Why Call It Aikido 2.0

Aikido principles applied beyond the mat is an area of study imagined as, at best, esoteric, hard to convey except indirectly, uncomfortably Not My Area Of Expertise (I wasn't taught and authorized to teach it), and as an add-on or distraction rather than as an essential level of traditional training which is explicitly available given the right method and curriculum. That last bit is what Aikido 2.0 is all about, and the method and curriculum are what I provide under the name Conflict Done Well.

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It is necessary to think and talk about this as Aikido 2.0 because the most important survival requirement of our species is that we learn to do conflict well, to work creatively through difference, so we don't use our governing economic systems and other weapons to destroy ourselves and world. For aikido to succeed in its mission to change how the world does conflict, it must evolve into a next version that bridges the contexts within which it is now limited. Aikido must expand its idea of itself worldwide by explicitly practicing the areas of aiki-related study which the founder initiated through poetry, myth, and metaphor, and which lead to actual peace because they 1) can be fully embodied--not only repairing the compartmentalized literal/physical but also having to do with psychology, communication, and systems and 2) demonstrably engage in the positive transformation of everyday conflict as it arises.

I was invited to deploy my Ph.D. to teach in the Somatic Psychology department at Pacifica Graduate Institute because my Martial Nonviolence method and Conflict Done Well system were used to build the Peace Practices curriculum which received international funding, and because the learning is obviously applicable by everyone. Aikido 2 should be of particular interest to aikidoists, and especially teachers thereof, not just because they need to demonstrate their value to a video audience, but mostly because it leads to understanding and improving physical technique while extending the heretofore intangible principles associated with aikido into all kinds of conflict. More fundamentally, it is also a way for anyone to learn the importance of a martial approach in practicing, testing, and deploying conflict transforming techniques in a way that can be measured and widely verified. I believe that we are called to act in public and private so that global expectations change, thereby making actual peace possible--everyone getting what they need and a shot at what they want. All that remains is to pick a method that actually leads to that outcome---and practice.

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I so appreciate how Brandon has put together Conflict Done Well and Peace Practices as a way to teach all people aikido principles in both a physical and mental way. Everything in his most recent Brazil seminar (https://youtu.be/Rgip4B8361o) made perfect sense to me and flowed beautifully. This work in the world is much needed and so valuable! -- Kayla Feder, 7th dan, Founder and Dojo Cho, Aikido of Berkeley