Instructions for obtaining dan grades
General instructions
The Finnish Aikido Federation follows the current graduation requirements of the Federation as well as the instructions of the Hombu dojo. All dan grades completed in Finland are sent to Hombu dojo for approval. The Finnish Aikido Federation does not grant national dan grades.
Dan grades can be obtained in two ways
- with examination
- from application
Obtaining dan grades with examination
The Finnish Aikido Federation organises several events every year in connection with dan pre-examination seminars and other seminars, where you can graduate dan grades 1.-4. These events will be announced well in advance on the Federation's website. You can also get information about the examination events from the Federation office. In unclear situations, it is good to contact the Federation's office in advance.
Registering for a graduation
You must register for the event by the deadline in Suomisport. A link to the Suomisport event can be found on the Federation's website. If there are problems with registration, the General Secretary will provide further instructions. Late registrations or registrations that do not meet the time or other requirements for graduations will not be considered.
1st dan and 2nd dan candidates must participate in two dan pre-examination seminars before the dan examination. Two before the 1st dan, and two between the 1st and 2nd dan. If you are registering for a 1st or 2nd dan graduation and you plan that the pre-examination seminar for which you register as a dan candidate is the required second pre-examination seminar, you are personally responsible for registering for the seminar on time in Suomisport. Registration for the dan graduation and the pre-examination seminar are done separately.
Participation in a dan graduation requires a recommender whose dan grade is at least one grade higher than that the applicant is pursuing. The recommender sends their informal recommendation to the Federation's office by email. The recommendation must arrive before the registration for the dan graduation ends. The recommender confirms that, in their opinion, the candidate is ready to participate in the graduation. The recommender cannot be the same person as the judge receiving the examination.
Graduation event
When arriving at the event, the examinee must have the necessary equipment and assistants (uke) with them. The number of assistants and the required equipment can be checked from the graduation requirements. Only aikidokas with a grade lower or the dan grade taken in the exam can act as assistants.
The judges at the graduation examination are the Federation coaches who are members of the Technical committee of the Finnish Aikido Federation. Usually, the examination is received by two Federation coaches, one of whom acts as the chairman of the event.
With the unanimous decision of the judges, the dan test can be interrupted if necessary.
The presented rules can be deviated from with the permission of the judges, if exceptional and special reasons require it.
Announcing the results of the graduation
The graduation results are published immediately after the event, but no later than the next day. The report of the Federation coaches who took the exam, stating the participants of the graduation, the course of the event, the accepted performances and the rejected performances, will be submitted within two (2) weeks to the Federation office for archiving.
The decision to suspend the graduation ceremony or reject the exam must be justified to the extent necessary, taking into account the legal protection of the examinees. Reasons for suspending the event or rejecting the test performance must be communicated to the examinees when the results are announced, and must be documented in an appropriate manner in the federation coaches' graduation report.
Obtaining a dan grade by application, i.e., a recommendation dan application
A recommendation dan grade is also a practitioner's dan grade. When applying for a recommendation dan grade, the person for whom the dan grade is applied must be an active practitioner and meet the graduation requirements associated by the Finnish Aikido Federation with the dan grade in question.
1st–4th dan are mainly completed by a dan examination. 5th dan and above can only be applied for with a recommendation. If a 1st–4th dan grade is not completed by a dan examination, there must be special and exceptional reasons to apply for it with a recommendation.
Recommendation dan grades include the same rights as dan grades completed in a dan examination. The time limits for recommendation dan grades are longer than for dan grades completed by a dan examination. The requirement for the number of training years under an Aikido license also follows the time limits in the table below.
