Training Particulars
On campus we are
Off campus we are
The full schedule for our training community, Golden Bears Aikido and Free Aiki Dojo, is as follows:
Mon 12-1pm on campus Open Air on the Faculty Glade - Brandon Sensei
Tue 6-8:15pm at Aikido of Berkeley (AiBerk) - Senseis Brandon and then Kayla
Golden Bears Aikido and Free Aiki Dojo students are invited every Tuesday to join the students of Aikido of Berkeley for the entire evening. Kayla Feder Sensei has invited Brandon Sensei to teach a weekly basics class from 6-7, after which she teaches a general class from 7-8:15. Everyone is also invited to join in after these classes when on the first and third Tuesdays of every month Aikido of Berkeley creates its infamous potluck feast and community circle.
Wed 7-8am Downtown Dojo (1934 Bonita) or in the park at Hearst & Milvia - Brandon Sensei
Fri 3:30-5:30pm Downtown Dojo (1934 Bonita) or in the park at Hearst & Milvia - Brandon Sensei
Sat (every other) 10:30-12:30 AiBerk - Brandon Sensei.
Membership in either group (on and off campus) involves training with Brandon Sensei's and is available to everyone. Attending Berkeley High? Come check out other students learning whole-system self-defense that works in the street, in relationship with your family, and on into your future.
All potential students may simply appear at any training with no advanced notice. To know where we are on a given day, check the Twitter feed here or sign up for our email list at least one day before appearing. Please wear gym clothes you don't mind touching the ground and shoes that won't be damaged if dew on the grass makes them wet.
Before coming, please have a look at the
Before training you will be asked to sign in under these conditions. Participation indicates your acceptance of these terms.
Consistent students are sent an invitation to an ongoing online poll, in order to co-create our training schedule. This is a way of being more martial about the process of training together: more clear, purposeful, precise, and coordinated. We train early in the morning in the park, at night in the street, and in various circumstances geared to sharpen our practice and application.
Aikikai ranks are offered through Brandon Sensei's relationship with Kayla Feder Sensei, who is a senior teacher in the California Aikido Association. Requirement for promotion mirror those of Feder Sensei's dojo, Aikido of Berkeley, and are available from Brandon Sensei or via download from http://aikidoofberkeley.com/testing/rank_requirements.pdf
The group will never advance past the place of new people joining. Every class has a mix of levels, since practicing with people more advanced, similarly advanced, and beginning to advance is required to internalize the full range of possibilities inherent in any technique.
What this all looks like...
The most recent fundraiser in February 2011 was a great success! To find out more please click here: