Golden Bears Aikido is looking for members, and now is the time to join!

GBA is a club, goverened by students at UC Berkeley, for which Brandon WilliamsCraig Sensei acts as co-founder and provides training and facilitation. This is the space on his website devoted to growing the club, and the GBA site on the UC servers may be found at http://aikido.berkeley.edu.

 

Are you interested in a Japanese Martial Art, called Aikido? Golden Bears Aikido is looking for UC Berkeley students and members of the Berkeley community who want to be club members. The purpose of this club is to provide self-defense and conflict facilitation skills through Aikido and Martial Nonviolence® training. Please email gbac at freeaiki dot com. Please also join our Google Group below.

For disability accommodation requests and information please contact Danny Kodmur at (510) 643-6456 (voice) or (510) 642-6376 (TTY) for communication services or Jamie Wilson at (510) 643-6473 for mobility services.  Their email address is http://access.berkeley.edu.  Please try to make your service request with as much advance notice as possible.

 

Click here to learn more about The Future of Aikido fundraiser Feb 18-20, 2011 at Aikido of Berkeley.

 

 

 

 

Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley+Organizer(s)

Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley+Participant(s)

Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley+Remote Places

 

 

Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley+discussion

 

 

Off campus we are

Free Aiki Dojo+Image

Freedom Requires Practice

 

 

Free Aiki Dojo+How To Connect

Brandon WilliamsCraig Sensei (and Free Aiki Dojo) have moved to Texas. Feel free to make contact, but classes including Martial Nonviolence in the SF Bay Area are now limited to 12-1 PM at Aikido of Berkeley on the first and third Saturdays, and are taught by Peace Practices instructor, Julian Wilner. Please consider joining Aikido of Berkeley; Kayla Feder Sensei is a world class martial artist. Please visit any of her classes and see for yourself.

If you are interested in continuing Golden Bears Aikido on the Cal campus, feel free to make contact and discuss options, but classes are on hold until new leadership steps up. If you would like to create a Free Aiki Dojo yourself, please keep reading (< click if no text appears below).

If you would like to create a Free Aiki Dojo yourself, the model usually involves building a program within an existing dojo or training community. You will need:

1) A wholly supportive Sensei or the experience and support necessary to teach and promote students of your own

2) A written agreement which establishes ongoing permission for a group/subset of students who answer to a different set of expectations than is customary in martial arts dojos. They may:

  • pay what they can, and may also not pay, so that there is no financial barrier
  • engage with the training community in their own way, as long as it is physically safe. This means no cultural barriers to training (including subtle disapproval for not paying, not buying a uniform, training sporadically, etc.)

The intention is not to eradicate the traditional dojo environment. Rather it is to increase freedom in aiki practice, so the more traditional students are subject to the stress of training with a subset of less traditional students, and vice versa. The hope is that this will create conflict which must then be facilitated and studied in order to both welcome everyone and ground physical practice in the body and daily choices, so that the resulting new patterns may contribute to Aikido 2 and be carried out of the dojo.

 

 

 

Free Aiki Dojo+Core Project

Free Aiki Dojo+Participant(s)

 

Free Aiki Dojo+overview

Free Aiki Dojo+Image

 Current Students click here for resources

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Responses to Frequently Asked Questions are Here

 

 

Traditional Aikido and Martial Nonviolence® training for all ages...

Aiki principles applied in the real world.

Learn peace-making you can apply in any situation.

 

All practitioners of all martial arts, including all aikido styles, are welcome to come and learn how we combine traditional aikido and the process arts.

 

"Thank you Sensei Brandon! I'm hooked!" --Teina Anthony

 

 

** We offer Peace Pratices in schools and businesses. Clients include (or have included):

  • Associated Students of the University of California Berkeley
  • Beacon Day School in Oakland, a Whole Community initiative were we worked with the whole community of adults and children
  • Pacific Rim International School in San Mateo and Emeryville, a Whole Community initiative and partner in securing international funding.
  • The Flight Deck, in downtown Oakland
  • The Renaissance International School, Oakland, CA

For more, please see http://peacepractices.org

 

Dojos provide a community area where fliers can be posted as invitations to train even more! Here is ours:

Members may post any aiki-related events they are ready to recommend personally.

 

 

 

 

Free Aiki Dojo+discussion

 

 

 

The full schedule for our training community, Golden Bears Aikido and Free Aiki Dojo, is as follows:

Mon 12-1pm on campus Open Air on the Faculty Glade - Brandon Sensei


Tue 6-8:15pm at Aikido of Berkeley (AiBerk) - Senseis Brandon and then Kayla

Golden Bears Aikido and Free Aiki Dojo students are invited every Tuesday to join the students of Aikido of Berkeley for the entire evening. Kayla Feder Sensei has invited Brandon Sensei to teach a weekly basics class from 6-7, after which she teaches a general class from 7-8:15. Everyone is also invited to join in after these classes when on the first and third Tuesdays of every month Aikido of Berkeley creates its infamous potluck feast and community circle.

