Are Aikido Dojos Cults? 

While it felt great filming this video, I had doubts about releasing it at the end of it. I have a feeling I had a difficult time staying objective at some moments and might have fell into generalizing my experience at certain moments. Also, my coaching therapist rightfully pointed out that I still hold some grudge against my own experience in Aikido and what effect it had on me. I still feel it's important as always to document my journey as honestly as I can, with as little censorship as possible, so I decided to release this video as it is. Yet I am planning to release a follow up video exploring where I might have pushed the subject too much and also taking a deeper look at how the Aikido experience affected my personal development and what affect that past experience still has on me today. What do you think about this video? Do you think it was objective, or biased?

I really appreciate you bringing this up. I train in Kendo currently, and have trained in Aikido and Judo both, now sticking to Aikido. Why? Besides being easier on my body, I appreciate the philosophy behind it. The 2 real fights I've been in, I used Aikido philosophy to try to de-escalate, and when that failed switched to Judo technique to survive. I think that if Aikidoka admit that they're a philosophy, not a martial art, then things will improve (along with adding pressure testing to randori). My 2 cents. You were very bold to do this, and I appreciate it.

"He only beat me because he attacked me wrong!"

As a member of the BJJ cult I'm going to have to say yes, it is.

I'm a Finnish judoka who has also done aikido (aikikai & shodokan). I recognise many things you talked about but I'd like to present a few points I have perceived different. To me, bowing to pictures or anything is not about cults but about more practical things. When we bow to each other when starting/finishing training with this partner, we greet/thank them but we also settle the boundaries of the training: when we've bowed to each other at the beginning, we know we can do the techniques to each other and when we've bowed to each other at the end, we know that the other one won't attack me anymore. When bowing to the dojo, we recognise that we are entering to a certain place, and when we bow to the picture of the founder, we recognise that we are going to spend an hour with a certain thing, in this case aikido. I've always thought that bowing in these three occasions is recognising that we are either starting or finishing certain things (practice) as well as greeting/thanking/showing respect to others. It is also a transition from the everyday life to training and vice versa. Westerners probably overthink this thing. I'm fortunate that my experiences in martial arts have not been cult-like but mainly positive despite of a few strong personalities. While I have seen the elitism and other things you talked about in aikido, my chief instructor never said it was self-defence. He actually clearly said it is not self-defence. He didn't talk about spiritualism, enlightenment or any such things either. I also visited Shodokan Aikido Hombu in Osaka, and they were very open-minded. If I did something in a peculiar way, they just said: "You can do that but in our style's basic techniques we do this..." Never telling that others are wrong and they are right. While it is always funny that people try to be more Japanese than the Japanese, I wouldn't in turn throw the cultural things away. I think it is good to have what is good and leave out what is not. Many things are there for reason and training martial arts, which is potentially dangerous, require going according a safety protocol and also having good manners to others, which should be self-evident. I think this is the point of all dojo etiquette, and it of course doesn't require irrational things or being more Japanese than the Japanese. At the end I'd like to stress that my experiences are strongly from judo (which I also instruct), although I do occasional aikido as well.

Me: "his choice of background music is pretty interesting" Him: "my roommate is playing saxophone"

I think the problem is that most Aikido practitioners aren't taught it's _explicitly_ a religious practice. Morihei Ueshiba was a devout Shintoist with a particularly strong veneration towards Sarutahiko-no-Okami, the Shinto god of martial arts and Lord of all land (as opposed to celestial) gods. Sarutahiko-no-Okami is one of the most important Shinto gods on his own, and if that wasn't enough, he, together with his wife Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, the goddess of arts and meditation, is part of the five gods who form Inari Okami, the most worshiped Shinto deity, nominally a god of foods and commerce, but also considered by many as the god of creation. Ueshiba had mystic visions and developed Aikido in response to them, as a particularly physically-focused, martial-arts-based method of worshiping Sarutahiko-no-Okami. The bows, claps etc. are all standard Shinto practices, on top of which he added the martial arts aspects. I'm a Shintoist myself, and one of the things that most attract me in Aikido is precisely this religious aspect. Were I to practice a martial art, I'd easily chose Aikido for that reason alone, as I'm not particularly interested in either combat or sport, so it'd suit me fine. But I certainly wouldn't like to go with a dojo whose instructors weren't themselves fully aware of this. Being unaware of this is, IMHO, precisely the way Aikido may (and, it seems, does) become cult-like, since turning into a cult is what tends to happen when a religious practice splits from its underlying religion and begins moving on its own. For an example of Aikido practiced with the correct mindset, as a physical religious practice complementing the actual religion it's associated with, check how Rev. Koichi Barrish, high priest of Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America and a high level Aikido practitioner himself, presents it. The Tsubaki lineage is a several-centuries-old group of traditional Shinto shrines -- some records suggest the main Tsubaki shrine in Mie Prefecture is a little over 2,000 years old -- focused on the worship of Sarutahiko-no-Okami and associated deities, among whom the aforementioned Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto and Inari Okami, as well as Amaterasu Omikami, goddess of the Sun and leader of the Shinto pantheon. So they incorporated Aikido as a natural, modern extra-practice, alongside the older, specifically religious practices such as Chinkon meditation. Done this way, as part of a broader Shinto practice, Aikido's cult-like characteristic are prevented from developing. But then, maybe something like that won't ever take hold among Aikido dojos precisely because they wouldn't want to be seen as a religious practice? It's a hunch, but I guess presenting Aikido as an aspect of a specific religion, and a polytheist one at that, might severely cut on the interest of most Westerners who would have shown interest in it otherwise. Be as it may though, I think it's important clearly to show things for what they are, and the fact Aikido _is_ indeed a religious practice more than a martial arts one is precisely one of those bits of information whose absence causes more problems on the long term than its presence would cause on the short term.

I spent a year and three months in Kyoto in 2018 on an intensive full-time “Kenshusei’ program (Yoshinkan Aikido) training twice a day, 7 days a week, training under a 8th Dan grand-master, so I think I have earned a right to pipe in on this topic. Pretty much everything in this video is true. I now train at a MMA gym in Montréal. As for Aikido and the philosophy of harmony and peace, I can say that’s complete bunkum; I’ve never known a group more divisive and with more in-fighting, especially at the highest levels. It’s all lip service mumbo-jumbo mysticism that simply doesn’t live up to its promises. On the plus side, I really enjoyed my time in Kyoto. :)

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Aikido. I study Yoshinkan Aikido. It's fun and challenging. It sounds like you were in a cult. I'm not in a cult. We do follow the Japanese traditions, which doesn't bother me. The art is Japanese. Aikido teaches discipline, dedication and movement. I follow my sensei because they are quite good at the art and good people. In the Yoshinkan style there are no tournaments; the learning is cooperative and fun. I find the practice relieves stress and promotes fitness. If you want to be an MMA champ, don't waste your time in the Aikido dojo. I have no interest in fighting... there is no place for solving problems with fist fights in my culture and I don't like to show up to work with black eye. If you like martial arts, want some good stress relief, fun, and a physical challenge, Aikido is pretty a good fit. The martial nature of Aikido is real. There are powerful locks, pins, and throws that if executed correctly can be devastating. It's super hard to do effectively and takes serious dedication and practice. For me, it's a journey I enjoy. As far as I can tell, the journey ends when you either quit or die. This is a link to the Dojo of which I am a member: www.aikidomississauga.ca/

