I used to practice Aikido, and much of what you say is right. I'd tried various martial arts, but was drawn by the philosophy and spirituality of Aikido, and wasn't so interested in learning to fight, but across a half dozen or so teachers in various places and over almost 15 years I saw big differences. My main teacher was a 6th dan and had trained at a place called the Hut in London's East End - back in the day a rough place (and an early UK Aikido centre) - and he clearly knew how to make it work, but interestingly he was also into not hurting people and he'd show us, from his early days, the older style aiki techniques with much harsher joint locks, talk about the strikes used (knees, gouges, everything), and would often say we don't do this any more and know we harmonise. We had a boxer in his school and he could make everything work on the jabs and stuff he threw, often by simplifying the aikido. What he didn't really explain, which another teacher did (who also did various striking arts) was the principles behind it, so that you weren't learning "techniques" (the curriculum) but body mechanics, which I think was never explicit traditionally. The idea was, I think, that if you were good you'd work it out yourself. But this other teacher was much more in the AikdoFlow style, of making it modern and to work as a thing for the streets. But I also went to schools where harmony was such a big thing that you were just meant to fall for people no matter what, and I got told off for not falling after somebody had "done" the technique - whereas in my main schools, if people didn't put you down you didn't go down (else how do people learn?), which isn't to say that there wasn't cooperation and blending - especially as you were teaching new folks, but as we got more experienced we resisted each other much more and also, at the higher levels, there were the counter techniques - but a lot of schools didn't seem to have this at all. So, basically, yeah, the problem, I think, is often how it's taught, but also, even in many good schools, the emphasis is not on learning to fight but developing yourself to blend and harmonise, which is not a bad thing, but Aikido's ethos can mitigate against actually learning any practical fighting. Having said that, of various martial arts I have learned, Aikido has been the most useful for me in the real world: when I've fallen over or gone down, I've known how to roll and fall without hurting myself; when the random dude with an improvised club tried to bash my head in and rob me, because I'd done Aiki weapons I could distance myself and get out of harm's way in a way that boxing/ MMA/ etc. distancing and fighting styles just don't teach you - I got behind them, had disarmed him, then I was out of there as fast as I could rather than mess around, while the guy searched in the dark for his stick/ club/ whatever it was and was long gone before he started after me. I mean I realise that most of the Aikido I learned wouldn't help me against a trained MMA/ BJJ person, but I think in a rounded curriculum it has it's place, primarily in knowing distancing against weapons, and falling, but the locks and escapes from holds are also useful. Most Aikido schools, however, won't necessarily teach you to do it well - having been in quite a few schools, most didn't teach well or usefully, and almost all students wouldn't have learned anything they could use except in the dojo with a compliant partner I think.
i trained in aikido since i was 6 until i graduated high school and i find what you're saying is true and relateable.. we were told how to do techniques, how to do basics, how to break falls, how to throw people, but never taught about the meaning or the philosophies behind the movements. it was all about curriculum and about passing to the next rank, and i also had the same take that the actual aikido training will only start when you reach the 1st or 2nd dan.. My big sensei back then was a 4th dan, and being considered as the highest ranked sensei in my city.. his posture was small and scrawny (probably around 157 or 160 cm in height), but he can literally manipulate anyone no matter how big that person is.. he got this different feel about how he acts, it more like a kind of tranquility in everything he do. The problem with our trainings was, he (the big sensei) never teach the kids/teen classes, he only teach the adult classes. and from the little experience i had trained by him, i think he only gives some little hints about the aiki.. he taught us a tiny bit about how to do some detailed movements, but he never actually mentioned about aiki or the philosophies behind it.. Recently, i found an old book in my university's library titled "Aikido with Ki", written by Koretoshi Maruyama, supervised by Koichi Tohei. Quite an old book first printed on March 1984.. It explained about the 4 philosophies of the aiki in aikido and how the philosophies being applied in aikido techniques. and it blew my mind, because those hints my big sensei gave us back then are starting to make sense... Turns out it takes more than aikido training to master aikido.. and i definitely not ready to understand or even master it.. All in all, great video!! and keep up the good work! PEACE
surely you need at least two things, respect and intelligence, maybe you don't have one or none. Don't blame aikido blame yourself that you don't know how to recognize.
Aiki, ki, energy, or any other supernatural power is not real. You have been conned into believing this. Aikido doesn't work because it is a bullshit martial arts that was founded on supernatural powers and religion, rather than effectiveness. Find a real martial arts, you will learn better to defend yourself in 10 weeks better than the 10 years you spent "learning" aikido. Good luck.
@@juliusreigns4218 absolutely.. look, i don't believe in bullshit martial art like those fraud masters teach too.. as for aikido, i see aikido as more spiritual teaching than martial art.. aikido teaches the integration of mind and body in everything you do in life, and the physical exercise in aikido helps to understand and apply these teachings.. some also said that it's a form of zen meditation.. well it's kind of a rough explanation, but that's the gist.. i do agree in aikido's lack of application in real combat situation, and yes it's a bit of a scam to say by learning aikido you can really defend yourself, while it's only applicable in a highly conditioned environment.. also yeah, i do have a bit of regret for not learning a more competitive combat martial art when i was younger, but it is what it is.. Thank you for the input thou. Cheers!
I'm not an Aikido student, but I am a student of martial disciplines. I liked your video, your calm explanations, your lack of bashing, and your questioning of some things which others consider sacrosanct (and thus not questionable). Well done!
Sometimes its not bashing, its calling a spade a spade. Aikido is a bullshit martial art that has no real world capabilities or effectiveness, no matter how hard you believe in ki, aiki, chi or any other bullshit supernatural power you have been brainwashed into accepting.
Good video. Ueshiba learning/putting major finishing touches on his internal skills in China (not that anything is truly finished per se, constant evolution is part of life) is not a theory. When I studied IMA in the Taiji/Xing Yi/Baguazhang community in China, they openly said that Ueshiba studied amongst them. There's no reason for them to spin this narrative, and I was not amongst pointless narrative spinners. It would not even have been a boast to say 'we Chinese, in our wonderful Taoist exeptionalism, do a lot of nei gong practice and trained xyz great person'. They don't really care in such a manner within these communities since a style like Aikido has a flavour so similar to so many of their arts, it wouldn't be a major flex. In a similar manner, it wouldn't be an incredible flex to say 'An Indian person taught so and so personality in the West yoga or this American gym instructor taught Western style body building to a Delhi based athelete etc'. Some activities are historically bound somewhat (although not entirely of course) to certain cultures, so certain meetings, outcomes and sharing of skills are not so shocking. I digress, when I was talking about the topic of 'heqidao' (Aikido) within the Chinese IMA community, and they so casually and unpretentiously mentioned that Ueshiba or 'the founder of the style', as they said it, was a former part of the TCMA community in China, I nonetheless had tingles going up and down my spine at that moment. For it is, in any case as I recognised it, an interesting and relevant factoid. Are you genuinely saying it is strange that a man, already known in Japan as a martial arts instructor, with an almost obsessive love of exploring this or that martial idea, going to a neighbouring martial culture with similar social customs, ways of meeting, mingling and sharing around the theme of martialiality, didn't learn some of the core things, which are best preserved in that culture? Although we are often told that Japanese went to China to prove their superiority, there are definite counters to this claim in terms of all consuming, overarching and singular intent. For example, pre war Japan actually had a definite affection, even high regard for, Tang era China (the era which most influenced Japanese culture) and were very much anti Qing and Marxist culture which, ironically, they saw as a degradation of real Asian culture. Therefore, contrary to what you'd think as first reflex, the idea that Ueshiba would want to flesh out concepts within his culture from a neighbouring culture which certainly had an important historical influence/mutual sharing influence on his skillset, is not odd. One other reason, to return to a previous paragraph, why I had spine tingles when I heard this Ueshiba/ICMA connection from the relative horses mouth, is also partly because, if you know the concept of 'Chinese whispers', you realise that Chinese can talk about things which happened 100s of years ago like it occurred last week. Therefore, when you hear something of this nature from a community with a certain oral sharing tradition, you get a strong flavour of the 'obviousness' and even the 'nearness' of the event within your conversation. It is in the vein of 'Oh yeah, Morihei was over here for a cup of cha the other day, as he is interested in tea, why would you even doubt something so apparent?'
I like the humble and sincere take this video has. The guy is calling out the entire Aikido community to stop the bullshit and do the work if you want the top-tier skills and capabilities. This call for action is more than fair and honest.
@871jamie i see......good luck 4 u, i think he has sincerity. i´m black belt in judô shodan 7 years, if u wish a friendly handori, i´m available. He just said his opinion, he didn`t was disrespect the aikido.
I practiced Aikido for 5 years before founding/joining a fight club of martial artists only. It was a group where we tried things out in "real scenarios" 1v1 as well as 3v1 since most fights are not even. It was a very painful learning experience but the basics of Aikido held up. The fancier movements? Not at all. Later I learned Tai Chi and Xing-I and that tought me true ward off energy and completely changed my Aikido.
Exceptional, thoughtful, insightful and appropriately modest analysis of the continuing issues of Aikido. Congratulations on your scholarship and spirit.
For any Aikido student wondering about this, go get a copy of the latest edition of Ellis Amdur's book, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Esoteric Power Training Within Japanese Martial Traditions". That's a very thorough treatment of the internal aspects of what Ueshiba Sensei was up to. As for the idea that he got anything directly during his trips to China/Manchuria, that's been convincingly debunked for years now (see historical work by the late Stanely Pranin). The plain fact is that most modern Chinese arts have next to zero if any real internal understanding despite claims otherwise. Why? the training is tedious, takes years, very few had it to begin with, and as Prince notes, you still have to know how to fight, it's a layer on top of basic skills, not a replacement for those skills. Learning it is one thing, applying it usefully is a whole higher level.
