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I would recommend Lia to anyone that wants to learn what the word ethics means! In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Integrity can be regarded as the opposite of hypocrisy,[1] in that it regards internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties holding apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs. — Drew Hunter

Lia is a wonderful partner in this non-profit community of ours. She has a great heart to serve the underserved and empowers youth to build skills and accomplishments. I highly recommend working with Lia! — Juliana Lee: Fighting Back Mentor Program Coordinator - The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Santa Barbara

I was a founding board member for Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara and had the good fortune to work with Lia on getting the organization launched as a nonprofit. In addition my son took Aikido lessons from her for over 5 years. I found her to be extremely skilled as an Aikido instructor and a very resourceful Executive Director at a time when our economny was in a tailspin and charitable funds were tight. — Bruce Glesby - Owner: Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP

Suzuki Sensei, Thank you for teaching a class at the San Diego bridge seminar last weekend. I enjoyed your class on using the wall as a training tool for drawing uke in and up (with a bit of side movement to avoid getting squished by uke). I had never used the wall in such a manner and found it helpful as I try to understand / internalize better movements. — David Bone

Lia is among the best of all aikido instructors. She excels at creatively exploring aiki. Her methodology gets students in excellent physical shape. I found her classes challenging and exhausting in a good way. She has very clear explanations of what she is doing. She puts a lot of thought into her classes. I would recommend her as an aikido instructor to anyone. (I am not in her organization, and I typically will not recommend most aikido instructors.)” — Rob Liberti

I was an inmate in the La Morada Women’s Minimum Security Jail. Lia Sensei’s teachings were incorporated into situations that might have otherwise become volatile. Anger was met with kindness and even the guards commented on how well we handled our conflicts. — Melissa (Former jail inmate and conflict resolution workshop participant)

I practice Aikido in Los Angeles but travel to Santa Barbara several times each year and wanted to find a dojo to practice with while I was in town. After visiting several dojos I found that I was most impressed with the generous welcoming spirit and high level of instruction provided by Lia Sensei. When ever I am in S.B. and need to practice I go to Aikido Kenkyukai. — Steve Spargur