Virginia Ki Society
About Our Dojo and The Virginia Ki Society
The Virginia Ki Society was founded in 1974 by William (Kirk) Fowler as a small program in the Northern Virginia
suburbs of Washington D.C. Soon after founding the VKS, Fowler Sensei moved
on and left the care of the dojo to George Simcox Sensei, who was soon personally
appointed by Ki Society founder Koichi Tohei to be Chief Instructor of the
Virginia Ki Society (VKS). Since its inception, the dojo moved several times
around Northern Virginia to finally arrive in 1994 at its present location
in Merrifield, VA. Under the dynamic leadership of George Simcox Sensei, the VKS continued to grow as new member schools from around the Mid Atlantic joined. The Merrifield facility became the headquarter's dojo for the VKS. Simcox Sensei led the Virginia Ki Society for almost 25 years, from 1975 until his
untimely death in November 2000. In 2003 the Northern VA dojo was re-christened NorthernVirginia Ki-Aikido. The following year, the VKS joined with the New Jersey and South Carolina Ki Societies to form the Eastern Ki Federation. David Shaner, who was previously Chief Instructor to the South Carolina group, was appointed Chief Instructor of the new federation. Shaner sensei now oversees instruction and testing standards for all member dojos within the EKF.
Northern Virginia Ki Aikido continues as the home dojo of The Virginia Ki Society, which was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the early 1980's as a non-profit (501c 3) corporation. It is organized with a Board of Directors, which is elected annually by VKS dojo members. In turn, the Board appoints officers to conduct the day-to-day business of the organization.
An excellent article about aikido by George Simcox
Dojo Funding: The Ki Research and Education Foundation is a not-for-profit (501c3) organization funded by member dues, and private donations. We welcome your tax deductible contribution. Please e-mail us for more info.