Aikido Multnomah Aikikai hosted a series of outdoor, in-person classes in May 2021, taught by Aki Fleshler Shihan. The theme and title of the series was “Pulse and Flow.”  Here participants reflect on their experience of Fleshler Sensei’s teaching in this focused class series.

It was great to train with Fleshler Sensei for the Thursday evening Pulse and Flow classes. Fleshler Sensei's calm strength and focused intensity was so healthy and refreshing after an unprecedented year. Training outside with my fellow students was extremely energizing and enjoyable. It reminded me of how healthy and happy I feel after a good aikido class. It definitely helped awaken my aikido spirit and excite me for future body arts training. Thank you, Fleshler Sensei!  - Kevin S.

Attending these classes was very much about ‘coming home’ for myself. The Pulse and Flow series represented the very grounding nature of getting back into an elevated, focused return to the study of Aikido.  - Jim M. 

Fleshler Sensei's classes clarified a number of details he's been trying to teach me over the years, particularly related to remaining active and energetic throughout an encounter. The focus on maintaining potential energy at all times, without ever stopping, has improved the power and fluidity of my weapons techniques. - Sean S.

Wow! Class with Fleshler Sensei is a pure joy.  I am excited about the concepts of Pulse and Flow in regards to “not turning to stone,” and just standing around being a target. There is much food for thought. Thank you, Sensei! - Brian B.

I really appreciated Fleshler Sensei's connections between the different timings and areas of emphasis in our practice through the idea of "little circle in the big circle." For example, gentle and smooth blending movements (flow) are not really different from direct and powerfully martial movements (pulse) other than the size of the circle receiving emphasis.  - Dan R.

I enjoyed his discussion of the idea that the big and little circles could really be thought of as big and little spirals. I often envision Aikido techniques as taking the shape of a Fibonacci or "golden" spiral, and our area of emphasis on the spiral determines whether a technique appears to be a tight circle, a larger circle, or nearly linear as the emphasis moves outward. - Dan R.

In living, there’s nothing inside or outside of us that is ever not moving. The entire world, which includes our own bodies, is constantly in motion. However, static practice forms trick us into thinking that things happen in an order; A leads to B and B leads to C and so forth.  At some point in the learning process, it’ll become natural for the repetition of set patterns to make room for creatively exploring this simultaneous movement present in each moment of each encounter.  Recognizing our bodies in this flow allows us to explore what it means to subtly seize initiative, and to utilize movement with direction and purpose while remaining natural and spontaneous. - Jon Paul O.

Image credits and notes:

Golden spirals in galaxies: https://www.dcidaho.org/weekly-stem-exploration-golden-spirals/

“The Great Wave” is a woodblock print by the Japanese artist Hokusai: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/finding-a-key-to-reading-life-through-aristotles-golden-mean-balance-phi-1-618/

All class images taken by Suzane Van Amburgh and Dan Reid.