From Aikido to MMA • My Martial Arts Journey So Far
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- This video tells the whole story of how I moved from Aikido to MMA, also telling why I started Aikido and how I began questioning it, which eventually lead me to close my full time Aikido Dojo and move to USA, Portland to learn MMA.
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► • Aikido vs MMA - REAL ...
I figured that as we move on to 2019 this is a great opportunity to reflect and summarize the main events that happened in the story of Martial Arts Journey. With one chapter done it is time to successfully move forward to the next one.
My martial arts journey started when I signed up for aikido. I did it for 4 years and only got to the gold belt because i missed my orange belt test. Around year 3 I found your channel and was inspired to become a real martial artist. I even made my own aikido technique because of your video's. I started sparring with my friends in my aikido class, normally after the lessons. I was forced to leave my aikido dojo because of my dads job, which caused me to move. I was excited when I learned about a karate dojo near my house and signed up. Since then i have become a yellow belt in karate. My teacher is very nice and has showed me some BJJ and Judo techniques. I would like to thank you for showing me the flaws in aikido and giving me the encouragement to keep on doing martial arts
@@nedo6018 there's no such thing as gold belt in karate. Do you mean yellow belt?
@@simonthewatchguy6073 yes but mine looks like gold
@Martial Arts Journey: Kwonkicker just released a video on "competitive Aikido" called Toimiki Aikido or Shodokan Aikido. Could you comment on that?
I will release a video about Shodokan Aikido next week as well
The real martial artists are self aware and humble enough to see the mistakes of their own self and art.
Very true
@@AVTBJJ Quick experiment bjj man. I know that bjj is very effective at what id does. But since you agree with this so readily, tell me, what mistakes are there in bjj that you have recognized? Not just looking for salt here, I'm learning MMA from a muaythai base right now, so this will genuinely help me.
@@curvingfyre6810 One of BJJ's flaws is that at the lower levels, there are a lot of fanboys who will claim it's the end-all-be-all. Less so now, since times are evolving, but people are still willing to blind themselves sometimes to truth just because of good reputation. But that's just the culture among uneducated viewers and practitioners.
In competitions where Jujitsu fighters compete with wrestlers and strikers, there's clear inexperience with how to get to the ground in some cases. This is a flaw with all of BJJ, but with the risk that instructors can put too much emphasis on the ground fighting without teaching how to get takedowns and defend during stand-up striking.
@@curvingfyre6810 One of the biggest problems with BJJ is that its become too insular and specialized. As long as people are cross training then its fine. But there's a very clear difference between BJJ for BJJ vs BJJ for anything else. As soon as you add punches, 90% of the actual submissions tend to go out the window and positioning and control become 90% of the game. Master positioning and control, and you can beat anyone with a handful of actual subs (RNC, armbar, kimura are pretty much all you need).
With your mentality the sky is the limit with your training. Congrats on ur progress.
Martial arts is one thing to me: a pursuit of the truth.
m.th-cam.com/video/1ETD8DL7MhA/w-d-xo.html
That’s funny. That’s what life is to me.
Faras zahabi said something similar. He says ‘there’s no bs on the matt’ and it’s true. You can’t have your arm twisted by gsp and be like ‘you’re supposed to twist it this way’ 😂
Martial arts is about expressing one self honestly. It has nothing to do with truth. Bruce Lee said this himself.
You should take from all forms and become a martial artist. The point is to think for yourself and find what is best for you. Take from all forms.
what I've learned from this is how much you like Batman
There's never too much of Batman in my book
@@MartialArtsJourney you're not wrong although....we know that old Batman used Ninjutsu (although is said to be a master in all arts) new Batman learned Keysi fighting method...so in a way the effort to portray Batman as an effective warrior is not unlike your journey..
"Always be yourself unless you can be Batman. Then always be Batman"
@@tome1389 Good point.
Julio Tijuana - Spot on ;)
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT xD
Hey brother, I’ve been watching your videos for the past several months. I’m fascinated by your honest and forthright insight and views. Godspeed on your journey.
