Golden Bears Aikido at UC Berkeley is flourishing and my Free Aiki Dojo is almost two years old and continues to grow well in downtown Berkeley (come visit us at 1934 Bonita Avenue). We just hosted a very successful "The Future of Aikido" seminar with Paul Linden and Bob Frager and visits by several other luminaries from the Bay Area aikido scene (Stan Pranin had to bow out due to obligations following his father's death, and we missed Don Levine who had spoken of coming). Aikido of Berkeley (training with Kayla Sensei) continues to be a great pleasure, and I have a proposal in to teach aikido to elementary age kids as the beginning of my Martial Nonviolence curriculum in an Oakland private school.

 

Most workdays I support the work of Margaret Paloma Pavel and Carl Anthony at Earth House Center - Breakthrough Communities in Oakland and enjoy a more direct positive impact on social justice organizations working for vulnerable communities and people of color.

 

Please make contact by email to brandon at culturesmith dot com if any of this inspires you!