Good video. Ueshiba learning/putting major finishing touches on his internal skills in China (not that anything is truly finished per se, constant evolution is part of life) is not a theory. When I studied IMA in the Taiji/Xing Yi/Baguazhang community in China, they openly said that Ueshiba studied amongst them. There's no reason for them to spin this narrative, and I was not amongst pointless narrative spinners. It would not even have been a boast to say 'we Chinese, in our wonderful Taoist exeptionalism, do a lot of nei gong practice and trained xyz great person'. They don't really care in such a manner within these communities since a style like Aikido has a flavour so similar to so many of their arts, it wouldn't be a major flex. In a similar manner, it wouldn't be an incredible flex to say 'An Indian person taught so and so personality in the West yoga or this American gym instructor taught Western style body building to a Delhi based athelete etc'. Some activities are historically bound somewhat (although not entirely of course) to certain cultures, so certain meetings, outcomes and sharing of skills are not so shocking. I digress, when I was talking about the topic of 'heqidao' (Aikido) within the Chinese IMA community, and they so casually and unpretentiously mentioned that Ueshiba or 'the founder of the style', as they said it, was a former part of the TCMA community in China, I nonetheless had tingles going up and down my spine at that moment. For it is, in any case as I recognised it, an interesting and relevant factoid. Are you genuinely saying it is strange that a man, already known in Japan as a martial arts instructor, with an almost obsessive love of exploring this or that martial idea, going to a neighbouring martial culture with similar social customs, ways of meeting, mingling and sharing around the theme of martialiality, didn't learn some of the core things, which are best preserved in that culture? Although we are often told that Japanese went to China to prove their superiority, there are definite counters to this claim in terms of all consuming, overarching and singular intent. For example, pre war Japan actually had a definite affection, even high regard for, Tang era China (the era which most influenced Japanese culture) and were very much anti Qing and Marxist culture which, ironically, they saw as a degradation of real Asian culture. Therefore, contrary to what you'd think as first reflex, the idea that Ueshiba would want to flesh out concepts within his culture from a neighbouring culture which certainly had an important historical influence/mutual sharing influence on his skillset, is not odd. One other reason, to return to a previous paragraph, why I had spine tingles when I heard this Ueshiba/ICMA connection from the relative horses mouth, is also partly because, if you know the concept of 'Chinese whispers', you realise that Chinese can talk about things which happened 100s of years ago like it occurred last week. Therefore, when you hear something of this nature from a community with a certain oral sharing tradition, you get a strong flavour of the 'obviousness' and even the 'nearness' of the event within your conversation. It is in the vein of 'Oh yeah, Morihei was over here for a cup of cha the other day, as he is interested in tea, why would you even doubt something so apparent?'
That is utter nonsense. In the real tai chi that is much more internal principle then i have ever seen in aikido. Aikido hardly connects the arms to the wIst. They use the waist, but hardly in conjunction in moving the arms the same way.
@@vergilmontiero2558 when it comes to aikido it is hard to explain it in anyway, there is a lot of defect in their training. And whatever practical technique they may have they end up making it useless due to their low level mentality and weak performance.
@@alanarroyo7139 wha?? I do believe that you are and have been greatly misinformed in such a very obvious manner that whomever you have Gotten your information from the Wrong People. THIS SADDENS ME DEEPLY.
@@tallulabellmaritzamercado7718 if it makes you sad that is on you. Plus I didn’t get informed by anybody I tried Aikido myself when I was younger so you better believe that I know what I’m talking about.
In my study of the martial arts I have found that Aikido derives mainly from the martial art of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, but began to diverge from it in the late 1920s, partly due to Ueshiba's involvement with the Ōmoto-kyō religion. Ueshiba's early students' documents bear the term aiki-jūjutsu. It originally was a form of Jujitsu and in its purest form it is an art to be reckon with. My background in the martial arts is mostly Japanese forms of martial art with a little bit of Taoist Yoga, Yang Form Tai Chi and some Kung Fu mixed in. I studied Four different types of Karate, Three different types of Jujitsu, Judo, and Aikido. The Aikido instructor I first had was a jujitsu and Tai Chi master so he knew what was missing from the curriculum. If you really look at the upper echelon of Aikido masters you can see the difference.
O-Sensei, in his latter years never referred to his Aikido as a “martial art” did he? In his younger years he trained with many more people than just Takeda Sensei. (Who, by the way, was never able to document any Takeda lineage) Can Aiki- Waza be applied to defend oneself? Sure, but like anything else, you must put in the time to make them automatic, and know that whatever your muscle memory manifests at any given time is what will either defend you or not.
Well said. Any analysis of any art is inherently flawed. It is only an analysis of a person at that given time. And then it is only from your perspective. Seeing is not doing.
I am not a very well practiced student of Aikido, but I am in full agreement with you. The part of your commentary that spoke loudest to me is where the woman in the class didn't think her room-mate would make a good uke because he wouldn't cooperate with the technique being trained. If the uke *must* cooperate with the technique in order for it to work, then it is either not being taught correctly, or is just not a good technique. There's a conceit where the uke cooperates to the point where the technique only need be gently applied, to avoid injury, but beyond that, the technique, correctly taught and trained, then correctly applied, should work, every time.
I really appreciate the spirit with which you approach this. There are many schools of aikido, each springing from the students that Ueshiba-sensei kept closest to him, and diverging with each of their own students who went on to teach, and so on. Each dojo is different. Each instructor is different. Some places are more ki-oriented, and some are more mechanics, physics, and anatomy-oriented. Aiki-kai is very different than Ki-Society aikido. Likewise, each instructor is a human being, with their own flaws and strengths. This is true for any art, martial or otherwise, yes? And some instructors have 'it'. And some don't. Is this not the case for Tai-Chi, or watercolor painting, or baseball? There are masters and hacks in every discipline. I respectfully feel that it might be less than fair to generalize an entire art based upon a visit to a dojo.
You are absolutely correct in what you said. I have learned different styles of martial arts especially Aikido. I also learned from both Sam Chin and Dan Harden. Both are excellent teachers. I am only a beginner. Martial arts without AIKI are just fighting techniques (katas) or exercises almost like body building, gymnastics etc. AIKI is learning how our body functions and how to maximize this knowledge to generate/redirect power. Having "mastering" AIKI alone does not make you a "good" fighter or a "REAL" martial artist. All martial arts have some form of AIKI even "external" style martial arts. Dan Harden said "Not the weight of a feather can be added nor a fly can alight." that is one simple example of AIKI in motion.
Really nice video @goldenbell training! I’ve just been bitten by the aikido bug and am at a Dojo in Congleton, UK. There are… maybe about 8 or 9 different “types” (schools) of aikido and the one most closely associated with Ōsensei and his family is Aikikai. Within Aikikai there are instructors who teach with “it” and those who don’t. “It” being chi (in Japanese it’s called ki) or a life force. I love my own dojo, because we cultivate that ki first and foremost - the techniques come second. But using it, we can really see how attackers can be flipped to the ground before they even know what happened. Respect.
Thanks again for an excellent presentation. As always, insightful and well articulated. I'm currently reading Scott Meredith's material(books) and it's excellent for developing internal awareness.
@@azlaroc12 if it’s real then there should be many who use it in practical applications. It’s a martial art, if you can’t use it in combat , well then it’s not martial. MMA is highly technical and proven in battle at the highest level. MMA utilizes wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu because they work.
@@bluwng by that regard one would have to ask what is considered many? Because as was states, there are people that can put techniques deemed useless into practical applications. I think the key point being missed is that what works for one may not work for another...so for that other the technique would be considered useless, but for the one it works for it isnt useless, it's useful. Try having a boxer throw any kick, in moat regards it'll be useless for that boxer....the other facet is a person can practice a technique for years and still not understand it if they don't analyze the technique and its purpose. Specific blocks can be deemed useless because of this problem as well.
I am one of the old time students, from back during the time of only two "systems." They were called Tomeiki (no pain techniques) and the Tohei (with pain techniques.) My teacher learned Aikido in Japan (from two third degree black belts,) just after the close of WW II. Prior to this time, if you wanted to learn Aikido, you had to have a black belt in either Judo or Karate, better yet both. You also had to present two letters of recommendation from prominent citizens, preferably of the Administrative/Legislative type. After the war, Ueshiba released Aikido to the general public to help Japan regain its' status as a "world leader." These two missing arts are a major part of "what's wrong" with Aikido.
So what you are saying is that Aikido in it's nature is supplementary martial art, that put additional ideas and knowledge of how to compliment your martial arts skill and move to the next level, once you have already mastered the physical part of it. Which makes sense. In some of the latest Rokas' videos you can see that a lot of principles of Aikido are used in other martial arts albeit in a slightly different matter, which is not big of a deal, when we talk about forms, as forms very based on what your opponent have learned. And the thing which Goldenbell (and Rokas in the quotes) said as problem is that most modern Aikido schools are that they are trying to put it as a mystified inner-strength school of magic
@@dtibvgz8441 That is a very intelligent analysis, but I would only dispute your choice of the word "supplementary." True Aikido is formless, so I would rather call Aikido the _achievement_ of Martial Arts, or Budo, or Kung-Fu. I was told by my Aikido instructor, John Fields, a story of how Master Ueshiba achieved enlightenment. The story goes that he was challenged by a superior officer aboard a Japanese ship. This challenge involved live steel. If Ueshiba proved victorious, he would be put to death for injuring or killing his superior officer. If he allowed himself to lose the battle, his death would be immediate. So he determined that he would avoid direct conflict and only deflect his opponent. As the duel continued, the superior officer could not touch Master Ueshiba, and eventually tired, declaring the contest a "draw." Later on, the Master explained that while he was evading and redirecting his opponent's attacks, that "heaven and earth opened up before him." I would therefore venture to say that true Aikido is a state of mind, rather than a sequence of techniques, and the forms that are taught are only a means to that end. Aikido is not really for beginners.
This makes a lot of sense. Aikido and Taichi are often regarded as BS, but they probably taught real unarmed combat principles at some point. I ran across a few Taichi sparring competition videos, and what does it look like? Good ole above-waist standing wrestling. Aikido and Taichi just suffers from generations of mainstream marketing like many other martial arts, perhaps a bit more. Karate is more fortunate because it has real martial artists actively competing in the mainstream and passing on their knowledge, but most students won't be real martial artists: they don't condition their body for strikes, they don't risk concussions in sparring, they don't risk chronic joint injuries. It's not hard to see what would happen when such "non-combat" black belts go on to teach the next generation and there WEREN'T active competitions to remind people what works.
@@MynameisBrianZX I say REAL Karate faired better than most arts due to the fact that it’s pretty much the most straightforward martial arts there is. The same for even Taekwondo. The Olympics TKD is absolutely garbage but ITF is the real deal. Tai Chi is the most misunderstood one out of all imo. Tai Chi problem is actually finding a Tai Chi master who teaches the real art.