Thank you
I've never even been to a gym or trained in anything in my life but found this video inspirational. Props to this guy for trying something new!
Thank you! I'm glad to hear that
I train BJJ with a couple of guys with akido backgrounds, apparently the biggest advantage is that once you start to learn to control people on the ground, all those akido wristlocks suddenly become effective in a big way.
Flizbap I was about to come down here and comment about how out of everything I learned in three years of aikido I only use like a weeks worth of joint locks in bjj!
Flizbap unless u can’t get wrist locked ;)
I have noticed some of the wrist locks can work, but the percentage is so low, that I ignore them for the most part. They do work on a lot of beginner grapplers though.
alanguages it’s never a submission I go for and I rarely actually use them as a sub, but I will utilize them to set up other positions and control people.
I wrist locked a guy once. But that was after a punch to the gut and an elbow to the face. It was more a way of ending the fight than anything else
This is one of the best martial arts channels on TH-cam. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!!
Now: I've decided to leave Aikido and become a real warrior. In another 10 years: This is the story of how I became a Super Sayan.
;DDD Good one
Have you tried doing a 100 pushups 100 situps and 100 crutches everyday after running 10 km?
@@gabriel300010 I did that once. Got shin splints, and repetitive knee tendonitis. But it was killer for newbie gains in my chest, tris, and lower serratus, so after recovery, decent tradeoff
@@curvingfyre6810 truth is you gotta stretch everyday to get your joints to recover a bit faster
Big Lumpy Beetle one punch man!!!!👍
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert's there are few."
Suzuki Shunryu
Oh man Thanks to you I am having an enlightenment right now. I think this quote defines mind set of every martial arts disciple. Only who experinced it can understand this.
Seth Harbert in the masters mind, there are many possibilities again.
@Wills Pram It's a different perspective. What I understand is, when you are a beginner you always ask "sensei what if the opponent does this or that etc." but an expert apporoach every situation individually. Our grandmaster once said "there no such thing as technique if you have 2 arms 2 legs all of them are similar, all them serve the same purpose to
takedown your opponent". But I like your point btw.
It's pretty cool that you're in Portland. I actually went to a local Aikido Dojo here in Portland to find out for myself if Aikido is functional, and I sparred with an instructor who's been training for over 20 years. With only 2 months of boxing training at a local college, I was able to completely destroy him. I went pretty easy on him too-avoiding any strikes to his very unguarded face since I didn't want to hurt him, I just wanted to know if he could shut me down. It was really sad to see how confused he was that his martial art wasn't working at all. I don't think he even knew before this that Aikido is useless even against an untrained fighter. It's great to see you helping people out of their delusions.
Wow, your journey is very similar to mine. After doing karate for more than 4 years and achieving black belt along with teaching classes I saw all the flaws of it that I pointed out to my instructors yet they weren’t willing to fix them. So I left and started up BJJ, Muay Thai and boxing and it’s the best decision I ever made when it comes to martial arts. Remember, change is good and you won’t grow as a martial artist doing one style forever. We have to constantly evolve.
same here, but if you did Karate, I did shotokan and now do Kickboxing and mma, then you have to agree that it develops the technique, you know how to kick, you know that a fist to be effective you must rotate your wrist like a screw when you punch, same as a jab in boxing. You just have to adapt it to reality. While in karate the power comes from your hips, in boxing it comes from your shoulders and so on. If you are open enough there is no need to stop practicing tradition martial arts. Think GSP, Zabit, Machida, Showtime just to name a few MMA fighters. Karate is one of the best systems to learn how to deal with distance and timing. So having learned Karate in the past helps me deal with distance better that my partners and I am able to surprise them with kicks they are not used to. Or what I call Guerrilla fighting (in and out or hit and get away, hit and move away). Also karate is very good for counters (Machida is the best example)
While you are in the US, it would greatly benefit you to stop at Torrance CA and meet Rener and Ryron Gracie, they could show you a most effective martial art and would greatly help your journey.
