo thugs have gone....Peter!!!!!

Best,
Ron

Ron Tisdale wrote: Hmmm...I wonder where all the shodo thugs have gone....Peter!!!!! Best, Ron

I was thinking the same thing. Do they not have Tomiki/Shodokan in America?

Cheers,

Matt.

www.tomiki.org. It lists tournaments, dojo, news, etc.

You should also check out the jiyushinkai (I believe they are big in Texas), though I hear they do not compete, they do have a lot of other shodokan methodologies (randori, as opposed to shiai). http://www.jiyushinkai.org/

Also, Chuck Clark posts here, so you may be able to find his profile and contact him.

Best,
Ron

Tomiki. That's it. I thought their tournaments were only in Japan. My apologies.

Peter Rehse did give me some info a while back on a different message board, but I have a bad feeling it might have been auto-deleted due to time out (I'll check and post it back if I can). He might be able to add more info to what Ron posted above, but that's an excellent place to start.

Of course you could just grab someone in your aikido dojo and 'rassle (skirts and jackets are optional)!

Tomiki and Ki society both have tournaments

Ron Tisdale wrote: [url]You should also check out the jiyushinkai (I believe they are big in Texas), though I hear they do not compete, they do have a lot of other shodokan methodologies (randori, as opposed to shiai). http://www.jiyushinkai.org/ Also, Chuck Clark posts here, so you may be able to find his profile and contact him.

Hello Ron,

There are quite a number of aikido dojo in the US connected to the Shodokan organization that do take part in shiai.

Jiyushinkai has a couple of member dojo in Texas but I wouldn't say we are big in a state that is BIG. We have dojo in many other states as well. It's true we don't take part in any sport or tournament activities. We are in no way connected with any of the Tomiki based organizations in the world other than through our history and that we have many friends within those organizations.

I really have no current info on the sport scene within Shodokan other than what I've seen in videos or heard about second hand.

I would recommend anyone interested in kyogi aikido should contact Seiji Tanaka in Denver or Dave Nettles, I think he's still in Denver possibly.

Best regards,

Re: Where do they have Aikido Tournaments?

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You will find none because there aren't any. Aikdo is the way of harmony. For that reason, and based on the teachings of O'Sensei, founder of Aikido, we do not have tournaments of any kind. If you're looking for a tournament to participate in, try another art. If you're looking to learn a new skill, attend the Seminars given all year long by various Shihan and high level instructors.

Are you telling me to take another art at an Aikido site? Aikkikai doesn't speak for all of Aikido remember that. I was just wondering about the tournaments in the U.S. since I never hear anything about them.

Try looking here

www.tomiki.org , it is the Japan Aikido Association/USA , they list competitions regularly....The last major tournament was at the Arnold Classic, Columbus, Ohio....

http://homepage2.nifty.com/shodokan/en/index.html , this is the Shodokan Homepage...they have quite a bit of information, rules and such....

I believe the US National tournament is in New York this year and the International Tournament is in Vandalia, Ohio next year...

If you research Shodokan Aikido, or Kenji Tomiki, you will find that the it is not so much different than that of Aikikai Aikido...just more to the point...

Clark Shihan is correct, Tanaka Sensei and Nettles Sensei are located in Denver, Colorado...his email is Nettles@Tomiki.org...

For those who refuse to acknowledge tournament or sport Aikido, forgive them for they know not what the are missing out on.....

Ki Society has tournaments? I did not know that.

If you would want to contact JAA/USA, this is the address....


Japan Aikido Association - USA
5752 South Kingston Way
Englewood, Colorado 80111


Sorry, I forgot to include it earlier....

Ki Society holds tournaments which are structured like ice skating pairs competition: that is, instead of uke and nage competing against one another, a nage/uke pair is judged on their technique relative to other pairs. A tournament will involve predetermined sequences of throws, called "taigi", with judges watching for various technical points and for correct timing. There is an international tournament in Japan periodically and tournaments in the US more erratically. I think Hawai'i Ki Society is probably the biggest US center for taigi competition.

If you are not a Ki Society student, though, being judged on how much your form resembles Ki Society expectations of correctness is not going to work out too well. Ki Society and Aikikai versions of throws often look quite different. For an Aikikai student to perform up to their ranking in taigi would probably take a couple of years to catch the style difference. (I'm a Ki Society student who likes to cross-train at Aikikai dojo, and despite several years' efforts I can't impersonate an Aikikai student well enough to fool anyone.)

