Penrod Sensei began the days training focusing on taking the partners balance at touch time.  Emphasis was on simple wrist grabs and taking our partners balance with a light touch, small movement, integrity of posture, and creating connection with our partner so that once a connection is created our partner follows us easily as we move our own center to throw.  Key concepts included aiki (a feeling of effortless freedom of movement that expresses itself in our partner's loss of balance), musubi (receiving the attack in a harmonious manner allowing us to lead our partner), and ittaika (one-body, connecting our partner to us as if we were one body so that when we move our partner moves with us).  In the final technique we received a munetsuki (straight punch) and responded with nearly identical movement to catch our partners balance and throw.
 

Koyanis Sensei taught the next class focusing receiving a 2 handed attack, beginning with a direct attack to the shoulders.  The class explored receiving the attack into the whole body and then using the whole body... arms, legs, hips, shoulders, in unison to move / throw the partner back.  The attacks progressed to double-wrist grabs (ryotedori) with a similar feeling of receiving the attack into the body, absorbing the energy and then releasing the energy as a throw.  The effect was much like loading and releasing a spring.
 

Beebe Sensei provided an interesting 1/2 hour lecture on aikido history and concepts.  He talked about aikido, as created by O-Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba, posing the provocative question; "What made aikido unique and magical and why did so many martial artists, highly ranked in other martial arts, seek out O-Sensei to study with him?"  He went on to discuss a number of concepts including taijutsu (body arts), tai-sabaki (body movement), and kokyu (breathing expansion-contraction).  He had the class stand up and move through a breathing exercise and demonstrated how to move your partner with kokyu.  He also discussed an interesting metaphor of being able to receive our partners attack and control our partner by moving in the time & space between the frames of our partners experience and awareness, raising the fascinating question of whether it's possible to create shifts in the perceptual dimensions of our partners mind.
 

Bortnick Sensei taught a series of ushiro techniques (attacks from the rear).  He demonstrated 3 similar kokyu nage (breath throws) with a two-handed wrist grab, two-handed elbows grab and a two-handed shoulders grab.  He demonstrated subtle differences in the response to each of these attacks; two hands in, one hand in - one hands out, both hands out.  In each movement he would end up behind his partner with their back bent and balance broken.
 

Cavalle Sensei taught ikkyo (first technique), nikyo (second technique), and sankyo (third technique) from a cross-hand grab (kosa dori).  His focus was on how to effectively take the partners balance and throw cleanly and effectively, demonstrating these fundamental aikido techniques step-by-step.
 

Fleshler Sensei focused on a fundamental writ movement, a tegatana (sword-hand), where the palm pivots in a single plain in front of your center.  Focusing on this correct movement he explored a series of throws including shihonage, demonstrating the effectiveness of correct and precise movement.  At one point he demonstrated with a tanto (wooden knife) to emphasize the cutting movement directed back into the attacker.  He moved from standing practice (tachi waza) and standing-sitting (hanmi handachi).  He also emphasized the importance of finishing shihonage positioned behind your partner.
 

Fife Sensei's class highlighted the often over-looked importance of atemi (striking) opportunities throughout our throwing techniques.  In this case he used the technique kata-dori (should grab) nikyo (second technique) to demonstrate his point.  His message was that the technique, without the atemi, lacks a certain martial intent and that by demonstrating each opportunity to counter with a strike, throughout the movement, we can more fully justify the technique as having martial integrity.  Starting at the very first moment, as the grab begins, Fife Sensei strikes his opponents ribs with a single knuckle fist or the arm-pit with a nukite (spear-hand).  A second strike comes leading into the throw, followed by a third strike, and a fourth as the opponent is pinned.