I’m an Aikidoka and I love it. I don’t really feel the need to defend or criticise any Martial Art. In my youth I practiced a Karate based street fighting style called Zen Shi Ryu, it was insane! First class taught me how to break the neck to kill! It was certainly an effective form of self defence. What to be a great fighter? Get super fit! Harden your body! Be of strong mind! Actually practice fighting, with sparring and competition. It doesn’t matter what style you practice, if you’re good, you’re good. For me the problem was I just wanted to escalate every argument in to violence. I stopped training. Twenty years later I started Aikido, because it isn’t about fighting. The hint is in the name. None of my teachers claim that Aikido is about self defence. That’s not the point. Destruction is easy, cooperation is hard! I’d like to humbly suggest that concentrating on your own path is the way to go. After five years I’m still not very good at Aikido, it challenges me to be a better person, that’s really hard! It is great fun though!
The problem with these loud mouths is that they are all missing the very first thing taught to police and anyone (such as a prison guard) who actually deals with real (vs sport) fighting: de-escalation. I have trained in many martial arts, been a prison guard, bounced bars etc. Been shot at, stabbed and dealt with more idiots than I'd like to admit...and I have come out much better than I have any right to because I have always tried to de-escalate a fight (vs so many of these MMA guys who are just ITCHING to prove they are the biggest bad-ass around). Unfortunately, as they teach you in the military, ground fighting is only to keep you alive until your buddies come and overwhelm your opponent...and don't think that doesn't happen on the street! Cops work in teams, bouncers work in teams, and I have seen more MMA guys end up with boots to the head because they didn't stop and de-escalate. Aikido may not be super awesome for fighting (but, hey...even some you-tube MMA-ers, fight perfect, have said to never give your wrist to an Aikido practitioner), but it certainly teaches de-escalation. When Brazilian Ju Jitsu stops pumping out angry I'm-going-to-beat-your-ass practitioners, maybe it will be a worthwhile artform. As of now, it is the Cobra-kai of the martial art world... And the angry, "You're a pussy" comments I'll inevitably recieve (such as the responses to this original post) only prove my point further.
Exactly, people play football for fun, so why do people get caught up on martial arts being effective as there only purpose. I train Muay Thai, Boxing, BJJ, Wrestling, and MMA. But I love a good John Wick movie better than a good UFC fight. Let's anyoy the art as much as the Martial.
I've met Shirakawa sensei. Very beginning of our conversation he already told me aikido is not for fighting. It is a very joyful and enriching experience to practice aikido as an art itself. I do also some judo, taekwondo and karate. I do believe martial art is like a subject. In school we learn history, science and many other subjects. Aikido is just one of the many subjects out there. To say one subject we learn will resolve all your problems is a mistake I believe. It is akin to saying a single martial art will solve all the fighting problems. As such, I believe in all respective martial arts, they all play a different important role in our society. At the end, I believe people have a choice to either to study one particular subject and loving it or choose to combine them in several ways fitting their system of believes.
I agree with the knife aspect of Aikido. I too fell into the trap of believing that I was trained to deal with knives. I’m amazed I have emerged in one piece. I have withdrawn the Aikido syllabus knife techniques from my club for the very reasons you have outlined. I also teach Aikido with boxing punches, karate techniques with headgear and gloves and incorporate a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu syllabus, to provide a more realistic training environment and to equip students with techniques that are street ready.
I think those anti-knife techniques can work, just wear thick clothes (biker jacket with a thick wool sweater underneath) and all those fast slashes aren't a problem anymore, if the knife is smaller than a bowie the slashes don't have the power to cut through the fabric or do more than superficial cuts, the only concern are committed stabs delivered with an icepick grip. There's a video done by Thegn Thrand that shows how good thick wool and linen is in protecting against slashes.
@Paul Gaughan, that sounds great, the real way martial arts should be taught. I have done kungfu, kickboxing, Tia boxing and now do karate. The thing I have found is with kungfu we never did enough sparing, but theres nothing better than being punched in the face. I also found that the higher you become in a system the more unrealistic the moves become for self defense
"The problem with Aikido is not that it is not effective, the problem with Aikido [...] is that it claims to be an effective form of self defense form". Be careful with the implications of the concept that you "equip students with techniques that are street ready" ;)
Rokad, you mentioned Aikido Flow, Im6curious what you think of them The main presenter is a bouncer and quite used to violent confrontations, I'd be intrigued to know your view of him/them
Rokas, do you think part of the problem with modern Aikido is that it's sold as a stand alone art? I ask this because many years ago I studied Aikido in conjunction with other martial arts, but my understanding was that Aikido was intended to be taught as an advanced martial art for those who already had a solid base in striking and the "hard" styles of karate. I did find it helpful in terms of footwork, but I also think the entire martial arts community, including the Aikido community, was a completely different world 25 or so years ago. Most of my Aikido instructors were at least third degree black belts in other Japanese styles of karate and emphasized the need for striking in order to setup techniques and soften targets.....I'm a BJJ guy today, btw....
Christoper Ducker I grew up hearing the same in that Aikido was taught as an advanced martial art with the prerequisite having been proficiency in a “hard style” of Bujutsu/ Karate. I’m curious... what led you to study BJJ? How relevant would you say it is for self defense? Also, have you studied a striking art to compliment it such as boxing or Muay Thai? Just curious...