O'Sensei did study Tai Chi Chuan which he learned while in Mongolia. One of his top students Gozo Shioda was doing a Tai Chi Chuan form after his Aikido workout one day and O'Sensei had been watching him without his knowledge, O'Sensei came up to Gozo who was embarrassed that he had been caught doing a different martial art but O'Sensei then asked Gozo if he had ever seen the form done in this manner, he then demonstrated to Gozo the way he had learned Tai Chi Chuan. O'Sensei had said that Chi and Ki are the same internal strength just taught by different countries. My first Aikido instructor in the early 70's when Aikido was first introduced in the USA was Stanley Pranin who is the well-known historian of Aikido. He told me that O'Sensei had a very high rank in Aikijutsu before he created Aikido. He had studied many martial arts through his lifetime before he created what is now known as Aikido. We were taught O'Sensei's prewar Aikido so you did have atemi strikes before you would execute a throw, we were also taught Ki extension to be used with every throw. Now days a lot of what you see of Aikido has been watered down compared to what it was originally when first introduced in this country. Many dojos almost make it into a dance and take out all strikes which is really wrong, O'Sensei said that atemi strikes are 80% of Aikido. Many of the old teachers who actually studied under O'Sensei are all gone now. Aikido is real and if you can find an instructor who still practices the original Aikido as taught by O'Sensei then you may experience being thrown not even realizing how you were just thrown.
Watched your last and this video and good to see that you were level headed in your analysis. The only issue that I have with your observations on the efficacy of aikido techniques is that they seem to be coming from a viewpoint that seems to misunderstand the purpose of aikido? Unlike other martial disciplines where you have usually two opponents trying to block (resist) and apply techniques to overcome the other (all at the same time) in a rules based competition, aikido or related arts, like akijujitsu, there is no opponent as such as tori (executing techniques) and the uke (receiver of techniques) are not supposed to come into conflict! This does not mean that there is complete compliance! Aikido is primarily a defensive art but this should not be confused with the idea, coined by Gichen Funokoshi of Shotokan Karate, 'karate ni sen tenashi' (there is no first strike in karate - this doesn't mean you wait to be struck before responding as an INTENTION to attack by an opponent is enough to justify a pre-emptive strike). Pre-emptive strikes in aikido, or atemi, open the door to the application of techniques, which in many schools of aikido atemi has been reduced to a mere 'waft' of the hand or non-existent, with no physical or mental impact on the uke. At the end of the day, if you want students to return to the dojo each week, you can't be poking them in the eyes, punching them in the ribs, palm healing them on the chin, straight fingers strike to the throat etc or chopping on their carotid arteries can you? However, at my dojo the intention is to do just that but pulling the atemi before applying a technique, mainly to assist muscle memory. And the other point regarding your comment on 'I could easily resist any technique to stop it working' (paraphrased) is again kind of missing the point about aikido (see also above). If someone is being shown a aikido technique they already know what's coming so can easily subvert it by resisting or being awkward. But the pertinent thing here is that if someone lays hands on me, unrehearsed, they won't know how I am going to react or what I might be able to do, and vice versa, but one hopes that with years of training in the right martial frame of mind and acquired skills, I may be able to defend myself reasonably effectively using a combination of atemi and aikido techniques (which might include punches, strikes to vulnerable areas, locks and throws)? Although I do tend to agree that a lot of aikido you see can look like choreographed pseudo martial moves, a bit like wushu, with no real martial intent. I have trained in karate to dan grade and judo (brown belt) and many of the techniques of these arts already exist within aikido. We try to test our techniques on a regular basis and sometimes they are not as effective as they could be but with a bit of atemi applied, I often find that they are! O'Sensei's aikido emerged out of WW2 and occupation, where it was necessary to reduce the overt "violence' to allow practice to continue, so a softer form emerged, the same with other arts. When O'Sensei trained with Takeda sensei prior to the war in Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu, that discipline was pretty brutal. At my dojo we like to combine a bit of both in our training, which, as a defensive art, we believe is reasonably effective. And in a way, there is little benefit comparing the effectiveness of aikido against other arts as its a bit like trying to compare apples and pears! .
Hey Prince. A very interesting and informative video. I've practiced tai chi for forty years. I've had very little opportunity to engage in the combat aspect of tai chi. Having said that, my daily tai chi practice has caused some interesting results which I would describe as "unusual sensitivity", as if my physical senses extend well beyond my physical body. The solo practice is something more than just waving one's arms around. There are powerful results to be experienced with regular and sincere training.
Cool... Now don't fall into the chi blasting crap... Please continue to do what you are doing without the "I have gained magical mystical powers of chi able to kill a man without touching him." Tbh, I think what you are describing is just moving meditation. It feels awesome ik.
Watching the two videos in this series makes me realize how fortunate I have been in my Aikido education. My teacher was a student of Michio Hikitsuchi who was a 10th dan direct student of O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, and the philosophy, internal work, and martial effectiveness were all taught. Ki was central to our training. The way we taught (I eventually became an instructor) was that Aiki was a philosophy and the physical technique was just one way to express and transmit that philosophy. I moved away for a while and joined another dojo that was Aikikai based and it was more like you described in your videos. The instructor at the school and I had equivalent experience but I feel he always felt intimidated by me so I stopped training there because of the toxicity. There were no other black belts at that school and the other students would comment when I first showed up how much "fun" I was because I guess now they never felt real ki flow before in hindsight. The way Aikido was taught in my home school smaller people usually had an advantage over larger people and we were taught not to muscle our way through our technique but use mechanical advantage and ki. When I was a beginner, one teenager Jr. Black belt threw me and it felt like I levitated and floated towards the mat. I think she was 16 and quite smaller than me.
Aiki, ki, energy, or any other supernatural power is not real. You have been conned into believing this. Aikido doesn't work because it is a bullshit martial arts that was founded on supernatural powers and religion, rather than effectiveness. Find a real martial arts, you will learn better to defend yourself in 10 weeks better than the ever how many years you spent "learning" aikido. Good luck.
I was exposed to Aikido Around 1975 at the age of 14. Life took my sensei and me in other directions, so I never developed expertise or rank. That said, the short at the dojo still improved everything about my approach to physical movement. Basketball defense and shots improved. Even boxing punches had more power because I always "kep weight underside" with an awareness of my center. - Beore each class we spent a hour in meditation and ki development. - There were many techniques that simply did not work if the student wasn't "extending" ki. - Techniques were not taught in 1-2-3 steps. They were performed in continuous movments. - Hand techniques were subservient to evade and redirect movements. Even if the hand teqnique didn't go as planned, the student evaded harm and had good balance while the 'attacker' went stumbling out of control. Thank you for making this video.
I practiced Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido for about 8 years. I had one fight when a younger, bigger stronger man attacked me. I was 53 years old at the time my attacker was in his late 20s to early 30s. Long story short, he got in the first punch to my nose but my ability to spin away from his punch saved me from severe damage. As he tried to get me in a headlock, my aikido training allowed me to duck straight down and grab him by his ankles, lift him up and throw him on his back. He never laid another hand on me, I did kick him in the knee (Atemi), twice in the groin and hit him with a straight right to his mouth! Was it pure Aikido? Probably not but, I can honestly say that my Aikido training was definitely responsible for keeping me calm, and slowing the fight down in my mind which allowed me to outthink and defeat my attacker! He was arrested by the local Sheriff. I received a call the next day asking ne to reconsider pressing charges (which I had refused to do). The sheriff complimented me on the beating I gave the young idiot! I told him that getting beat by a man 20+ years older than him was punishment enough and might give him pause the next time he’s feeling like a tough guy! I’m now 70 years old and still feel like I can protect myself pretty well. I believe Aikido has a lot of value but you must get a good teacher and should incorporate striking arts as well. I also studied Karate and Kempo and done some boxing, which helped round out my fighting ability.
Honestly I think that keeping calm has more to do with the boxing part in the last sentance than Aikido (unless you did actual sparring in your aikido training). Atleast from what I have witnessed and felt myself, keeping calm is not something you learn by being calm. It is an ability to overcome adversity that needs adversity to develop. So basically one needs to get used to danger, in order to keep calm in a dangerous situation. In a fighting sence, that can't happen without sparring (even going from sparring to actual fighting is a big jump in percieved danger and hence the ability to stay calm).
@@eiko4252 Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido as taught by the founder Koichi Tohei (Ueshiba’s Only student ever personally promoted to 10th Dan) incorporated mind, body and spirit as part of the whole art. That’s what kept me calm. What boxing did was help my strategy during my calmness! My ability to predict what my opponent’s reactions were going to be in response to my feints were from boxing. I punched him in the stomach to force his awareness of my right hand. Then faked a right hand jab knowing he wound duck away from it and be right where my left hand blasted him in the mouth and snapped him head back. Suddenly he didn’t look as enthusiastic about fighting anymore. That was followed by two kicks to his groin! Shortly afterwards the fighting stopped and park ranger and Sheriff arrived.
The problem with Aikido students is a lot of them don't realize that it's the garnish not the meal, I don't see Aikido as a martial art I see it as a philosophy and conflict management system however, I have studied Asian studies at post grad level (Inspired by my martial arts training) if you go to Japan a lot of Aikido practitioners do either Judo or a form of karate as well as Aikido. Those who pair it with Judo use it like a karate practitioner would use their soft training.
I like this channel. I'm subscribing like a scribe. No idea what some of this stuff means, and haven't tried martial arts since I was 10, but I like this.
I've had a couple of aikido instructors and none of them did the bull crap. Each student did resist and they did put torque and they would throw you. It was like getting caught up in a tornado and couldn't get out of it. I think it depends on the mentality of the person who trains and the way they train. I definitely wouldn't just do aikido for sure but just like boxing or wrestling each has its place. I have been able to use my aikido functionally. When it comes down to it it's just the art of learning how to properly lock and throw someone or control the balance which is in more than one style.