Gotta be honest, I feel like ever since you lost that fight to that MMA guy you've had a thing for being critical of Aikido (which I like, and is necessary and good)(Aikidoka should assess their communities/dogmas even more than you are). BUT ...sometimes you go further than just being critical to typecasting the whole art and every dojo and every teacher based on your own experience (which is kinda intellectually dishonest, unfair, and really suspect coming from someone who's stated credentials do not make them necessarily the highest representative/authority of the art). And you can still have problems with Aikido/Aikido practice/cult like/exclusive club like behaviors of many dojos! I do too! By all means raise reasons to question! In fact every community could question itself more (that applies to Aikidoka as much as anyone). But man, at a certain point (I say this after watching your vids for years and with respect for the good you do on this channel...but...) at a certain point I think you need to move on from your frustrations with your own lack of adequate training, from your teachers, from your particular program/experiences in training because they failed you that day--not all of Aikido failed you, but your background/practice failed you-- in an MMA ring; which SHOULD be reason to question whether your practice is effective and how to improve it. And you do that...and that's good (I want to give credit where credit is due)...but THEN you go the extra step of shitting on the whole art--as if your take on the art was supposed to be so perfect and complete to be beyond defeat to begin with (and why would you ever believe such a thing with any amount of training?). I understand you're mad and feel deceived but...are you clear on what the source of that deception was when you blame a whole art and community of practitioners (not your teachers, your training), a whole community (some of whom even practicing multiple arts including BJJ) who you've never interacted with? If you learn an artform (any artform), and you fail to apply it in a situation you've never trained for previously--is the artform to blame for your failure? or the holes in your learning, and/or understanding of the art? Where should you really look to place the blame ya know? Would every Aikidoka fair the same as you in the same position? You imply this when you blame /characterize a whole art in the way that you do. Just something to watch out for. Yea, promote critical thinking to help improve the discourse in martial arts. But when you cross into the territory where you're just bashing to take out a vendetta --ultimately with yourself and your own training but on a whole art--that's where I lose interest.

I used to be in a cult (Now I know it was, was not aware at the time). It was a japanese cult called Soka Gakkai. It is amazing how many things that you mentioned are exactly the same. And the same thing happened to me in TMA. Now I´m on my final stage on becoming a MMA coach (If everything goes right, two weeks from here). Guess all the questioning finally paid up...

"he attacked me wrong" is ridiculous

Up front I am a video editor on 5 RU-vid channels and I am a Shodan with Tajiri Shihan. A major problem up front is this video leans to far into bias, lending itself to a few fallacies. The conversation is rooted in your personal experience, which is fine. Drawing from, and having experience is how most people learn and make educated choices. However, opening a video with "taking a critical thinking objective look" without acknowledge the personal bias of experience well not spawn a civil conversation for those who are willing to talk. Second, if this is a legitimate attempt to have a dialog or be a thought provoking piece: -Speak Clearly, and Don't Rush Your Points- I had to re-watch this numerous times to fully understand your arguments. I understand if you want to keep your Viewer Retention up and keep this thin under 10minute, but with the pacing of the video people are more likely to just get angry and dislike or click off all together. On first watch it just comes off as Clickbate as it currently stands. Third I agree with many points you bring up, I do think that high ranked masters are often deified, there is a lot of politics that go on in the top brass, and as a martial art, it leaves a lot to be desired as a form of self defense. Aikijujutsu, BJJ, Jujitsu and MMA are much better as a form of preservation during confrontation. However, as a expansion of the Arts and of Self, Stuntman and Fight Choreographers love aspects of Aikido, the movements look great and big, the falls are very safe with training, and weapon vs weapon becomes easier to workshop. Final note, this video takes shots at not just Aikido, but many traditional martial arts. The biggest issue is the shots at uniformity of outfits, practice, and traditions is held across many dojos, not just Aikido. I would have appreciated of you widened the scope just a little to "no touch" martial artists and other more extreme cults that martial arts has spawned, especially in the west. It would have made the video come off less like a passive aggressive "Gatcha" style of video.

I believe that what you pointed out can be applied to many traditional Japanese martial arts. As a Japanese who have been practicing kendo, judo, karate, aikido and Koryu both in Japan and the states, it’s hard for foreigner to understand this spiritual connection between japanese culture and martial arts. Most of Dojo in japan has Shinto shrines alter which can be again seem like cult and which isn’t completely wrong since it’s the base religion in japan. In addition to that, Japanese culture are based on community based and we are not fun of individualism or self focusses but instead, organizational order and hierarchy. Japanese are also not good at English and not famous for open mindedness. Often times, those higher rank Japanese masters or famous dojos aren’t open to the world and they only accept Japanese students so very secretive. A lot of Japanese Masters aren’t able to communicate with many foreigners or address you mainly due to language problem. Even worse, many of them are not even interested in putting effort to improve those parts either. What I see in Aikido around the world is only the one part of aikido or aiki technique. Quality also follows. If you’d like to know real aikido practice, riot police aikido is the one of famous place that keeps old brutal aikido. However, things they teach there or learned won’t be available to Japanese commoners so definitely not to foreigners. What can you do to learn those? Answer is no you can’t. Because you aren’t Japanese plus you are not qualified to learn even you are japanese. So instead we teach foreigners most basic aikido which is only surface part of big iceberg. Eventually those foreigners became teachers in their countries would definitely face Roka’s problems. I know the issues of modern aikido(not only aikido but many traditional martial arts) that you pointed out and I can agree many points of yours. Overall Japanese culture are in a sense, very “cult” like to begin with. Not long ago, Japanese are willing to die for the emperor and nation under bushido codes or what we call it as honor codes in our culture. If everybody is like you, then probably many martial arts didn’t even survived as a cultural value. .

I am sorry to hear that you have so traumatic experience from Aikido but actually what you explained is for me totally different once i trained in Serbia. Very open atmopshere where beginners are treated with respect and allowed to grow in discipline and NO scolding st all :) i still remmember that friendly atmosphere in dojo but it can be also part of local culture. In Germany now where i train is emphasized this strict rule culture which i honestly don't like much

Hi Rokas, I'm so sorry to see you so wounded by your Aikido experience. I'm a former Saito Sensei uchi deshi in Iwama, an Aikido 3rd dan, Judo first dan, and Bjj blue belt. My Bjj training partners love it when I hit a good aikido technique rolling, or Judo technique from standing. My Aikido students get a lot out of the classes I teach here on the beach (no gi Aikido, believe it or not:) ). If you're ever in NYC come train with us. Whatever you experienced with your Aikido training and your transition into other training, it doesn't have to be that way.