@@shogoracing4294 many years ago I earned a black belt in USA GoJu karate, which emphasized full contact sparring. I also trained in American kickboxing and boxing....did a few years of kung fu as well and got as far as a blue sash with that before losing interest....I periodically do Thai boxing and kickboxing at our Academy, but I don't do it much anymore. Here's the thing about self defense that I've learned in my 46 years on this Earth (I by no means claim to be an expert): I think BJJ and arts like it do better prepare people for real life altercation scenarios, but none of it is ever foolproof. Any discipline that emphasizes live sparring is going to fair better than another that doesn't. I practice BJJ primarily for my own intrinsic purposes and really couldn't explain to any reasonable or sane person why I, as a 46 year old professional and family man, feel compelled to subject myself to routine injuries and abuse. If you're doing any of this for self preservation purposes it's really counter productive because by the time you get to be my age your body is wrecked and no one on the street is going to do more damage to you than you've already done to yourself via years of cumulative abuse. So yes, I do believe BJJ gives its practitioners an edge in self defense related scenarios, but honestly, if that's your only goals, just take some Gracie courses; get proficient at the basics of striking and grappling, and get a conceal carry. You don't have to be a professional MMA fighter or black belt at BJJ, which I'm neither. You really just need to apply a little commonsense to your daily life (stay environmentally aware, don't put yourself in bad situations, and try to avoid conflict at all costs if possible). Those basic things right there will eliminate 99% of any potential issues regarding physical altercations. There's no magic bullet in martial arts, and everyone has different reasons for why they train. For me, it's good mental focus. It helps refocus my mind after a long day at work. It keeps me in shape too. It gives me realistic confidence as to what I know I can and can't do if I have to employ my skills because it's a no bullshit approach. Stay honest and train, or don't! Just stay honest.......Oss!
@@mcmc1863 I would love to see a video of it working in an actual street fight. Not a demonstration, a real fight. I've never seen one of it working in an actual fight against a resisting opponent. I'm sure a lot of us would like to see that. If you have such a link, please share.
I used to be on board with the idea of trying to make Aikido functional. But now I realize that a functional version of it already exists. Korean Hapkido is the functional version of Japanese Aikido. Both of their founders trained together from the same master, but in Hapkido they added Judo, Taekwondo, and other striking forms into their art. They also practice real sparring, pressure testing and some schools have competitions similar to Judo and Taekwondo.
I don't know, this "new" aikido is a hell of a lot more dynamic at least and there were some cool concepts in there. Unfortunately yes, they would have to drill them against spontaneous pressure attacks to see if any of it could hold up.
Agree with that, it's a taichi for 2 persons, that is what I think when I practice and that's fine. Roka is good in this video to tell there is no shame in having fun with martial art, just there is a shame pretending you will defend yourself with, because when the conflict will come, it will be worse than knowing anything about defense.
This needed to be said. It is irresponsible to teach people, especially the young, naive and trusting that an ineffective martial art will effectively protect them in self defense, especially knives. As a result of the internet and channels like this, the truth is becoming more and more obvious.
Congratulations on your journey. You should talk to GN from funkertactical if you are not already talking. Recently, after talking to some former military personnel who are Aikido practitioners he started thinking about Aikido again. To think that Aikido can be used as self defense on some level. I stopped at the green belt. In my city here in Brazil it's hard to find a good sensei with a down to earth mind.
I do think aikido can be used as self defense but i think it depends on the teacher, and their experience in other arts or life. Just looking at this video is not enough to judge. some things are used such as forms or partner drills and they are used to build attributes. Combat looks a lot diffrent then what we practice in the dojo or an mma gym. Even the small gloves in mma change the rules and rules themselves change the concept of what self defense is.
@@mcmc1863 I have been in a few fights and did a few restraints until the cops came. A lot of the arts i studied we would spar or some type of resistant training. I did some security work but my biggest weapon was my mind and mouth knowing what to say and how to talk to someone can save your life when they are thinking about shooting you. Not being in bad places and keeping alert saves one a lot of trouble.
@@mcmc1863 Im not a big fan of going to the ground but it has its place. Most of the controlling that i use in kempo and kali we pin them down and we are always able to disingage at anytime to deal with other threats. But if your taken down and from the start your in a bad position there on top of you bjj gives you the ability to fight off your back and you know how to escape. Bjj also comes in handy if it is safe to do so to take them down and pin them or choke them out because your not trying to do damage them, maybe you know them or their drunk. Not having a ground game in my opinion is dangerous but having a anti grappling will take you far knowing how to stuff thier takedowns. Grappling is fun its good cardio and it has its benifits. I dont stick with just bjj, although my main classes are 10th planet bjj. I also study catch wrestling, judo, greco wrestling free style wrestling and silat. I dont take classes in all of those but my kali teacher will let me take a video from one of these styles and try and use it which is awesome. I like the take downs from kali silat and judo for self defense, the ones that you dont have to go down to one knee which is dangerous when your not on the mat.
Aikido roughly translates into a path of spiritual harmony... and was never intended to be a “stand-alone” system of fighting or self defense... it uses martial movement to develop spiritual “muscles”. It is like how Chado or tea ceremony uses tea to teach a zen aesthetic and philosophy. Ikebana (flower arrangement) uses the presentation of flowers as a metaphor for the appreciation of the temporary beauty of life. Going to an Aikido Sensei for fighting lessons is akin to asking a Tea Ceremony master to help you become a better barista at Starbucks!
Yes indeed, you see what was lacking in previous Aikido is the intensity of reality and reality of movement, the young Sensei seems to have grasped it. However, it must stand the test against the most effective art, which is boxing. I have amalgamated aikido and jujitsu into my boxing training sessions and it works very well.
