Since Aikido is not a sport, we do not have tournaments. Instead, a dojo will sponsor a weekend seminar and invite Aikidoka from surrounding dojo to participate. A seminar usually consists of a Friday evening workout, practice all day Saturday, a party on Saturday night and another workout Sunday morning. Sometimes the instructors at the host dojo will take turns teaching the classes, on other occasions a shihan is invited to teach the seminar. There are only about a dozen shihan living in the United States.
Beginners are mukyu , or unranked.
When the first test is passed, one becomes gokyu , or fifth kyu . The kyu grades count down until ikkyu , first kyu . The next test is for shodan , first-degree black belt. The highest ranking shihan in the United States hold the rank of eighth degree black belt. In the East Coast Aikido Federation all kyu ranks wear white belts with no markings to distinguish between kyu grades.