International Aikido Federation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Sport | Aikido |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | International |
| Membership | 90 |
| Abbreviation | IAF |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| President | Moriteru Ueshiba Dōshu[1] |
| Chairperson | Yoko Okamoto Shihan[2] |
| Official website | |
| aikido-international | |
International Aikido Federation (IAF) is a world governing body for the martial art of Aikido.
The International Aikido Federation was formed in 1976 to serve as a primary global aikido organisation. It is an umbrella organisation with member organisations from 90 nations (for example, the All-Japan Aikido Federation is one member). All full members must be recognised by the Hombu and all associate members must be validated by the Hombu, so the IAF exclusively represents the Aikikai.
The IAF is a nominally democratic organisation but special roles are given to the Aikido Doshu and a council of senior instructors, to safeguard the "technical and moral" integrity of aikido. The IAF President is always the Aikido Doshu. He is responsible for the spirit and technical standards of Aikido.[3]
The IAF currently admits only one member organisation per country and gives each full member an equal vote (it was modeled on the UN; it does not necessarily give every Aikikai student equal representation).[4]
The IAF also organises International Aikido Congresses every four years, facilitating direct training between aikido students of different countries, sharing instruction by the world's most senior aikido instructors, and also providing a channel for official communication with the Hombu.
The membership of the IAF has grown to 87 member countries in April 2024, of which 13 are associate members without voting power.
The IAF publishes a list of member nations and organisations.[5]
| # | država | name | mandate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France |
Guy Bonnefond Shihan(1974 – 1984) | 1974 | 1984 |
| 2 |  Italy |
Giorgio Veneri Shihan(1937 – 2005) | 1984 | 1996 |
| 3 |  United Kingdom |
Peter Goldsbury Shihan(born 1944) | 1996 | 2016 |
| 4 |  Japan |
Kei Izawa Shihan(born 1951) | 2016 | 2021 |
| 5 |  Netherland |
Wilko Vriesman Shihan(born 1958) | 2021 | 2024 |
| 6 | Japan |
Yoko Okamoto Shihan(born 1956) | 2024 | present |