 

Wed 7-8am Downtown Dojo (1934 Bonita) or in the park at Hearst & Milvia - Brandon Sensei

 

Fri 3:30-5:30pm Downtown Dojo (1934 Bonita) or in the park at Hearst & Milvia - Brandon Sensei

 

Sat (every other) 10:30-12:30 AiBerk - Brandon Sensei.

 

 

Membership in either group (on and off campus) involves training with Brandon Sensei's and is available to everyone. Attending Berkeley High? Come check out other students learning whole-system self-defense that works in the street, in relationship with your family, and on into your future.

 

All potential students may simply appear at any training with no advanced notice. To know where we are on a given day, check the Twitter feed here or sign up for our email list at least one day before appearing. Please wear gym clothes you don't mind touching the ground and shoes that won't be damaged if dew on the grass makes them wet.

 

Before coming, please have a look at the

Training with Brandon WilliamsCraig

Free Aiki Dojo, Golden Bears Aikido Club, and supplementary training 

Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk, and Indemnity Agreement

 

Waiver: In consideration of being permitted to participate in any training with Brandon WilliamsCraig, or persons approved as instructors by him, including but not limited to participation in the groups known as “Free Aiki Dojo” and/or “Golden Bears Aikido Club,” both hereinafter "training", I, the undersigned on the reverse of this page, for myself, my heirs, personal representatives or assigns, do hereby acknowledge that I voluntarily participate in training and release, waive, discharge, and covenant not to sue Brandon WilliamsCraig, d.b.a. Free Aiki Dojo, or any persons approved as instructors or students by him, or The City of Berkeley or one of its affiliated organizations. I release each party listed herein from liability from any and all claims including the negligence of its officers, employees and agents, resulting in personal injury, accidents or illnesses (including death), and property loss arising from, but not limited to, participation in the training.

 

I acknowledge and agree that my participation in any activities organized by the aforementioned groups is voluntary and that I knowingly assume all risks. For and in consideration of the granting of permission that I might participate in any activity organized by persons associated with Free Aiki Dojo and/or Golden Bears Aikido Club, I hereby indemnify and hold harmless and release and forever discharge Brandon WilliamsCraig (Sensei), Free Aiki Dojo (Free Aiki), Kayla Feder (d.b.a. Aikido of Berkeley), The City of Berkeley, Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), the Regents of the University of California (Regents), Officers of Golden Bears Aikido Club (GBAC) and all its agents, assistants, and employees thereof either in their individual capacity or by reason of their relationship to the said ASUC or Regents or Club and their successors, from all claims and demands whatsoever which I, my heirs, representatives, executors, administrators, or any other persons, have or may have against the said ASUC or Regents or Club any or all of the mentioned persons or their successors by reason of accident, illness or injury, or other consequences arising or resulting directly or indirectly from said activity and occurring during such activity or at any time subsequent thereto. This release includes responsibility for any self-procured medications.

 

Assumption of Risks: Participation in training carries with it certain inherent risks that cannot be eliminated regardless of the care taken to avoid injuries. The specific risks vary from one activity to another, but the risks range from 1) minor injuries such as scratches, bruises, and sprains 2) major injuries such as eye injury or loss of sight, joint or back injuries, heart attacks, and concussions to 3) catastrophic injuries including paralysis and death. By signing I attest that I have read this entire document and I know, understand, and appreciate these and other risks that are inherent in training. I hereby assert that my participation is voluntary and that I knowingly assume all such risks.

 

Indemnification and Hold Harmless: I also agree to indemnify and hold harmless Brandon WilliamsCraig, d.b.a. Free Aiki Dojo, GBAC, any persons approved as instructors or students by him; the Regents of the University of California, their officers, employees, and agents; or The City of Berkeley or one of its affiliated organizations from any and all claims, actions, suits, procedures, costs, expenses, damages and liabilities, including attorney’s fees brought as a result of my involvement in training and to reimburse them for any such expenses incurred.

 

Severability: The undersigned further expressly agrees that the foregoing waiver and assumption of risks agreement is intended to be as broad and inclusive as is permitted by the law of the State of California and that if any portion thereof is held invalid, it is agreed that the balance shall, notwithstanding, continue in full legal force and effect.

 

Acknowledgment of Understanding: Though not necessary to keep it in force, every signature or initialing of this agreement re-confirms that I have read and signed this waiver of liability, assumption of risk, and indemnity agreement, fully understand its terms, and understand that I am giving up substantial rights, including my right to sue. I acknowledge that I am signing the agreement freely and voluntarily, and intend by my signature or initialing to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law.

 

 

Before training you will be asked to sign in under these conditions. Participation indicates your acceptance of these terms.

 

Consistent students are sent an invitation to an ongoing online poll, in order to co-create our training schedule. This is a way of being more martial about the process of training together: more clear, purposeful, precise, and coordinated. We train early in the morning in the park, at night in the street, and in various circumstances geared to sharpen our practice and application.

