Grievances against Aikido

If anyone is interested in reading my views on the practical effectiveness of Aikido then you can read them on my blog:

http://ewenebsworth.blogspot.com/2011/10/grievances-against-aikido.html


Of course constructive feedback is welcomed. The purpose of my blog was not to unduly criticise Aikido but to highlight some of the potential pitfalls to its effectiveness as a real self-defence system. As an Aiki Jujutsu practitioner I have taken a keen interest on the similarities between the two arts and find my art to be far more satisfactory when it comes to self-defence. Of course that doesn't mean Aiki Jujutsu is the perfect art - no one art is - but I have far more confidence due to the underlying principles in Aiki Jujutsu as a system of self-defence despite it being a very traditional martial art.

I think Aikido is a great martial art, and critics dont actually understand it (like so many others). They see the swirling throws and demonstrations and think thats what would be used in a fight, which is clearly not the case.

However, often the practitioners and clubs can be unrealistic about how they train, and that is a complaint i hold against so many martial arts.....

So the complaint is that most traditional martial arts (Karate, AIkido, Ninjitsu, Taijutsu, Wing Chun etc etc etc) dont prepare for the realistic aspects of a scrap. At the very least your going to get punched by a full pelt haymaker or grabbed by someone who wants to hurt you and is going to be anything but compliant. Your highly unlikely to catch a punch by applying some form of wristlock.

Your hear this complaint often, and its one i agree with . All clubs need to have a good level of sparring in the club. Even an Aikdo club (which i appreciate is the peaceful art) should make sure their students know how to spar. Mike Tyson famously said everyone has a plan until they get punched. And never a truer word has been spoken.

Its only once you have this aspect down, that you can then plan / HOW you can make your art work. At that stage then i believe the arts become very effective. You know your art, and you know which moves will down right get you battered, and which moves will actually work under stress. And i would suggest of all the techniques in your armoury, you probably have 2-3 techniques as your go to in a street confrontation that you would trust in different scenarios.

Then why bother studying a martial art at all if its mostly throw away stuff...

Why because as my incredibly tough pals say, its good fun to learn and do the fancy stuff..thats the "Art" part or Martial Arts. Having fun in the Dojo.

As to me...
I have always been a rugby man, but have loved the martial arts aswell. Ive done Muay Thai most of my life when i can, but having retired from rugby I can finally take up a full traditional martial art. In my case it will be Ninjitsu, one of the most maligned arts out there as there are a million McDojos! ( Ill not be climbing walls, doing magic etc etc) just the emtpy hand (Taijutsu) and weapons side.
The empty hand is very similar to Jujitsu, and yet more like Aikdo in style. Fortunately a close friend of mine is the head instrcutor (which is why i chose it). He is a beast, did the doors for 20 years and does police training etc.

His classes can be brutal with sparring , judo style randori etc.

I cant wait.