I'm 63 and starting up Aikido again after about a 30-year hiatus. I don't really care if it's a very effective self defense method. Goes back a few years but I also have a background in other martial arts. Some are probably effective, others not so much. But all this is information I did not have back in the day. I think we all need some sort of spiritual practice, to "ground" oneself, and be one with it. Be one with yourself. Or even a simple hobby. I've had 2 jobs in downtown Cleveland been in various bad neighborhoods and never had to defend myself, so I guess in one sense I'm lucky. Now I live in a pretty safe area, so fighting is not paramount for me. I guess that's why Bruce Lee came up with JKD, it's what you're going through now. Nothing can remain static and still be expected to be relevant.
I stopped doing Gracie jujitsu and kick boxing when the third person in my jujitsu class came in from being stomped by multiple opponents in the street I am not judging I think SPORT jujitsu is a great activity I concentrated on fma after that and never looked back you want combatives look to layered self defense study weapons including firearms from someone who has been there
I imagine your videos keep popping up in my feed because I keep commenting. But in line with something you've stated in this video, it seems your martial arts journey is really focused on something you are unhappy about rather than celebrating what you are happy about. A house built on criticism will fall, destroying something else doesn't build a strong foundation. I don't agree at all with your claim Aikido isn't effective as a martial art, or that your dismissiveness of Aikido, in general, is warranted. It all comes down to why you study it. For you, it's clear you want to fight. Great for you. I've been punched. I've punched others. It hurts. It's really overrated to me. But I am not going to be largely disrespectful to a whole system of training because I don't want to punch someone or be punched by them. I'd rather avoid that whole situation altogether. Aikido has helped me stop fights from happening more than anything else in my life. In that, it's the most effective martial art there is. Not fighting at all, changing the fight to something peaceful without physical interaction, that's the best Aikido there is. But if I was really about fighting, if I wanted to destroy someone in a street fight, I'd carry a baseball bat. I don't need to spend hours in the gym to learn how to hit someone effectively with a bat. I'd be just as dangerous as most martial artists. If that didn't work, I'd carry a gun. Too extreme? Well, so is getting punched in the face over and again in the gym training in MMA in my opinion. Maybe instead of insisting Aikido changes the message it sends to the world about Aikido, you should change your expectations of Aikido and spend more time building what you think is great about what you do? I think you'd be happier.
I'll just say I know that Aikido is effective, is just not taught or applied that well in mainstream sense. The same thing applies to Wing Chun. They get taught as counterattack styles and being a counter attacker is very hard to do properly.
@@elenchus search Wing Chun tournament. Its not mma by any stretch but they do exist and have for a long time. For Aikido its been taught to police for decades. You don't have to flip people for it to be aikido. Finger locks are a pain.
@@elenchus haha. I have the same attitude on WC for enjoying it. The number 1 rule is it don't have to look like the rigid WC to be WC. I dislike the example, but look no further than the Ip Man movies to notice that as far as footwork is concerned. The main takeaway is the centerline, aka center of mass. Literally its best to look at the likes of Ip Chun doing Chi Sao; that's where I seen it demonstrated best because you see young guys literally having hell moving a tiny 90 year old man. They are putting pressure on him in many instances. Anyways I can only speak from experience of putting some of the WC ideas to test, definitely not all. I'll say treating Chi Sao as two different games within the same game goes far. The first type is just focusing on a grapple aspect with no punching, the goal being to maneuver into a throw or lock position as both are part of WC. The other game is the classic strike maneuvering we always see. So how does that work against a boxer, the bane of WC? Learn boxing so to work it out yourself lmao. But seriously, you can use Wing Chun concepts without looking like Wing Chun. That's the only way I appreciated what WC had to offer.
@@i-evi-l bro exactly what I do use the philosophy and concepts like simultaneous offence defense, centerline principle,generating power in small range and some techniques not necessarily entire style is successful
@@elenchus I have not observed concepts of Muay Thai but I have used some Muay Thai and boxing techniques with wing chun in accordance with wing chun principles in sparring with people who were from different backgrounds. I think a good way to explain my point would be that -the elevator shaft was invented before the invention of elevator itself, someone in New York figured out since buildings are getting taller someone else will eventually invent the elevator so they actually left out space in their building for elevator shaft.The same goes for many software programs which were written centuries before, assuming someone would invent a machine that could perform the task.I know it sounds strange but sometimes theoretical concepts might have different applications than intended.
Friend, you evloved to the best form of you! Thanks for beeing real, beeing clear and honnest! Love you brother! keep on keeping on! Your friend Pete! (A former aikido blackbelt as well)
Rokas: “Practicing Aikido doesn’t train you for an actual fight.” Aikidokas: “Actual fights don’t train you for Aikido.” Ask yourself why the claim about fighting effectiveness sticks to martial arts while all martial arts masters (and the practice itself) tell you not to fight.
In other news, Ryuji teaches the reverse seio nage (gi grip shiho nage) which is devastating in Korean judo. Definitely real world self defense practical if your attacker has more than a thin tee shirt on.
I had a "self defence" class at a wushu class once, and tried to do it on my step dad (ex-military) at home....was a great way to test how these technics are bullshit and don't work in a non-cooperative subject.
I completely agree. I came across a Nippon Kempo competion video here on youtube and saw bunch of Aikido like techniques done against resisting opponents. It was actually really eye opening in a sense because I don't think they deliberatly applied those. Meaning they waited for a punch to come for them to throw.( Not that none of what I saw was done against punches but in tie ups or clinch). that is the closest thing I have seen Aikido working.