Time limits for dan grades completed via a dan examination
| Level | Time from the previous dan grade |
|---|---|
| 1st dan | 100 training days, 1 year from completing 1st kyu |
| 2nd dan | 200 training days, 1 year from the registration of 1st dan to Hombu dojo |
| 3rd dan | 300 training days, 2 years from the registration of 2nd dan to Hombu dojo |
| 4th dan | 400 training days, 3 years from the registration of 3rd dan to Hombu dojo |
Time limits for dan grades completed by application, i.e., recommendation dan grades
| Level | Time from the previous dan grade |
|---|---|
| 1st dan | Over two years from starting training. License has been valid for over two years. |
| 2nd dan | Over two years from the registration of 1st dan to Hombu dojo. |
| 3rd dan | Over three years from the registration of 2nd dan to Hombu dojo. |
| 4th dan | Over four years from the registration of 3rd dan to Hombu dojo. |
| 5th dan | Over five years from the registration of 4th dan to Hombu dojo. |
| 6th dan | Over six years from the registration of 5th dan to Hombu dojo. |
| One year is calculated to consist of at least 180 training days. | |
| The recommendation for the 7th dan is processed separately at Hombu dojo. |
Applying for a recommendation dan grade and the content of the application
A recommendation dan grade application should be written so that it is understandable even to those who do not know the person for whom the dan grade is being applied. An informal application to the Aikido Federation can be made by an aikido instructor holding at least the dan grade being applied for, a member club of the Federation, the Federation's board, or the Technical committee.
The application must include:
- for whom the dan grade is applied
- what dan grade is applied for
- the party submitting the application
- why the dan grade is applied for
In addition, a recommender is needed for the applied dan grade, whose dan grade is higher than the applied dan grade and who is an active practitioner. The recommender attaches a justification in English, at most one A4 page long, on why the dan grade should be granted to the person in question.
The recommendation must include:
- justification for why the dan grade is applied for
- a description of the candidate's aikido background: a description of the practitioner's activity and other matters that are desired to be taken into account when processing the application
- the recommender's name and this letter of recommendation with justifications are attached to the application
The person for whom the dan grade is applied attaches their aikido CV to the application. The Technical committee hopes that the candidate will attach a photo of themselves to the CV.
The CV must include:
- the candidate's aikido history
- the candidate's Aikikai membership number (Aikikai Membership number from the dan passport, does not apply to the 1st dan application)
- training time, the date of completion of the most recent dan examination, and the registration dates of the dan grades
- the number of training and instructing days per week (average)
- the number of training and instructing days per year
- the candidate's teacher-student relationship or other connection to the recommender
- possible positions of trust in the club and the Aikido Federation, as well as other matters that are desired to be taken into account when processing the application
- The CV is attached to the application.
The application with attachments is sent to the Federation's office and addressed to the Technical committee. The application with attachments must be in the Federation office's email by August 15. Late or incomplete applications will not be processed, and corrections or additions will not be accepted.
The price of a recommendation dan grade is approximately twice as high compared to a dan grade completed via a dan examination. The Finnish Aikido Federation is not responsible for the costs of the dan grades.
Processing of recommendation dan grade applications
The applications are sent to the Technical committee for an opinion, which gives its opinion on each application. In negative cases, the decision must be justified to a sufficient extent, taking into account the applicant's legal protection. The justifications must be announced to the applicant and documented in an appropriate manner. After a favorable statement, the General Secretary fills in the forms and sends the applications to the Hombu Dojo, which decides on the granting of the dan grades.
Right of appeal against the decisions of the Technical committee
If an examinee or applicant is dissatisfied with the evaluation of their dan examination or the decision of the Technical committee regarding the applied grade, they can submit a justified written complaint to the board of the Aikido Federation, which requests a statement from the Technical committee. The Technical committee processes the request for a statement regarding the complaint in its full strength and gives a statement to the board within two (2) weeks of receiving the request for a statement. After this, the board either approves or rejects the solution presented by the Technical committee in its statement. If the board decides to reject the solution presented by the Technical committee in its statement, the matter returns to the Technical committee for reconsideration. The Technical committee issues its new statement within two (2) weeks. After receiving the new statement from the Technical committee, the board makes a final decision on the matter.
The decisions of the Hombu dojo cannot be appealed to the Finnish Aikido Federation.
Dan grades completed abroad
The Finnish Aikido Federation accepts upon application and adds to its dan examination register the dan grades approved by Hombu Dojo that have been completed abroad. Applications are sent to the Federation's office. The board processes the approval of the dan grades upon the presentation of the General Secretary in its meetings and adds the dan grade to the Federation's dan grade register. A copy of the dan examination diploma granted by Hombu Dojo or a copy of the dan passport containing Hombu Dojo's markings and stamp for the dan grade in question must be attached to the application. In unclear cases, the Technical committee is consulted. After approving the dan grades, the board sends its decision for information to the Technical committee. Other dan grades (e.g., national dan grades of different countries) are not accepted in Finland.