@Cyber Stein But fighting three guys at the same time is totally legit
@@JahnosSardonis You mean what Ryron did?
Why would he need to do this? All these schools compete and Thornton is from Rigan Machado's line. Machado is a "Gracie" as any of the current Gracies and can beat all of them.
c johnson the Gracies train GJJ, which is specifically geared towards self defense like this channel is looking for. I’m sure they’d do great in a competition if they cared to. But they don’t because they’re too busy changing lives and actually making a difference
I am your fan from Hong Kong and I like your amazing story. Always be humble and keep being a student let us improve!
I have mad respect for you. I am currently training in Aikido and Isshin-Ryu Karate, but in the future, I want to broaden my perspective. I have an opportunity at the dojo I am training to learn BJJ, and After seeing this, I am going to start training in that later on. Thank you Rokas, hearing someone swallow their pride, and keep learning is very enlightening. As the BJJ instructor at my dojo says, "don't be stubborn, learn everything you can from every martial art you can. It just may help you in the future"
We need more people like you in the martial arts community. People seeking the truth, not just buying into the indoctrination. I admire you for having the courage to break out of the brainwashing even at the expense of friends and family.
Thank you for this amazingly inspiring video.
And thank you for your courage and honesty. Few people would do the sacrifices you did in order to reach the truth. You gave up your identity, your security and confort, and you certainty, but you seemed to have gained happiness in change.
Greetings and blessings from Chile!
I went from a dan grade at shotokan to a novice at muay thai. I quickly learned I really was a novice at real sparring. All martial artists need to evolve. Well done for having the courage to really test yourself. It really is an endless path we walk.
John Adams Yeah aikido to MMA is a huge jump in what’s actually effective and what’s not. But Shoto khan and muy Thai? You progressed in shoto khan karate and didn’t know how to spar? Something is definitely a miss there
@@DOOMLORDHOKAGE karate still has too many katas and not enough sparring, not enough effective boxing, and really only about half a dozen viable kicks. That being said, miles ahead of aikido in terms of practicality
The best karate is kyo . 10 man kumite is murder. Best example is Bas Rutten .
NicSwan Yeah tell that to Lyoto Machida lol seriously tho you can only blame the art for so much, you have to learn how to adapt yourself. Just because you’re a karate student doesn’t mean you can’t become a proficient grappler. Just because you do karate doesn’t mean you can’t work on your boxing skills still. Its up to you as an individual to adapt and evolve and I think that’s what’s more important and that’s the point martial arts journey is trying to make. Jiu jitsu is great, but in a street fight for example striking is way more important than trying to submit someone on the ground with jiu jitsu. At that point knocking someone out is 10x more important more so if it’s multiple attackers and running isn’t an option. Jiu jutsu is most effective as a sport in the form of MMA in the UFC. As far as self defense you’re better off learning some form of karate or striking martial art and supplementing that with wrestling.
@@DOOMLORDHOKAGE i dont know why you wrote an essay that had nearly nothing to do with my reply but alright haha.
Rokus, you've inspired me on my martial arts journey. My original training was in a type of traditional Japanese Karate, Wing Chun, and various JKD concepts. My own journey has taken me towards Muay Thai kickboxing, BJJ, yoga, and general physical conditioning training.
I'm glad to know that. Thank you for sharing
You love for martial arts is truly inspirational. It must have been heartbreaking to realise such cold hard truths after more than a decade of dedication. Never stop practising aikido. There is beauty in it’s philosophies and movements like taichi. It will serve you well in old age. I wish you passion and courage as you embark on your new journey into the more functional and combative aspects of martial arts. You truly are an exemplary lifelong student of the martial arts. Keep soldiering on!
I am an aikido Nidan. I am also a brown belt in BJJ under Professor Draculino in Texas. I appreciate your journey.
Great work brother, I too began to question my martial art and its effectiveness. Now im practicing muay thai, bjj and couldn't be happier
RR Randy what was the martial art you were practicing that first please tell me I need knowledge
What were you practicing.
I am so thankful that I found this video at the beginning of my journey. I cannot wait to see what the future has for you.
