Brandon WilliansCraig

International Peace Week

Day 6 - September 25th

Paul Hawken, according to Fortune “the original hippie entrepreneur," insists that the world is in the midst of the “largest social movement in all of history”, the scope of which “no one knows” and “how it functions is more mysterious than what meets the eye” (Blessed Unrest 2). The direction and scope of that movement is mysterious because of its complexity, its irreducibility to one agenda or solution despite the powerful forces which bid for unified control on a global scale. As long as there have been human beings, we have most often engaged mysterious complexities through the making of powerful stories, mythologies, far reaching narratives which combine the factual power of lived experience with the imaginative reach and psychological depth of fiction. The center of the “largest social movement" Hawken mentions is also a myth, that is to say a hard working idea with enough room for both clarity and mystery. What Joseph Campbell refered to as the "New Myth" has to do with global citizenship - the insistence that peace for everybody is possible, requires practice, and that this practice results in Community, in all the ways that word is used.

More than a million people around the world participate in Aikido, a martial practice known as "the art of peace" because its founder, Morihei Ueshiba, made very clear that the purpose of Aikido was not to "train to become powerful or to throw down some opponent. Rather we train in hopes of being of some use, however small our role may be, in the task of bringing peace to mankind around the world.” (Aikido and the New Warrior - Strozzi-Heckler 28) This extension of aiki principles beyond the mat requires martial discipline so that the guardians of this ideal are not discouraged while cultivating the skills which make actual peace a reality when conflict is at its hottest and most disorienting. There is natural resistance to repeated labor when a clear end-point is not in sight but, as any martial artist knows, true preparation for real conflict involves innumerable small preparations over time to be ready in as many ways as possible for whatever comes in a moment. That is what Aiki Extensions and International Aiki Peace Week are about. Let's practice peace together.

Brandon WilliamsCraig, Ph.D. and 4th Dan of Berkeley, California. Brandon has been a professional actor, vocalist, executive, martial artist, group facilitator, apprentice, and teacher. He considers himself a "Culturesmith"

Wendy Palmer

International Aiki Peace Week

Day 5 - September 24th

In these challenging and exciting times leadership is being called to manifest the capacity for stepping into power while resourcing wisdom through innovation and collaboration. As leaders we need to be able to take a stand and take action in the face of resistance and opposition – without collapsing or resorting to aggression. Aikido demonstrates that there are different ways to be powerful and to collaborate. Applying principles from Aikido and mindfulness we can examine unskillful habits and find new ways in which to collaborate and take action.

The aikido principles that inform Conscious Embodiment focus on the dynamics of mind/body wisdom as it relates to empowered leadership, our capacity to act with more integrity and our ability to influence the world.

We have been given the gift of aikido – may we use it wisely.

Blessings,

Wendy Palmer

Wendy Palmer Sensei, author of The Intuitive Body and The Practice of Freedom, and co-founder of Aikido of Tamalpais (along with George Leonard and Richard Strozzi Heckler, both fairly prolific authors themselves). Wendy’s work outside the dojo is something she calls "CONSCIOUS EMBODIMENT, which, as she explains on her website: "draws on the traditions of Aikido - a revolutionary non-aggressive martial art and mindfulness practice to offer simple yet deep techniques that help you recognize how your mind and body habitually react to pressure, and to access more skillful and unified responses.”

Richard Strozzi-Heckler

International Aiki Peace Week

Day 4 - September 23rd

An Aiki Military

I first met Birks when he was recently promoted to First Lieutenant, just a year out of The Basic School. He was the officer that supported our efforts running the Marine Warrior Project, the precursor to the Marine Corp Martial Art Program (MCMAP) at Camp Pendleton in 2000. In his support position he was close to the project but wasn’t a direct participant, but he was intensely interested and hounded me daily about what we we’re doing. He was a Division 1 Collegiate wrestler in College and had tried a number of martial arts. He was tough, disciplined, and carried a big heart in his barrel chest. I would show him what we were doing and he would hang around as much as his time allowed. He was a solid Marine and cared about his men and thought what we were doing would help his Marines. At some point I gave him the names of some Aikido dojos in the area and he began training.

Over the years I would get emails from Lt. Birks from around the world and he said he was continuing his Aikido training wherever he went. Then I heard a story about a Marine officer near Falluja, Iraq who had his patrol drop to one knee, take their helmets off, and bow their heads as an Iraqi funeral procession passed by. This diffused a potentially dangerous moment as the funeral crowd was outraged seeing an American unit patrolling nearby and they made threatening gestures. Later the Iraqis spoke the officer’s virtues in how he respected their culture. Coincidence or not, now Captain Birks’ unit, suffered minimal casualties in their deployment in this area. Later when I asked Birks about this he simply said, “It seemed like the Aiki thing to do.”

