February 25, 2025

Dear Fellow Birankai North America Members, 

2024 was another great year for our organization. We held our second post-pandemic Summer Camp at Cal State University Channel Islands, with another solid turnout. I can’t thank Aikido Daiwa enough for the stellar job they have done bringing Camp back. What impressed me the most about this year’s Summer Camp was all of the new faces. Having been in the organization for 34 years now, and coming to Camps for over 30 years, I have been taking note. This has come in the form of new dojos and members coming to Camp and I think it is a positive sign for our organization. Any of you who have met me know that I try to introduce myself to anyone I don’t know, and I have been doing a lot of that! Looking back at annual reports from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic we saw over a 20% drop in membership in 2020, and about a 10% drop in dojos. However, we are now seeing regular gradual increases in both areas. I think that is healthy growth. Not too fast, rather organic, like a tree. 

We had our highest ever expenses towards seminars and events in 2024, which is integral to our mission. We added another new Board member at Camp, Deborah Fisher. Deborah spent twelve years in the United States Aikido Federation training with Yamada Sensei at the New York Aikikai. For the last six years she has been a student of Savoca Sensei at Brooklyn Aikikai and also has her own dojo in Ithaca, New York. Deborah has vast experience in leading non-profits and her instincts in this area are always on-point. The Board, unanimously, voted Deborah in as the incoming president, and I couldn’t be happier for all of you to have such a thoughtful and seasoned leader in this important role. 

We are at a critical time in the evolution of our organization. Our organization’s very name, Biran, is a Buddhist term meaning a cosmic storm that occurs in the moment before cosmic order shifts. It is a force of recovery, spontaneously manifesting itself to restore order; see here if you aren’t familiar www.birankai.eu/en/bowl. We will celebrate Chiba Sensei this coming year, 10 years after his passing. I cannot overstate his influence on me personally, as well as the gift he gave us all; Birankai. I was a wayward youth trying to change for the better when I stumbled upon this thing that Chiba Sensei created; which changed my life forever, for the better. His words, writings and encouragement were as powerful to me as his Aikido.

Throughout the years, Sensei would often talk about trees as a metaphor and referred to the roots, trunk, branches and the leaves all as having a vital role in the health of the organism. In his vision, Birankai would be the roots, with budo at our heart, while other Aikido organizations could fill the other important roles. We have established that we are strongly rooted as an organization, and I think we are ready to extend up from the roots and bring others in. At this moment, we can do this without compromising the health of the organism, and I think we should–change and growth are vital to survival. I think we can best honor the great seed that Chiba Sensei sowed many decades ago by being bold and bringing his vision fully to life, by changing and growing. In essence we can be the whole tree by being inclusive and welcoming new members and dojos from outside of our organization, but inside of our bigger family of Aikidoka. We can keep the roots while incorporating the rest of the body. 

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not thank all of the folks who tirelessly volunteer their time in support of this organization. Thank you for all you do. No tree thrives without a little water, you provide that water, and all of us are better for it. 

Together, we grow.
Sincerely, 
Todd Fessenden