You make several very valid points. I began Aikido in 1971. After SanDan I moved toward some of the Daito Ryu schools, the Chinese Internal Arts, and Russian Systema. Reasons: “P&P” - personalities & politics. ( Make that the 5 P’s: poisonous personalities & petty partisan politics ) I was right there in the middle of the Tohei split, the Iwama-Shingu-Hombu kerfluffle, the Bruce Klickstein scandal, and the never ending factionalization of styles, dojos, and sensei ... yada, yada, yada. So I have seen and felt all the negative ‘ki’ and fallout from the Dark Side of the Force in the Aikido world. But what human organization can say that they haven’t as well. From a marriage to the U.S. Congress. As to what you are calling the many “cult-like” aspects ... you do have a point ... but dude, get a grip. It is about martial culture, habits, norms, pageantry, and historical traditions ... with a distinctive Asian-Japanese twist. And militaries around the globe and down through time have usually (but not always) been every bit as cultish ... in the ways you are describing. I cover my head in a mosque. I wear a yarmulke in a synagogue. I stand for the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I clap my hands and light incense in a Shinto Shrine. “Render unto Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s.” At one level, these are culturally different ways of showing respect for the place, the time, the people, the history, and the event. Most successful and large organizations wind up organized around a ‘vertical’ axis with pockets and niches that are ‘horizontal’. My problem with Aikido institutionally is entirely separate from my fascination with the study of “aiki”. Institutionally, I believe that mainstream Aikido is circling the drain of ultimate irrelevancy. It’s sad to an old timer like me, but that’s what I see. The study of “aiki” is lost on most ... due to a lack of understanding and just how challenging and subtle it is to learn and refine. Let Aikido go its own way and you go yours. It sounds to me that all your previous sincere devotion and study will pay dividends to you ... in ways you may not even image at this point along your chosen path. I do respect your sincerity and honesty. And I wish you success on your journey to find your “bestowed mission”. Peace out.

Rokas, I totally understand where you are coming from. What I hearing from you (correct me if I'm wrong) is that you feel totally burned by your teachers. You entered into Aikido looking for a true method to protect yourself physically. Sounds like it was more of a need than a hobby based on some of the experiences you have shared with us. The grudge is part of process as you may know. It's important to feel pissed off at the people that you trusted and surrendered to. Stay there. Feel it. Be pissed. When it's not serving you anymore let it go! Your Aikido experience was a service to you. It brought you to where you are today. I want to address a few thoughts in response to your words about Aikido. I have been studying for a little more than 10 years in the SF Bay Area and some in Portland Oregon. The teachers I have plugged into are some of the best and most experienced in the world. Some direct students of O Sensei and others who came up with these students. What I'm experiencing from these teachers and my own study is that Aikido is a spiritual practice built into a framework of a few classical martial arts. O Sensei's vision was to bring a method of manifesting inner peace.. returning us to the perfect beings that we already are. It's a larger conversation but for HIS Aikido to achieve completion on the mat, martial intent is absolutely necessary. It's complex because there are added concepts here. So how has Aikido gotten so off track? Well, not everyone is either interested or able to understand these esoteric concepts so we get Dojos teaching just technique and that's it. It's incomplete Aikido. That doesn't mean people aren't benefitting or it's bad.. it's just not the whole picture. I agree with you about Aikido having a cult-ish vibe. I have seen it in a few dojos. Much like cults you can have a Sensei (and sensei worship..ugh) that gets stuck in doing things one way, leaving vital principles out, too much emphasis on hierarchy and teaching with an element of ego that does not serve anyone. It's very subtle. I feel that if anyone was to challenge this status quo, there would be a problem. I do however believe that the cultural element is very important for Americans. Many of us need strict boundaries and discipline. That foundation exists in the dojos I train at and it has had a great impact on my daily life. It is my belief that your valid complaints about Aikido can be applied to Budo in general. That being said, it is VITAL for one to seek out a dojo that is more balanced, humble and inclusive. It's out there. Comes down to who you are and what you are looking for. I need the whole deal so I searched quite a bit and I leave my home base dojo regularly for alternate perspectives. Aikido was intentionally created to do the opposite of what you seek. Most martial arts would do a serious number on an Aikidoka. It's pretty obvious to most in the art. I have experienced training partners who have sought out boxing and other martial practices to make sure that base is covered while making their lives better on and off the mat with Aikido. Lastly, I think RU-vid content about what Aikido really is and how it can be improved and evolved is a next step. Dan Harden, Moonsensei, Rick Rowell, Bill Glisan, Robert Frager, Wendy Palmer and Linda Holiday are all teachers that I have experienced evolution in the art. The catch here is that we aren't looking for a way to make Aikido better for fighting. We are looking for an inner cultivation of power and energy through a martial framework that betters us as humans. Thanks for your content and openness about your process. Sometimes you really piss me off.. I wait and think about it some more and find truth in your expression and it leads me to finding my own truth and thinking for myself. Cheers man!

I think aikido, having practised it before moving on to other stuffs, is a study and play of momentum and human body mechanics. It is not a fighting system on it's own. In fact, in the exact same situations there are easier and deadlier responses using real combat arts.

I’ve enjoyed watching your martial arts growth experience. I believe your observations are very spot on and paralleled my experiences through my own experience with Aikido which I began in 1983. I found when I sorted through all of the inconsistencies, abusive behavior, and misguided purpose associated with Aikido training it led me to appreciate Aikido for what it is. Currently I do not teach anymore but I do take class every once a while. I really enjoy the training because I practice with the total intent of cooperation. I think it is very natural to outgrow Aikido unless you become dependent within its dogma. I think every martial art has its own potential to suppress healthy functional relationships within martial arts organizational structure. In other words I have seen the same dysfunctional structure in karate and tae kwon do which parallels the dysfunction I observed with Aikido. All of my training now is completely focused on a different martial art. The past has definitely Change my perspective of importance for developing friendships and strong community purpose.

Kudos to you for being honest and thinking for yourself

I trained a few times at a BJJ school where the students bowed to a picture of Helio Gracie at the beginning of each lesson. The instructor also made constant references to "Grand Master Helio Gracie" as the final answer in any dispute within Jiu-Jitsu. This is the right thing to do because this is what Grand Master Helio Gracie advocated. It was deeply embarrassing.

The fear of seeking external opinions about your martial art and finding criticism is probably what made me and many others believe in Taekwondo (or any other traditional martial art) as being enough to make people able to fight. This is the kind of video that made me get out of that delusion. Thanks, Rokas!

With your new found insights into functional combat arts, would you be able to revisit Aikido and "improve" it into something functional? I think first thing that needs to go is the ukemi cooperating 100% with the practitioner. I think a resisting ukemi would start the evolution of aikido. I studied aikido and kenjutsu and was inspired by your journey to start MMA too and just sharing some thoughts.

Definitely a cult, same goes for karate. I left after 20 years and switched to climbing, best decision in my life.