Thank you
You are very kind and humble.
Thank you for speaking the truth and breaking the illusions of fantasy to some people who still think 1 style can dominate the world.
Style separates people but truth and unity bring people together.
Godspeed on your new future endeavor!
I think you will be a innovator ... And a lead many on their journey
You're my favorite martial arts channel on TH-cam for your honesty and insight. Please keep up the documentation of your journey!
I really wish more martial arts instructors would get away from the "self-defense" claims. When a woman goes to a pole fitness class, she's not preparing to quit her job as a Marketing Rep to go shake her booty for tips at a dive bar. She's doing it because it's a fun way to get fit while also feeling sexy and cool. I think the MAJORITY of martial arts classes are the exact same. But unlike pole fitness, where pretty much everyone knows that its for fun not practical application, in martial arts everyone acts the opposite. Why can't doing karate or aikido or tae kwon do because it's a fun workout that makes you feel bad-ass and cool be enough?
There is already that, it's called Boxercise or Tae Bo
totally agree. unfortunately because of peoples attitudes if a dojo offered classes and told potential customers that their stuff doesn't work on the streets they would go out of business.
I mean think about it, why would someone put all that energy and spend all that money for a hobby when down the road they can go to a dojo that will privide them a hobby AND keep themselves safe on the street
Some people actually need it to work.
If you want to know what works just check the ufc champions and see what is there base. You will see it is wrestling and boxing. Neither of them are advertised as a martial art. Both are advanced as a sport.
Also what kind of people need it to work? The police? they get their own training. Bouncers? They usually work as a team and they don't need to learn martial arts. They just need to be strong, have awareness skills, know how to de-escalate a situation and if need be how to work with their team to subdue someone.
In practice many bouncers do learn martial arts or fighting sport but they don't struggle with the question. it's people who don't need it who talk endlessly about what is most effective.
c'mon, don't put taekwondo and karate in the same field as aikido, these ones actually work
Intellectual honesty in Martial Arts and in life. I’m grateful for your videos!
You possess the traits of humility, wisdom, intellect, curiosity, and very importantly, courage. This may be one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen. May your leadership by example continue to influence more of us, and I say all of this as someone who has spent years training in Aikido.
Great vid Rokas, I'm sure you are sick of keyboard warriors giving you advice. But here's some anyway lol. If you get hit in a kickboxing sparring session, don't react, don't shake your head, ect...the less reaction your opponent sees, (especially if it was a solid shot) the more disheartening it is. If you show a reaction, it suggests to your opponent that you were really hurt and it will only build his confidence. OSU!
did you come from kyokushin?
@@irasac1 wado-ryu, I have a traditional karate dojo and I teach kickboxing for fitness and for people interested in competing OSU
Years ago i have experienced the same with my traditional jj teacher when i started bjj. Many doubts comming every day and olso the questions. Till the day i was kicked out of the gym because of my struggles. Many people left my side. But thats life. I have never gave up my life goals to be a good and honest teacher.
Im now a fulltime bjj/mma/selfdefence teacher and glad im verry successfull in what i do.
I got a lot of respect for you, your journey and your choices. You have the real martial art spirit.
And your BJJ journey will be more and more addictive. I can promise you that. The bjj will improve your mma journey extremely.
Keep up the good work m8
If your life were a movie I would watch it. From the early surrounding violence, to the comfort and support that Aikido seems to have brought, to the humble exploration, the trial of losing the old family, to the victory of finding new family and support in combat arts. Please, write a memoir script when you reach your next milestone and before you set off on another journey.
🙏
I have so much respect for the courage you showed in facing a painful truth, and making the changes you knew you needed to.
Man, this is a beautiful video. I have not heard or seen anything about you before, but I instantly subscribed now. You are truly living a "Hero's journey", if I ever saw one. All the best from Belgrade, Serbia.
I never comment on TH-cam, but your story was too inspirational not to do so. I admire your courage and dedication to the truth. To reflect on years of training and to abandon a yearslong philosophy, in addition to losing friends along the way, represents a man on a profound journey. I wish you well on your journey...