Richard Strozzi-Heckler, 6th Dan (he also holds ranks in Judo, Jujitsu, and Capoeira), author of, among others, “In Search of the Warrior Spirit”, "Aikido and the New Warrior", and "The Leadership Dojo”. Strozzi-Heckler Sensei is an early and prominent teacher of embodied leadership, is founder of the Strozzi Institute and co-founder of the Mideast Aikido Project (MAP), which brings together Palestinians and Israelis through the practice of Aikido. From 2002 to 2007 he was an advisor to NATO and the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe (SACEUR) General Jim Jones, who is now the US National Security Advisor.

In 2005 Strozzi-Heckler Sensei was instrumental in setting up the first TAB (Training Across Borders) seminar in the UN Buffer Zone in Nicosia which drew participants from Cyprus, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt (ask for a copy of the inspiring video about TAB here). Richard has taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, Esalen Institute, Naropa Institute, and the University of Munich.

Bertram Wohak

International Aiki Peace Week

Day 3 - September 22th

Message from Bertram Wohak

“Those who think deeply about Aikido feel that they must participate in the establishment of a universal system of truth and justice. It is our duty to serve as messengers and guides for world peace and universal brotherhood.”

Morihei Ueshiba

• Imagine the thousands of Aikido practitioners in hundreds of dojos around the world, who are at this moment celebrating their own kinds of Aiki Peace Week event.
• Imagine the enormous burst of creativity set free by our coordinated action.
• Imagine the fact that in Aiki Peace Week we can all share O´Sensei's legacy regardless of the political divisions and stylistic differentiation we have in the world of Aikido.
• Imagine a broader public that knows more about Aikido as a joyful practice of reconciliation, compassion, and nonviolence.
• Imagine what that could mean for you and your dojo.
• Imagine that from now on, every year, an even greater part of the worldwide Aikido community will celebrate Aiki Peace Week.
• Imagine the spirit of Aiki spreading out beyond our dojos to become fruitful at many levels, from personal to political.
• Imagine Aikido becoming an important and well known part of a “culture of peace”.
• Imagine that you are making a significant contribution for this to become reality.

Bertram Wohak

Bertram Wohak Sensei, a 5th Dan who teaches Aikido and Bodywork in Munich, Germany. Originally a physicist, he operates a private body therapy office and is technical director of the Aikikan Biberkor dojo, which he founded in 1996. He is a Board member of Aiki Extensions and Bertram was one of the people who came up with the idea for Aiki Peace Week nine months ago (the other, Paul Linden Sensei of the US, was featured yesterday). He regularly teaches national and international workshops and retreats for Aikido, Ki-training and what he calls “Der Weg des Kriegers zur Kunst des Friedens”.

Paul Linden

International Aiki Peace Week

Day 2 - September 21th

Message from Paul Linden

An Aiki Moment

In my Aikido classes, from day one, in addition to teaching waza, I emphasize learning how to replace physical feelings of stress, fear, and anger with calm alertness and compassionate power. One of my students, who had been practicing about a month, told me about his aiki moment:

I went to Wal-Mart, me and my wife. I was coming out, and I noticed this lady driving down the lane. She wasn’t stopping, and I pulled my wife back. The lady almost hit my wife, and just went by, didn’t even look our way. I shouted out, “You jerk!” I didn’t mean to say that, but I did. Her son was standing behind us, and he said “ That’s my mother you’re calling a jerk, (insert here an incendiary racial epithet I’m unwilling to print).” I thought about what he said, and I thought about Paul and the classes I’m taking, and I kept my control. By that time the lady drove back, and I said to her “I apologize for what I said,” and we kept right on walking. The guy looked at me kind of puzzled. The lady even looked at me puzzled. We got in our car, went on home, nobody went to jail, nobody went to the hospital. My wife even gave me a high five, saying “I never saw you do that before, I’m very proud of you.”

My student gained control of himself and the situation. That certainly counts as successful Aikido. Even more, it may have planted the seeds of nonviolence in the driver and her son. That is a living example of what the IAPW seeks to bring into people’s awareness.

I’d like to end with a request. I would like to write a book titled Accidental Perfection: Moments when Aikido Training Works. It would be a compilation of experiences in which Aikido training clicks into place and allows one to function with unaccustomed ease and effectiveness in some area of life. I would appreciate it if people could send me one or two page descriptions of their Aiki experiences. (I can read German and French, but English is much easier.) PaulLinden@aol.com

Paul Linden Sensei, a 6th Dan who teaches Aikido, Feldenkrais®, and what he calls “mindbody education" in Columbus, Ohio. Paul is the author of several books, was a founding member of Aiki Extensions 12 years ago, and most importantly was one of the people who came up with the idea for Aiki Peace Week nine months ago (the other, Bertram Wohak Sensei of Germany, will be featured tomorrow).

Tom Crum

International Aiki Peace Week

Day One - September 20th

Message from Tom Crum

Shortly after September 11, 2001, I wrote about what we, as aikidoka, can bring to the world conflict resolution stage. The thoughts are as relevant now, 9 years later, as they were after that fateful day. In honor of International Aiki Peace Week, I offer these thoughts:

Only when we are centered will we be guided to the most effective actions without injuring or implicating the innocent.

