It was February 1995 when I began my martial art study with Grand Master Soon Ho Chang; he introduced me to Aikido. It was an eye opening experience to learn Aikido after more than 17 years of practicing Karate and boxing. As my practice evolved, I noticed how Chang’s Judo influenced his technical Aikido skills. He was a master in both martial arts and I aspired to be as good as he was. There was just one small problem. I was almost 30 years old and he had practiced both arts for 40 years, longer than I’d been alive. This made excelling at my practice my number one training priority. I never thought that I could actually be his peer, but I could at least be his best student.
From my experience, and the sage advice of my seniors and teachers, the ongoing philosophy for improvement was that it takes practice to perfect your skills. So logic would dictate, that the more I could practice the greater my chances were to improve. Right? Well, not exactly. You can practice an art form like Aikido for years and never improve if you do not continually refine your practice. So I adopted a different mantra, “Perfect practice makes perfect.” So how could I find a continuous method of refinement?
The universe heard me and served up a healthy dose of serendipity. Becky Davidson, Sensei, was without a place to practice her Kokikai Aikido. Becky was about 4’11” and weighed less than 130 lbs, yet she could throw students 2 times her size, effortlessly. She embodied the refinement that I was looking for. I invited Becky Sensei to hold classes a few evenings per week at our Gold Medal Karate Dojo in Bella Vista, Philadelphia. We practiced together for about three years and I truly gained an appreciation for Aikido Kokikai. Becky helped me understand what mastery of Aikido Nage Waza looked like from a different perspective than what I was learning with Master Chang.
In 1998, I moved the Dojo to its current location in Queen Village, Philadelphia and merged schools with Master Chang to create Zhang Sah. Becky Davidson Sensei didn’t want to move out of the area. She in turn introduced me to her Sr. member Cecilia Riccoti Sensei who was operating Philadelphia Aikido in Old City and she has been my Aikido teacher since. Today, I hold a brown belt in her school as well as a 4th degree black belt in Aikido and a 1st degree black belt in Judo from Master Chang. In 2002, Cecilia Sensei partnered with Zhang Sah to open the Defensive Arts Center in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. She closed her Old City Dojo more than 20 years ago.
Recently, her student Troy Graham expressed interest in branching out. Troy is a 4th degree master in Kokikai Aikido under Cecelia Riccoti Sensei. Since Sensei is in her late 70s I would like to support her in keeping her teachings going forward, bring Philadelphia Aikido back to this area, finally earn my black belt in Kokikai Aikido, give Troy Graham a good teaching opportunity and expand our offerings at Zhang Sah Queen Village.
In April of 2025 we will host a workshop with Troy Graham Sensei and then there will be Kokikai Aikido classes every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:15-8:30PM weekly. I look forward to seeing you in class. We can learn together.