The easier part is to learn technic and the sparing is to learn to fight. Why is that so hard to understand? Many dojos don't want outsiders to see more powerful and deadly stuff.
thank you for the video. i am someone who practices hard styles as well as soft and love aikido philosophy. it saddens me to here the many negative experiences with aikido as an art. i have found the teachings in the book Ueshiba wrote "the art of peace" to be instrumental in my own training the concepts of training joyously especially, as well as "crystal clear, sharp and bright, the sacred sword allows no opening for evil to roust.". i have read multiple books on aikido, mma, wing chun, bjj, wrestling, judo, boxing, tai ji and jkd and loves aspects of many forms. working part time as a bouncer for a little while did help some with understanding conflict better. having trained a small amount traditionally in karate and wrestling as a child. i found as an adult that it is much more important to train with goals of skill set and desired level of ability in mind. i love aikido and dont doubt that the quality of lesson varies. i do however think that understanding the use of force as it relates to conflict is something best trained both menially and physically and that falls in the end on the individual in my opinion. i have had the both benefit and burden of actually having been in a fair amount of street fights, which really makes me appreciate the concepts of striving for peaceful resolutions that are stressed so strongly in aikido literature. as well as the recognition that harming others is not something to be glorified or viewed as the best option in conflict. i have not tied my own sense of self or ability to defend myself to any style but for what it is worth i appreciate the focus on being respectful in the video and wish every one who reads this joy in training (if applicable) and life.
In my experience, it's a sense you develop from living the arts, rather than just training on weekends. I was training ten to twelve hours a day for several years with a group of people, and got to a point where I could feel movement before it happened and counter it. Then life got in the way, I had to quit training as much and this sense went away.
Hello Prince, I have been involved with martial arts & ways for over 40 years. However, my later years have not been as active. I spent 30+ years in Aikido, and attained a nidan. My skill & ability level exceed that, but was not interested in any more hoop jumping. BTW black belt ranks outside of Japan. are not reflective of ranks in Japan. Typically, shodan-sandan ranks outside of Japan reflect a higher level than there corresponding ranks in Japan. Often Japanese students begin young, and are ranked quickly. As such, their personal maturity and age are younger during these ranks as compared to gaijin. However, the higher ranks, rokudan and above, often reflect a high degree of ability as compared to the same ranks outside of Japan. I agree with your assessment. Like all martial arts & ways context is important. And, the context of Aikido as designed by the founder was not as a martial art, even though he himself had a very martial & combat oriented history. It was at least a martial way, and he attempted to cultivate it beyond that into a spiritual way. Most students, by far, have not or can't do that. So, at best it is a martial way as a social phenomenon. In fact, the techniques of Aikido are just really bad jujutsu. Aikijujutsu has the same situation, they are really poor jujutsu technique. The reason being is to make "it" work one has to cultivate as you express the ability of aiki. For a martial application, once you have aiki you should not let the classical techniques/forms restrain you. The forms employed are gross forms that were utilized for samurai wearing armor in bladed environments, not modern environments. So, back to context. The technical forms of Aikido are not designed for street self defense. Any more than MMA is designed to survive in projectile fire environments, or kung fu vs. SEAL Team 6. It would be a slaughter. So, people looking to be powerful in the martial/combat realm for real should just leave martial arts. Go join the military and seek every level of special forces opportunities they can muster. Not that martial arts aren't employed in training, cause they are, but it's trained in a context that is strategically relevant to being the baddest MF's they can be. Once someone changes their mind on that, and realizes they just want to take care of themselves a bit, I recommend Systema. It utilizes internal work in a way that the martial context is not hindered or deluded by classical forms. It's basically a watered down version of one aspect of Spetsnaz training. I grew up in N. Calif., and experienced a lot of fighting from a young age. I met and trained with Angel Cabales (Eskrima) as a teen. Then Tae Kwon Do when it first arrived (Ernie Reyes (father not junior)). Then competitive wrestling. Then a Vietnamese form of internal martial arts (Binh Dinh). Then Japanese arts & ways; judo, karate, aikido. Ended up living and having a family with a woman from Hokkaido samurai lineage. Visited Abashiri (where O'Sensei trained with Takeda), many Hokkaido aiki sensei, and many aikido dojo throughout Japan. Then Frank Shamrock, and Cung Le when we were at the same community college (West Valley College, Saratoga, CA). Then was introduced to the most senior Systema proponents in the world (Vladimir Vasiliev, Mikhail Ryabko, Sonny Puzikas, Kwan Lee, Martin Wheeler). Finally, when someone says to me "Aikido" doesn't work. I respond with, "Aikido works, you don't". This truth applies to just about anything.
A lot of what you said sounds like the conversation with the school's Sensei who inspired me to make these Aikido videos. In Internal styles that actually teach the inner door material openly, you start with the internal training from day 1.
I practiced Aikido in the Saotome Shihan lineage at an Aikido Schools of Ueshiba in Seattle for six years. My Sensei is really good, but I wouldn't say she has "aiki" in the full sense. One of the visiting Aikido instructors was a Systema master too and his seminars were very eye opening to me. But Systema discussion is a whole separate topic in itself, because the school available in N. America is a copycat from the original Kadochnikov school. Look up the movie "Болевой Приём" (Painful Technique? -- th-cam.com/video/oel7Ly8dFLc/w-d-xo.html), and you would get to see Kadochnikov himself. You can search for "Кадочников Система" on YT and find videos of him also. Nevertheless, the one thing in the video that I think is important to point out is the role of the uke. The author is right that if he resisted he could have easily confused the student-nage trying to perform the technique. The truth is that as Saotome Shihan is attributed to saying is that he can teach how to kill a man in 30 minutes, but to learn/teach aikido would take 30 years. All technique based martial arts schools are suffering from the fact that until your black belt (shodan) you as a student are merely learning the techniques, therefore uke is there to help you learn them. Once you have learned the foundation collection of techniques and demonstrated all of them during your ikkyu test (which in aikido takes 90+ minutes), and then with your shodan test (which actually lasts less time since your sensei already knows that you have learned the foundation by the time you do ikkyu, but s/he is looking for your better understanding of the techniques -- I am not gonna venture to try to explain what exactly). So the saying at my school was that shodan basically means that you can begin real training (interpret the word real whichever way you want). So if someone came to the dojo and asked how long it would take them to get to black belt, we would tell them that with Amazon Prime they can have a black belt in two days. In true aikido schools black belt is no big deal, and adults only get white, brown, or black belts, no other colors. Colors and stripes on the belts are for kids' classes. Once you get shodan, you are required to go to seminars with other teachers, so that you are exposed to a variety of sub-O'Sensei lineages. Some serious students end up going to Japan for a few years to get a broader exposure. So aikido is a long journey, and a very personal one too. I think of it as a "martial arts yoga". It is more about self discovery than being able to fight, but 30 years later (or maybe sooner) you may be able to do that too. Systema doesn't teach techniques, it teaches principles. I tried it and got exposed to folks with a variety of backgrounds. During one class I remember the instructor had us lay down, then three guys would sit on you, and your task was to try to figure out how to get out from under them. So I as an aikido student prior to shodan would never claim that I know anything, though as I progressed I did recognize the situations were if uke wasn't helping me to learn the technique, then I knew that in real situation I would do something else, and sometimes I attempted to practice that kind of flexibility of the mind. It was told to us over and over that in aikido you never try to muscle against the point that keeps you stuck, say if your wrist is grabbed, then you are not to fight the grab, but you do a tenkan or something else to go around this immovable point and then have your uke get out of balance via other means, so that then you can affect them. The instructor I tried Systema with actually was a long time aikido practitioner (I think close to the proverbial 30 years), and he said that he switched to Systema because it felt to him that it is what aikido should be. And like I said technique focused training vs. principles based training are two different worlds. Onegai-Shimasu!
"Aikido works, you don't" This is what I would wanna say to everyone who said this form or that form of martial art doesn't work. A theory is just a theory. A tool is just tool. It was there for a purpose. It was made for a purpose, and remained simply because it was proven to have served it's purpose. The efficacy of theory as in the tool highly depends on the one who's wielding it. What most people failed to understand is that for something to work for themselves, it takes a lot of hard work and thorough understanding. Without hardwork and thorough understanding of the art, even boxing won't work. They thought they're so good at it but couldn't even throw a proper punch. Nah. Art is beauty carved out of pain.
*Check out These Related Videos for MORE on Aikido »»»* *The Problem with Aikido* → th-cam.com/video/cw_cubPihog/w-d-xo.html *The ONE Reason Why Aikido Is NOT Effective* → th-cam.com/video/h2oewiqN4r8/w-d-xo.html
Nice video, why akido no teach a ganglia breathing openly. ? Many Asian countries are not Democratic and rely on many more forms of discrimination, lack of id ,ego security. Safety rationals? National electric codes require properly sized conduits for the energy flow less they .. champagne supernova?
Real aikido is hard to learn. Many of us did not continue. It is not for sports no sparing its deadly. Aikido force is in the ground. Develope hard as a rock & soft as water. Ex. Steven Seagal is good in Aikido.
What part of Nashville do you train in? Are you familiar with Master Rusty Gray? I believe his school is now in Hendersonville. He specializes in Sil Lum and Wing Chun. He was a bare knuckle lei tai world champion from 1989-1992. Powerful internal hitter, great fighter and great teacher.
nice video, but i have another point of view that i believe that Aikido is not a martial art for combat, aikido was an ART created as part of an ideal vision of a peaceful society. Its about blending with the society, with the people around you, creating a peacefull society. Aikido itself would place peacefulness and honor at the center of it's teaching. Ueshiba was really a very enlightened and visionary person. As a military man in his earlier life, his utopian vision was one of profound love and compassion even from a victim to their attacker. Thats why he (or the aikikai community) is against the idea of competing, pressure testing, and sparring. you should check out this video for my point of view regarding aikido:th-cam.com/video/i2WRHzOgzG4/w-d-xo.html chadi is also a great channel focusing the topic of jujutsu, judo, shuai jiao and aikido.
have you heard of tomiki aikido? its an aikido thats using pressure testing, live ressistance, sparring, and competition. its a great aikido style if you want to learn more about it here is the video: th-cam.com/video/cz9ZFUstJy0/w-d-xo.html
Probably the best video I've seen regarding Aikido and Tai Chi. So many people don't get it. I would love to study Aikido because from Tai Chi, I learned how to apply principles not just moves. One Tai Chi story, I was in a class with a guy who studied with me from zero on up. We had studied for 6 months, and in push hands, I could beat him about 9 out of 10 times. I took ONE MONTH OFF. When I came back, I couldn't beat him--at all, not even one match in 10. He beat me every single time. He said, "you're just out of practice." Partly true, I was, but he had improved too--quite a bit. There's this sense you get. I thought of it as listening, where you can feel force, momentum, pressure, and changes in the same...call it what you will, with your whole body. I understand it. I can still do it. But it's not the same as when you practice every day.