We can breathe deeply and bring our awareness to center, to gain the courage and ability to let go of judgment, prejudice, and righteousness.

We can walk a new path to lead humanity to higher ground. Criminals and terrorists are grown in a soil created by revenge, fear and separation. We can plant our feet in soil based on tough love and centered connection.

We can make it our mission to listen actively to each other, to lend our prayers and our helping hands to others, and to seek and appreciate the gift of being together.

We can be centered in the possibility of ending the cycle of violence forever. In our own actions and conversations we can help others be aware that force follows force blindly, causing a never-ending cycle of suffering and revenge throughout the ages.

Our greatest contribution toward humanity lies ahead of us. May we get centered and embrace it.

Tom Crum Sensei of Colorado, author of The Magic of Conflict, The New Conflict Cookbook, Three Deep Breaths, and Journey to Center (amazon link), a leader of personal and business workshops and pioneer in the sort of work that Aiki Extensions exists to promote.

Lindau e Ausgburg

17.09 O projeto original era seguir de Schorndorf e Tübingen para Zurich. Lá visitaria Kurt Bartolhet que conheci em Nicósia, Chipre, durante o incrível encontro entre árabes e israelenses conhecido com Training Across Borders. Anos depois voltamos a nos encontrar num evento em Birminghan, Inglaterra. Mas apesar de perto, percebi que seria demais descer até Zurich para encontrá-lo. E soube por Judith em Berlin que o seminário previsto para acontecer neste fim de semana havia sido antecipado em uma semana. Logo, resolvi incluir uma visita ao lago Bondensee para pedalar e descansar por lá antes do ultimo trecho da viagem com destino a Munique. Ali me acompanhou até a Hauptbanhof (Estação Central) e segui de trem para Friedrichshafen e de lá pedalei até Lindau num percurso delicioso à beira do famoso lago. Foi uma antiga dica do Nilton, companheiro do Olavo Bikers, que me ajudou a desenhar o percurso da minha viagem.

Chegando em Lindau rodei um pouco até achar o último quarto livre num Gasthaus. Havia também um outro casal rodando pela cidade de bicicleta a procura de um lugar e eu consegui esse quarto por questão de 2 ou 3 minutos. Logo eles chegaram e já não havia mais vagas. Depois de algumas semanas sendo recebido em casas, apartamentos e dojos durante a jornada pela Alemanha, voltei a ficar num hostel. O último foi em Xanten logo no comecinho da viagem. E o primeiro foi em Amsterdam antes de começar a viagem. Tive tempo de circular pela cidade, desenhar e de noite tomar um bom vinho e fumar um charuto na calçada.

Vista do lago Bondensee a caminho de Lindau

18.09 Sábado. Depois do café da manhã, fiz o check-out às 10h e tive 4 horas para pedalar pelo Bondensee e sentar para fazer algum desenho. Às 14h peguei o trem para Ausgburg onde seria recebido na casa de Roman e Bárbara Brunner. Só haveria gente na casa a partir das 19h então tive tempo suficiente para circular um pouco pela cidade antes de ir para meu novo abrigo a caminho de Munique. Logo soube que Roman acabara de ir para Polônia visitar seus pais com idade avançada. Curiosidade. Peter Sensei, que tem um Dojo em Ausgburg casou na sexta-feira, logo está em plena lua de mel. Acabei sendo acolhido por Bárbara, que é jornalista, trabalha para a prefeitura da cidade e não tem nenhuma relação alguma com o Aikido. E foi fantástico!

19.09 Me preparei para tomar café da manha com Barbara mas acordei às 10h! A mesa estava feita para mim com pães, frios, queijos, leite, café, frutas, geléias, cereais. Um mapa de Ausgburg, a chave da casa e um bilhete: guardar as coisas de geladeira depois do café e um convite para nos encontrarmos no fim do dia em frente a Rathaus (prefeitura) para um passeio pela cidade.

Peguei minha bike para explorar Augsburg. Visitei o museu de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart e o Fuggerei. O assentamento popular mais antigo e mais duradouro do mundo. Foi criado em 1517 por um membro de uma familia Fugger para atender a população necessitada. Funciona até hoje, com gente morando e pagam 0,88 centavos de euro por ano! Lá também funciona um museu que conta toda a história destes 500 anos do Fuggerei. Fora que é lindo.

Como combinado, depois de fazer visitar estes lugares sentei para desenhar um pouco e encontrei Bárbara no fim do dia como combinado. Fui convidado para jantar comida regional e, claro, uma cervejinha. Ótima conversa, ótima companhia e ótima anfitriã. Assim como Hanna, Bárbara também falava francês e muitas das nossas conversas fluiram melhor em francês que em ingles.

De noite resolvi ver a minha passagem Munique-Amsterdam de onde vou voltar para São Paulo. Por conta da Oktoberfest os preços estava salgados e não valeria a pena ir de avião. O melhor seria na segunda cedo, antes de pegar a bicicleta para Munique, passar numa agencia de viagem e ver as melhores opções entre onibus e trem. Quem sabe avião.