Sport within the BAA

Historically, competitive Aikido is a relatively recent innovation; Aikido Randori was established in the early 1960s just prior to Judo entering the Olympics in 1964. The British Aikido Association was founded in 1966 and the first British National Championships took place in 1968 at the National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace. A club from Epsom and Ewell were crowned club champions. Incredibly this was two years before the first All Japan Aikido tournament that took place in 1970. This makes the development of Sport Aikido unique in the world of martial arts, in that it was the UK that held the first domestic championship and not the Japanese. The BAA currently supports three annual national senior competitions.​

The inaugural Junior National Championship was held in 1977 at the Leeds Athletic Institute, providing demonstration events that young Aikidoka could safely perform. Great care was taken in developing a format that would allow dynamic performance but minimise the risk of injury to young joints. The event has grown over the years and is now one of three regular and popular events in the Association’s calendar. ​

International tournaments; The first British presence in Japan was in 1985, when a team representing Leeds took a silver medal in the men’s team randori at the All Japan Aikido Championships. This act laid the foundation of the British National team started in 1987 by Bob Jones.​

The first recognised World Championships took place in Nara, Japan in 1989. This competition was also attended by contingents from USA, Holland and Belgium. Since then the World Championships have been held on a regular basis and have provided an opportunity for Aikidoka from all over the world to compete and test their technique in a friendly yet competitive spirit.