Timeline of the dojo

1962 Began as a small club at Columbia University. Incorporated as a 501(3)c not-for-profit educational institution 

1964 Yamada Sensei arrived to run the New York Aikikai 

1965 Moved to 18th Street location

1994 Bought the 3 floor building on 18th Street

2009 Fully paid off building mortgage

Late 2010s Dept of Buildings in NYC realized we were not coded correctly

2020 Covid shuts dojo down

2021 Dojo opens with half the membership

2021 Plans are drawn up to bring building to code and provide for better training experience

2022 Feasibility study to see how much money we could raise and level of support for potential capital campaign. Study recommends moving forward with new goal

2023 Since opening in 2021, dojo increases membership by 30%

2022 Yamada Sensei passes away and names Steve Sensei as Chief Instructor

2023 Memorial for Yamada Sensei drawing community from all over the world

2023 Begin capital campaign