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 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)

 

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

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Kayla Feder M.A., 6th dan, our generous host and Dojo Cho of Aikido of Berkeley, is also a Board Member of Aiki Extensions, holds an advanced degree in Holistic Health Education, and has helped hundreds of people around the world prepare to conflict with compassion since the 1970's.

Brandon WilliamsCraig Ph.D., 4th dan, is Dojo Cho of Free Aiki Dojo and Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley, as well as being a practitioner of the process arts and creator of the Martial Nonviolence system. He too is on the Board of Directors of Aiki Extensions and is proud to be a part of AE's Peace Dojos International program. He will offer classes in counterpoint with Sensei Linden and Feder, teaching how aikido, improvisation, and group process facilitation are complimentary approaches to the same process of crafting conflict in order to build community and cultures of peace.

 

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