Aikido and Systemic Sculpture Work in Groups and Organizations
by David Sikora

When we practice or observe Aikido at its best, we don't see some great martial artist defeating, annihilating his opponents, who then lay crushed and immobile on the ground. Rather we witness an open give and take, a flowing together, going apart, connecting and disconnecting. Sometimes someone falls or rolls on the ground, only to continue the motion back to her feet and again connect to the other(s). Even when one person is controlling another in a grip or lock, the purpose is not to hurt the other, and if done right, the effect is more like a stretching and massage exercise than a punishment.

This is paralleled in the work integrating aikido body and energy awareness into sculpture work. The participants gain a physical knowledge of when a relationship allows the parties involved to move and change together, and when this is blocked.

The most fascinating aspect of this work is its simplicity. It simply works. In almost every situation where I have experimented with this model, the participants could easily get into their body sensations, playing the parts of total strangers and having reactions to their assigned roles. The ineffective positioning of the participants becomes instantly evident; possible alternatives offering enhanced options evolve naturally. The participants often report that they prefer this kind of work to intellectual analysis, which may result in understanding but often offers no way out of presenting problems. Members of my supervision groups report further that after a sculpture session, things start moving in a more efficacious direction in their work with the portrayed clients, groups and families.

Of course there are no magical solution being presented here, but the working conditions, the atmosphere in which change can happen has been enhanced enormously. We could say stone has changed to water. And that is Aikido, transforming a stuck and contrary encounter to one where stuck situations, emotions, and people can come into the flow.

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About the author:
David Sikora was born in NYC, attended the City University of New York, (BA 1973) and Goddard College in conjunction with the San Diego Institute for Transactional Analysis (M.A. Counselling Psychology 1978.) He has lived in Germany since 1984, and his postgraduate training includes Gestalt therapy, NLP, systemic family therapy, Lomi Body Work, and Ericksonian clinical hypnosis.

In addition to a private practice for psychotherapy and family counselling, he also works as a psychological supervisor and trainer in various private and public health and educational institutions.

Practicing Aikido since 1986, he is a 2nd Dan (Nidan) black belt and teaches in his own dojo in Limburg, Germany.