My understanding is that Shodokan (Tomiki) competition also requires learning a distinctive style, to avoid moves banned from tournaments on account of risk; it would be difficult to just walk in and pick it up. But I'm not speaking from experience here as I've never had the chance to train at a Shodokan dojo.

Mary Kaye

Here is a short read that helps illuminate Shodokan Akido...

http://homepage2.nifty.com/shodokan/en/kyogi1.html

Tomiki in America has been addressed just fine. Shiai can be great fun but is not for everyone. The randori method (from which shiai is based) can be practiced by all and is a great training method.

Mary Kuhner wrote: My understanding is that Shodokan (Tomiki) competition also requires learning a distinctive style, to avoid moves banned from tournaments on account of risk; it would be difficult to just walk in and pick it up. But I'm not speaking from experience here as I've never had the chance to train at a Shodokan dojo.

Well yes and no.

Shiai/randori does involves rules so it takes a bit of time to understand what's what but they are quite simple and allow most techniques in some form (same can be said for Aikikai randori). I had the last Aikikai club I visited (over Christmas) doing passable Shodokan style randori within the hour. I introduced a few more restrictions but less than I would with Shodokan beginners.

There are at least two other styles of Aikido besides Shodokan that have resistive randori and hold shiai: Yoseikan Aikido and a Yoshinkan derivative (Fumio Sakurai). All the major styles of Aikido have held Enbu competitions at one time or the other and in fact there are Aikikai clubs that have competed at Shodokan Enbu events. In fact there are Aikikai clubs that use the Shodokan randori method. Not sure how the rest of the world interacts but I found Japan to be quite incestuous and not as clear cut as some people would like.

For the more intolerant a few points of interest.

Shodokan Hombu is an Aikikai Club - always has been. Kobayashi Shihan taught there from its inception and since his death it has been Kimura Shihan. When the dojo had its reopening last year (after an expansion) there were several major Osaka based Aikikai Shihan in attendance.

On a personal level an Aikikai Shihan in Japan did me the honor of visiting my group and sending a student on another occasion. I have always been welcomed and treated well by Aikikai groups that I have visited including those of some top level instructors.

I can only recommend the various articles on Kenji Tomiki that can be found at Aikido Journal.

Peter Rehse wrote: There are at least two other styles of Aikido besides Shodokan that have resistive randori and hold shiai: Yoseikan Aikido and a Yoshinkan derivative (Fumio Sakurai).

Just a little note. Not all Yoseikan Aikido club have shiai. Groups affiliated with YWF(lead by the son of the founder) participate in competition.

However, groups affiliated with Patrick Augé in California or Roger Roy in Canada don't do shiai nor competition.

I think that another thread have addressed this topic before.

Seems to me that a tourny that would be suiting for Aikido would basically be a tourny where the Aikido person does sort of a randori, self defense against weapons, different range of attacks and be judged on how they act towards it. Of course it wouldnt be against the oppenents from their school who alot of time take falls instead of being knocked down, and it would have to be spontanious too. Just an idea but sounds kewl to me.

Seems to me that a tourny that would be suiting for Aikido would basically be a tourny where the Aikido person does sort of a randori, self defense against weapons, different range of attacks and be judged on how they act towards it. Of course it wouldnt be against the oppenents from their school who alot of time take falls instead of being knocked down, and it would have to be spontanious too. Just an idea but sounds kewl to me.

Read this link about it.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/shodokan/en/kyogi1.html

Would the shodothugs on this forum please refrain from posting in a tolerant, informative manner which is a pleasure to read - it severely detracts from the harmonious anti-competition bigotry that the more spiritually advanced amongst us prefer to profligate.

Just messing with your mind Ian.

i think tomiki aikido have tournaments before,but i'm not sure if they still have it.

I'd say that to some extent, the short answer to "where do they have aikido tournaments" is still "Japan". (At least as far as Shodokan is concerned.)

There are Shodokan events in the USA, the UK and elsewhere, but they are few and the quality can be a bit variable. Its growing, and improving, all the time, but imho its only in Japan (so far) that there exists a tournament circuit with any real vibrancy.

Having said that, here in the UK our annual student national tournament is coming up in a few months, and this year we're to have the honour of hosting a visiting team from Waseda University. Very exciting. (And better yet, Shishida Shihan is coming with them.)

Sean
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Ian Hurst wrote: Would the shodothugs on this forum please refrain from posting in a tolerant, informative manner which is a pleasure to read - it severely detracts from the harmonious anti-competition bigotry that the more spiritually advanced amongst us prefer to profligate.

Ha!
Good one...