The USAF Board of Directors would like to share a summary of their recent meeting. Please click below to access the document.
Click here to read the USAF Board Update and Meeting Summary
The United States Aikido Federation (USAF) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to spreading and maintaining the Japanese martial art of Aikido.
The USAF Board of Directors would like to share a summary of their recent meeting. Please click below to access the document.
Click here to read the USAF Board Update and Meeting Summary
We are pleased to share with you some news about the work the USAF Working Group has been doing behind the scenes for the last few months.
In January 2020, the USAF Board of Directors approved a proposal from the Working Group to highlight and promote issues around equity and inclusion within its organization. Sharon Dominguez was appointed as the Working Group Chair and joined by Sylvie Firestone, Harvey Konigsberg, Julia Freedgood, Arturo Peal, and Christine Wong.
Mission and Goals
What is the Working Group’s mission?
To foster and promote inclusivity and diversity within the USAF, and to provide USAF Instructors with tools and information for addressing these issues within their dojos.
What are the Working Group’s goals?
1. Increase recognition that gender equality and unconscious bias are valid issues that need exploration in the USAF.
2. Create lasting programs that identify, acknowledge, and improve the culture of inclusion and representation of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA members within the USAF structure, as well as in USAF activities and seminars.
3. Identify the needs of dojos, if any, to promote growth and inclusion.
4. Help address membership retention issues that may arise from conscious and unconscious bias.
5. Collaborate with the Board, Technical Committee, Administrators, key members, and specialists to fulfill the above objectives in 2020 and beyond.
What are some concrete results the Working Group has accomplished so far?
What are the Working Group’s next steps for 2020 and beyond?
We will stay in touch as we continue our work, and welcome your comments and feedback along the way!
The USAF Board and Working Group are excited to announce the official kickoff of the USAF Aikido Online Class Series on Saturday, July 18 at 1 pm EST (12 pm CST / 10 am PST) featuring guest instructors Harvey Konigsberg, Jim Soviero, and Sylvie Firestone. Each class will host instructors exclusively from our diverse USAF family and will be held every other Saturday.
Additionally, we are pleased to offer USAF Aikido Online Class Series for Kids! The first class will be held on Saturday, July 25 at 1 pm EST. These classes will also be conducted every two weeks, alternating with the adult series. All ages are welcome.
These weekly Zoom classes are open to everyone and will run concurrently on Facebook Live through the official USAF Facebook page.
Join the Zoom Class, July 18 at 1 pm EST: https://zoom.us/j/99239932965?pwd=QXBSOXdsZGNEQ1NrT0M2emJGQk9BZz09
See you online!
The following list comprises the 2020 New Year’s recommendations for 5th dan and above, and Shihan.
The recently posted list on Aikikai Foundation’s website can be found here: Kagami Biraki Grading 2020
Godan
Rokudan
Nanadan
Shihan
Dear USAF Dojo Cho and Instructors,
The Board of Directors met in Ft. Lauderdale for its annual meeting on November 7-9. Here is a summary of the main outcomes of that meeting.
A second issue of importance for our annual meeting is the election of board members and officers. I am pleased to announce that we elected a new member to the board. Sylvie Firestone, 5th Dan and co-founder of Aikido of Westchester, will join the board in 2020. As well as being an accomplished Aikidoist, Sylvie is an excellent graphic designer with great media savvy. The Board is excited that she will bring this skill set to the USAF to help us grow and strengthen the organization going forward. Julia Freedgood was re-elected Treasurer and Peter Bernath was also re-elected as Technical Committee representative.
The Board has created a “Working Group” to explore issues of gender, diversity and inclusion in our organization. To start, the group consists of Board representatives Julia Freedgood and Sylvie Firestone along with USAF members Chris Wong and Arturo Peal. It will be chaired by Sharon Dominguez. The working Group has already met and is moving forward to determine goals, structure and composition of the group and to decide on next steps.
The Board updated the Code of Conduct, clarified the Grievance Process, and will be making the entire package more easily accessible on the USAF website. This document is linked to our DDC instructor’s page, our newsletter – www.usafaikidonews.com, and our website’s Membership Benefit’s page at www.usaikifed.com. We encourage you to post the Code of Conduct in your dojo so your members are aware of and have access to the updated policy.
You will be receiving information regarding 2020 renewals in the next few weeks. Please do not proceed with your renewals until then.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and a joyous holiday season,
On September 14th, a petition titled “Support Women in the United States Aikido Federation” was posted on Facebook by the USAF Women’s Coalition, now renamed Independent Coalition of USAF Women (Coalition). This is an independent group not sanctioned by the USAF. The petition has also been circulated through various social media platforms, emails, texts, private contacts, etc. The Board first learned of this petition through Facebook and was not given the opportunity to speak to the Coalition prior to the petition being circulated through social media. To this date, the Board has not received the formal petition from the Coalition.
As stated on the USAF’s website: “The USAF does not advocate, support, or practice unlawful discrimination based on age, ethnicity, gender, national origin, disability, race, size, religion, sexual orientation, or socio-economic background.”
The USAF is a rank-based organization with a structure that supports teacher-student relationships, longevity, and seniority. However, equality is expected in our behavior with one another as human beings, both on and off the mat.
Due to the nature of social media, we are aware there are many rumors and inaccurate statements being circulated. The Board feels it is important at this time to clarify some USAF policies and procedures and to address the actions the petition seeks from the USAF, as outlined below.
