Thanks!
Dear Aiki Extensions Supporter -Please consider posting this message on your dojo notice board or otherwise sharing with colleagues, along with your contact info. This message can also be found online at this link (http://www.aiki-extensions.org/newdecade.pdf ), if that is an easier way for you to share.------------------------------On behalf of Aiki Extensions, I would like to extend the greetings of the season - of the recent past: the festival of lights, of the winter solstice, and of the yuletide - and greetings of the immediate future: the birth of the next decade.--------------- Greetings, in particular, to all of you who believe aikido can help improve the world we share. Greetings to those who would rather imagine the world as it should be, and then work to realize that vision, or support those already on the front lines wielding the practical wisdom and strategic insight of aikido to make the world better than it was . . .Greetings to the heros already making a difference, and to all of those who just might have such a hero inside themselves ready to come out.° Heros like Paul Linden - who uses aiki-principles as an award-winning somatic educator for victims of abuse (http://www.being-in-movement.com/ )° Heros like Jamie Zimron begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting - who uses aikido as the foundation for peace efforts in Israel and the West Bank (http://www.aikidomideastpeace.info/ )° Heros like Bill Leicht begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting - who as coordinator of AE's Peace Dojos International weaves martial arts schools of many styles together to work more effectively for peace. (http://aikiext.org/Projects/Peace_Dojos ), who developed the original Bronx Peace Dojo and who helped found Peace Dojo Lua Branca in Columbia. (http://urbanvisions.us/)° Heros like Jose Bueno Marinho - who established an aikido program for kids in the favela slums of Sao Paulo, Brazil° Heros like Brandon WilliamsCraig - who wields aiki-principles in his work networking community-builders (http://bdwc.net)° Heros like Charles Colten begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting - who is implementing an aikido-in-the-schools curriculum for K-12 education (www.aikidointheschools.com)° Heros like Tekele Tesfaye - the first yudansha in Ethiopia, who runs a multi-ethnic aikido and circus arts program for kids in the villages and refugee centers, where they put on shows of acrobatics and aikido to draw attention prior to distributing AIDS education material. (http://www.aiki-extensions.org/projectsAwassa.asp )These people, and many other like them, are as close as most of us will get to a knight in shining armor. Each of these has embarked on their own quest, and they are all inspired by O Sensei's particular and powerful code of chivalry. Each is taking their understanding of aikido out of the dojo and into a non-traditional environment - an elementary classroom, a physical therapy clinic, an after-school program, a business consultancy, a psychology practice, a youth-violence prevention program, a recording studio, a police academy, etc.Your dojo probably has someone who belongs on this list - and Aiki Extensions would like to hear about it.Please email us about them (info@aiki-extensions.org), or give their information to any Aiki Extensions member (such as the one who posted this letter). We need to know about them because it is our mission to be the Round Table bringing all these aiki-knights together, providing them with support, and encouraging them to continue on their respective quests.If you would like to know more about earning your way onto a list like this - join as at www.Aiki-Extensions.org.If you want to help us continue to support all of this aiki-inspired activity - your tax-deductible contributions can be made online here:Yours,Robert Kent begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, PresidentAiki Extensions Inc.650.365.6432
Aiki Extensions is a nonprofit network of aikido practitioners who take aiki principles off the mat and into the world in areas like youth violence prevention, K-12 conflict-resolution curricula, business consulting, psychotherapy, and Israeli/Palestinian peace programs.
Labels: aiki, aikiextensions, honmen, professional
| posted by Brandon @ 5/10/2010 03:41:00 PM
Training in any martial art can be character building, teach one to deal more calmly with fear, and increase the chances that conflicts will be averted or end up less violently than in the hands of somebody who panics and either runs or escalates without thinking. Extending this beyond physical conflict, the principles shared by martial training and authentic relationship or good citizenship have been explored around the world through time, from ancient empires to contemporary nation-states. Believe it or not, this relationship is not obvious to everyone and needs to be made explicit in order to increase the number of people ready and able to work through conflict toward a best outcome for everyone involved, in short, to make peace.
