Meet Sachiyo Hotta - a member at both the NY Aikikai and Aikido of Westchester. She holds the title of Shihan of ikebana, and we were lucky enough to have her arrange the flowers for the kamiza and for Doshu at our 60th Anniversary Summer Camp.

Sachiyo was born and raised in Japan and lived there until college. She left Japan because she “felt disappointed in some aspects of Japanese culture.” Aikido has helped her return to Japanese culture and confirm her identity as a Japanese person. We asked Sachiyo about the impact that the NY Aikikai and her aikido practice has had in her life. Thank you, Sachiyo, for sharing your heart, talent, and kindness.

Michael Holben has been a member of NY Aikikai for nearly 10 years. He started when his daughter was born. "I knew I would tell her I would try new things and I wanted to be able to point to something new that I had tried, just to show that I wasn’t a hypocrite."

When he first walked up the steps to the NY Aikikai he thought maybe it would be a cool thing he would like, but the kindness and encouragement, showed him the true spirit of aikido. The more he kept training and connecting to people and energy on the mat, the more that made sense to him. It gave him courage to be himself and realize that kindness was a strength, that he could take that positive energy into the world.

What an invigorating year it has been for our dojo. Over the next few weeks you’ll hear from our members about the impact that the dojo has had on their lives as well as about the ways that our finances, including your dues and donations, help run this place and provide a space to deepen our practice. But today I am sharing a recap from my perspective of what we’ve been able to accomplish, and ask that you lend your support to our end of year campaign with a tax-deductible financial gift.

October 2025 Kyu Tests