The experience of women martial arts teachers and their students provides a unique framework in which to examine the complex challenges of cracking gender stereotypes. In particular, women instructors have had to negotiate the rich tension between being stewards of an ancient, albeit male dominated, practice while simultaneously challenging attitudes that have served to limit both women’s and men’s opportunities to understand the deep teachings of these arts. This two-day event will consist of a series of presentations, demonstrations, open classes and facilitated discussions regarding the unique experience of women Aikido instructors and their students.

This event is co-sponsored by the Education Studies Program, Japanese Department, Program in Women and Gender Studies and the Middlebury College Aikido Club.

Speakers & Events.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

Pre Conference Seminar 12-1pm, Chellis House.

“Takin’ It Like A Man: Troubling Gender in the Japanese Martial Art of Aikido.”
A discussion on power/gender dynamics in the practice of a Japanese martial art (aikido/合気道) with Linda White, 1^st degree black belt  and Visiting Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies and Women and Gender Studies & Jonathan Miller-Lane, 2^nd degree black belt and Assistant Professor of Education.

Friday, April 9.

Event One: Facilitated Roundtable Discussion.

Location: McCardell Bicentennial Hall 219.

Time: 12pm – 1:15pm.
“Understanding the meaning of Aikido practice in Japan and the USA.”
Greg Selover, Middlebury College class of 2010.  3^rd kyu.

“Gender in a cross-cultural context: Aikido in the USA and Japan.”

Yuki Yoshida, Middlebury College Class of 2010. 3^rd kyu.

“Testing for Black Belt: The complexities of compassion and gender expectations in Aikido.”  Holly Weir, Bristol, VT. 1^st kyu.

Discussants & Facilitators: Jonathan Miller-Lane, 2^nd degree black belt and Assistant Professor of Education & Linda White, 1^st degree black belt and Visiting Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies and Women and Gender Studies.

Event Two: “Willows bend, but they do not break: On being a female chief instructor.”

Lecture and Demonstration by Kimberly Richardson Sensei, 6^th degree black belt.

Chief Instructor and Founder, Two Cranes Aikido, Seattle, WA.  

Discussants: Kris Allot, 3^rd degree black belt & Sara Gerhart Snell, 3^rd degree black belt, Two Cranes Aikido, Seattle, WA.

Location: Atwater Dining Hall.

Time: 4:45-5:45pm.

Event Three: Open Aikido class for all levels. Beginners welcome.

Led by Kimberly Richardson Sensei, 6^th degree black belt.

Chief Instructor and Founder, Two Cranes Aikido, Seattle, WA.

Location: Atwater Dining Hall.

Time: 6-7:30pm.

Discussion Question: How are stereotypes of “hard masculinity” and “soft femininity” manifested and challenged in Aikido practice?

Saturday, April 10
Event One: Open Aikido class for all levels. Beginners welcome. Q & A Session.

Kimberly Richardson Sensei, 6th dan.

Chief Instructor and Founder, Two Cranes Aikido, Seattle, WA.  

Location: Blue Heron Dojo.

Located in the town of Middlebury municipal building adjacent to Twilight Hall.

Time: 10:30am-12:30pm.  

Event Two: Aikido Black Belt test.

Location: Blue Heron Dojo.

Located in the town of Middlebury municipal building adjacent to Twilight Hall.

Time: 2:30pm – 5:30pm.

Beginners and the public are invited to observe. 

Practice is for advanced Aikido students only.

Tal Birdsey, author of the recently published “A Room for Learning: The Making of a School in Vermont,” will read from his book on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 4:30 p.m. in Twilight Auditorium at Middlebury College. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Birdsey is a 1987 graduate of Middlebury College. In 2001, he and a dedicated group of local parents founded the North Branch School in Ripton, Vt. Serving students in grades 7-9, the school is tailored to the unique needs of early adolescence and centers on self-directed and active experiential learning that fosters a strong community and close relationships.

The book has been noted for its candid and inspiring account of founding a small school in Vermont. In reviewing the book, Middlebury College Scholar-in-Residence and author Bill McKibben wrote, “If education interests you — if kids interest you¬ — you’ll love this magical story. It’s about what happens if you take them seriously, and if you have the grace and agility to hang with them in the tough spots and the glorious ones.

December 1, 2009

Miguel Angel Asturias Academy is a private, non-profit Pre K-12 school in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, founded in 1994 to eliminate education disparities through subsidized tuition, and create informed, critically thinking, socially conscious citizens through its curriculum.

Asturias Academy currently serves approximately 300 students from varying backgrounds: indigenous, non-indigenous, poor, working class and middle class. The Academy’s curriculum is based on the popular education theory of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, in which systems of injustice are confronted and transformed on the basis of all as teachers and learners. The Academy has two main missions: get ALL Guatemalan children in school, and break cycles of poverty through education.

Short Biographies of Speakers

Jorge Chojalan, Founder and Executive Director
Jorge Chojolan is the founder and executive director of the Miguel Angel Asturias Academy, located in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.  Growing up in poverty and overcoming discrimination due to his Maya K’iche heritage, he earned both a teaching degree as well as an economics degree from the University of San Carlos.  Mr. Chojolan has worked for educational rights since his youth.  Twice exiled during the Guatemalan Civil War for his work in education, Jorge returned to Guatemala to make his country a better place.  He is currently working on building his school into a nationwide network of alternative schools.  Mr. Chojolan has presented throughout the Americas on the work of the Asturias Academy and his dream for a better world.  He also carries the distinction of being an Ashoka Fellow.

Demetri J.M. Patitsas, Social Enterprise Generator for Miguel Angel Asturias Academy
A graduate of Juniata College, Demetri Patitsas made the transition to entrepreneurship upon introduction to the Juniata College Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.  Since then, he has been the successful founder and business owner of Absolute Creo LLC Ice Cream Truck Service; the co-founder of St. Paul’s Fellowship of Labor, a non profit organization that provides labor for Orthodox Christian monastic communities and parishes throughout North America; owner and instructor of a dance company, The Bungaloo; and recently returned from a 6 month volunteer effort in Xela, Guatemala assisting Guatemalans in business startup as the Social Enterprise Generator.  Meanwhile, he continues to share his experiences and insight with students, youth, and adults throughout the US.

Paula Ghilardotti, Translator and Director of Primero Pasos a la Prosperidad
Born and raised in a small town in Argentina, Paula recently graduated from Brenau University finishing her second experience abroad, the first one a Rotary Exchange Program in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania..  As her traveling experiences throughout Africa, Asia and the Americas led her to various philanthropic and entrepreneurial outreaches, Paula has developed a passion for “giving people a chance to take a step further.” Following her travels through Guatemala, Paula co-founded a program aimed to provide financial and intellectual support to impoverished indigenous peoples throughout Guatemala called “Primeros Pasos a la Prosperidad”

November 19, 2009