Though martial arts can increase the capacity for peace-making they can also increase the tendency to respond with casual aggression to any and all conflict. They can also build in the habit of treating all conflict as a simple win-lose equation where rapid victory at any cost is the most highly valued approach. This depends on how a martial art is taught and practiced.
Making the peace-building qualities of martial training "explicit," in this case, means a series of clear (martial) choices -- hours, dollars, and attention must be devoted to the teachers, students, and practitioners who explicitly teach, learn, and practice even the most dynamic and physical of arts as though the highest value of the training involves changing the rules of conflict as a whole so that even the most difficult differences are an opportunity to learn while insisting that nobody loses their soul, heart, or life in the process. This defeats the cycle of violence in a way that uncomplicated Victory and Defeat cannot. The martial arts do this with physical conflict, with subtle undertones reaching into all areas of life as arts do, while the process arts facilitate this rule-changing processing of conflict while differences in groups are not actively being expressed as physical violence.
If you value the peace-building qualities of the arts of conflict, then make this explicit. Become an active member of Aiki Extensions, get involved with Nonviolent Communications, Processwork, or Association Building Community. If you are looking for a dojo, ask out loud if the teaching is explicitly oriented toward peace-making and choose to support the teachers who not only know what this means but can clearly demonstrate their process arts skills off the mat. Celebrate them with posts to your blog, Twitter, and Facebook accounts and review them on Google Maps, Yelp, and other sites.
Make the connection explicit between your thirst for peace and honest conflict work. Ask for it. Talk it up. Use whatever means are at your disposal. Today. Please.
Labels: aiki, aikiextensions, conflict, processarts
| posted by Brandon @ 11/11/2009 01:00:00 PM
from: http://www.neatorama.com/2007/09/03/clowns-kicked-kkk-asses/
Clowns Kicked KKK Asses
Here’s an excellent example of pwnage: when the white supremacist group VNN Vanguard Nazi/KKK tried to host a hate rally in Knoxville, Tennessee, they were foiled by … clowns!
Unfortunately for [VNN] the 100th ARA (Anti Racist Action) clown block came and handed them their asses by making them appear like the asses they were.
Alex Linder the founder of VNN and the lead organizer of the rally kicked off events by rushing the clowns in a fit of rage, and was promptly arrested by 4 Knoxville police officers who dropped him to the ground when he resisted and dragged him off past the red shiny shoes of the clowns. http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/7704982.html
“White Power!” the Nazi’s shouted, “White Flour?” the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelt “White Flour”.
“White Power!” the Nazi’s angrily shouted once more, “White flowers?” the clowns cheers and threw white flowers in the air and danced about merrily.
“White Power!” the Nazi’s tried once again in a doomed and somewhat funny attempt to clarify their message, “ohhhhhh!” the clowns yelled “Tight Shower!” and held a solar shower in the air and all tried to crowd under to get clean as per the Klan’s directions.
At this point several of the Nazi’s and Klan members began clutching their hearts as if they were about to have a heart attack. Their beady eyes bulged, and the veins in their tiny narrow foreheads beat in rage. One last time they screamed “White Power!”
The clown women thought they finally understood what the Klan was trying to say. “Ohhhhh…” the women clowns said. “Now we understand…”, “WIFE POWER!” they lifted the letters up in the air, grabbed the nearest male clowns and lifted them in their arms and ran about merrily chanting “WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER!”
Labels: 2007, aiki, clown, conflict, demo
| posted by Brandon @ 7/23/2009 08:58:00 AM
from: http://www.bujindesign.com/seminar_reviews/2009_07_article_1.html
AIKIDO & PSYCHOTHERAPY: The First Workshop
Contributed by Paul Rest, 2nd dan
On March 7th of this year, a day-long workshop was held at Kayla Feder's dojo in Berkeley, CA.� The purpose was twofold: First, to explore the intersection of these two disciplines, Aikido and Psychotherapy.� Second, to provide Continuing Education credits for those therapists attending who are licensed in the State of California.
The workshop was also a benefit for Aiki Extensions and the great work that organization is doing.� David Lukoff was the driving force behind the effort.� Participating with David were Beth Tabakin, Brandon Williams Craig, Jamal Granick, Patrick Faggianelli, Kayla Feder Sensei and myself.� The workshop began early Saturday morning with a review of dojo etiquette and an overview of the workshop. Kayla Sensei then bowed us in.� I gave a brief introduction about Aikido and O Sensei, directed to those present who were in the psychotherapy field and were being exposed to Aikido for the first time.