Check out some of the teachers in the ASU headed by Mitsugi Saotome Shihan, such asHiroshi Ikeda, George Ledyard, William Gleason, and the late Kevin Choate to name a few.They are all exploring and teaching a much less technique based aikido;, concerned more with principals like connection, center, relaxation, etc. and less with simply perfecting a performance, which for the most part is what cooperative technique based aikido practice is all about,
Pre-War Aikido versus Post-War Aikido... Post-War is a softer and spiritual side of aikido. Pre-War Aikido is more vital in combat with locks, throws, and Jujitsu elements in it. I've used it in bouncing and outside altercation. But I've used aikido in combination of other forms of self-defense and it worked out fine for me.
Props on mentioning Bruce Francis. I met that guy at a martial arts presentation in NYC once. I've heard is speculated about The Aikido founder just like you're saying. In the beginning his techniques were linear....he started going to China and at some point they became circular.
Have you ever done Tai Chi push hands? If not look it up because when you do it with high level folks it feels like they're not there. Hard to explain. I suspect another problem with Aikido is that it's difficult to practice in real life. You would break your partners wrist if not careful. So without proper resistance it's difficult to practice the technique. The flipping you see in many techniques is done to avoid having your wrist broken.
I totally see what you are saying, I studied Aikido for a while, and I can tell that many schools are crazy about having a lot of students and to have the most flamboyant techniques. And this is not a just an Aikido problem. My school was Aiki Kokyu Kan, and we spent a quite good time studying physics and history even calligraphy. So I experience the "Ki" applied on me, and till now I have not a good explanation other than mastering the control of your whole body. I never reach that level of Ki, even though my sensei introduced me to His Sensey as a young promise he kept me on white belt, Sensey told me: you should be black but I want you to be humble. My sensei always told me that I had a lot of future in aikido, no need to be crazy about the Ki, you will definitely will master it . But life is always moving ( I got into college) Talking about History, O'sensey Ueshiba, was the disciple of Sokaku Takeda! Ueshiba was the one that put the name Aikido because is his own version of what the clan Takeda practice, and it was just for the family Takeda; that were samurais. So, Ueshiba made a verision that was more gentle and not as savage as the Dayto Ryu Aikijujutsu that Takedas practiced for war. If you notice all the movements are samurai movements but without a katana. Well, good video, remembering that we should always look for a full knowledge and not just the outside shape!
You really hit all the nails on the head with this video. As a 5'3" woman who was raised by a (similarly sized) Tai Chi teacher mom but who has no martial arts background myself, I got interested in Aikido in my early 20s. The dojo I attended was in St Louis, and they taught what they called "Japanese Yoga" alongside Aikido and referenced the internal techniques constantly. I only studied for six months, but the internal techniques I learned in that time (learning the difference between relaxing completely and collapsing completely, learning to strengthen and clearly direct your ki) I have carried forward to this day. What made me stop was several experiences that traumatized me (it's the best word I can think of) while performing the role of attacker (I've forgotten the term now). I wasn't prepared for how violent a spear throw would feel, how I didn't feel strong enough to control such a violently directed throw and stop myself from slamming face first into the mat, when practicing with one of the more forceful (bigger and stronger) students. You're expected to just keep rushing to attack, and it felt like I would lose face at the dojo if I stepped to the side and said I needed a break. And then, while facilitating a class with our sensei, I got yelled at in front of the students for resisting a throw too much - he said he could break my wrist if I did that. It was so confusing - so when am I supposed to practice strong directed ki and when am I supposed to comply immediately?? I think, at the right school, they are teaching the curriculum well, but if I go back to a martial art it will be Tai chi. Having seen how it benefits my mom to this day even in her 70s, despite the fact that she hasn't taught or attended classes for about 10 years now, is evidence enough for me.
Aiki, ki, energy, or any other bullshit supernatural power you've been brainwashed into believing in, is not real. You have been conned into believing this. Aikido doesn't work because it is a bullshit martial arts that was founded on supernatural powers and religion, rather than effectiveness. Find a real martial arts, you will learn better to defend yourself in 6 days better than the 6 months you spent "learning" aikido. Good luck.
I trained at an Aikido dojo in St Louis in the mid-90s. It was a small dojo and the sensei was very patient with people. I was sorry I didn't really have enough time and money to devote to it. Probably for the best since the closest dojo to me now is 4 hours away.
This is a tough subject. I have studied martial arts for over 35. Karate, jujitsu, close quarter combat and boxing. In my opinion what seems to have helped me the most is pressure testing and having the experience to know what technique works for my body type. Just saying what works for me may not be for you. Like Bruce said be like water.
with you thair man relising that traing in stuf that works with my body has truly helped me as a fighter. Im a big guy strong legs and arms but have almost zero acrobatic skill (dispite hears of trying) so my style is a vary rooted one with a focuse of defence and conter actions. as one of my friends say I let my opent brake them self on me
I have to agree on it :) back in my Aikido school, they taught you the moves but they never touched on breathing, or foot works even. I used my prior experience in tai chi to complement what they lacked training.
Mr. GT, I enjoyed this video and I am happy that it is generating some conversation on this important (for Aikidoka anyhow) topic. Variations of this discussion are constant in the group of longtime Aikido practitioners that were shared to this post. The 4 members in our 'group' have over 160 years of combined experience (I also have trained with Goldberg and Harden Senseis and have familiarity with Sifu Chin). I have included my response to the group (with some editing) which you may find of interest; This guy did a thoughtful expose on what is a REAL PROBLEM in the Aikido community and referenced some quality MARTIAL ARTISTS in the video. Thanks. I do think that O sensei did expose himself to Chinese internal arts because if one is a knowledge seeker one would naturally take advantage of any opportunities that presented themselves. What the guy in the video left out is that the main teacher of the Japanese art that Ueshiba practiced, Takeda Sokaku, was himself a/the MASTER OF AIKI. And that Morihei's long term and close relationship with him (he received a teaching certificate from Takeda) was likely the primary source of O Sensei's development of his own 'Aiki'. IMHO, the two main components of high(est) level of Aiki/Internal Power which O Sensei demonstrated have been rarely taught or shown by Aikido instructors are Takemusu Aiki and Internal Power. The former should be automatic among 5th Dan and above since it is commonly accepted as the highest form of Aikido and should be a worthwile goal at that level. With regard to the latter; it should be noted that one eyewitness account has Ueshiba throwing Shioda 48 feet during a demonstration for the Crown Prince. Who in the Aikido community does anything remotely like this. Dan Harden is a great resource for this. The handful of Aiki practioners from any art that wish to use 'Aiki' as an ultimate self defense must be able to follow these almost impossible guidelines. The following is a quote from Matsuda on what Sagawa (the subject of the book,"TRANSPARENT POWER) learned from Takeda Sensei," That is, when our body is grabbed or pushed, or various techniques are applied to us, we instantly intercept the power of the enemy through Aiki-no-jutsu, render it powerless, stick to it and make it impossible to separate, and apply throwing, reversal or joint locking techniques. When the enemy comes to strike us we stop that movement, reverse it, or execute throwing techniques or reversals after floating and destabilizing them through the action of Aiki-no-jutsu . Even when they move before us, after destabilizing the enemy and rendering them powerless through the principles of Aiki we attack them. This is the unique Aiki-no-jutsu technical method of this art. Simply stated, in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu there are 2,884 techniques which give birth in turn to an endless number of variations. Each and every one of them employ the action of the Aiki-no-jutsu mm
I'm an Aïkidoka, and I had the luck to start in the school that actually tries to teach Aïkido. I have to say, you are very right, I have since I started visited two different dojos out of curiosity, and in both cases their training was focusing on the techniques and movements, rather than the fundamental principles behind that make the techniques work, and can be used without them. Also, the fundamental role of aïte (he who is on the receiving end of a technique) is to challenge his partner during the practice. Past setting up the situation appropriate to the exercise being shown, you need not let your partner do whatever they want and be complacent, but every step of the way pointing out mistakes mades, sometimes by turning the situation back in your favor, so that they learn and improve, if those mistakes are at a level that the partner can understand. You have to be challenging, but you can't be too challenging. And riding that edge will make everyone improve.
I thought Uke naivity was the main problem, after doing the movement once it is hard to not adapt the attack, as you know what counter you are facing. Up to a level, I visited another dojo and they hit me in the face, sometimes the uke must be cautiously attacking.
The “problem” with any martial art is not the art but the teacher. If you train under a real deal sensei in Japan they will make you a machine. “Internal power” or not.
This is purely my opinion and it could be total bs since I am not a black belt in anything. But from what I have studied about Eastern Martial Arts is that Qi or Chi is a real thing, some western scientist have found a relationship between our bioelectricity output and Chinese acupuncture points. Leading some people to speculate that when people maniplute their "Qi" it is really maniplutating your breathing or bloodflow in such a way you can control where your body outputs the most bioelectricity. Now I don't think this "internal power" is what really seperates the regulars from the pros. But I think that is why many Eastern Martial Arts have a philosophical part to them that studies things like Zen Buddhism and Taoism. Maybe that is why certain aspects of Aikido are not being passed down in western schools.
@@arnonabuurs7297 not exactly. All types of styles are considered martial arts. But not all styles are effective in combat situations. Some styles are aesthetic, for health, for fitness, for military etc.
@@arnonabuurs7297...the Asian masters don't "pack and sell" anything. It's fake "senseis" who "water down" or have no clue what they are teaching. If you think Aikido is a bunch of bull go to Japan and challenge the sensei of the dojo...but make sure you have very good health coverage.
Number 1 requirement for aikido enthusiasts. You’ve gotta have the ponytail hair. Just like any new guys joining kempo have to have the best unshaved look to go with their grey gii’s, the aikido guy NEED!! to have that ponytail. This is from where they get their power source. Like Samson who gathered strength from his long hair….well so do they.
As I comment at Roka's video, the big issue is how people is teaching and practicing aikido and others martial arts. They try to be like O-Sensei but didn't pass through the process.
When I first started with Aikido, all of us White Belts just went with the flow of the attacker. This helped us to learn the movements without developing ki. I started developing Ki as I went for my yellow belt. My Sensei was also a power builder who had an easy 100 pounds on me. Trying to go through the motions I felt like I ran into a brick wall. As I developed ki while working with him one on one, I began to move him like he was a feather. That is when I fell in love with it. My experience is that you have to push beyond the initial teachings to truly understand an art.
