Bruce,
JAA stands for the Japan Aikido Association, not Alliance. It is very strong organization centered in Osaka under the direction of Tetsuro Nariyama. There are many dojos teaching teaching what should be correctly called Shodokan Aikido as Tomiki sensei called it himself when he split from the Aikikai and hombu dojos under Uyeshiba to pursue a more functional variation of Aikido. As Tomiki said he wanted to put “eyes in the paper tiger” that Aikido had become after WWII. He considered that Tohei and other instructors had watered down Uyeshiba’s aikido, which he had learned in the “hell dojo” days before WWII. It is not just practied mainly in Japan, the JAA/USA has Shodokan dojos in Ohio, New York, Colorado, California, Arkansas, Maryland and other states and holds tournaments and clinics throughout the US and participates in international events that are held worldwide. The art/sport is also practiced throughout Europe (Spain, France, Belgium, Russia, England, Switzerland, etc.) as well as Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Thailand, etc. So as you can see it is not just practiced “mainly in Japan”, though that is where the center of the sport practice is as it is played as a university sport there. The British and Belgian clubs rival the Japanese clubs in competitive spirit and practice. As to the claim of the Fugakukai(or IAA)club members being bushwhacked and “attacked” in Japan that is often heard from the Fugakukai/IAA crowd to justify the separation and the fact that they couldn’t hang with the JAA crowd in competitions. No one was severly injured from the version I’ve heard, though the Fugakukai players were unable to control their techniques and did bust a few lips and noses, causing some bad feelings back in the early 80s. The rules of the game were still under development and the Fugakukai players didn’t know how the game was supposed to be played. I’ve heard both sides state their piece and personally know a man who was at the improptu competition and he told me the version I relate here. There are some fine IAA instructors and I know one or two personally. And yes, they do not participate in competition or beleive in Tomiki’s OWN teachings: that to make an art real it must be tested in combat like conditions,in other words competitions, just like Kano did with ju jitsu when he created Judo. In case you don’t know, Tomiki was a very high ranking student of Kano’s and was instructed by Kano to study Uyeshiba’s aikido and see if he could create a sport aspect of aikido as Kano had done with Kito Ryu ju jitsu. Though you may want to beleive that the IAA has the more “disciplined” clubs, it’s all in the eyes of the beholder. My eyes have seen damn fine aikido, traditional and sport style, from Nariyama and Shishida shihans and other senseis from around the world.

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