New Year’s Greeting

Dear New York Aikikai Family,

2023. A year that rivaled a ride on the Coney Island Cyclone. Heart wrenching lows, exhilarating highs and everything in between.

The start of the year threw us into unchartered territory with the devastating loss of Yamada Sensei. And yet his memorial ceremony brought together over five hundred people from around the world to honor and pay tribute to his inspiring teaching and dedication to aikido. We heard heartfelt remembrances from his family, friends, students and admirers; there were plenty of tears and there was joy and laughter as well. It brought many old NYA members together and rekindled their love for aikido and our dojo; many returned to train again. Yamada Sensei was still doing his magic.

For me, it was a time of great personal loss and a time when a great responsibility was thrust upon me. No one could take Yamada Sensei’s place and each time I stepped on the mat to teach I felt an overwhelming sense of not being able to keep the dojo going, of letting the students down, of letting myself down.

But you wouldn’t let that happen. You all pulled together and kept the spirit of the New York Aikikai as high as it has ever been and the training as magnificent as it has always been. And then, you all went above that and did the miraculous.

The capital campaign to raise funds to save the dojo building, begun while Yamada Sensei was still with us, became an amazing success story. Under the command of Mieke Vandersall and Joan Ellis, and with the leadership of Sharon Dominguez, our new board president, and the dojo board of governors, we achieved what I thought was an unattainable goal: over $500,000 in donations and pledges. Unimaginable in my fifty years at this place.

I do not have the words to express my thanks and gratitude for all you’ve done and continue to do to keep our dojo thriving and Yamada Sensei’s legacy alive. I could never have survived this without your unwavering support and encouragement.

We have many challenges and much work ahead of us in 2024 . But the dojo will thrive, grow and be the wonderful place it has always been because it is in great hands: yours.

Best wishes for a new year filled with happiness, love and lots of fun on the mat,

Steve