I cant say I actually believe in an idea of ki outside of a simplification and conglomeration of a bunch of biological physics and reactions using ideas like the potential energy created by unbalancing an opponent and turning that energy into kinetic energy. But even with that, learning how to manipulate the body is definitely helpful and I see in hapkido which I do. But my masters noticed some things just don't work if someone is resisting. There's some techniques we could alter and there's some that just have some specific requirements we couldn't notice without pressure testing it. I have really seen the difference in the technique of big strong guys who could never do it on someone their size and small framed short people who have excellent technique, because it won't work otherwise. It's fascinating stuff.
But there is that mental part. That confidence. Even with my masters who recognize that we need to add pressure, they sometimes let me do the technique unconsciously without real resistance to make me feel good. But I really realized this when I would go to my other classes in traditional tand soo do. They almost never do locks or grappling and so I would try my techniques on them. They had no idea what to expect except that some really wanted me to fail. Sometimes I'd get a real reaction like someone on the street, or I'd get someone actively trying to make me fail. Here this helped me improve my technique. If I didn't do it perfectly I'd fail since they didn't even know how to help me. And with the ones that wanted me to fail and knew what I was trying to do, it was a great chance to train the idea of switching to a different technique when being countered in a specific way. So worth it.
Similar situation here. In the 70's troughout the 80's I had studied Karate and Judo. I'm not a very tall guy but you know muscular, very strong and in shape. I went to study Jukaïdo. All the students were phenomenals. The teacher a small guy about 5'3". He was known to have been a student of O'Sensei. He would move me around like I was nothing to the point I got mad and throw a punch at him. God was he fast and he was the real deal. Lesson learned. Thanks Sensei!
@@PR-fk5yb " The teacher a small guy about 5'3". He was known to have been a student of O'Sensei. He would move me around like I was nothing to the point I got mad and throw a punch at him. God was he fast and he was the real deal"
I have only a few months training in Aikido. But one experience stands out. I was the cooperating partner to a brown belt who claimed I was not cooperating. What I was doing was taking her lead and moving my body to comply with the. leading arm and body moves, and wrist holds and arm locks. All the while I was flowing ki through my arms and out my fingers. We never got specific instruction of directing ki for the moves. It was up to us to figure that out. Finally, frustrated that she could not convince me I wasn’t cooperating, she called the Sensei over to instruct me. He put a wrist hold to lock my arm on me and did not try to bend my wrist, but instead injected ki into my wrist which initially joined my ki flow out my fingers, no pain, no joint lock. His words were that I had very strong wrists. Taking the hint, I stopped my ki flow and felt for his. His ki then cut off my flow totally and the pain was extremely excruciating. He said “got it”. So I reassessed his true red and white belt authority to rule ki flow in my white belt body and reestablished my flow. He said “lost it”, the pain stopped. As did my old sense of what cooperating was. I don’t believe the failure to teach is totally in the failure to allow resistance, but to fully engage the cooperative training with Q & A. Especially with instruction on Ki control. In O’sensei’s day the students spent a lot of time exchanging techniques with each other. No doubt perfecting the lessons that they were learning without improving the quality of instruction. The culture is very rigid with who is in charge and who teaches who. The reality is we are our own teachers, senseis are just leaders, they can’t make us learn. My Sensei in New Orlean (Saul Smithson always sparred with his eyes closed, he also insisted everyone practice meditation.). My understanding of the physics of the body and mastering transcendent awareness and transcendent fighting arts require complete coordination of cellular functions largely ignored or denied by Western science. These are natural abilities. Anyone can develop them individually to a level that exceeds a fixed curriculum, there are no secrets from transcendently aware people. This is why only practicing kata or limited moves with cooperating partners is not good preparation for real fights. And why there can never be one dominate master of all arts (nature adapts and changes.) Nature teaches superior fighting methods based on how it works (right on track with Bruce Lee’s fight theories). Thanks for bringing your perspective.
A long time ago I had a Friend who showed me a Video of Morehei Ueshiba which he claimed was smuggled out of Japan . At the time I didn't believe him ( Regarding it being smuggled out of Japan ) I do now though . The video showed Ueshiba fighting 5 men at a time . When I say fighting , I don't mean Sparring . This was full contact , full speed , full power . No pulling punches . Not one of those Ueshiba Demonstration Videos like you see on You Tube . I saw men's heads cracking together . Bodies flying all over the place . His opponents were seriously trying to hurt him . Punching , Kicking , trying to drag him down , hurt him ,.It was mayhem . This was no BS . I've never seen anybody , anybody in my life and I mean anybody , fight like this guy . It was unbelievable . Just unbelievable . I have scoured You Tube countless times trying to find this Video . I can't find it or anything that comes close to it . What I saw in that Video I've never seen again . Ever . This is no bullshit . When people say Aikido is bullshit , fake , wouldn't work in a real fight etc etc maybe in general it's true . But , in regards to what I saw in that video , regarding Ueshiba's fighting ability , those statements are total , total BULLSHIT !!!! This guy Ueshiba was unbelievable . I wish todays Martial Arts Community could see what I saw in that Video . The problem with his Aikido would be in a real fight he'd be kicking anybody's ass . This guy would've been a problem for ANYBODY . I believe now that the Video I saw was not supposed to be for Public Consumption . Maybe because it was too violent , I don't know . Maybe Ueshiba because of his peaceful Philosophy didn't want it shown . Who knows. I know what I saw though . It was beyond mind blowing . I will never ever forget it . He was a True Master . What I said here is 1000% true.
Hi , I went to a dojo that was directly setup by him. It was both mental and physical. It was real fighting, once you got past a certain point. You really get it, once you pick up swords. The movement becomes very apparent.
I 100% agree.. I thought this was gonna be another video crapping on Aikido, but yes, the inner dimension of directing ones Ki, is the true basis (or should be) of every martial art. I asked the local guy, if he teaches this and he said.. no we don't, and he asked if I was still interested.. I said no. The reason IS.. is because it takes a lot of devotion, time and effort on the practitioner. Much of which can only be had through meditation and cleansing the self of imbalances that can disrupt or corrupt this power.
Thank You for pointing out this this training flaw. Another flaw that I haven't really heard anyone talking about either is the Budo Spirit and how it is key to not just understanding the culture it came from, but vitally important for practical combat. In my own words, I would describe it as breaking through to the superego and learning to bind and control ones demons(Jungian depth psychology). Anyone who has "it" should be breaking their students ego from day1 and forcing them to have no other side of the mind to go to but the superego. Training in the Budo Spirit is traded in order to keep a large class of paying students because the Budo Spirit is not at all the nice good-sport environment. It is the heart that you are leaving tomorrow on a military campaign and if you don't get this today, your chances of returning alive are slim. Any teacher who has "it", will likely have only a handful of hard dedicated students who always have that look in the eyes like "daddy just sent brother to hell for eternity and I'm next". Pressure training your Spirit is the true heart of this Entire thing and for a student to come out and still have their head in their ass thinking about technical mechanics as being apart from hell training has missed everything and nothing will work for them in "the street".
This is exactly why I stopped training in Aikido. I did about 7 years at a school that was founded by and taught by Akira Tohai a student of O Sensei. The place was full of bullies who tried to make less experienced students feel that they were learning something special when they were actually getting abused. There were a few teachers who understood 'real' aikido and they all eventually left the toxic envorment of the Midwest Aikido Center in Chicago to found their own schools. I eventually went on to train in traditional kung fu and tai chi. During my tai chi practice (Hsu Fun Yen's Yang style) I discovered ward-off energy and that's when my Aikido clicked and my kung fu instructor was always smacking me to keep it "tai chi" during push hands or sparring. Thank you so much for being objective and finding the truth. The world needs to hear this more than you know.
This has been my experience with most main stream schools. The barrier to entry is a check. The culture is horrible, side stepping the self improvement and spiritual enlightenment aspects in place of dueling. Human's are monkeys, a 10% difference is mass largely negates any advantage an opponent has. I love how demonstrations involve a seriously undersized and inexperienced opponent getting his ass kicked by someone that clearly has 10 years and 10kg's on them.
Yeah I've seen that too. In my case it was a legit school founded by the man who spread Aikido through the Midwest, east coast, and parts of Canada, he was the highest ranking person in North and South America at the time. He died and the power hungry started their long campaign to take over the school vs listening to the people that had good intentions and a solid practice. Eventually the main power hungry man Walter, an alcoholic who was caught drunk on the mat more than once (which was covered up, partially by hurting the person who called him on it) took over, instilled his toxic culture and the whole school fell apart. I joined for the last good year that place had over 10 years ago. Left after 4-5 years as the reality of the actual culture of that place is guarded from new people (which is messed up) and the folks who would tell you the truth were ostrosized. So a little different at the start but yeah, that place can't keep new members long, particularly women. But they host the largest Midwestern seminars (sometimes in the while USA) so the larger governing body of Aikido keeps them in good standards cause the mat can actually fit 150 people on it.
Attended a seminar given by Akira Tohai. He was a nervous guy. Always fussing with his hakama. Tohei sensei's students in Hawaii (Yamamoto Sensei, Moriyama Sensei, Yoshioka Sensei, Suzuki Sensei, Nonaka Sensei, Ueki Sensei)would leave him in the dust cuz Koichi Tohei always stressed Ki. At the seminar he used a lot of physical strength and used uke's who would play the game. Yoshioka Sensei, the head Aikikai guy after the split, would sometimes ask his students to attack him at anytime, any way (not while teaching an art but when he circulated on the mat assisting with a particular technique). When someone did they found themselves on the mat or bouncing off a wall. I think this was a way of training himself to always be aware in the moment 360 3D.
I really enjoyed having stumbled across this. When I was studying Wing Chun, I started doing warding rotations by rote. One day, my Sifu called me in front of the class and had us practice. At some point, I felt something "click" within me, and he said, "Stop. Open your eyes. Look at your body. Look at my body. Remember that feeling. Now, pull my wrist closer to you, and I will be off balance." To this day, I think he knew I had discovered something.