 

Aikikai ranks are offered through Brandon Sensei's relationship with Kayla Feder Sensei, who is a senior teacher in the California Aikido Association. Requirement for promotion mirror those of Feder Sensei's dojo, Aikido of Berkeley, and are available from Brandon Sensei or via download from http://aikidoofberkeley.com/testing/rank_requirements.pdf

 

The group will never advance past the place of new people joining. Every class has a mix of levels, since practicing with people more advanced, similarly advanced, and beginning to advance is required to internalize the full range of possibilities inherent in any technique.


Please come any time you have the opportunity.

What this all looks like...

 

The most recent fundraiser in February 2011 was a great success! To find out more please click here:


Feb 18-20, 2011 

Come welcome Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley to the San Francisco Bay Area Aikido Community and support Free Aiki Dojo!

 

If you love aikido and want to help it grow into being a part of education, if you trained in a university club, if you are an alum of the UC system or value public education, save the date to train with Senseis Robert Frager, Paul Linden, Kayla Feder, and Brandon WilliamsCraig to raise funds for Free Aiki Dojo and Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley. Please visit the event on Facebook and tell your friends!

Golden Bears Aikido 2011 Fundraiser flier

 


Please pre-register here:

This is the pre-registration amount. At the door there will be an additional $5 charge for entry.

Registration is through our nonprofit partner Association Building Community, originally incorporated as "Beamish Process Arts" which is the name which will appear in the PayPal process and on your statement. Please print and bring your receipt with you for admission.


No one turned away for lack of funds, but we must raise money for the event to happen and make a difference.

Please pre-register!

Tax deductible donations welcome.

Sponsor a student to learn about peace-making.

Please spread the word!

 


Where?

Aikido of Berkeley 1352 S 49th St. Richmond, CA

When?

Feb 18, 19, and 20, 2011

What?

When we speak of the future of Aikido, we mean not only the ever-expanding practice of the art by over one million students and teachers in dojos around the world, but also the extension of aiki principles into the Process Arts (group process design and facilitation), which is to say at least into politics, facilitation, somatics, activism, social justice, law enforcement, psychotherapy, and education at all levels, so that peace-building responses to literal, systemic, and even potential violence may be ever-ready.

Themes

  • Why aikido works and doesn't work (anatomically speaking) on the mat
  • How aiki works and doesn't work (metaphorically speaking) in the dojo, community, and beyond
  • Compassion and awareness as a power source
  • Investigating the underlying logic (body and mind) from which aikido technique springs into the world in Process Arts.

Who?

Robert Frager+Image
Robert Frager Ph.D. is renowned for his pioneering work in the field of transpersonal psychology and for his role in establishing the country's first educational institution dedicated to this emerging field of research and practice. He also teaches courses in Spiritual Psychology and The Wisdom of Islam at the online University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles. He is also a Sufi teacher, or sheikh, in the Halveti-Jerrahi Order, in which he was initiated by Muzaffer Ozak. He currently leads a dergah in Redwood City, California as Sheikh Ragip al-Jerrahi. Dr. Frager has been practicing the martial arts for over 50 years. He has been practicing Aikido since 1964 and currently holds the rank of 7th dan. He personally trained with the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, while living in Tokyo, Japan in the mid sixties. (from Wikipedia)

 

Robert Frager and Morihei Ueshiba, O' Sensei.

 

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Paul Linden Ph.D., 6th dan, is Dojo Cho of Aikido of Columbus and an alum both of UC Berkeley and the Aikido Club begun there in the late 1960's by Senseis Robert Frager and Stan Pranin. Linden Sensei created and teaches a somatic process called "Being in Movement®" mindbody education, which fundamentally is drawn from Aikido. He will take us through many of the exercises he has developed to teach people to approach conflict from an inner state of calm alertness and compassionate power. He is a Board Member of Aiki Extensions, the international organization dedicated to encouraging aiki principles, building bridges of peaceful practice across divisions of martial affiliation, nationality, race, class, and gender, by valuing all forms of difference. More on Paul Sensei's contribution to the seminar may be found here

BODY AWARENESS TRAINING AS A FOUNDATION FOR AIKIDO PRACTICE

 

An Aikido Workshop with

PAUL LINDEN, 6th Dan

Columbus, Ohio USA

Paul Linden demo
This Aikido workshop will focus on how to use body awareness methods (drawn from Being In Movement® mindbody education) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Aikido defense techniques and deepen Aikido practice as a meditative process. You will work with breath, posture, and intention to develop Aikido technique which is open, balanced, powerful, loving, and effective. These body awareness methods are equally useful outside of Aikido in helping people in such areas as stress management, conflict resolution, and improvement of daily movement tasks.

“I am astounded at Paul’s ability to read the significance of the smallest body response. When I received mind/body work from him, he guided my attention in a way that resulted in deep insight and healing for me. I would like to strongly recommend Paul's workshop on Aikido and body work to all Aikidoists. I believe that Being In Movement training is insightful, profound, and deeply healing.”    Mary Heiny Sensei, 6th Dan Aikido