David then gave an introduction to the background on the writing and research that has been done to date on Aikido and Psychotherapy.� Referenced in his remarks was a paper he and Patrick had written in 2006 in The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (Vol. 38, No. 2) titled "Aikido and Psychotherapy: A Study of Psychotherapists Who Are Aikido Practitioners."� (This is available on David's web site: www.spiritualcompetency.com.)
David and Beth then gave an informative talk on Aikido as a practice of self-care for those in the helping professions.� Beth mentioned how some of the breathing and movement practices from Aikido have helped her clients who have worked with her in her private practice.
Then Jamal addressed the workshop on the topic of "Presence."� At various times during his presentation, he had the group do an exercise where, following his lead/movements, we all did a ki-ai together.� This was not just a "follow the leader" exercise but one where we all looked ahead with a relaxed gaze and "felt" more than "saw" Jamal's initiating the ki-ai.� From the first "ki-ai," which we all admitted sounded jagged, to one where it began to sound like we were beginning to link up to the last one where we all had the "presence" to "ki-ai" in unison, we all gained a deeper understanding of the power of presence.
We then took a break for a shared lunch.� As at most gatherings where Aikidoists are present, the pizzas disappeared quickly!� It was also a time where those presenting and those attending had an opportunity to informally talk and share.
After lunch, Patrick discussed his work as a licensed psychologist in the prison system and also his private practice.� Patrick related the experiences he had had with his dissertation interviewing therapists who had Aikido training.� During the interview process he conducted, often involving more than one session, Patrick related how his interviewees came to realize that they had either been using some of what they had learned in Aikido as a self-help/self-centering/self-healing tool in their practice(s) or were seeing how it could be used.
David and Beth next presented their insights into "Learned Optimism." Focusing on "learned optimism" as a core concept in "the evolving field of 'positive psychology'," various studies were discussed.� It was also brought to everyone's attention that Saotome Sensei has often remarked that an optimistic philosophy is not enough; you must also train the body.� We all did the two-step where we began by repeating to ourselves a "pessimistic self-statement."� Then, we did the same two-step with an "optimistic self-statement."� We all could see and feel the differences between "A" and "B."�
After a brief break, we all practiced a randori in small groups, learning to move with incoming energy/conflict by moving off the line and out of harm's way.� For the non-Aikidoists and non-martial artists present, this was a new and challenging way to move.� As we continued the practice, it became exciting and fun.� Before long, everyone had the flow of the randori and the mat began to look like an Aikido class.
I gave additional remarks about the growth and development of Low Impact Aikido followed by Brandon discussing, "Integration."� Brandon brought up the work Aiki Extensions is doing and his work with AE.� He also addressed his work in conflict facilitation and how his Aikido practice has informed this.� Speaking from his dual backgrounds in Mythology and Psychology, Brandon noted the how the two fields have intertwined in his own work along with his practice of Aikido.
David closed the workshop with a heartfelt thank-you to Kayla Sensei for the use of her dojo and the warm hospitality.� The workshop provided a great blend of the material that needed to be presented for the Continued Education certificates while allowing ample room for questions and discussions among those present.� It was agreed that another workshop be scheduled about the same time next year.
For those wishing to receive more information please contact David Lukoff or myself and we'll do our best to provide you with the material requested or answer your questions.
Paul Rest lives in Sonoma County, CA.� He trains at Two Rock Aikido (http://www.tworockaikido.com) under Richard Strozzi-Heckler, 6th dan.� He has written numerous articles about Low Impact Aikido ("Aikido for Everyone") and on other Aikido topics.� He can be reached at paulrest@paulrest.com or at poetry@sonic.net.�
Labels: AiBerk, aiki, Aikido, aikiextensions, demo, professional
| posted by Brandon @ 7/10/2009 08:19:00 PM
This Wednesday, October 8th, Kayla Feder and Nick Walker will co-teach a class at Aikido of Berkeley in order to raise funds for the Obama/Biden campaign. A friend feels strongly about this and wrote to say so.