I agree with your thoughts. The peng jing, fa jing, all the energies developed from long time internal style kungfu are the goals to develop in martial art. In aikido, it is not so obvious in the usual training. I did both tai chi (since 1996) and aikido (only 6 months). And i felt it's easy to master aikido forms because i have the tai chi basics.
well, here are my two cents. I took several years of a variation of Jujitsu that is very similar to Aikido. In fact, it seemed like a dirty version of Aikido. I also received several years Krav Maga center that, as part of its training, included full contact sparring. From what I can tell, what Aikido is lacking is effective aggression and too much of a commitment to a defensive approach to a fighting situation. Basically, what is supposed to happen is, in principle, you are responding to an attack by by redirecting its force in a way that discourages an attacker from further attacks. In practice this means that you are only reacting and countering their technique with your technique. The problem with this, is that this is extremely difficult to do, if that is all what you are doing. However, for most of us, and I would say most Aikido practitioners, except those of senior rank or uniquely talented individuals, normally, their technique is never quite good enough unless it is supplemented by some aggressive technique. For example, Take the Tai Otishi,. Someone could take a hook from a boxer and use its force to perform a Tai Otoshi. To pull that off requires lots of skill, practice, and an extremely calm presence of mind. On the other hand, you can block, or parry the hook, deliver your own punches, and then perform your Tai Otoshi. In that situation the skill level you need to pull off the Otoshi (or any other Aikido technique), is much lower. Now, I do understand that Aikido does have strikes. However, as far as I know, the emphasis they do get is so small, they do not realistically solve this problem. It seems to me that Aikido, or at least the techniques, can be useful for someone who already has good understanding of a fighting art, and either wants to learn a set of techniques, or is in a situation where fights are inevitable but wants to end those in a way that values the attacker.
Well... but when you use any counter that is possible against a real strikes (because I have seen several Aikido trainings and presentations, and didn't notice even ONE real punch, just some theatrical gestures instead), and answer with delivering your own strikes, then you don't need the Aikido anymore :-)
All the traditional martial arts require time to develop for them to work. A lot of people skip the development or never put in the time which could vary depending on the student. They'll conclude it doesn't work and discard the practice. I've also researched O'Sensei and saw that he might've picked up internal training in Manchuria. Wherever he picked it up from isn't important, but that he took time to develop his skills.
When an art requires enough time and training (which usually ends up being years and years) for them to just work, it means they're not practical. It takes less time for someone training in grappling arts like BJJ and striking arts like Boxing/kickboxing to be formidable opponents, because those are practical styles of combat. You don't even need that much formal training to learn how to throw a proper punch and protect your face. The problem with kung fu and Aikido is they overcomplicate combat with their supposed "simple" theoretical approaches, and it's always performed with a compliant opponent.
Thanks again for another thoughtful video. I believe you and feel that you are quite sincere. I know next to nothing about these things but I am an older man thinking about doing some aikido for excercise. I don't think I will ever use it to compete or fight anyone, except maybe an angry woman! I think learning some aikido is probably a good idea for me! Keep up your good work!
Another great video on Aikido, Sir. Having studied Aikido myself for 20+ years, what I find lacking in many practices is atemi. O’Sensei maintained that atemi was 90% of aikido, yet you rarely, if at all, see it being taught in modern Aikido schools. Atemi is what makes the techniques look magical. It’s the unseen part of the larger spectacle. Atemi assured you (as nage) of being in the proper position, effectively breaks the balance of the uke (even if uke is larger and stronger), which makes the joint manipulations and throws effective. I’d love to sit with you over beers and talk martial arts!!
Didnt O Sensei also studied other martial arts throughout his life like Judo and a version of Jui jitsu? Most of the people I trained aikido with also trained other martial arts and those were the people who could use aikido. People who just trained aikido didnt seem the most effective and most likely to have their heads in the clouds
I too have trained for over 20+ years in Aikido+ (you might say closer to 30 years). It's the teacher AND the student. Unfortunately some people are just NOT going to get it, regardless of the martial art. I have been lucky. My sensei began with wing chun at age 7 (and continues), Okinawa style karate (2nd Dan) and Aikido (5th Dan). He brought in other martial art styles to cross-train with us (kicks and strikes). Keys: posture, extension, kokyu, core strength AND a block IS A STRIKE. There is your atemi. He even taught us the 1" punch & targeted pressure point strikes using various hand positions (nasty stuff). He's not your typical Aikido instructor and made it a point in saying "don't do this in other Aikido dojos". One the side, I also cross-trained for some time with a Jiu Jitsu practitioner who was trained by an ex-SAS Jiu Jitsu instructor. Interesting and a great deal of fun. Training in an Aikido dojo is a slippery slope because once you DO 'get it' a great deal of care has to be taken. There's a big difference between your typical Aikido training and the dynamic application, which we, the senior students have been trained in. I suppose what I'm trying to say is if you limit yourself to one style you won't grow as a martial artist regardless of the style you begin with. All martial arts have there limitations if you just 'train in a box'.
@@georgep3868 I agree would recommend cross training, your instructor sounds like an interesting guy. One of the best martial artist I met had a black belt in Japanese jui jitsu, was a local wrestler for a number of years, did boxing, and 3 Dan aikido. He was very effective and came up with his own style incorporating all these, which included sparring and pad work. I think my interest in Aikido ended after getting my 1st Dan. I changed jobs so couldnt train so much and started doing stuff which was closer to home like boxing and more recently BJJ and Judo. Having done these I think it's less likely that i will do aikido now. The aikido training I have done barely helps when I'm live sparring with people in boxing, BJJ or judo.
My introduction to aikido was aikijutsu, ive seen too many aikido and "ninjitsu" artists saying they could do this or that but it was nonsense. Im sure a true practicioner would have 0 problem.
Aikijutsu is a shorter term for the style called Daito Ryu Aikibujutsu (Daito is another word for Katana, Ryu is Dragon, Aiki means a clash of energy, and bujutsu means Martial Art).
My first Aikido Dojo had Dan Harden visit to give us intensive seminars a handful of times. There’s nothing controversial about his approach. His intention is to truly help us develop that missing internal aspect of the art in order to make our Aikido better. He’s an incredible teacher.
Did my workout, took a cold shower, and I started recording. I told you man, all I do is sweat in this new apartment. It wasn't like this in the other place!
@@GoldenbellTraining Hey brother off topic I just found your channel I'm 41 years old and wanted to get into martial arts What do you suggest haganai combat, jujitsu or Kali? Thanks
@@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658 bjj is very good, but i dont know a lot about normal jiu jitsu. I do know about hapkido and if you want it to work youll have to spar with people to know when to exactly use a technique
I have another idea about Aikido. Which i practiced for one year straight with great effort. I stopped then because i started boxing parallel to aikidotraining. And it felt like Aikido goes really the wrong way with it's training. What many people do not understand is, that the techniques work. The locks work. There is also a moment in aikido where you can not resist anymore. My Sensei referenced to that as breaking the center. Nothing magical. A master, a soon as the center is broken, can constantly guide you in the hole as i call it and play with you. The hole appears as soon as the center is broken. What is the hole? Well have you ever run in one direction and tripped? And then instead of falling flat on your face you kept running? And the only thing which prevented you from falling flat on your face was the fact that you kept running fast. That is the hole. First you play along to be a good uke. But then comes the point when you have not other choice than to go with the movement. A master of Aikido can then play with you, like with a ragdoll. That ist the frightening part of Aikido. If you let you, or he lets go, you are fucked. But here comes the but. As so many Martial Arts. Aikido trains against unrealistic attacks. It only trains the applications. It never trains the part to earn the application. Like most martial arts. On top of that, Aikido probably offers the most unrealistic ways of attacking. The classic Martial Art attack i call the stop and freeze attack. The Training Partner starts his attack from kicking range, which is already nonsense and the launches at the other person. He has no intention to hit the other guy. He just freezes there with an extended arm and waits for big sifusensei to do his magic trick. No snap punching no combination, no evading the punches. Just playing the Sub-Zero victim. Now Aikido goes one step further with that. It runs at the training Partner with an extended arm like a rhino charges. An he keeps on running. You can dodge an Aikidoattack just by stepping aside and letting it pass. For me this attacks are the training tools to develop the technical skill of the application. But those are no real attacks. This is in my opinion why Aikido does not work.
Prewar branches/ Iwama style Aikido teaches and trains with Aiki. It trains with resistance and intention. That is what is missing from Hombu/Tokyo branch. Difference between a technique actually working and the deer in the headlights. I have repeatedly felt this many times at mixed training conferences. I can instantly tell who trains with resistance and intention and who does not.
Nice! I wanted to attend one of his seminars in Atlanta a few years ago, but I am at the point where I need to focus on my own stuff before I go see what other people are doing
@@GoldenbellTraining -- Hey Prince. good stuff! I think Dan would characterize aiki as chansi-jin built upon peng-jin (i.e. gotta have six directions as a foundation for spiraling jin). Having trained with Dan and Sam, I recommend you spend mat time with Dan and specifically compare notes regarding ILQ (e.g. use of body planes and circular points of contact) and Dan's agnostic internal power model. While Dan started out known for trying to put the aiki back into aikido, he's now also well thought of by a number of taiji and other ICM practitioners, in addition to karateka, MMA fighters, et al. I messaged Rokas to recommend he check out what Dan's doing for the reasons you outlined. No response yet, unfortunately -- but I'm hopeful he'll make that effort, given his "martial arts journey" is predicated on having an open mind and evolving, and Dan's specific aiki-in-MMA model would nicely knit together both ends of Rokas' journey.
I used to practice aikido. We had a very tiny girl in our dojo who could toss around Marines and Sailors who were more than two times her weight. She had what you're talking about. Most students did not.
In one line - Aikido needs the other person to know your plan and never opose it. That sounds like a big problem. Also it teaches you to protect yourself from a minor percentage of real life attacks, while not doing much about the major percentage. All demonstrations will have someone attacking while running to hug the aikido master or to bump him with their bodies. Also preferably the attacker comes running with the hand above his head from some 5 meters or more distance so that all the neighbourhood can know from a minute ahead what blow is intending to do. But that happens rarely if ever. What if someone just does a lightning punch in the nose without trying to climb on you at the same time? Or a stationary kick? And for the wrestling part, there are much better suited disciplines. So no wrestling, no punching, no kicking and barely any defense against those. At least the roll nice when they fall, you need to give them the point there :) Also, if someone tries to run on you while attacking, yes, that case is covered, so some use it has.
That's only true for the basic training. Too bad it seems like many Doujous don't go further. If you let two amateurs try an Aikidou technique full force and speed, I'm very sure that at least one of them will end in a hospital.
