The roots of AIKIKAI HOMBU Aikido in Switzerland can be traced to a Swissair pilot named Mickey Schooning who frequently flew to Japan in the 1950s and 60s. Schooning had earlier seen Minoru MOCHIZUKI in Geneva in 1951 and was impressed with his technique. He began to study at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in the late 1950s. Together with Freddy JACOT-DESCOMBES, a flight engineer also with Swissair, and Willy Frischknecht, a carpenter, Schooning was instrumental in introducing aikido in Switzerland with direct ties to the Aikikai Hombu. This Swiss group invited Nobuyoshi TAMURA and Mutsuro NAKAZONO from France for seminars in the 1960s and Hiroshi TADA was also an occasional visiting instructor. Willy Frischknecht hosted Nakazono for several months c. 1971.

At that time, the organization unifying aikido in Switzerland was called the UNION SUISSE D'AIKIDO. Its teachers came from a variety of backgrounds and were only loosely connected through their organization. Nonetheless, the Union was well embedded in the official sports establishment. To this day, it is the only aikido organization in Switzerland eligible for government subsidies for physical education due to its affiliation with the Judo Federation.