We have a quality teaching staff dedicated to fostering our students’ advancement.

Aviv Goldsmith Sensei, Chief Instructor, 5th Dan, Shidoin
Aviv Goldsmith Sensei began AIKIDO training in 1975 at the New York Aikikai. In 1986, he began studying Iwama-Style AIKIDO in Reno, Nevada, with Wolfgang Baumgartner Sensei being his primary instructor, and has enjoyed deepening his understanding of this AIKIDO tradition ever since. "Iwama Style AIKIDO really made sense and stuck with me more than the other styles that I had previously studied. The teaching methodology and the techniques are precise and easy to assimilate," he reminisced.

From 1987 until Saito Shihan’s passing in 2002, he trained annually with Saito Morihiro Shihan, 9th dan, and continues this tradition with his son, Saito Hitohiro. Saito Shihan awarded him the second-level weapons mokurokuro (teaching certificate). He hosted Saito Shihan and Saito Hitohiro Sensei on numerous occasions. From 1992 to 1999, Aviv Sensei was the chief instructor of Reno Aikido Co-Op. He moved to Fredericksburg in 2002 to make AIKIDO a focal point in his life and become Chief Instructor at AIKIDO in Fredericksburg.

Aviv Sensei supports the AIKIDO community by serving on the board of the Takemusu Aikido Association and Aiki Extensions. In addition to teaching at AIKIDO in Fredericksburg, he has taught at dojos and seminars around Virginia and in Reno, California, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, and New York. He has taught Aikido at Community Colleges in Nevada and Virginia and currently instructs at the University of Mary Washington.  Aviv Sensei was promoted to 5th dan in January 2006 at Aikikai Hombu Dojo.  In May 2010, he was awarded the title of "Shidoin" (certified instructor) by the Takemusu Aikido Association.

Dwight Petersen Sensei, Assistant Instructor, 3rd Dan
Dwight Petersen Sensei is the founder of the Fredericksburg Aikido Club. Petersen Sensei discovered the physical and mental benefits of the martial arts when he took a college judo class. "Some years later, I realized I was probably never going to get any exercise the rest of my life," said Petersen, who then worked in San Francisco as a computer programmer for the Army. He flipped through the Yellow Pages in search of a Judo dojo and stumbled across an AIKIDO class, instead. He found something in its falls and rolls. Something spiritual. Something he couldn't give up. He started his training at the legendary Turk Street Dojo in San Francisco. As a military employee, he traveled extensively and has trained at dojos around the world. He is a retired Army Reserve Officer and currently works as a computer network administrator. He received his shodan from Saotome Sensei at the Shobukan Dojo in Takoma Park, Maryland. He has been training in Fredericksburg since 1993 and successfully tested for sandan in December 2006.

Craig Naylor, Instructor Emeritus, 3rd Dan
Craig Naylor Sensei is a composer/educator/conductor with over twenty years of experience in music teaching for all ages.  He is currently Associate Professor of Music at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg where he teaches theory and electronic music. Naylor said AIKIDO is tailor-made for him since he's only 5-foot-4. "I'm a shrimp," he said. "But I've witnessed someone who was 4-foot-11 and weighed 100 pounds disarm six or seven people at once, because in Aikido low leverage is what's important." He began training in 1979 with George Leonard Sensei and received his shodan from Larry Novick Sensei in Los Angeles in 1991. Blending conducting techniques with AIKIDO, Naylor presented "The Baton and the Sword" at a national conductors conference in 2005. He has been training in Fredericksburg since 2002 and passed his sandan test in December 2007.  Craig has recently relocated to Kalispell, Montana, where he continues to teach and train Aikido.

Donna Pienkowski and Jeff Martin, 3rd Dan joined the ranks of Assistant Instructors in 2007 and were promoted to 3rd dan in March 2010!

Steve Fennell and Heather Phillips, 2nd Dan, became Assistant Instructors in 2009.

Greg Harkless, 2nd Dan, joined the dojo in July 2010. He currently teaches Martial Arts at Germanna Community College.

Additionally, our senior students are committed to working with junior students to help them advance. At AIKIDO in Fredericksburg, a cooperative environment fosters learning.