I'm sorry, guyz and galz, but I think this is a disgrace. It's an explicit statement that only those who are for Obama are welcomed to train at the dojo this Wednesday. It's also an implicit statement that those who do not support Obama are outcasts -- not part and parcel of the dojo -- which really has nothing to do with politics but everything to do with serenity, peace, and love.I responded:
And to perfectly clear, the problem has nothing to do with Obama either. It would be every bit as big a problem if the fund raiser was for Hillary, McCain, Nader or Paul. And I would be just as disappointed because I would hope for greater clarity of vision from such good people as I've found at the dojo.
Just put this simple test to it: Would OSensei have involved himself and his school in a partisan political campaign? Did he ever?
I miss you and it is lovely to hear (read) your voice! As ever, you may be relied upon to take a position with passion and it is a pleasure to hear (read) you again.
I disagree with a great deal of energy. I feel certain Kayla Senei and Nick Sensei will support the notion that anyone may feel free to train our not train on Wednesday or any other night, as always. A visitor might choose to pay a mat fee and ask that it go to the dojo instead of Obama if they do not wish to support his candidacy, thereby getting the benefit of training in the dynamic atmosphere that will undoubtedly ensue, but without having to support a cause with which they do not agree. This is flexibility I believe you would be unlikely to find in the "camp" of either the radical right or left, or the "radical" anybody for that matter.
I hear a concern that those who do not support the Senseis' and the majority view in the dojos involved will feel like outcasts and, as we are human beings, this must always be a concern. Aside from continuing to provide every evidence to the contrary on a daily basis, I'd love to hear suggestions from you about how we might make it clear that no one is outcast as we continue to act with clarity of vision on the strength of our convictions and navigate the shoals of difference. Perhaps by sharing this conversation? As Kayla Sensei has made super-clear that the AiBerk Yahoo group may not become a discussion list, I haven't approved your message for circulation, but I feel compelled to respond and invite the Senseis to do so as well precisely because Aikido of Berkeley and Aikido Shusekai (though I may not speak as part of that group until I can train with them regularly) do not, in my experience, exclude any person or viewpoint from the mix.
The seeds of O'Sensei's martial dedication are most often attributed to decisions he made as a child after his father was attacked and beaten by a gang of thugs hired by a rival politician. He went to war based on his beliefs and became personally involved in political affairs to the point that, in the Spring of 1912, at the age of 29, he moved his family into the wilderness of Hokkaido and became a politician of sorts (town manager?) himself. Though I am not an expert, by any means, on the inner workings of O'Sensei's history, I cannot imagine an strong spiritual and martial teacher of that era ignoring the social realities of his students. As politics and daily life were integrated, and character was certainly included in the training a master would give a student, I feel certain that political reality and martial study were related in the dojo community. Even if they were not, I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that a dojo is the ideal place, rather than the last place, to learn to work well together through conflict, the most important aspect of which, in this mechanized era, has to do with the decisions a group of any size makes based on the beliefs of its members, also known as politics.
"The Way of a Warrior, the Art of Politics, is to stop trouble before it starts. It consists in defeating your adversaries spiritually by making them realize the folly of their actions. The Way of a Warrior is to establish harmony." - Morihei Ueshiba (I believe from the Introduction written by John Stevens for Aikido)
You honor us with your opposition today and integrity in long relationship. I would LOVE to train, sit, drink, talk, and just be around you again at some point in the near future.
Peace,
Brandon
I'm writing today because I've been working 24x7 for the last week preparing for the stuff mentioned below and am simply exhausted, if very pleased.
Warmest congratulations to Aviv Goldsmith Sensei whose organization, Aikido in Fredericksburg, presented Aiki Kodomo Kenshukai - Teaching Aikido to Children Seminar from October 3-5, 2008 at Aikido of Berkeley in California.
As this work is near and dear to my heart, and as Aviv is Vice President of Aiki Extensions, and as the event was hosted by Aikido of Berkeley and Kayla Sensei could not join us this weekend, I endeavored to help Aviv and his lovely spouse, Donna Pienkowski, to make the event a success. It was, and then some, on many levels. Each presentations offered a sense of continuity of best-practices, as the most experienced teachers seemed to echo essential and basic principles supportive to the learning of each child in each developmental period. Each presentation also offered new techniques and tested approaches that make familiar techniques arise as though new in application to different challenges. I realize as I write this that I'm beginning to sound like a brochure, so I'll stop, but I must highlight the contributions of Aiki Extensions members that illustrated, almost by coincidence, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that aikido for kids is at the forefront of the contribution martial artists are making around the world to building cultures of peace.
AE brought Jose Bueno Sensei of Ação Harmonia Brasil to share his intuitive teaching techniques and offer a peek at the new video AHB is releasing right now, telling part of the essential story of working with children in the favelas (slums) of Sao Paulo, Brasil.
Tesfaye Tekelu, head instructor of the Awassa Peace Dojo, and his compatriot Meshu Tamrat, are touring the USA to appeal for funding to support the Awassa Children's Project, Youth Campus and Peace Dojo, the latter founded with the support of Aiki Extensions. The two trained in the seminar and then offered a video and an improvised gymnastics demonstration, while circulating and telling Awassa stories of welcoming hundreds of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS into their learning community and touring the country taking messages of awareness and prevention before news cameras and before thousands who come to their circus and theater shows. Beyond this essential work, it is also as a direct result of their efforts that aikido has come to be know nationwide, throughout Ethiopia, and is now required in all secondary schools in Addis Ababa.
ABC is Association Building Community. Through a community building process, that created a three year ongoing group that began over a decade ago, I recruited a bunch of older activists who have been through any number of initiatives many of which went the way of the dodo. As is typical of bootstrap efforts that are not driven by cash, they imploded because of internal relational meltdown. Each of these elders had come to the conclusion independently that excellent and essential work craps out because even "peace" activists don't 1) assume there will be conflict 2) train in the process arts to deal with it as a first priority 3) apply their skills in their own situations 4) build their own communities by redefining peace itself as conflict done well. Tired of this immaturity, and often due to health related issues, they faded into the background ("personal work", meditation, prayer, etc.) and began contributing less to others after some three of four decades of service. Today we attempt to pay attention to our own process and life transitions (deaths, birthdays, illness, etc.) and build relationship with each other and then, at whatever pace seems appropriate, generate a project here and there over the years, from community building facilitator trainings, to offering umbrellas to new ideas needing support, to mediations for shared business owners about to sue each other, to consulting and providing as-needed services to community serving groups, to providing executive staffing service for other non-profits in serious trouble. Most ABCers go pretty slow and I, as the youngest at 39, try to bring our pulse up to what can be recognized from the outside as a sign of life. Right now I'm looking for more energetic people, at most my age, who can show up for community on a regular basis and will make passionate demands for guidance and support, and give energy to change the world we live in for the better.
Some times I just like to experiment with profiling...
I've always liked the warrior metaphors a bit too well, and become a bit addicted to their heroism, which is different from simply being heroic when required.SPRING | THE WARRIOR SPIRIT
Psycho-physio profile: The Warrior Spirit; typical fitness club member/trainer; large mesomorph, strong musculature; good competitive athletes. Intrinsic Motivator: Achievement/Action - Most Compatible Workouts: Conventional, highly physical or active exercise or T’ai Chi Ch’uan: Helps Springs stay connected, balancing their tendency to ignore their intuition and physical warning signals such as pain.
Springs are the quintessential go-getters. Their number-one intrinsic motivator is their initiative and drive for achievement. Springs are mavericks, pioneers, adventurers and entrepreneurs — “take charge” people. Springs have a strong mental component to their temperament, and like to think they have logical reasons for everything they do — although their decisions are just as likely to be based on emotion and instinct. They are competitive and impatient; others can sometimes interpret this as being pushy or controlling.
Springs love conventional strength/cardio workouts, which satisfy their need for stimulation and a sense of achievement. Their best intrinsic motivator toward regular exercise is a sense of competition — if only against themselves. Springs tend to lose focus or get distracted by the next challenge that comes along, So while Springs are the least likely to enjoy T’ai Chi, because T’ai Chi can help them stay in tune with their own body’s signals. It can also help them stick with an exercise routine through its depth both of different exercises and of its Principles, which provide logical reasons for them to work out.