Can't say I share this. I'm not actively practicing anymore but I used to, here in Germany und a 6th degree black belt sensei, and I only ever felt supported to bring out the best in me. They didn't force anything on me and there were plenty students who did other martial arts such as Judo, Jiu Jitsu or Iaido next to their Aikido training which wasn't a problem at all.

Hello Rokas, it's been interesting to listen to your videos. What is your biggest regret/concern about Aikido and do you think that Aikido has anything to contribute towards the world of self defence/martial arts?

Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, once said: “The purpose of Aikido is to bring out the best in people”. He truly believed that he found the way to train human spirit, rather than just body, in order to achieve Harmony and nurture Love among people. Harmony and Love were his main “secret ingredients” in developing honesty, transparency, accountability, and trustworthy (I.e. healthier and constructive society). So I find it very ironic, and sad, that after his death Aikido became one of the most rigid, controversial and cultish organizations, a complete opposite of what was envisioned by the founder.

I studied wing chun for 6 years before I left because I found out the hard way how effective it truly wasn't and it shares a lot of the same problems that you just listed with aikido. I honestly feel like most TMA are cult like in nature and use they're "traditional values" as a form of control to dictate your thoughts and feelings. When I trained in boxing or BJJ I faced no problems with authority dictated by rules that some guy supposedly made up 1,000 years ago. They just acted like regular people who made learning both fun and effective.

I didn't have the same experience, my sensei was very transparent about it and his sensei also learned karate and our expectations of Aikido doesn't was so high. He many times tell us that the most useful of our training would be the ukemi techniques and to know how to fall can avoid many injuries xD

Sounds like you were in that movie ( THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE )

Hey Rokas very good stuff !!! I believe it's much easier for you and some of us to consider Aikido with a clear mind once we have made this big step aside. Generally speaking aikidokas are completely identified with their art and will not discuss the matter with honesty even for their own sake.

i guess i was lucky, i trained between 1991 - 1999, apart from bowing at the beginning and the end, we were never scoulded (everyone would of left if they did stuff like that), never trained in silence and there was never a mention of being able to beat other martial arts, and no mention of this is for self defence. We were not stopped doing other martial arts either (i did iaido and karate as well). We did have one head instructor visit, and the last half hour he sat everyone down and talked some religion stuff, next lesson our instructor said sorry about that, and changed organizations. I do remember buying a book on aikido and said that a technique was different to the way we did it, and the instructor said 'there is more than one way to do something'. So listening to your videos over the years it is clear i was one of the lucky ones.

Very good analysis. I remember having some Aikido senseis who were kind of honest when it comes to the effectiveness in real-life situations and sometimes when they were showing techniques they were saying something like "Ok, no one is going to attack you like this in real life, but we're doing Aikido.". Everything else in your video 100% matches my Aikido experience.

Yup! (Practicing Aikido since 1991, gives me lots of fun, never joined the cult myself). I also study martial arts and cults for a living so...I might be partial

I like listening to you talk about Martial Arts😊👍🏿

I practiced Aikido, Jodo and some Kendo for 5 years and I loved it. I had the chance to have a very honest instructor. He always said that aikido would be very unlikely to work in a self defense situation. He was also a badass and a good judoka too. While performing techniques with him you could really feel the pressure and he put some pressure and quite some resistance to it. I guess I was lucky with my experience. I practiced aikido mostly because it was challenging and because I love martial arts. The guys from Jodo and Kendo were a funny bunch and also very good people who didn’t take it all too seriously. I also practiced aikido in an another school and the instructor wasn’t acting Japanese at all and wasn’t respecting the bowing and everything, but the moves and everything were there. It was kind of weird and refreshing. I switched then to Muay Thai and boxing and I love it too. Waaay better for building endurance, strength and a good mentality. In general I have the feeling aikido is a good martial art either if you love it and don’t care about self defense or as a complementary martial art if you practice/practiced something else. Gabriel Varga, world champion kickboxer and RU-vidr practiced some aikido too. I could also translate some skills I developed in aikido in Muay Thai, like balance, sense of position, taking angles, falling correctly. If I had to do it all over again I would have practiced Judo from the beginning and then switched to Muay Thai. Judo is just so cool and also very effective.

I think the subject of Martial Arts and cults is an incredibly deep and important one. Thank you for addressing the topic.

In my opinion the bowing thing is no problem for me... it's jzst the culture aspect. You WERE doing a japanese art so it is to be expected to have some japanese influences. Spaniards andd frenchies kiss for greetings, japanese bow. I think it is nice.

Simple answer: yes, unless the instructor actually admits the ineffectiveness of Aikido (with the only reason of continuing being for sport, and exercise)

Very interesting insights, thank you. One thing that stroke me, though: the "destructive" organizations (pyramid, authoritarian, ends justifying means, closed, power preserving), that's basically a trait of any older organization (think conservative party, old-school company) that is prevalent both in the East and in the West. In fact, these are the values pushed by Confucianism which all East-Asian martial arts are based on. I would be interested in hearing about people that practiced Aikido (in particular, but martial arts in a broader way) in a dojo in Japan, if they had similar experiences there as you did in Europe.

I'm going to start doing aikido in like 2 weeks and I'll see how my experience goes and maybe report back. PS Mainly because of my fascination with samurai and the lack of kendo jujutsu or iaido in my country.

Nice content. Very personal, but very honest. Now, let's do the same exercise on other arts. Let's see how long we survive!

Are you going to make any bjj videos soon? i really enjoyed the ones you've done

I agree, Aikido cults are bananas.

17:48 I thought you gonna say: "check out my new cult"

I couldn't agree more!!! I only had a few years of Aikido experience but I strongly agreed with everything you said. In my dojo not only did they worship Osensei but also Steven Segal. Now, I never met him and I hate to judge but from what I know he's a bully. Out of the 20+ students there a handful were really cool people but most especially the brown and black belts were sadistic bullies!!! I was belittled, hurt and bullied by them, when I complained to the Sensei I was basically told to grow some thicker skin. After this, I noticed that the Sensei would give me negative looks and after being scolded by him I left!! I see serious similarities to a cult there!!!! From my personal experience my final thought on Aikidi and it's effectiveness is this: Aikido works very well when your drunken buddy wants his car keys back but don't try to use it against a skilled/determined attacker or opponent!!!🐴 Cool video as always!!!!

I have never Nor would I ever consult the Sensei of my dojo About practicing any martial art I have been in Many aikido dojos that don’t do any of the things you have mentioned, even bowing I have trained at many different dojos Many different schools of Aikido I have yet to hear another Sensei or school of Aikido being disparaged

I def see some of that in the ITF TKD I trained as a teen. Most of it seemed like a carryover from it's military roots though and my masters seemed like very humble and nice people and wouldn't get annoyed if you asked questions and they commanded respect without being harsh. Towards my later years they seemed a bit dismayed over not being able to instill good discipline in me because I'd basically only show up to 50% of the weekly practices but the reason was simply that it was at 10am saturday mornings and even as a kid going up on saturday morning to watch Pokemon was a chore, let alone as a teen to wake up early in the weekend to train. The most cultlike aspect was probably their reverence for high masters. They spoke incredibly highly of high dans but not often. I only remember them speaking about them at all when they'd come to visit for like a big event held in gothenburg where most of the students from the local schools would come there. The way they spoke of them actually does remind me of the way some soldiers speak of generals and such but ofcourse there is a cultlike aspect to militaries as well. All and all it didn't feel especially cultlike but it might depend on what masters you have and how seriously you yourself take the training/sport.