The form of the human body. Your skeletal structure, your veins and arteries, the position of your joints, weak spots of your anatomy. That is the form of fighting. You cannot change the structure of these things but you can learn to take advantage of them. That is the true form of fighting. There are definitely techniques to more efficiently take advantage of these things or to do so in an unpredictable way.
I think he knows, and when I was watching his videos, I don't feel he was gonna teach any self-defense at all, I think he was just showing some graceful moves rather than teaching self-defense.
The key to learning defense against the knife (if you can't run away and you don't have a gun on you) is to first know that every knife attacker is different and has different levels of fighting skill and unpredictability. Keeping all your vital areas protected and keeping in mind a huge plethora of barricade techniques and muscle memory and speed can save your life. You will get cut up in many non vital areas at least. But you must get that knife out of your attacker's hand and incapacitate him or kill him (don't feel bad he had it coming). Then control your bleeding and call 911. Your hospital bill will be huge and you won't be able to go to work for a while. But at least you'll be alive.
Ever see the Gracies deal with spontaneous knife attacks in the dojo? The movements are in Aikido and they work. So at least 4 moves must work in Aikido. I've never done it though because I thought it didn't work hehehehe. Just playing the devil's advocate.
Ever seen someone try them under pressure testing? I train under a guy who was trained by kron and Rickson Gracie and he himself said the knife techniques taught in Gracie Jiu jitsu are ineffective and dangerous to the user for the same reason aikido techniques are. The best knife technique is get away from the knife, the second best technique is to gain control of the wrist while keeping the blade away and doing your best to prevent them from switching the blade into the other hand
@@CalebSpears1 This, it doesn’t matter how highly respected someone is. They can still spew bullshit despite being great at this other thing. Knife defense is incredibly complicated and most times it’s better to just get away from the weapon. There are electric knife drills that are all over RU-vid, and even trained killers are still getting hit by the knife.
It seems to me you have not yet resolved your relationship with Aikido. It has not worked for you, and you are still sour about it. Your path is no longer with Aikido, so let it be, and, in time, it will evolve, or not, but it should no longer be your concern.
proper aikijujutsu works against resistance.Aikido, not so much. I do know several officers that had judo experience that made aikido work. Our aikijujutsu was taught in boxing gyms and everyone was also a judoka. But not all aikidoka are usless. Look, if fighters study any art, they can functionalize it. The best aikidoka started as judoka.
I have had similar thoughts on how aikido can be honestly marketed. As an historical martial art like western fencing. And as a dance form with martial historical roots that serves as a moving metaphor for its philosophy.
Hey, I've watched some of your videos regarding Aikido and I just wanted to point out that the discussion about effectiveness and how it could evolve is actually old, even though I assume you're aware of that by now. Still, I decided to suggest you to have a look at video recordings of Shoji Nishio Shihan, his style was born exactly with the evolution of Aikido as a martial art in mind. Although it's not something as modern as MMA and not claiming it as effective nowadays, I believe he was the best at doing so and at least for me, helped to elucidate the reason why we practice all the said unrealistic attacks in Aikido.
So, Aikido could be for people just want to do cool looking choreography? Hmm... His proposal makes a lot of sense. If you removed the pretentiousness, and just focused on doing that, I could imagine a lot of people going for it. Hell, I've boxed for years and just started BJJ, but if someone suggested that there's a class that'll have me doing cinematic kicks and flying arm bars, just for the fun of looking awesome, I'd be well up for it.
Just looks like a more spectacular version of the same. If you don't have to deal with punches or kicks you train silly things. Just look at grappling competitions where you are not allowed to slam. People throw jumping guards all the time. Also the buttshuffle is another popular thing I see people do. Where one person is standing and the other does a buttshuffle towards him/her. But those people train for competiton and would probably not try any of that in a self defence situation.
I think the biggest problem in Aikido is that it's missing its context. Many of the practitioners doesn't really understand the context of the technique anymore. In a sense, the practitioners know how to train it, but don't know when, why, and how to use it. We spent more time in trying to create a hippy cultish martial art, rather than trying to understand the cultural aspect of Aikido, historical aspect and events that shape aikido, strategical aspect of war when aiki jujutsu is born, military aspect of war in historical Japan, weaponry aspect of japan, geographical aspect of Japan. In a way, most practitioners blindly treat Aikido like a religion rather than a working system. It lacks of aliveness and chaos in it's training, both are essential elements in practical situations. Those heavily acrobatic and extreme high speed performance we seen in a new hybrid Aikido system does not help Aikido, because again acrobatic and extreme without context is just dancing. What i believe that should be done is, we need to pull everything back to understand the roots of aikido, understand the why, the how and the when. Understand the human posture in the context of positioning your self in the fight (for example the blind spot and iriminage) . Understand the anatomical system of human body in connection to a technique (the jaw, in the context of vestibular and iriminage). Understanding geographical aspect, landscape and terroir (Why wrestler never start sitting and always start at least on their knees). Understanding weaponry in the most honest and truest way. Understanding distancing and positioning. We as Aikido practitioners has been lazy to study and expand our knowledge and see things beyond the context of martial art. Aikido has a long root of history that it has been used as a soldier fighting method in feudal Japan war. So it should have been effective in the past, it should have been useful. In war and competition any method that deemed not useful will be discarded, if it last through the war, it should have survive through the competition of war. I'm a black belt in Aikido, A purple belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu, I compete in BJJ tournament, I learn boxing and a bit of MMA (with more emphasis in Brazilian Jiujitsu). I still teach Aikido and also an Assistant in BJJ, in a sense, i believe in both art. And my technique is intermingled when i need them in practice.
