Akira Tohei had started his aikido training under his cousin Koichi Tohei right after World War II, at which time students must have already mastered another martial art. Aikido was considered a finishing school for martial artists. He began training under O'Sensei in 1956. From this experience, Tohei taught Aikido that works against any form of martial art, which philosophy is continued by Virginia Aikikai.

His style of aikido reflects that time period. In 1972, the founder sent him to Illinois to head the Illinois Aikido Club and he then founded the Chicago Aikido Center in 1975. As Tohei Sensei quickly absorbed more aikido dojos, he founded the Midwest Aikido Federation in 1977.

Patrick Crosby began studying under Akira Tohei in 1977 and founded Virginia Aikikai in 1993. As the senior student of Akira Tohei Shihan, he became a shidoin of MAF in 2001. Pat stressed the importance of building on a good foundation in aikido. He returned to Chicago in 2011 and occasionally returned to teach in his old dojo. Mr. Crosby has made many trips to Japan to train in the Hombu Dojo and trained regularly under Shoki Seki Shihan and Seishiro Endo Shihan in America.

Richard Killblane (Nodan) became the instructor of Virginia Aikikai in 2011. Rich, former Airborne Ranger/Special Forces, practiced several martial arts prior to Aikido, starting with boxing and wrestling in high school, and Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido in college. He had extensive competitive experience (he liked to fight) and won the light middle weight boxing championship at West Point in 1979. His military combatives training also introduced him to other martial arts such as Judo and Jujitsu. Older and seeking a more refined martial art, he discovered Aikido in 1996 and recognized its potential. He trained in a number of dojos (in ASU and USAF) until finally becoming a student of Pat Crosby in 2003 when Virginia Aikikai merged with Tidewater Aikikai. Currently, he trains under Jim Baker's Aikido of Norfolk. Rich’s ultimate goal of aikido is for aikido to work against other martial arts. He has tested aikido in sparring against boxing, karate and Muay Thai to find out what works and does not work. His style is heavily influenced by Hal Lehrman (Koichi Tohei), Seishiro Endo, Mitsugi Saotome and Hiroshi Ikeda Shihans.

Spencer brings over 15 years of diverse martial arts study and movement science to the mat, beginning in 2010 with Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Shorin-Ryu Karate, exploring Russian Systema (2014–2016), and dedicating himself to Aikido of Norfolk under Jim Baker Sensei, where he earned his Shodan in 2025 alongside ongoing study of Taiji under Adam Mizner. His global military travels provided broad exposure to diverse practitioners, movement cultures, and personality types around the world—a perspective he pairs with an academic foundation in Exercise Science from Old Dominion University (ODU) and firsthand experience with Structural Integration (10-series therapy). Today, his practice and study center on applying the myofascial web, structural alignment, and human physiology to achieve efficient, unified martial movement.

Daniel Akers began studying aikido under Richard Killblane in 2013. He trains at level "nyumon (入門) the Edo branch of Yagyu Shrinkage Ryu kenjutsu under Paul Manogue Sensei. In addition to teaching and assisting, Daniel travels to MAF seminars and often attends summer camp.