You seem really down to earth i would love to train in aikido under you :)

Off topic a bit but also not. One weird thing at the place i went to was how brutal the sensie was to whatever his next one down guys are called. I mean in demonstrations for us, and doing tecniques etc. Like hurting these guys for no reason, and the guys taking it to toughen up or something. But not allowed resist or fight back, ie ragdolls, punchbags, bdsm subs. Seen it in a lot of other martial arts via youtube. I think there is some weird conditioning/ psycological manipulation thing going on right there. And there honestly seems something a bit homoerotic and domineering pain power play and oddly intimate about it all. Not overtly sexual, but definatly in that ball park. The lower man submitting to his 'masters' infliction of extreme pain on his body, and all infront of the group for our benefit too. See what i mean. Was just embarrasing. Like a pain and humiliation ritual for the guy, but they always seemed to kind of relish it. Odd odd odd Very weird.

There was a seminar with Fujita sensei many years ago in our club. And he watched our training and commented "they work like Japan students". And that wasn't a complimet for European students like us. It meant: repeat the technique he just showed without hesitation, without reflecting and any analysis. In a very tradition manner: "don't think, just repeat after your sensei 1000 times" :) So many-many dojos really practice cult, but (I would like to believe) there are few of them which don't.

I've been watching more of your vids lately. Have so many things to comment but I can't be bothered typing it all out. Basically your experience with Aikido is your experience. Everyone will have their own.

Wow I didn't think so to begin with but this does make sense, what you're saying about really most traditional Japanese martial arts. It was the same when I did Shorin-Ryu Karate. By far the loosest MA I've done is Jeet Kune Do, as Bruce Lee was definitely non traditional. Although in any martial art school nobody is really forcing you to stay there.

I teach karate and I train BJJ and grew up boxing and did a few other kinds of martial arts, including Aikido on and off in my 20s. I was pretty faithful the first few months, and then I only went once in a while, and then I eventually stopped aikido. What I found most troublesome was in a my fairy first class somebody said throw a punch, and then they were demonstrating the technique. Well, I slowly through an actual punch and was told no we don’t punch like that here and then, when the Aikido Black Belt told me how to punch, I said I’d never punch you like that and if I punched you for real, you would really struggle to keep that arm. He just kind of gave me a look and then I complied. A handful of months later I accidentally showed up to a black belt only class and one of the black belts told me to stick around and train with them, so I did. In the process, I realized I had better foundation and footwork than most of them did, from boxing, and that not a single technique we trained that day would be affective. I’ll get someone who knew how to throw a punch properly and not leave it dangling out for some guy to wrench on until he got his technique. I found many beautiful things on an aikido mat, but it is definitely culty, I got tired of explaining to my wife, while we were bowing to a picture of O sensei every night. Also, I kept a handful of techniques from Aikido, but for the most part, not a terribly practically effective martial art.

In the dojo I used to train at they were quick to point out there was no religious significance to the fact we bowed to the photo of the founder. it was just respect. And although there was definately an aikido culture, they were pretty down to earth when I challenged its effectiveness. They put up with me. the senior instructor even told me, "yeah Mike, we all know Aikido is the land of fruits and nuts.....lots of flakes involved in Aikido but you are in the best dojo in kokikai" They never scolded anyone, but yeah...there is a pecking order from most junior to most senior student, but we did not line up in rank order. In traditional TKD we actually were more military as far as lining up in exact rank order. I heard no tall tales about the founder of Kokikai, Shuji Mauriyama, and Mauriyama himself was very down to earth. He rebelled against the notion that it was "ki". He explained that ki was just another way to say proper posture, balance and applied physics. He joked that other aikido masters were in a cult of Ki, and the God of ki would save them. All in all, kokikai Aikido was alot more modern than what you are describing. That's some crazy cult like behavior you had to deal with. As far as aikido effectiveness, they always maintained it was effective.....but conceded not everyone would develop effectiveness no matter how hard they trained. They were not overly hung up in Japanese culture, and that came from Mauriyama....who like I said was more scientific in his approach. Not a whole lot of ritual at the dojo and we did not train in silence...not at all. After hearing your story.....I thank God I was in kokikai aikido because I'd never last in the schools you describe. Were you in Ki-Aikido? founded by Tohei. MAURIYAMA was initially Ki-aikido since Tohei was his teacher......but he broke away and founded Kokikai because Ki Aikido was like a cult...his words not mine. I'm dead serious, Shuji Mauriyama (when he was about 75 yrs old) told the class Ki-aikido was like a cult.

Bruce Lee said all this about TMA at his beggining however and regardless of all the pholosophy, his later system became another TMA because he learnt that this not only preserve the system but it also makes an interesting lifelong hobby. I got my ass kicked because of Karate and later because of Aikido. In both occasions I blamed my instructors and not the system. It took me a decade each time in both cases to find an instructor to open the door but I kept at it with realistic expectations. Now I can apply techniques from both systems in real encounters. During these years I learnt boxing and Muay Thai. They are both straight forward and effective but uninspiring. Now I only train in Aikido but I add to it from other arts. The lesson I learnt is that the company is more important than the journey. You need training buddies to experiment, learn and test martial arts with. A final note to ponder on: We all know Putin has NUKES, right, then why is still practicing Judo? What doe he need it for?

Tell tale had a really good definition of a cult recently, which is an organization that requires personality changes. There's a difference between saying "this guy was right" and "you should try to be this guy" Also to be fair in regards to aikido, ancestor worship is a Japanese tradition....but oh yeah confucianism is kinda gross I ain't gonna lie

I've been doing BJJ for five or six years and I am in the military so I stop by a lot of gyms. We do bow sometimes to Helio Gracie I believe and line up in order of rank.(I don't think, we have ever done it actually) I have also done Akido as well, and while some may say BJJ is a cult, I was never "scolded" for asking black belts to roll they just let me know about tradition but they didn't get mad at me. If someone does say it is a cult, it def would be positive. I am pretty sure nobody gets mad at good wrestlers or catch wrestlers, they want to sharpen their craft against any martial art. I do agree some people take it too serious but that's in everything in life. I love your free thinking, I love your content.

Funny thing - when I was young, about 20-25 years ago, some of the Catholic priests in my country (Poland) were warning about Aikido, claiming it is some form of a "sect". Mostly because of the "meditation" and bowing to the picture of the "leader" (Morihei Ueshiba) at each training.