Well, I have studied several different martial arts. I try not to talk bad about any martial arts. I took Aikido over 30 years ago, I had a great experience. When I took it, we used a lot of Judo, Jujitsu, jojutsu, Iaido and some Karate. I have also, noticed many Aikido schools have taken out the Karate and Jujitsu portion and have watered it down to what we have today. I prefer Aikido go back or scale back to its original state(Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu) where they had a little of everything. It was very effective and combative but is not as practiced as it once was. My advice is for everyone to try all types of martial arts to get a feel of what is comfortable and effective for them. Please keep in mind, this is my opinion only!
My friend you have no idea why capoeira exist. It is not because its looks flashy or cool or because we want to have that excited feeling like you are a ninja
Your comment about the need of real counter in which timing and pressure in practice is spot on. Yet I don't see why this would make aikido an inefficient martial arts in itself. Yes the present situation is such that people mostly learn fancy looking kata in a nondynamic setting. But by all accounts, that wasn't what the direct disciples of Ueshiba Morihei did. That is not to say that theytrained in dynamic situations per se but at least they attacked with all their might, which I think created a situation in which both pressure and the need for correct timing were present. I would therefore argue it is the deterioration - or more like the second Doshu's portrayal - of aikido to this state of uneffectiness of which aikido is criticised. Gozo Shioda's books present a quite different take on aikido when compared to that of the Aikikai aikido. In addition, Ellis Amdur explores in his book "Hidden in plain sight" questions of efficacy of aikido, much like you do but taking the aforementioned stance of deteriorated aikido.
What amazes me is the confidence in which you speak about aikido, I guess you didn't reach the level where your hakama really held your ego really tight. Apart from that, not arguing about whether or not aikido is effective, it is amazing to realize that you were never shown the reason why you enter the martial arts world (you masculine energy crying for control) and the reason why you should stay in aikido (trying to connect to your feminine energy to try to balance yourself). Aikido, as many different asian disciplines, has as the ultimate goal to develop your SPIRITUAL INNER SELF, but senseis say that you have to reach 4th dan or higher to realize that. Maybe for me its OBVIOUS because I come from the yoga path where it is easier to reach the point where you realize that the physical forms are just an excuse to work deeper aspects of yourself. It is sad because you are spreading words about the most superficial part of aikido, making people believe that that's all what there is.
But his criticism is that aikido is advertised to be an effective combat system when it is not. He acknowledges that there are other reason for practicing aikido. He even said that aikido would not receive nearly as much criticism as it does if aikido practitioners would stop telling people it is good for fighting.
@@phillipconner1213 how can you be sure he is lying? I don't know anything about aikido, but I think he is being sincere. Maybe he is wrong, but I doubt he is just lying. What do you think is his motivation for lying?
I really appreciate and respect your approach on educating martial art enthusiasts world wide. My current training is primarily BJJ & Muay Thai mixed with Boxing, Wrestling plus a little Judo. It's basically MMA. But, several years back, I put all my faith in Tang Soo Do. Sparing was minimum contact or no contact? (That works if you're the air bender, from Avatar cartoon?) Black belts did point fighting? (What's the point, right?) Have you ever seen a karate low block in a forward stance? (Hands down & chin up? Can you make it any easier for someone to kill you?) None of that bullshit prepares you for a confrontation on the street! (Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way... after I took a knife in the chest!!!) I'm fortunate to have lived long enough to change what I believed in, and start training styles that challenge me with real resistance.
Aikido is a great way to get flexibility, balance, coordination, and flow. It can be relaxing and a good aerobic workout, too. But it's not a way of fighting, in fact, the way my sensei taught it, it was a means of expanding awareness to not fight in the first place, to not get in that situation. He did teach some ways of self-defense, techniques he picked up when he was in the USMC Shore Patrol, but those weren't aikido. And we did do resistance training - I figured out ways to resist his techniques, and did that, and he figured out ways to get through my resistance - and vice versa. With a lot of the stuff on youtube, it's obvious that people are going along with the game, they're essentially ballet dancing - in terms of self-defense, it's not real. The best aikido move in a fight is to not be there in the first place, the second is to run, the third is boxing... If you want to learn a martial art, take up combat pistol shooting. BTW, ma'ai with a pistol against a knife is 20 feet...
There isn't a single person in the world which I cannot block if I knew what they are about to do. Every technique from every martial art wil work as long as the other guy falls for it...
I have meet some Aikido practitioners and they always told me "strike whenever you can" so I don't know if they did some different kind of Aikido or if something got lost in the Aikido community over the last years or so? On top of that. I always thought that Aikido is designed to survive against Kendo in battle. Atleast that, that is the origin of Aikido. Anyways what do you think about Daito ryou Aiki jujutsu? Not sure if i wrote it right. Peace Ps: I'm not a native english speaker so feel free to correct me. Edit: I just realized something from reading the comments. How about we don't compare Aikido against other Sports or fighting arts like MMA. Basically no one around me knows how to throw a punch or kick effectively. Dont you think that atleast *some* Aikido techniques work against untrained unhealthy normal people? I personally didnt learn any martial art and I never had to fight. Always talked my way out ^^
Bro he was a black belt in aikido and practiced for 10-12 years he was a sensie, he managed a dojo he lived and breathed Aikido , he's not some random kid who got into a fight or just gave up after one month of practice and declared it to be a failed art form
Dear Rokas, you are now a very important person of Aikido, because of your voice, your analysis, your story, and your experience. As an aïkidoka myself I have started doing bjj quite in the same period as you, because /thanks to all this questioning and your journey which I have been reflecting upon, I have also stumbled upon Shirakawa sensei moves lately. The future of aikido is esthetics and movement. The moment you try to make it into a "functional" martial art it looses all its "elegance" and "prestige" I don't believe there is any other way around that for the future of aikido.
