i never opened this forum before, but it's raining outside and i just wondered if there was an aikido thread
this is the only one that came out
i've been practicing for a little while, and i'm in love with aikido
after every class i come out with a huge smile and thinking how intelligent this martial art is
aikido..supposedly one of the best defensive systems around.
it's very relative
and if we're talking concretely, it is definitely not the best "self-defense" style
mainly because it takes a long time to know what you're doing at all
also because the techniques are not street-fight orientated at all
and a good part of the attacks would never happen in real life
but the techniques are one thing
the ideas, tricks and reflexes that you learn are something else
in a street fight, you wouldn't try to reproduce the techniques that are often complex choreographies, but you would use the tricks you've learned
and they can be extremelly useful and effective
I once downloaded an Aikido guide; the whole thing focused on talking one's way out of a fight. No physical moves were mentioned at all.
i think i read the same one
and it's right on the point
if you have a fighter's mentality, you're not going to practice aikido anyway because you won't find what you're looking for
and if you like aikido, you probably don't want to get into a fight in the first place
the main idea is to avoid conflict, not to show your manliness by fighting back with rage
it's useable in all aspects of life, not just on a tatami
if you actually understand the concepts of aikido, then it's not a martial art, it's a way of life
you can do aikido in the way you talk to others, open a door or walk in a busy street
as i said, i can wake up depressed, go to my aikido class, and inevitably come out with a huge smile on my face
because the moves feel so good, because there are no bad feelings or intentions, because i felt like doing something contructive rather than destructive, because you help the others during the practice rather than try to beat them
but although the idea of the guide is the right one, what i'd like to add is that in case the person in front of you has only fight in his mind, this idea of avoiding conflict translates perfectly into moves too
now i'm practicing aikikai, but before that i did a little bit of ki-aikido, and the concept of avoiding the conflict by "following the idea of the opponent" was more explicitly used
pretty much, the idea is "you want to punch me in the face? ok. i'll
help you do exactly the move you want to do. but i won't be there to receive the punch and i'll use all the force you put into it to your disadvantage"
Because a martial art that is both complex and relies on almost nothing but compliant partner training is a fantastic way to get your ass beaten up
practicing aikido relies on a compliant partner because the point is to harmoniously realize pleasing techniques, not to reproduce a street fight
but that wouldn't be the case of aikido used in a street fight
the difference would be that instead of nicely rolling away, the partner (this time "opponent") would end up with his hand broken or his face into the wall
except if you come from behind or that the guy is unaware and that you can strike first for sure, then no
that's actually an example where aikido has tenths of techniques to counter the attack (comes from the idea of a frontal strike with a sword)
to strike with a bottle someone who is good at aikido means to loose the fight
any combo of eye gouging and knees to the crotch are the best. also fish-hooking, biting, finger snapping and throat punches.
I've always been under the impression that plain old boxing is by far the most effective style in a real fight.
if you can hit first, you're right
and as an answer to mehm's question, i'd just say that it matters more who gets to give the real first blow than what martial art he practices
if you're good enough, aikido allows you to use to the opponent's first blow against him
but once again, if you're surprised or just not that good, a regular boxing punch or a finger in the eye would quickly put you out of the game
10 guys stomping on everyone or with someone pulling a gun or a knife
i don't know much about other martial arts, but my opinion is that aikido is quite efficient against a knife (or gun only at very close range)
if there are several attackers, and if there is enough place to do so, most techniques can also be realized in a way to always keep or put back an opponent between you and the others
so defense against multiple attackers is definitely included in high level aikido training
but once again, you'd have to practice years to put that in practice