"this guy can teach you things I don't know how to teach you" I think that's also how you harmonize the specialist and the jack of all trades. Jack's train at many schools, but it takes a different kind of person to develop and progress a school. Stewardship of an individual art/field vs exercise of a craft as a whole. Neither can progress without the other also progressing.

The same argument goes for any traditional martial art. Wearing the same outfit makes it a cult? Then so is football or any other team sport for that matter. Sure there are dojos where aikido is practised as a cult and you are not allowed to question the teacher. But I have yet to encounter one that does. Perhaps it is more a US thing? I don't know. But here in Europe, we are mostly down to earth with such things. And most practitioners I know are well aware of the fact that aikido is not the best martial art for self defence. Most practise because it is fun and you can continue to improve yourself. The ones that think it is good self defence are usually the lower ranks that have just studied for a few months. As you progress in your skills you automatically start questioning your abilities and the techniques for real life situations. If you don't and you blindly believe and accept what has been told, even if things sound crazy or amazing, then the problem lies with you as an individual, not with aikido itself. If you are forced to believe whatever is told, if you're not allowed to question, then you have a bad teacher. Again, that is not aikido's fault. You have exactly the same behaviour of dojos and teachers in any other sport or martial art that is out there. It is definitely not the place where I want to train.

Very accurate and insightful. Thanks :)

Hi Rokas. Maybe it's not good question for that video, but I have to ask you about this. Can details used in aikido techniques be useful for self-defence. I don't ask about techniques, but things that you should do to make technique properly like not leaning, watch your line or watching your opponent, not his arms.

I am 67yrs old and started martial arts at 16. I trained in Wing Chun for 12 years becoming an assistant instructor at my club, I then started WTF TKD and trained in this for nearly 20yrs reaching 3rd dan. I then went to live and work in India for 10yrs where I practised yoga and Aikido. I have been back in the UK for around 8 yrs and have been training in Shotokan and am currently a first dan in that art. I want to say that all martial arts have validity and that in fact, they are all 80% the same! The 20% differences are the techniques each art stresses, the 80% commonality is relaxation and breathing! Ignore all who say their art is the best, at the end of the day it's down to the practitioner. Its the man(Or Woman) not the art!

When You go to the www.cercletissier.com website You can read (my own translation): "Aïkido is an educational method based on a Japanese martial art created by Morihei Ueshiba in XX century" They don't even claim that Aikido is a martial art, let alone some enlightenment path or religion, instead they humbly say "educational method". Cercle Tissier is one of the most prominent Aikido dojos worldwide and the practice there shapes a great deal of how Aikido is practiced in France. I therefore think it can be considered being representative of the modern Aikido and they aren't cult-like in the least, I can attest that not only based on what is written on their website but also having experienced it first hand. Some might point that Cercle Tissier is part of the FFAAA which accounts for roughly half of French Aikido dojos, but rest assured, the other half, FFAB also has many representatives (which I also met in person) who teach Aikido techniques without any cult-like stuff.

I’m pretty new to aikido, and it sounds like I have a pretty good dojo. I only recognize maybe 15% of the points you make. Beginner mistakes are used for learning for the whole group, we discuss why certain things may or may not ‘work’ (within the aikido framework) we’re encouraged to join the bjj and karate classes in the dojo. They talk with reverence of the old masters but remind us the o sensei trained in many martial arts. I’m not scared of being scolded or speaking out, though I am scared of being kicked in the nuts by my sensei if I leave myself open. I guess that’s because he previously trained in Krav Maga. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that your experience is more typical, but it doesn’t match mine.

I trained as an aikidoka in different dojos and, to some extent or the other, all of them were characterized by subconscious or preconscious cult-like behaviors. Besides that, all of them were overtly characterized by dogmatic teachings.

Hey, just subscribed - love your stuff. Yeah, most traditional martial arts are cults of personality. The problem of language isn’t just in the word “cult” by the way, but in “self-defense” or “martial art” as well. Successful, tested fighting skill sets are mimetic in nature. They recognize certain “givens” about the nature of two human beings fighting, and approach fighting in a way that accepts those “givens” for what they are. However, what most “traditionalists” - and what a lot of people have in mind - is poietic (not poetic - poietic). At best what this culture or that seems to think fighting *should* be. Occasionally, like with no touch stuff, you have things that are strictly what some asshole *wishes* fighting was no matter how detached from reality it is. What I’m getting at is this: A LOT of martial arts bank on people’s perceptions of what they think fighting should be, super-enlightened-badass-teacher - andyoucanbetoo! and all. Once you’re dedicated to someone’s concept of what anything *should be*, or what they wish it were, instead of what it actually is, you’re in a cult - especially if you doing or saying anything to break the illusion is met with punishment.

While I certainly believe that some dojos may be cultish or have the potential to be cults, I've seen too many aikidoka who study multiple martial arts to say that aikido itself is a cult. For me Aikido was taught as a skill and, to a certain point my sensei heavily encouraged us to participate in other martial arts, body building, sports and general athletics. Hell, I often even missed payment or simply couldn't pay at all and was still allowed to come and practice. For my dojo, it felt like it was part gym, part community center, part art installation and part physics lab. I felt no restrictions, no binding culture, other than a culture of sportsmanship, dignity, grace and a $40 monthly fee.

I don't disagree that aikido is very culty, but as a Kendoka I've gotta say it seems like you're missing the mark with some of your comparisons. I would recommend just comparing your definition of cult and see if that lines up with most other martial arts disciplines and dojos. Things like bowing towards the master at the start, wearing the same uniforms, line placements based on how long you've been with the dojo etc.

What is the intention behind training in silence, from a philosophical or cult(ural) perspective, if any? Or do people train in silence because they are naturally too focused and/or exhausted to talk?

From what I know, the bowing thing is present in a lot of other eastern martial arts. I’m a judoka, and we start and end each training session by bowing to the instructor, but also to a portrait of Kano shihan (the creator of judo). At the same time, though, the culture couldn’t be more different from what you described. My sensei always insists that we experiment to find what works for us (he’s very big on cross-training, seeing as he also knows kurash and BJJ), and quite unlike the veneration for the old aikido masters you describe, most of us agree that the old masters like Mifune or Yokoyama or even Kano shihan himself would probably lose to a modern judo champion because of how much the discipline has evolved since their times.

Have changed 4 dojos... Yes, you are so right!

Fair enough our Dojo lean towards constructive side of spectrum. Fortunately I found a Sensei who's open minded and even encourage us to train or try other Martial Arts. Actually our Dojo even it is Aikikai affiliate. Sometimes we cross trained with non-Aikikai schools. To say we our Dojo is much more flexible rather than a stereotypical rigid Aikido Dojos.

Hell yes. I trained aikido for five years and have just decided to quit. There were many things I was unhappy about aikido and after I moved to another place and started trying different dojos, I saw the same bad practices. I think a martial art should help the practitioner feel a sense of growth, of acomplishment without foresaking a critical awareness. And, unfortunately, aikido does not do that. So, I totally agree with you.