This entry has rambled more than a little. May as well close on a down, Fall, heading into the Dark note, now that September is over. :-)
The loss of Aidan, as is often the case, remains a defining reality in my life. Metaphors abound that create the possibility to see it with a kind of understanding: wounded healer, Grail King, crucifixion, depression, resurrection, Death the Ultimate reason for humility and/or irrelevant terror, etc. All this applies while nothing explains much, of course. Greg Mogenson wrote an archetypal psychology book called God Is A Trauma which pushes open (a bit further than did his predecessors - which is always the hope) a door to how I understand much of religion, suffering, and psychology in intellectual terms.
Loss has sweetened even the meanest parts of my life by amplifying my desire to see beauty everywhere in a way that I would have passed over before for lack of need. Grief has crippled me too in a way that standing up where my heart can be seen requires some kind of Grace-fantasy as a prosthetic. I never knew it was possible to hurt like this. Now I do and that has changed me in a way that is simply so - way beyond submitting to a good-bad frame. Let me be clear this change is not one to which anyone in their right mind would ever submit willingly. There is nothing heroically transformative about sitting up again and taking nourishment after having your spiritual head kicked in for several months. It's simply the worst thing I've ever known, to date, and leaves dents from the kicking.
The future requires our attention and dedicated, collective action no less for being unlikely and fragile. If you value a child or can imagine yourself doing so, then you have a by god obligation to get your ass in gear and start teaching by example every young person you can reach how to live with the realities of ambiguity, fear, and finally death. Lack of this training is the root of the violence the large, aggressive children so often in power today perpetrate on the rest of the world. The next significant maker of peace, or of genocide, is a kid you know today.
Labels: aiki, Aikido, daily, dojo, grief, polis, politics
| posted by Brandon @ 10/06/2008 01:24:00 PM
Being In Movement
I'm in Columbus, OH working with Paul Linden Sensei while writing (dissertation) and working (Aiki Extensions). My schedule may be found through Airset.com (if we share a group there) or through my website, by clicking on "Calendar".As I write this I am sitting in Cup O' Joe - Clintonville [2990 N High St Columbus, OH 43202 (614) 447-7563], listening to a Thomas Moore interview (free at New Dimensions for this week), as well as some excellent music at http://www.folkalley.com/music/podcasts/. I am more than happy to recommend all three.
Some things I am working on with Paul:
What is the difference between a timing lag and the timing delay of a whipping motion native to so many martial techniques? To understand this better and more consistently create the effect I want I'm paying attention to how my focus (specifically my conscious purpose and eyes) aren't always "identical"/tracking with my movement but dissociate in some way. Occasionally, behaviors which can be fine, conscious, tactical choices arise from habits based at some level in fear. The dilemma presents in the both unconscious and unhelpful part of the process rather than in simply refining by repetition the conscious applications. This is not Wrong except when movement patterns reflect something I do without being aware of it or in a way that imbalances me accidentally. Like most dilemmas of this sort the question is not simply am I doing an unhelpful thing but, always, how much does it apply in a given moment of consideration.
more on this to come...
Hopefully Unrelated: Please check out http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/15/disney.protesters.ap/index.html
Cinderella, others arrested in Disneyland labor protest
ANAHEIM, California (AP) | posted by Brandon @ 8/27/2008 01:39:00 PM
This example of AE related work is by Paul Linden. He calls what he offers Being In Movement® body awareness training. An AE member who is one of his students blogged about him here.
This is a tiny clip from the AE Training Across Borders (TAB) gathering in Cyprus to bring people from various areas o f the Middle East, Europe, and the United States together to work with traditionally conflict ridden cultural expectations in a training environment.
Aikido is helping an Iraqi to 'get out of the way of conflict'
Saturday, September 29, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/29/BAV0SEJ2G.DTL
Without his friends and fellow martial arts practitioners in the Bay Area and around the United States, Bashar Ahmed might have been another anonymous casualty of the Iraq war.
Ahmed has a black belt in aikido, a Japanese martial art whose practitioners learn to "get out of the way of conflict," in the words of instructor Kayla Feder of Richmond. But Ahmed is a native of Baghdad, where avoiding conflict is all but impossible.
