By John Hunt

I have spent eight years studying Aikido with Multnomah Aikikai, primarily in the Forest Grove dojo. The practice and community there have been life changing. Their practice integrates principles of mind and body that gave me a sense of centered, gentle strength that I deeply needed when I started practicing and will cherish forever.

Through much of my youth and through my late 20's I had a troublesome self-image. I was frequently troubled by dreams of being chased, tripping, and falling. Or dreams of fighting and losing over and over again. In my waking life, I felt a lack of internal strength and assertiveness. Shortly after my first daughter was born I felt driven to find a martial arts practice to build some kind of internal strength. I had tip-toed in and out of martial arts over the years but never committed to it prior. Upon moving to Forest Grove, I found Dave Dewberry and Forest Grove Aikido (associate dojo with Multnomah Aikikai), and to say that it was foundational to my growth in my 30s would be an understatement.

Dave Dewberry Sensei provided a sense of nurturing strength that had been missing through most of my life... we won't get into my backstory, it wasn't that bad, but did leave me with some significant insecurities. Dave Sensei, through Aikido, showed me that I could be strong without being hard or mean. That I could be gentle and kind and still have healthy physical and mental boundaries in life. He showed me both literally and figuratively how to fall down and stand up in ways I never knew possible. My dreams of being chased, falling, and losing just stopped and have never returned.

Aikido provided a clear physical and philosophical approach to staying centered while engaging in healthy interpersonal conflict that has been central to my approach to work, relationships, parenting, everything. To say that my eight years with Aikido was life changing is not enough, in many ways it helped me finally come alive.

I will never forget what I've learned from Dave Dewberry Sensei, Suzane Van Amburgh Sensei, Aki Fleshler Sensei, and all the amazing students and instructors at Multnomah Aikikai. I highly encourage anyone at any stage of life to study at Multnomah Aikikai. We will all fall down from time to time, knowing how to roll with it and stand up again is one of the greatest gifts I was given there.

Thank you for everything!

John Hunt