Shihan Fumio Toyoda, born in Japan on November 8, 1947, holds the rank of 6th dan in aikido, and has trained in several other Japanese martial arts. He began his study of aikido at the age of 10 at Chyushinkan Dojo in Tochigi prefecture, Japan. After earning his shodan in aikido at age 17, he was accepted as uchideshi at the Ichi Kukai Dojo in Tokyo, committing to three years of rigorous training in misogi and zen. During this time he also pursued a law degree at Senshu University.
After graduating from Senshu University, Shihan Toyoda lived as uchideshi at Aikido World Headquarters (Aikikai Hombu Dojo), and there began his career as a professional, full-time aikido instructor. During this period he also taught at several leading Japanese Universities, among them Daito Bunka University, Seikei University, and International Christian University.
Beginning in 1971, Toyoda Shihan taught for two years at the Ki No Kenkyukai (Ki Society) as a Chief Instructor of the Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido of Koichi Tohei. His teaching responsibilities took him to South Korea and Hawaii, where he presented aikido demonstrations and seminars to instructors and beginners alike.
During these early years of traveling and teaching abroad, Toyoda Shihan recognized the growing need for more full-time, qualified aikido instruction, and made a personal commitment to spread the art and philosophy of aikido beyond the shores of his native Japan.
Beginning in 1974, Toyoda Shihan began to fulfill this commitment by personally spreading the teaching of aikido to Canada and to more than 30 states in the United States. That year, he established the Chicago Ki-Aikido Society, the dojo that would later become headquarters for the Aikido Association of America.
As Toyoda Shihan organized and taught in the United States, he became acutely aware of the deep political divisions existing within the aikido world. He also noticed the rigid organizational control that Japan-based aikido organizations exerted on local US dojos. He observed dissatisfied dojos, one by one, sever their ties with Japan to pursue an independent and uncertain future. Toyoda Shihan was convinced that this status was not conducive to the growth of aikido in this country, and could only lessen the quality of american aikido.
Despite four years of debilitating kidney dialysis and successful transplant surgery, Toyoda Shihan set about the formidable task of organizing and establishing the Aikido Association of America.
Toyoda Shihan's dream is now reality. AAA is an affiliation of over 120 dojos in the US (and other countries), open to anyone expressing a sincere desire to practice aikido arts.