Last year, Ahmed's father was shot to death. The father of another Iraqi aikido practitioner was kidnapped and held for tens of thousands of dollars in ransom, and a member of the Baghdad aikido training center was killed in a car bombing.
After he received threats in the wake of his father's slaying, Ahmed fled the country. Now he's in Syria, trying to get his remaining family out of Baghdad, and his friends in the Bay Area are holding a benefit for him today.
"He needs our support," said Feder, who is hosting today's aikido exhibition in Richmond.
Ahmed says the Iraq war and his refugee status have made him even more reliant on a martial art known for its spirituality and the empathy it requires toward opponents.
"All these wars and violence and bad situations ... made me cling more (to) aikido," Ahmed said in an e-mail interview from Damascus, Syria, where he has been living since August. "I'm without home and without my family and without work and income and without (a) place to start a new life, and without country ... but I still try to find (a) chance to train (in) aikido."
Bay Area members of Aiki Extensions, a national organization, got to know Ahmed through their financial support of a training facility, called a dojo, in Baghdad.
Just buying mats for the dojo was a major help for Baghdad's aikido practitioners. The fundraiser being held today will benefit Ahmed and Aiki Extensions' projects in the Middle East and Ethiopia, where Ahmed lived for a few months after leaving Iraq.
In Ahmed, aikido masters recognized a kindred spirit who faces an uncertain future in Syria, where the government has told him he can remain only two more months.
A martial art that emphasizes defensive tactics, not offensive maneuvers, aikido requires concern for an enemy, along with exercises that are meditative.
"We're taking something that's violent - a punch or strike or knife - and we try to block it, receive it and redirect it, handling it in a nonviolent manner," Feder said. "We redirect the opponent's energy and bring it to a neutral position where, hopefully, both people stay safe. By protecting your opponent, you're saving his karma and yours."
Jamie Leno Zimron, a former Bay Area resident who directs Aiki Extensions' Mideast Aikido Peace Project, worked with Ahmed and five other Iraqis in April 2005, when they went to Cyprus for a weeklong aikido peace workshop that brought together practitioners from Israel and elsewhere.
For the first time in his life, Ahmed, who is in his mid-20s, not only met Jewish Israelis, but engaged with them in aikido and social functions. Palestinian aikido practitioners also attended the workshop, traveling there with their Israeli cohorts.
"I've frequently described what happened as a lovefest; it was astonishing," said Zimron, the younger sister of state Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.
"In aikido and inside one dojo," Ahmed said, there are "no nations, no religions, no colors and no fanaticism."
But when Ahmed returned to Iraq from Cyprus, the sectarian bloodshed that has destabilized his country struck him and other aikido practitioners.
It's unclear if they were targeted because of the hatred some Sunnis and Shiites have for each other in Iraq or because they participated in a sport that led them to interact with Israelis.
Soon after his father's death, Ahmed left for Jordan, where he stayed for eight months until going to Awassa, Ethiopia, where Aiki Extensions has a dojo. Ahmed missed the culture of the Middle East, so he found a way to get to Syria.
He's grateful for the support he's gotten from aikido followers in the Bay Area and around the United States, where other upcoming fundraisers are also planned.
Zimron, who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford with a degree in political science, knows how sports can unite people whose leaders are at odds. After Cyprus, Zimron - who is Jewish and holds dual U.S.-Israel citizenship - worked with the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv to help secure a dojo in East Jerusalem for Palestinian aikido practitioners. She has also taught aikido in Jordan.
Aikido, Zimron says, "is particularly suited for peace work. The founder of aikido said aikido is to make all human beings one family. It's known as the art of peace."
Online resources
For information on Aiki Extensions and today's event, go to the group's Web site:
Aikido fundraiser
A group of Bay Area aikido practitioners is holding a fundraising seminar and exhibition today to help an Iraqi refugee in Syria and its projects in the Middle East.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 1352 South 49th St. in Richmond. The cost is $50-$75 on a sliding scale for seminar participants, free to those who want to watch.
E-mail Jonathan Curiel at jcuriel@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
More coming... | posted by Brandon @ 3/27/2008 02:00:00 PM