Yes, protection against a knife will rather not work than it will work, but it may work. Better to have at least some protection than not to have it at all. The presence of a knife and a sword develops mental functions better than the absence of external tools.
People need to pay attention to what they intend to learn. What is it's origin? When was it created? WHY was it created? What is it's purpose? What can I expect from it? In my 13 years of aikido experience I have never ever met a single person who can give honest and sensical answers to those questions. When faced with ignorance the mind of the weak retreats in occultism and mysticism. The basis of cults basicaly. Those who claim that aikido is good for fighting and dealing with attacker - let me ask You this? Do You learn what an attack is in aikido? No need to answer. You don't. You have no idea what an attack is and in aikido. You have never been attacked. So aikido folks claim that they can deal with something they have never ever experienced. This is like claiming to be a good swimmer, while never been in water...
Man... capoeira has been used in MMA for a while now and it does work. There are some vicious spinning and rising kicks that do a LOT of damage, but as with any other martial art (Karate, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon do etc.) not everything is usable, nor 100% effective, but relegate Capoeira as a "purely artistical" martial art... man, sorry, but you're wrong there...
Hey rokas, in one of your last videos you said you dont know yet for sure what next big project you will engage after your fight.. how about a series like "how to really train for self defence" in which you could show those necessary dynamics (and maybe compare them to other training methods that claim to work but actually just get the person hurt/killed)
I think the future of aikido should be a mixed martial arts style that throws out all the technics but keep the filosophy as a foundation. So sweeps and blockings from boxing and muhay thai, the safer throws from judo, and the chokes from bjj. And 100 meter sprinting and mount escape for knife fighting and multiple opponents.
I wouldn't say Wing Chun is getting the same level of scrutiny for its legitimacy like Aikido does. It's no were near as practical as Thai Boxing or Wrestling but unlike Aikido there are some legitimate techniques in Wing Chun like the oblique kick, yes the same kick people want banned came from Wing Chun.
Very well put about the responsibility and transparency of what something is for. Your own life story is on point. I'm myself an Aikido practitioner, but now am considering something else to do in parallel. I'm certainly considering Muai Thai and BJJ, would love to try Judo as well but can't find any clubs in my relative proximity. May sound funny, but also considering Capoeira, not as a fighting style, but as a tool for refined control over body. I like how it keeps you always in motion. Your own journey made me question myself, what if i try this and that, even if it's unobvious? Instead of thinking extra time, just try it and see!
I know that this is unfair, because I am going to reference a video that came out after your critique, but he's done a few that feature a flying armbar setup that rolls into Omoplata whichsuggests to my very non-expert eyes that he knows a thing or two about practical (ok, I get it that flying attacks aren't super practical) techniques and applications and he's clearly a high level athlete, which is a major factor in fighting. Also, I think you're being a bit rough on the attempts at click bait titles. Yes, if this were an American or Canadian using "secret" and "ninja," I would laugh it off on principle; however, isn't Japanese to English-English kind of known for its amusing incongruities? I'm just saying that he seems like an honorable and sincere dude to me.
Where I live (central Germany), the most widespread martial arts (per number of practitioners) are Karate (striking), Western Boxing (striking), Judo (grappling) and Aikido (grappling). There are dojos, clubs and classes everywhere. For many other martial arts, even for the more well-known like Fencing, Kungfu or Taekwondo, this is not the case (good luck finding a trainer when moving to another city). Judo and Aikido, although both include grappling, don't compete with each other because Judo is often considered a sport. So Judo fills the grappling-sports nitch and Aikido the grappling-"'traditional'/art of body movement/soft technique/most philosophical" nitch. No other grappling martial art competes with Aikido because they aren't that widespread (like Wrestling) and/or mostly unknown (like Hapkido). If someone wants to learn grappling, and has no interest in doing this as a sport, Aikido is the most obvious choice. Now here's the big question: Since it fits this nitch so well, how can Aikido develop itself? I'm not saying it doesn't has to develop, I'm saying there's no pressure to do so. Maybe it will some day because the martial arts focussing on striking and kicking are nowadays opening up to self-defense applications, therefore including grappling techniques, which makes Aikido training obsolete (in the case that one only needs a small number of techniques). I'm aware that my view on Aikido is very limited, since I'm not an Aikido practitioner (some Judo and Hapkido only, long ago) and I only have an idea about a regional situation.
I trained in aikido on and off for 12 years, but I was forced to leave due to numerous shoulders dislocations and injuries. After a while, I recovered but decided to try krav maga. In the club I currently training in, there are sparrings with boxing, mma, wrestling. After I got punched in the face and kicked and choked pretty well, I realised aikido is not effective at all. And the moves shown here wont work either. Hard truth, but I accepted it after years and years in aikido.
Problem is, ok, Aikido can work but the issue is that all people don't react the same way. Aikido techniques work better against someone who doesn't know how to fight and is not expecting it, same as the guy you hit in the head back then. The environment in which Aikido does worst is at sports fight, and the reason for this is that other people who know you are expecting for you to do Aikido so they're not going to let you if they're posing real resistance, so you need more in your game than just Aikido. Also in chaotic instances such as with a knife you need a lot more than Aikido, you need a more violent and more explosive form of defense as well as good awareness.
