Competition isn't for everyone. But if it is for you, then it needs to follow universally recognised rules and be as safe as possible to compete all the way to the highest level.

We abide by the international rules set down by the Japan Aikido Association in all our competitions. There are regional and national competitions as well as international competitions. There are several regional competitions and a national competition each year. There is a Japanese championship every 4 years and an international championship every 4 years, eg England in 2003, Japan in 2005, USA in 2007 Japan in 2009 and so on.

So if you start training now you could be in the British team for 2009!