Gordon Sakamoto, Sensei, is the chief instructor of the Northern Virginia Aikikai. He was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii where he began practicing Aikido in 1963. After graduating from the University of Hawaii, he entered the U.S. Air Force in 1965. He received an assignment to Japan in 1967, where he practiced daily at Hombu Dojo for two and a half years. During this time, Sakamoto Shihan was privileged to receive instruction from O Sensei during the last years of his life (O Sensei passed away in 1969). After leaving the Air Force in 1969, he returned to the University of Hawaii to attend graduate school where he also taught Aikido at the university until 1973, when he accepted a job in Okinawa, Japan. There he started an Aikido class and periodically returned to practice at Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. In 1980, he arrived in northern Virginia. He was invited to become the instructor of this club because the incumbent instructor moved out of the area. He has seen the rapid growth of Aikido in the area and along the east coast over the past several decades. Increasing interest in Aikido caused the expansion of the club into the Dale City area. Sakamoto Shihan currently holds the rank of 7th dan.