Nah... It's silly idea, of course. If aikido were a cult then everyone would wear their hakamas all the time. Rokas, by your definition you'd have to call the U.S. military a cult because they salute the flag and stand for the national anthem. You do have some good points though. Some people do deify Osensei and their teachers who were their students. And some people are adamant about keeping to custom and ritual such as bowing toward the shomen and wearing "traditional" garb. These kinds of things can be a little superfluous and support the idea of identification with a group. But does a uniform and opening ritual make the Boy Scouts a "cult?" Maybe you do, but to me it's more like the Shriners wearing a fez - it just makes them one of the club. On the other hand, holding someone in high esteem does not make one an unquestioning acolyte. Neither does following a custom such as bowing in homage and gratitude to the memory of a person who dedicated his life to sharing his practices. It may be true that some people are fanatics about aikido, just like there are fanatics about many things - ultra fans and the like, but an important part of a cult that sets it apart from a mere association is that the leaders demand adherence and unquestioning loyalty. That is not present in aikido, in my experience. Maybe you need to separate out the behavior of some people you have communicated with from the many branches of practice and study. Just a suggestion.

So here's my 2 cents on this great subject. Any discipline that involves people buying into something that is not tested and is based on taking the instructors word for it, puts the student in a difficult situation. Either be critical in your thinking or glorify the instructor to justify taking everything they say as gospel. If people are weak minded and have invested years of time in something, it's easier to do the latter. It's at this point that the instructor needs to make a choice. Should they shake things up by injecting some reality into the training and being honest or will they accept this adoration and start believing the hype themselves? Again, for most professional instructors it's far easier to choose the latter. Why not be respected, revered and get paid for it? This unfortunate cycle is the basic premise of most FMA dojos. Now, this has nothing to do with style. You can have one Karate dojo (for example) that is realistic, has open competition, ranks people on merit, etc and then another Karate dojo that practices stopping sword strikes with a clap. It's not the style it's the training environment. Aikido can be trained realistically and effectively. It doesn't have to be BS.

As someone who dealt with ex-cult members, I am pretty sure you are at least partially wrong: First of, all, I must admit that I am not an aikido practitioner. I am doing japanese martial arts, though. One of them is iaido, and my iaido teacher is also a 5th dan aikido sensei. Also, I happened to meet other aikido senseis here in Israel on more then one occasion. It is important for me to say that I do not question your aikido experience, but rather your definition of it as a cult. So, I am not getting into the technical element, because you surely know much more about it then me. One of the reasons I never had a strong urge to practice aikido is because it didn't make sense for me on a technical level. My problem is the part where you talk about obedience, dependency, censorship and limitation of other martial art's experience. And especially freedom of choice. From my personal experience and from what I heard from others, these kind of attitudes are mainly depending on the teacher. A toxic teacher might impose these traits, and a non-toxic one won't. The teacher I was working with, used to tell his students (and I witnessed it) - "we don't teach self defence - there are other arts better suited to that". The same about the weapons part of aikido. Many of the teachers in Israel are happy to do iaido (which is a completely different doctorine then aikido) and sometimes kendo and naginata (I am teaching naginata, and aikido people here were always curious and friendly about it). As for some reiho parts, like how to bow, how to dress, how to sit etc - it's not unique to aikido, but to any japanese martial art, and are a complete symbiose with the way the japanese are living their everyday lives. Is japan one big cult? Because these behavioural rules apply to all japanese arts, starting with martial arts and ending with flowers arrangement and school uniforms. And finally, about freedom. Unlike a cult, which is unified by one leader\group of leaders, not only in a doctorine perspective but also in an economical one, there are plenty of aikido organisations. You can choose which one to join. Or you can start a new one. No one forces you to go to specific dojo or specific sensei, unlike, for example scientology where you have pretty much one organisation which coordinates 99% of Hubbard's followers. It is important for me to underline the fact that I do not question your personal experience - from what you said I can understand that your teachers did a pretty lame job in their methods of teaching. But hey, that doesn't make aikido a cult. Your ex-senseis dojo and a few others, maybe. But not aikido as a whole. Also, I believe that your past is drawing a lot of emotions from you, and perhaps you should take some more time to ponder over it and make another video about it in a few years.

Kendo is a cult, karate is a cult,kyudo is a cult iaido is a cult any martial art can be one

I see a lot of cultish attitude from marshal arts. I want to know what Chadi would say about judo, akido and bjj cults

Oh my God 😞 this exact words happened to me at my country but with Karate. I can't believe this. Do you have a web page or something like that so I can write you? I experienced AWFUL things while I was practicing Karate but I was able to open my eyes. I really loved Karate though... 😢

Depends...are you wearing a red baseball cap?

Is bowing truly religious in the context of martial arts? What about the uniforms having a practical aspect like in judo as the systems work off the gi? What does that say for other traditional arts? Is it specifically the mythologising the founders that makes it a destructive cult and that makes it the problem for aikido

Very good points, there is truth in what you say. It's good to have critical view. I would like to add something: not all expirienced aikido people claim aikido is effective self deffense , not all compare or consider it superior to other martial arts in any way. Many western sensei don't allow cult around them in the fact that they don't necessarry require alegiance, and express superiority. The fact that you see instructors who insist on things done in specific way is for this form of martial art to keep it's distinctiveness - it's not exactly because nothing else works or is possible. Aikido is not real fight, it's not self deffense or sparring, aikido is aikido - art that aims at diffrent development. As a martial art it has principles that can work and are used/borrowed from/to other martial styles. All that said, some aikido styles, some aikido generations have this cult thing to a degree, but I would argue that it's destructive. I think most poeple who practice aikido are good examples in society, not the only good, just one of them. Where Aikido can be destructive is around the people that desire or create centered cult towards one person, with submissive servilient behaviour, without development of people below him, without grow. This is rare. And according to this system and superficial analisys allot of old school business models, low tier jobs, some school/educational/governmental systems are destructive cults.

Excelente video Rokas ! I love Aikido and i have practiced it for 31 years and i agree with you on everything! Every dojo that i have ever been in my life is like a sect And is a big problem for me because i don't practice traditional Aikido as a martial art because i don't fight with anyone, so, if it is effective or not as a martial art i really don't care because I don't fight. I love traditional Aikido because is an amazing workout ! And i also don't like all that Japanese acting thing that they do in the dojos unfortunately i have to do it , though i think i'm a good actor because I have always blended 😆 Aikido is excellent also to develop spirituality but that is a different story because nobody teaches that ! Great video !