The best thing I've learned in Aikido, is the side step. It worked for me in boxing, kick boxing & actual street fight. I don't know if you've notice, but that's one of you best skills. But progressing after evasion is what we need to acquire & develop w other martial arts. Easiest & most effective would be to strike
everything needs to grow up, evolve, adapt, take on new traits. the #1 problem with aikido is it's NEVER pressure tested. or it's pressure tested once, found it doesn't work against non-compliant/fighting opponents, but then never evolves still. never learns from other arts. never experiments to see how you can make it work. you need to spar with an un-cooperative opponent daily and incorporate some strikes
I think you can have both in the same martil art, the fun and fancy AND the self defense -just making clear wich is wich, and where they do intersect (physical preparation, agility...) and where they dont (technique, training methods...)
@ Martial Arts Journey... I get the criticisms of aikido as traditionally taught... i trained in Aikido for a few years... but have you checked out Real Aikido Azerbaijan? They even teach it to armed forces. It looks a lot more real and dynamic than the graceful, aesthetic, gentle art we know. How about delving into some of their vids... interviewing their sensei and getting another aspect of aikido blended with your own experience of aikido and MMA? I'm sure that would be a well viewed vid.
Much respect from a committed Aikido guy (who also dabbled in other martial arts). In my Aikido dojo my main coach is pretty self-aware and honest about what Aikido can and can't do for you. He always tells new people if they want to fight or learn self defense, they should do something better for that purpose. Still there are some guys who think they would be able to defend themselves. Some of them maybe can up to some point (two of our teachers are police man who used Aikido arm bars and evasions in their job, but still you have to differ how they applied it and what the specific situation was like). However I don't practice it for that purpose, there are better practices for that. Nonetheless there are reasons for doing Aikido, just different reasons that are not stressed enough compared to this self-defense self-lie. I find a lot of value in it and I think it has a lot to contribute to society and individuals, we just have to be honest to them and ourselves, and take our egos out of the equation (what should be the goal of any serious Aikido student anyway, but sadly isn't). O Sensei said himself he wanted to transform the deadly techniques of the past to life sustaining techniques, and I think this means "don't practice for a fight, practice for your mental health and the health for your body" thus changing effective techniques to a more cooperative, creative-flowing art. Not to mention the philosophy he wanted to be an integral part of Aikido (a philosophy that sadly isn't present in many aikidoka who act all smug and make a big deal out of their supposed morality and their non-competitive spirit, whereas in reality they are always competitive (in a non physical way), feeling the need to proof or justify themselves and what they are doing, their supreme morality, their art). And they do so under wrong assumptions. So: Aikido needs to be self-aware, honest to itself, honest in what it was intended to be. And to show that clearly. Then if it's the right thing for you, it can be as good as anything.
It is funny, man, you now sound like every other MMA dude on RU-vid educating people what works in a real fight and what doesn't. How many knife fights did you have in order to know so well? I am practicing various martial arts since more than 20 years now and I can tell you, some (!) of the knife defenses the Aikodoka is showing look quite alright to me. And btw. anyone who thinks he or she can learn martial arts by watching RU-vid videos is a moron anyways, especially when it comes to knife fights. So, what would be your advice if an angry ex-boyfriend decides to thrust his knife in my direction in the corner of a bar? Please make a video about it, I really would like to know!
I would give Jujutsu props over Aikido, except when you go to the ground and you are dealing with more than one attacker you are very vulnerable. The interesting thing to me is that Aikido practitioners will often strike in a real fight, because they think the attacker won't grab them while other martial arts practitioners will often grab in a real fight instead of striking, because they think the person is going to move out of striking range.
The real question is why train in anything at all. Let’s be honest, the chances most people will get into a street fight is small. Most people don’t put themselves into a position to be involved in something like this. So are we training all these years just in case one day we get into a street fight? Is that the reason why you spend hours and years putting effort to learn an art? You might as well buy a gun to protect yourself. There’s limitations to all fighting arts. A boxer is a superior striker but take him to the ground and it’s game over. An MMA guy is superior on the ground, but what happens when you have multiple attackers? Even within every art there’s differences in skill. An average MMA practitioner might not have a chance against an Olympic wrestler. I’ve been struggling with all of these ideas lately. Can someone be a part time warrior? If I go to 3 karate classes a week does that make me competent in fighting? Don’t get me started with traditional martial arts. Whatever nugget of wisdom was probably lost a long time ago. Now , a lot of these schools have become breeding grounds for cultist behaviour. I believe that the lure of the these traditional martial arts lie in how they tie in the art with philosophy and higher ideals. So by training in these arts one feels that they could get a bigger understanding of life itself. They believe that the art could elevate the individual to a higher understanding of self and other. This is why most people are attracted to these traditional arts. Whether these arts are successful in providing this is questionable. I also believe from seeing a lot of your videos that even though your MMA is vastly superior in a street fight, it lacks that deeper connection to bigger philosophy your Aikido provided.
I took Aikido for a short time and loved it I honestly believed I could defend myself with it. But now looking back on it was clearly not the case. But I do love Aikido it help me psychologically and I believe there’s a lot to begin from. I’m just not sure what
15:57 > this (AIKIDO) is just a fun nice game - It is not YOGA. Not a dance ! Not a fun nice game ! IT IS AIKIDO ! Whether you like it or not, it's also a tradition . KEEP IT IN MIND - AIKIDO !
