This letter was originally distributed to the Valkyrie email list on August 7, 2025

Hello Valkyries!

It’s been many months since my last letter, and I’ve missed hearing from you. Since several small advances towards a naturally diverse, equitable, and inclusive aikido landscape have been accomplished in the past few months, I thought it was time for a little update.

But first, we’ve been trying to expand the Valkyrie email list to include more Valkyries living across Canada. If you’re new, welcome to our sisterhood! And if you know of someone who you think would be interested in following along but isn’t receiving our emails, please ask them to reach out to spark@aikiblaze.com. I would be very happy to add their name. I usually send my emails out BCC, and I promise not to share your contact info.

For those of you who are just joining, you might wonder – why use Norse mythology for a group of women who practice a Japanese martial art? We wanted a name that captured the unique warrior spirit of people who identify, in some meaningful way, as “female”. And we wanted a name that could be used to describe an intergenerational group of all ranks (from those opening their wings and stepping onto the mats for the first time, all the way to Flight Leaders who have been inspiring others for generations, regardless of aikido affiliation) that conveyed this simple idea: we are stronger together.

Here's an example.

Last May, Burloak Aikikai Aikido in Burlington, Ont., hosted a seminar at which four women taught four back-to-back classes. Thirty-eight participants came out to learn from Yeli Cuevas sensei (Toronto Aikikai), Asher Lo sensei (JCCC Aikikai), Keira Loughran sensei (Stratford Aikido Club) and Rika Murota sensei (Aikido Kensankai). About half of the people on the mats were women, and representatives from 9 dojos showed up and trained together. To me, this highlights a Valkyrie truth: if we provide opportunities for Valkyrie instructors to teach, students will appear.

In fact, I think Valkyries are starting to show up in larger numbers in dojos right across Canada. I don’t have any hard data, but when I’m attending seminars and looking around to see “who is new” – a healthy proportion of beginners are women. And it’s not just me who thinks so: the CAF post-Summer Camp survey results included comments regarding the increased presence of women on the mats. AND, the majority of yudansha test candidates were – you guessed it – Valkyries! And what a display of female warrior spirit they gave us. Precise technique, excellent ukemi from Valkryie uke who moved in a manner that highlighted what the test candidates were capable of doing, and a whole lot of perseverance despite a very exhausting week of training. They made all of us who watched the tests so proud. And at the banquet, when the successful completion of all the tests was announced, the high level of technical excellence displayed by the three new Valkyrie shodan received a special shoutout from Osawa Shihan.

Also at the banquet, it was announced that two new members would be joining the CAF Examination Committee, which is responsible for all technical direction within the CAF. One of these members is former Valkyrie Flight Leader Hilary Dawson Sensei, from the University of Victoria Aikido Club. Since the passing of Yumi Nakamura Sensei, the EC has been without female representation on its board. And while Yumi Sensei’s voice and guidance are irreplaceable, Hilary Sensei brings with her actual decades of teaching experience at the longest continuously running university aikido club in Canada. She has always been an advocate for diversity on the mats, and we are lucky and grateful to have her contributing to our aikido community in this leadership role. Congratulations Hilary Sensei!

And speaking of both Yumi Sensei and Hilary Sensei, after Hilary Sensei’s class at the CAF Summer Camp, the Valkyries who happened to be on the mats for that class gathered together so that we could take a photo with Yumi Sensei’s memorial portrait. I will admit – I was fighting back tears when this picture was taken. And yet, when I look at this picture now, all I see are our smiles. And her smile. And I know that her Valkyrie spirit lives on, because she’s a part of all of us.

So. Now I’m crying again.

But there’s one more thing I’d like to mention.

I want to give a special shout-out to Anita Abbasi. Anita and I have been working together on the CAF Executive as Members-at-large. You might remember her from this: in 2023, she represented Canadian aikido, for the very first time, at the World Combat Games in Saudi Arabia. So yeah. On the mats, she’s kind of bad ass.

But on the CAF Executive, she is truly indispensable. I don’t think the CAF would be functional without Anita. Really – I cannot emphasize enough how much work this woman does on behalf of all CAF members.

And yet, she recently confided in me: “I feel like a lot of these meetings lately is me yelling into the void.” Sorry Anita, for breaking confidence, but I just needed to say this: even the most bad-ass, hardest working woman in the room sometimes gets discouraged. Because it can feel like nothing changes. Like, maybe we, as a society, are even sliding backwards?

But… I’ve just written an extraordinarily long letter celebrating the Valkyrie warrior spirit that appears to be very much alive and thriving in Canada.

So fly onwards, Valkyries. The landscape IS changing. And we are stronger together.

With love from your Instigator,

Myrna

A Valkyrie Update