Personally, I'd say many martial arts are guilty of being a 'cult'. Karate, Aikido, Bujinkan Taijutsu, Aikijujutsu, BJJ, Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, Kendo, etc.. Anytime a person is giving deference to the 'head' of an organisation and participating in ritualistic behaviour, it is a warning sign, that they are engaging in 'cult' like activities IMHO. Any organisation which is trying to eliminate individualism and substituting, it with homogeneity, is likely a 'cult'. Making clones, with the same mindset. Eradicating objectivity and critical thinking. I asked my Jujutsu head instructor many years ago after 4 years of training, if I could train in other martial arts. He said if I did that, I would have to leave the organisation. I trained in secret, in other styles anyway. That was an instant 'warning sign' for me. Also when I trained in Aikido many years ago and I asked the instructor, what happens if you are taken to the floor. His response was, 'well you are dead'. Needless to say, that was the last ever time I trained in Aikido :-). I do my own training these days. Know enough of the martial art concepts, to practice on my own e.g. kazushi, push & pull, two opposing forces to unbalance e.g. Muay Thai sweeps, etc., distancing, fighting ranges, etc.. Too old to participate, in the 'cult' like behaviour of any martial art. I can see why Bruce Lee and so many others, formed their own styles. Any system which covers stand up striking, stand up grappling/ground grappling and weapons is all anyone really needs to focus on, in regard to fighting. A combination of Muay Thai/Muay Boran, Sanda, Western Boxing, BJJ, Wrestling (e.g. Catch, Greco Roman, Freestyle, etc.), Judo, Combat Sambo/Sambo, Silat/Kali, some Karate conditioning & extra Tae Kwon Do kicks for good measure, etc., should suffice for most contingencies IMHO. A few additional private lessons in these styles to 'improve' technique, a grappling dummy, kick/punch bag, some people to practice with (preferably all different weight classes) and that's it. There has never been a better time in history, via self study, to learn martial arts e.g. excellent online video tuition, etc.. Martial art teachers, will always say that you can't learn martial arts without their input, in person. Of course they will say that. Their livelihoods depend upon students and hence they are biased from the outset. Their perspective is not going to be objective because it is coming from a place of self interest. As long as someone spars in stand up unarmed/armed fighting and ground grappling with resistance (& potential weapons), in their training methodology, wherever that is i.e. a dojo setting or at home, is the 'crux' of the matter & all anyone really needs. Not saying that instructors in a class setting, are completely redundant, but I think you can pay for private tutorials occasionally to refine your technique, whilst learning the broad concepts at home.

I know that feeling, but do not give up. When I practised aikido we ended each session of training with Boxe sparring, full protections to avoid major injuries and more real contacts, having fights similar to MMA. We practised also some Kendo now and then; it was an Aikido version of mixed martial arts. Basically, we trained as non-professional boxers completing the knockout with aikido techniques, or using aikido to minimise and maximise the distances during a fight, deflect and canalise the sparring partner. Yes, the more traditional training was without any confrontation or real understanding about fights. It can be a cult for some, for others gonna be just a style... If you train as a boxer, you'll achieve quickly some of the skills you need to perform better even in an MMA sparring. Keep avoiding injuries but why not? Don't give up and try some non-professional Boxe to complete your fight experience. In the videos, you didn't get yet how to imprint real strength in your strikes, add ur own weight to the speed when the impact to whatever you hit. Take care

I am a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo as well as holding several other black belts in other various styles. And it seems the striking sports don’t have quite as much of a problem with this cult like mentality but I can definitely see pieces of it looking back on my original training years ago. However, we didn’t look at our master as a pseudo-demigod.

I think that the "autoritarian" aspect is not well placed. We, westerners, tend to abuse of the label "autoritarian" and apply it indiscriminately. If one wants to learn X with person A, then one has to listen what A says. That is not "autoritarian". It is merely recognizing that YOU went to that person. You asked for her teachings. The autoritarian aspect may appear in other cases, like when they try to forbide you to do other stuff not related to their teachings, like not try BJJ.

Unfortunately no thanks to my attatude Aikido has be a big help to me thanks for the warning however I never felt control like that in my Aikido classes. I wonder would you still teach Aikido?? Or can you still recomend a teacher??

Read a article that says aikido is a dying martial art I don't practice aikido but it's sad that a ancient martial is dying

Interesting video. Maybe applies to most aikido, I’ve seen a few that would fit perfectly, but not all. I suppose it is left a lot to a particular teacher’s approach. Bjj and boxing simply enjoy more of the western attitude, not always a good thing.

Why couldn't you come up with you're own style of Aikido utilzing the MMA? Call something like "functional Aikido" where you take the best of Aikido and utilize it with different martial arts including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu similar to Jeff Speakman's Kenpo Karate.

Oh yeah also on that point, the cult is a pretty timeless social unit. It could be worthwhile to determine healthy cult dynamics, since some people may naturally gravitate to that type of social organization. That ties in nicely with my recent comments on roko and galaxia. And yes, truth is imperative for a cult to be operated ethically.

I was involved in an Aikido organization that fits perfectly with your cult description. The only difference is my organization also had feminists making up bs rules and pushing a woke agenda...................yes that's who I want to trust to learn to protect myself.

I teach Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, I'm trying to get away from this negative cult aspect. I don't think we should mimic the East but I see elements in these cultures, like the Chinese, or Japenese, that are usefull for teaching. I'm Brazilian, an we are a very catholic country if a very violent past (and present), so sadly this impacts on how people perceive themselves - a lot of guilt , a lot of anger, misgueded thoughts that can be very harmfull. I find that the Shaolin roots in Budhism is very beneficial to deal with these aspects and bringing them not trying to mimic something but to learn from it is a valid path.

I totally agree with this suspicion about Aikido. In fact, beyond the brutal reality of the techniques (some) not working at all in real-world encounters, i had an epiphany one day...who are these people and what am I doing? I am sure its not just Aikido, but it seems with all the mysticism and mysterious 'Ki power', it lends itself to magical thinking and cultish behavior

O'sensi was a Shinto practitioner just like Emperor Hirohito. The Japanese Imperial Army thought of themselves as the "superior race" . Now all the eyewitness to the Japanese atrocities, in the Philippines and elsewhere are dying; The few that are left have memory issues be it the victim or the perpetrator. When I took Aikido, it was technique, sabaki which is loosely means timing with technique and kuzushi ( off balancing). Unlike Yoshinkan by Gozo Shioda which I studied briefly, the Aikido, I took, dealt more with the nage constantly moving. In any martial arts, you must deal with the mind. I remember when I got mugged at 14 yrs in the south side of Chicago. The fear, that you'll be beaten up is real, so I got beaten up. So several years later when Tae Kwon do was still obscure, The instructor thought self defense. I remember my Psychology professor, who was White, walking about 20 blocks of a predominantly black neighborhood in Cleveland, smiling and people smiled back at him. That's where I saw, but with a lot of fuzziness in my mind, the psychological aspect of the mental meditation or mukyung in Korean. The mental aspect is a separate journey to the different martial arts until a Buddhist sensei 47 year later taught me about open mindfulness. Your technique is as good as the mental or confidence you put into it. Like Bill Wallace alluded to, if you doubt your technique, you lose or with me, you die. Just look at Aikido as one of the steps in climbing and meeting your true self. Observe the guys from a distance- what do you see? A support system among themselves; an absolute control of their surroundings- what wall they can pounce their victim. How do they see you? Now you know where your real tatami is.

I don't know why the automatic generation of subtitles is in Dutch. Can you set it to English please?