Huge respect to you Rokas. In the end you have to be honest with yourself. You cannot lie to yourself. You know the truth in your heart. I admire your courage to abandon something you worked a long time for and embark on a new journey of self honesty.
As I was hearing your story, I kept thinking about Bruce Lee’s philosophy. His constant mention of studying various arts, taking what’s useful and dispensing what’s useless. That is the essence of mixed martial arts. I believe you’ve done the correct thing for yourself as a martial artist! I applaud you!
I LOVE IT!
You are a true martial artist.
First of all, respect. I love your videos. Only by questioning the things we already know we can make a step further to new findings. Speaking as an aikido practicioner for several years and an MMA fighter now, I can say that aikido have helped me in so many ways. Aikido is not for competition but it helped me gain skills I can really use in a fight. But I am the kind of person that likes to collect everything that works for me and combine it when the momentum is right. And it's also nice for me to see things I thought they can work, fail in the most unexpected way. Having the mentality to be able to accept and welcome those moments is my life goal.
I’ve been watching your videos for about two years now and I’m so happy about how far you’ve come. I’m also a former aikidoka and I trained for 13 years. I’m getting back into martial arts (this time with karate) after almost 7 years of being off the mat. Even when I was younger, I’ve always thought of mixing disciplines since a lot of my favorite martial arts (especially Bruce Lee and Cynthia Rothrock) often do so as well. While my dojo heavily focused on the Aikikai style since my teacher trained with the first doshu and is best friends with the current one, they often invited other dojos to demonstrate what skills they want to share. As a result, I was able to learn more up arts up close such as Penchak Silat and BJJ. My teacher also made up some simpler move sets during his down time and he emphasized that Aikido is more philosophical than defensive but some of these applications can be spread across disciplines.
However, even with these creative endeavors, a good number of my instructors still came away with those same ideas of Aikido being very effective practically and disparaging the more practical “violent” martial arts. Combine that with the hierarchical style and having to ask permission to even demonstrate the techniques outside of the school and it made making connections with my peers much harder to achieve. I left Aikido at 17 and I was 2nd kyu. I tried getting back in in college but the styles they had were different and some of that permission mentality lingered. Fast forward through years of martial arts films and the yearning to go back into martial arts and I find your channel. I really feel like I’ve learned so much from you and what I had been experiencing all my life was just as valid. Thanks to you (as well as Wonder Woman), I’m stepping back onto the mat again and I realized what I really enjoy from martial arts - you’re always in a beginner mindset even with a master certification so go out and play.
Thank you so much for continuing this channel even with all of the changes. I’m wishing you all the best in 2019!
This video really puts the journey into perspective. So much respect for what you've done mate, it's incredibly brave to challenge your own beliefs like you have. Wish you all the best!
This was great as I did not realize your full story and I have even more respect for what you are doing. Keep it up!
Very well said! Thank you for busting the myth in a humble and respectful way. Best of luck!
Can I just say first off, props to you sir. Amazing, truly amazing for you to see, what you spoke about and the years you put in, to then combat ego like a man and see efficacy in others and inefficiency in another. With all the years!!!!. So rare men and people in general do this and can I just say, admirable and a real man right there. Pride swallowed and improved.
Thank you for sharing! That was very well articulated! I have great respect for your decision and journey.
Thanks for sharing you journey, Sensei Rokas. It’s been insightful and inspirational. Best of luck on your MMA bout and your continuing martial-arts exploration.
Incredible courage to throw basically your whole identity to create a new one from scratch. Maximum respect.
I believe the best thing about aikido is the understanding of body mechanics and from there you can create your own self defense.
This is an awesome inspiration man! We can create and share our abundance even if we feel like we just started over and know "nothing" again! Great message. Thanks!