Steven Seagal teshin aikido is original & authentic in above the law hard to kill check out lenny sly speak & practice Steven Seagal teshin aikido aikido is a beautiful elegant art lets bring the basics the natural Seagal is excellent in his prime he was the first one to bring aikido to America
Aikido is used a lot by police force or security force to disable or subdue criminals.. You can incorporate aikido to other martial arts and it's so effective.. one more thing, to execute the move you should not be afraid to get hit, perfect timing, can anticipate move, can disorient enemy before executing the move.. incorporate it in other martial arts try it.. The practice is how to execute the move.. coz aikido can break your wrist, arm, fingers in one move.. the jumping and rolling is also a practice and for demonstration. and if you don't follow the move your wrist, finger or arm will break instantly.. I'm an amateur Muay Thai fighter, I've met an aikido and kali instructors both have same principles and guess what.. it hurts and my hand is not hanging I'm throwing combos.. we teach each other moves.. I've tried a move on an MMA sparring and and easy tap on an unexpected arm lock that I did.. ahahahaha From Philippines... One other thing, learn to spot the real or legit instructor or masters..
Here you go with the tomfoolery, have you been to a BJJ competition match to say moving at "100%" there are no injuries? You couldn't have, hyper-extended arms from arm bars going "100%". It's cool you like BJJ but if you are gonna down Aikido Uke participating with the fall flow don't use BJJ going "100%" as an example. Also if BJJ did go "100%" as you say, there would be way more breaks. Going 100% results in breaks, submissions are not 100%.
Ultimately it’s “hard” v “soft”. If the techniques are effective and can be practically applied, hey both have value for different people and applications. I think the real goal of a martial artist is to learn both!
Aikido is art, a dance, not real self defense. It’s a scam because paying clients are investing money to defend themselves and they end up with nothing of the kind in a real fight.
since i was a child i could say that at least for myself, it has always being known the fact that martial arts in general have their effectiveness and have their fantasies and not because of that it makes them more or less valuable. I think that a person should be reasonable enough to understand that engaging and provoking a fight because of an ability or a martial art knowledge expertise is not really a smart thing to do, not along talk about knifes or guns, that itself is a complete and a different reality.
Why couldn't aikido be an effective art? They have a large application of wristlocks which could easily be used in mma a lot of it would need filtered out but judo does the same when it comes to fighting we filter out the less advantageous positions (sacrifice throws etc). Personally i feel if someone was to be on the mat for a year just practicing he's aikido in a legit fashion against legit training partners you'd have something special. I think aikidos problem isn't that it's not a effective martial I feel it's that aikido as a martial art doesn't have proper randori/sparring to apply it fully for fight application. That being said I believe a judoka would be far better suited with aikido that just the aikido as he's used to manipulation of the body
Aikido is self defense and self defense is Aikido. People are confused when it comes to Aikido but if you show them the same technique and call it self defense, then they believe in the effectiveness of the art. I can tell you there is no self defense technique that doesn't exist in Aikido. I think the problem is sometimes how Aikidoka train or what people see in a demonstration. But if an Aikidoka can't fight in the Octogon, so can't self defense guy win as well. Another thing there is a deference between engaging in a fight and protect your life at all cost. Don't tell me a soldier with no martial art background can't defend himself.
i am actually sad that people think about real fights. You will most likely never encounter this situation and if you do chances are slim that you can even use whatever you train to defend yourself. Police men in japan learn kendo for example to train body and the eye. Its very fast and although you will never use kendo for self defense your senses and eyes are faster and more responsive. So is your body through training. In the end MMA is just as useless as martial arts in the sense of defending in a street fight. Martial arts used to be lethal and a tool to kill. However what is left today is not a tool to kill. Same with MMA. Its either budo or sport we are looking at.
Aikido will work if you mix it with other styles like boxing, kickboxing, judo, jiu jutsu and so on. Real sparring is needed and the end result will be fast, brutal and effective but it will not look elegant and beautiful like in this video. The moves will be limited too what is easy to learn and realistic in a real fight.
Caoperia IS a fighting art. The movements can certainly be beautiful, and dance like, and a wonder to demonstrate. But people DO fight with it! I’m not saying it is THE art for MMA but unlike Aikido, I have seen a Caoperia stylist knock out a good fighter - USING Caoperia technique!
Like pro-wrestling or wushu, aikido should find itself in the realm of video games and movie fights. I guess this sort of happened - its in Tekken (Asuka), Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive. This way you get the right people attracted to aikido - people who want to wear cool traditional attire, do video game throws with cool Japanese names
Except that pro wrestling DOES work in mma. Dan Severn(UWFI 1992) came into ufc use a TRIPLE suplex ( amateur don't do triple suplex) and SLEEPER hold on Anthony Macias. Or shamrock ( Pro Wrestling Fujiwari 1991) using his catch wrestling FROM pro wrestling in ufc. Sakuraba went into UFC AND SUBMISSION grappling that he learned from catch THROUGH pro wrestling. Pro wrestling evolved from catch.
If you take out the high flying moves and strikes in pro wrestling you get catch wrestling. I can believed pro wrestlers CAN compete in SUBMISSION grappling. Look at sakuraba. That why the KING OF CATCH competition invited pro wrestlers to compete FOR REAL. Plus watch the fight Bible RU-vid channel on pro wrestling SUBMISSION. Their verdict?! Many are LEGIT.
And no Severn didn't learn the sleeper hold from judo. His judo black belt is HONORARY. So was catch/ pro wrestler Josh bartnett black belt in bjj. And sakuraba bjj black belt also is honorary.