A. Recognition that gender equity is a valid issue that needs exploration in the USAF through a Gender Equity Task Force.
The USAF takes violations of the USAF Code of Conduct (CoC), including acts of discrimination, very seriously. The CoC and Membership Regulations are posted on in the USAF newsletter www.usafaikidonews.com. Recognition and acceptance of the CoC and all USAF Policies are requirements for the annual renewal process of Chief Instructors and their dojos. The CoC sets forth a notification process for grievances or concerns that take place within one’s dojo, or in the USAF community at large.
B. Representation in USAF structures as well as USAF activities/seminars at least proportional to member population.
With respect to structure, governance of the USAF is through its Board of Directors, the Technical Committee and Yamada Sensei as USAF Technical Advisor. Day-to-day operations are handled by the Director of Operations. The USAF is a not-for-profit corporation made up of member dojos. Membership in the USAF is voluntary and in accordance with the USAF Membership Regulations and other USAF policies. The USAF, among other things:
In addition, the Board and the Director of Operations have been diligently working over the past few years to provide transparency through various communications and at instructors’ meetings (e.g., at Summer Camp). The USAF also offers administrative support to Chief Instructors and dojo administrators, including platforms for information and communication.
Most importantly, the Board would like to emphasize that at its essence the USAF is a community of long-standing friends, teachers and students who love the art of aikido and spending time together, both on and off the mat.
Regarding gender equity as it pertains to USAF structure, please note:
activities/seminars:
USAF CAMP: USAF Summer Camp is the only seminar/camp organized and run but the USAF. We are privileged to have Yamada Sensei and Osawa Sensei teach throughout the week in addition to classes taught by the Technical Committee. There are very few classes available beyond these Shihans’ classes in proportion to the number of Chief Instructors and higher ranked instructors who attend camp. Yamada Sensei tries his best to distribute the remaining classes in a fair way from year to year.
Here is a breakdown of classes from 2019 Summer Camp:
# TOTAL CLASSES REMAINING After Yamada Sensei, Osawa Sensei, TC | 19 | |
# TAUGHT BY MEN | 14 | 73.68% |
# TAUGHT BY WOMEN | 5 | 26.32% |
50% of 6th dan women and 25% of 6th dan men attending camp were given classes. (Note – Approximately 14% of all USAF dojos are run by women.)
Seminars: In the same way that the USAF does not interfere with the internal running of a dojo, it does not participate in a dojo’s decision to host a seminar or special class. An invitation to teach is at the sole discretion of the host dojo. This is often decided based on friendships, student-teacher relationships, convenience, budgetary considerations, or any number of factors, all of which are at the sole purview of the host dojo. The USAF only involves itself in seminars when the host dojo or invited instructors are not USAF members. The USAF does its best to notify dojos when there may be a scheduling conflict due to dates or proximity.
C. Removal of barriers to the advancement of women, at all levels of practice.
With respect to advancement, all USAF dojos are run autonomously and independently. Membership in the USAF requires compliance with our guidelines, including testing requirements, code of conduct, membership regulations etc.
Yamada Sensei oversees New Year’s promotions for Chief Instructors. Neither the USAF nor Yamada Sensei reviews the rank status of members within a dojo; it is the sole responsibility of the Chief Instructors to promote their students in their own dojo.
D. A change in the Technical Committee structure to include women on the Technical Committee.
The Technical Committee is a Committee of the USAF and is required for Aikikai affiliation. As the USAF founding Shihan were contemporaries who came to the United States to spread aikido, our current TC was formed on the same premise. These are the close students of the Shihan who arrived from Japan, those who followed them and learned from them for decades and therefore bring technical and personal maturity to the USAF. The were chosen by Yamada Sensei. Their history and experience are important for maintaining the lineage of those who came before us.
TC members must be 7th dan. However, this does not mean that all 7th dans will be considered for the TC.
Promotion to 7th dan requires the following:
7th dan: Aikikai regulations require a minimum of 12 years from 6th dan to qualify for 7th dan. Yamada Sensei must travel to Japan to meet with Doshu personally to present 7th dan candidates. This rank is not given freely, and may not be granted immediately after 12 years.
At this time, there are no women who are active members of the USAF who are 7th dan.
E. Transparency, including publication of statistics about gender in the USAF.
The USAF administration does its best to provide information to Chief Instructors. The Board does not have statistics to share, nor do we feel that gender specific information helps create a full understanding of the diverse population of our community. We do not know who is active, who has joined, or who has left a dojo on any given day. As an organization of independent dojos with different demographics, locations, schedules, fees, etc., the composition of a dojo is based on a number of variables.
While positive exchanges are encouraged amongst members regarding their experiences practicing and teaching aikido, the USAF does not have, does not collect, nor does it intend to collect information regarding members within each individual USAF dojo. We appreciate our diverse membership and all they bring to our community.
We thank those who commit their time and energy to the practice of aikido.
We are delighted to announce that Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer has graciously honored Yamada Sensei on his 55 years of aikido service, teaching and inspiration by proclaiming July 10, 2019 Sensei Yoshimitsu Yamada Appreciation Day.
Congratulations to Yamada Sensei for this amazing accomplishment. We can’t begin to express our gratitude and appreciation for all he has done to help spread aikido throughout the world, and for his continued teachings and guidance as Technical Director of the USAF!
Test applications mailed to Aikikai Hombu Dojo on April 15th, 2019 for registration of dan rank
Shodan
Nidan
Sandan
Yondan
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