I got really strong at powerlifting, weightlifting, and bodybuilding later i learned wrestling, ju jitsu and kickboxing I learned that strength and skill come hand and hand you should condition your body because real martial arts often requires a level of strength
Been training Muay Thai and BJJ for a bout 8 months love it so much keep doing what you doing warrior :)
I am glad you are very open minded to change. Fear of change is seen in many things and seen in many aspects of life like games, business management and martial arts. I have not seen very much martial art practitioners let loose of their ego and try to see the flaws of what they teach like you did... and I'm glad you took the courage and risk of losing your valued persons to discover the 'truth'. I look very much look forward to your transformation as a martial arts practitioners
Love this video. Look forward to following your journey while being on my very own journey. Best of luck champ!
Hi Rokas. Great summary of the journey so far. Look forward to seeing your next video.
Wow! I wish you all the best in this new journey. Respect to you!
Hey I’m from Australia I’ve watched a few of your videos and I too have had a similar journey.
I did 10 yrs of Kung Fu I was a Si Di = 1st Dan black belt
One day a new guy walked in and on his first night was able to land clean strikes yet he’d only done a couple of months of boxing
So I took up Bjj and had 4 fights and won 3/4.
I also practiced kick boxing and boxing and wrestling and now I have a lot more confidence and can easily handle bigger stronger people.
I don’t train to fight anymore and I’m not a violent person Bjj for me is a martial art like any other it encompasses the same aspects as any old traditional arts but it’s actually effective as you’ve since found out.
Congratulations on finding Martial arts truth.
Maybe your school didn't have any sparring? I've done TKD for 12yrs, along with boxing and did a year or two of grappling (BJJ and Judo). What state are you from? I'm from WA.
You are an amazing human being. You should be applauded. I wish you much success on your journey
Thank you
such a great video and really well narrated!
It sounds like you did what was best for you in the end. Leaving your Mentor as hard as it may have been opened your doors as it should in the end. Always make the arts for YOU in the end that work. You out grew him even though he introduced you, that is really a good thing when the student surpasses the teacher. Kudos young man.
Powerful story, thanks for sharing
Awesome Video! I am excited to see the new episodes!
It takes courage to face the doubts in life and consider them ,we are passionate for perfection, yet we are human beings... contemplation is part of a successful life , all respect
I love your video and your philosphy resonates with my own. I support your journey my friend! please continue to search and when you find it, please share with others. Peace and blessings
Lots of respect to you for this video
You're a good man
It's very admirable that you realized that you were mistaken even though you dedicated years and seemingly your life to Aikido.
Most people when confronted with something that strongly challenges their long-held belief simply don't.
the same happened to me, i was black belt in goju riu karate. one day i was practicing my katas at home and i hit a brick wall. i couldn't do it anymore. i knew this kind of thing would never work in the real world. i had always been intersted in boxing. i began to have boxing lessons, mixing that with the kicks from karate and added in elbows and knees. i practice this on the bags at the gym all the time now. I'm much happier and i know this would help me in a self defence situation.
I was a wing chun practitioner, I practiced wing chun for 4 years . After few years of practice i started to receive doubts on my mind so i decided to use wing chun in ring, on that day i got the answer , after few days i moved on and started mma, now my dream is to become a mma world champion
Great video, i went from japanese jujitsu to judo to kickboxing , all the best from Manchester England
what you did took real strength, I applaud you and good luck on your journey
Thank you for sharing.
Gracias por compartirlo.
Congratz for the courage. Wish you the best on your Journey.
Thank you for your research and sharing your journey. I have been on such a journey myself for about 40 years. I am a mixed martial artist as a result of this journey. I would like to share where Aikido has been helpful in my Law Enforcement career. There are some common techniques which are used by police regularly. Ikkyo (Ude-Osae) is used in the "Escort Position" in the basic escorting of prisoners; Nikkyo (Kote-Mawashi) is used in the "Transport Wrist-Lock", when prisoners would become resistant during escort; Sankyo (Kote Hineri) is used in the application of handcuffing. In weapon retention, utilizing Tenkai and Tenkan is very valuable in affecting a release from the firearm in the holster; especially for officers who do not have a lot of strength. The utilization of these techniques have increased the level of control, reduced injuries per encounter, and reduced liability as a result.
You are an awesome person making a hard, interesting and real journey.
Huge balls, Giant heart, Open mind - YOU ARE THE MAN, MAN! Deepest respect!
Brilliant video I train karate and I felt the same way so I opened my horizons and joined mma, kickboxing and ju jitsu.good to see someone else's is the same
I’m not a martial artist, but I spend a lot of time thinking. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. That being said, I do love Bruce Lee, and with what little I know about him (and you), what you are doing sounds very much like what he went through developing his own style. Think on! And may your own thoughtfulness inspire and overcome!
This is why i like your vibe....lithuanian!
I go along pretty sweet with lithuanians.
I got to point ,that your hand manipulation will go pretty well with some wrestling and boxing....then comes some jiu jitsu mastering
There is a lot of truth IN Aikido. Just have to know what truths to apply. But same can be said about multiple martial arts. I applaud you, sir, on having the courage to take the steps necessary to find the/a complete truth.
Nice my friend! Deep inside you are still practicing aikido... you are in the right DO in the AI of your KI. Congrats!
Rokas, a message from a Brazilian friend:
The your journey reminds me of the work of the French philosopher Descartes.
In applying the method of "hyperbolic doubt," Descartes rejected all knowledge that was dubious or based on fragile bases, to begin a path to solid and secure knowledge.
His first certainty in this new journey was the classic axiom of "cogito ergo sum" (think, therefore I am), from which a solid and secure knowledge about things could be built.
I believe that your journey repeats, in other times and with other foundations, the search for a solid knowledge in the martial arts.
Just like you, I started martial arts in Aikido (10 years), until I hit the second dan.
However, I have always been very curious and skeptical about the effectiveness of Aikido, mainly because of its limitation in the training system.
This led me to the BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), which has been training since 2012 with Master Rocian Gracie Jr.
I accompany your journey with respect and admiration.
Greetings from your friend from Brazil.
I really like your mindset, this is quality content.
Looking forward to see u in ufc👍
I admire you ! Keep on your journey stay strong !
After watching this video I must say you have balls of steel.
The crazy thing is that by training in mma your aikido will be better. Trying using your aikido from a grappling perspective rather then off strikes. Mma will give you eye training and the ability to “feel” the energy you are trying to redirect.
Every great thing starts from pursuit of truth and I am touched by your courage and sincere. I've been doing Bajiquan for 2 years and the instructor didn't teach sparring( which eventually turned out he may even not know how to do it). I had to check how the similar moves are done in Muay Thai & Judo to know the actual application. In the end I found out all the martial arts will evolve into to same one under certain rules and effectiveness test, since human has only 2 arms and legs. This is similar for sword fighting.
What you are doing does no harm to Akido, but will improve it, and make it turn into a better one. Keep going!
Great video! Much respect. Hope you had an awsome Christmas! Have a happy new year!
WOW your story is amazing keep training and stay honest with yourself.
Great story man, good luck on your journey and I will happily follow along here on youTube :)
Great admiration to have the heart to discard everything you have socially and financially for the best.
Coming to this video a little late. I commend you on your journey and the process you went through. I spent about a year training Aikido back in the mid 90's as adjunct to another style I had been studying (6 years) and found as an art/way of life it taught incredible lessons. I was able to incorporate some of the footwork into my sparring.
You have become a inspiration for me, because I'm in a path very similar, not because my Martial arts doesn't work, but its the need for change, to find another knowledge, I thought that start again, after 14 years and change to mma and bjj, Will bad idea, even I had not started yet, your story inspire me for try the change
Have a happy journey.
Big respect man!!
Thanks for sharing your journey.
It takes a lot of courage, passion and humbility to do what you´re doing. OSS!
Sorry about my english... not my first language. Greetings from Argentina.
Thank you for your courage. Very interesting. Strong work.
Musha shugyō - Warrior's Journey. That's what you are on my friend.
I have a lot of respect for you, sir
Wishing you best of luck in this new beginning