@@kaltaron1284 that's true for all aikido. It's a bullshit martial art that has no real world use no matter how brainwashed you are. Reality is reality bud. I wish you the best and hope that one day you will find it.
I'd done quite a bit of aikido by the time I checked out a freestyle kung fu class. I went in smug, thinking "they can't even say what kind of kung fu it is, how good is this gonna be?" but they paired me with a woman who was rising through amateur boxing, and she threw those punches to make contact. I learned that I'd got lucky - my aikido seemed to be pretty solid, insofar as I could still apply a defense with just my hips while kneeling, something I don't think we'd actually practised at aikido, but the principles of standing torque applied, happily - and secondly, that every class I was in was taking it easy. It's a completely different experience training with someone who won't just let it happen. I was lucky I guess that someone I did ninjutsu with who got three black belts in the time I knew him, would meet up with me and we'd go over stuff with the resistance I didn't find in class. Training "live" as I've heard it called, with resistance, is absolutely vital if you want to protect yourself. Nobody believes me that I fought a guy off of a woman he was stranling with tai chi once, but they didn't see me in the back garden thinking of how each move could be applied. It's great that these aikido folks are trying to bring the aiki back. Maybe my foundation in aikijutsu helped, but I know those locks and throws work. Sorry for the ramble, I just woke up :3
The problem with "non" aikido people trying to explain a aikido students problems. Issue number one- know the objective truth concerning the history not the subjective conjecture. When one looks at let's say Judo through a Wrestling lens even after four years, so much in the application and implementation of skill sets is lost. Bottom line, it's a lifelong individual pursuit. In the beginning, drills are designed to help with the coordination of movement and cooperation is extremely necessary for growth and development in any art form. Lastly, you don't know what you don't know an "ego" has a funny way of rising when you least expect it. Life In Every Breath....
I would agree with just about everything you’re pointing out; if it wasn’t labeled as a martial art, and if the demonstrations weren’t limited to cooperative or flow movement.
The question, then, is for those of us who want the true Aikido and not the 'watered-down' version, is where to find a good teacher. Any thoughts on that?
The problem with Wing Chun, the problem with Aikido, Respectfully Prince their is No problem with "ANY" of the traditional martial arts and their curriculums, theirs good teachers and the bad teachers period. Bruce Lee didn't believe in either the forms and or the belt's, when receiving a black belt is only making it through Basic Training with rehearsed choreographed forms, like robots with good memories, I've seen 12 year olds to 65 year olds receive black belts. Finding the right teachers of the Arts is a challenge to start with. In "all" of the Arts the *Ki and the *Chi is one of the main attributes that students must understand in order to progress, the most vital force in us ( air ) their's a natural force from Heaven to the ground pushing everything downward, that involves our 60 percent Conditioning example Holding different stances for long periods of time, horse straddle etc. Many of us have seen the different levels of instructors from the Master's on down, teaching for the wrong reasons, delaying time spent teaching for belt certificates for More Profits including unnecessary techniques, Self Recognition etc. What comes around goes around in the real world. Only that individual knows what techniques and it's attributes that works for them they can choose from that works for them and discard what does not. Not every technique can work for every individual in all of the Arts, it's not how much we have learned it's how much we have Absorbed of what we have learned. Put your time in and find the right teachers who truly want to help they're out there but few and far between. *You'll know when it's time to move on to another Martial Art even if we get to learn half a dozen Techniques from one Martial Art style that works for us is certainly worth the time and money. I did not teach for the money if I had to, to survive I would have charged, it was rewarding in *many other ways. Martial Art's is 60 percent Conditioning and 40 percent Techniques, everyone is at a different percentage of both. In my 34 years after College football so far, I was blessed to fit in *Tae Kwon do, *Jeet Kune do *Wing Chun, *Aikido, *Boxing * and some Ground work from a good friend who was a student of jiu-jitsu and self experimentation of much variety. I was fortunate enough to find a good Aikido instructor and I have a good understanding of it's Spirit Harmony and it's Root's. In the "past" on the streets and in the ring the Aikido Techniques that I kept that works for me mostly helped me set up my opponent's for Strike's plain and simple, not leaving out it's conditioning attributes. The more skilled a Martial Artist gets the more reluctant he is to inflict pain. Only a Respectful suggestion Prince, being you are a Martial Artist yourself and like to communicate about Martial Arts, how's about changing your outlook concept or perceptions of the different Martial Art's, just because you have a genuine gift and charisma about yourself, much appreciated. If you Prince or anyone else has a bump in the road or to speed up your intentions, I'd be honored to answer any questions. I'm not on social media, this is only my second comment I'm humbled and mind my own business, life is too short. Our cups will never be full however be careful not to bump it. SPAR-SPAR-SPAR God bless, Sensei Greg 🙏☯️
Very articulate and insightful. Please allow me to interject. The reason the uke is expected to be compliant, is so that the nage can learn and practice the technique. No one is expected to master aikido in a year or two. Yes, you learn the techniques in two to three years but it takes longer to actually master the art. Practitioners tend to poke holes in the theory of different systems. But each person gets out of a system what they are willing to work hard for. Since do it for exercise, some use it to enhance their original system. Overall, I respect all systems, as they all have their own benefit. Thank you for your insight. Peace be unto you.
My man, I’ve been teaching/practicing Aikido for 30 years and not only is what you’re saying is true, but it’s the very reason I’ve been blackballed in the Aikido community. I think the last straw is when I made a comment to someone about the ranking system in all martial arts including Aikido. We try to come up with all types of Philosophical reasons why it’s necessary, but the truth is logically, it makes no sense!! I also teach Argentine Tango and it’s the same thing!! People would rather learn cool moves than dedicate themselves to the Essence of the art. The question I always ask experienced students both in Aikido and Tango when they decide to come to me is, “Do u want be a Dancer/Aikido Practitioner, or do you want to appear to be one”?
I trained in Akido for two months and my take on it is. It is not a set of moves but a strategy on how the body moves. I trained in Karate For 6yrs, and I have to say Akido did improve me as a martial artist. I have been pressure tested in real life situations when I worked as a security guard at Universal CityWalk in California. Pretty much they threw a punch and ended up pinned to the floor and handcuffed before they knew what happened to them. The principals of Akido work if you learn them correctly. But I do believe it was my prior experience in Karate that allowed me to see and feel what I was being taught in Akido.
Just how many Aikido classes did you witness? It sounds like some of your assumptions about Aikido are based on hearsay and what you have read online and elsewhere.
What did I say about aikido that is not true? Aikido teachers do not teach how to fight. They teach how to interact with another aikido practitioner. One student throws or performs wrist locks on the other student who cooperates 100%. Am I right? If so then the students only learn to throw or be thrown, with no resistance. I know there are schools that stray from that way of teaching but that is very rare. Do you think it is possible to be able to fight effectively if you never practice against an opponent who wants to hurt you? One day the aikido student is attacked and has no idea what to do because all his/her life of aikido was without sparring against an opponent who is attacking to hurt. Imagine his surprise when the bad guy punches him and kicks him in rapid succession. He can fight back only if the attacker leaves an arm extended and waits for him to grab it and perform a technique, but wait, as soon as he takes the wrist, the guy kicks or punches with the other arm/fist. Tell me where I am wrong, but please think first. 99% of aikido dojos teach no sparring aikido with no competition. A fight is a competition where the winner walks away and the loser is hurt or ran away. Aikido has very effective techniques and is a great workout but is useless on its own the way it is taught. O sense must have had internal skills, but did not teach it, maybe to make sure his students would never be better than him or because he was not creating a fighting art, nor a self defense art. I don't know what his goal was with his students. The thing that I will never get is why he had any students at all unless they really wanted to learn how to gain his level of skill. I guess it was great for business. He demonstrated that he was able to beat anyone bigger or smaller or stronger, but never gave away his secrets, which were probably to do with chi gung and some grappling. The highest level practitioners provably have those internal energy skills, honed to allow them to have a good chance to disrupt the balance of any fighter at any level of Kung fu or any other art like karate, bjj etc.
Your point is so valid. From my experience, the teaching of Aiki in most Aikido dojos is mostly reserved for the 1st Dans and above. For students below 1st Dan ranks, they were only expected to learn the external forms, simply because external forms are easier to teach (especially in large classes). Only when special Dan classes are organised, where numbers are small compared to the regular open classes, is when the internal Aiki aspects may be taught.
Uhhh, please. Leave the fantasies of Disney and fairies. We are in the 21st century. There is no such nonsense as: "Ohh, the Aiki", the "Chi", "the mystical energy". Stop making a fool of yourself, please. If you want to try something, jump into an octagon and blow up the MMA heavyweights. Stop lying, please, where does this end !!
In my opinion but throughout experience, somewhere back in the 70s tai chi, aikido, and much of the Shaolin ways, have been restricted because they are too deadly and too dangerous to teach do the average guy who may have a bruised ego and abuse people
No, Aikido was flawed by it's conception because it was always intended, like Tai Chi, to be a reflection of the inner spirit than the outer Dragon. Ueshiba was a cultist Shinto pacifist, so he designed his martial art to be focused on inner development and eschewed all of the truly effective techniques of the martial art he allowed to die with him. Its really sad because even Kano Jigoro was impressed with Ueshiba's skill as a fighter.
Now finally someone who knows what he is talking about ..congrats about this vid (I would give it 100 like sif I could) you just won a subscriber....after 20 yrs of martial arts I have come to the same conclusions as you asbout internal energy based aspects of MA ..but you put it so well in words so much better than I could ever have...you just won a subscriber...keep up the good work...and Morihei was indeed exposed to bagua he actually incorporated may aspects of bagua into aikido
Internal Martial Arts is the highest form and many Americans want to be instructors in two months and get a certificate. Can you become boxing coach in two months? Unless you are naturally gifted, it could take two months to learn how to do one technique correctly. It's like Americans teaching yoga after taking a two month boot camp.
@@anthonysicily5768 American students will insist on it. I've been asked if they could just learn it in two month and teach it. They ruin the class where the instructors are not business people and need students and need to start teaching the class like school P.E. class, instead of working with each student individually.
There are more people making teaching videos that have no clue what they are talking about or at least do not know more than can ve learned in a few weeksl There is one that i am sure watchex a video and then just mimics it in his own video and because he looks good, is in shape and flexible, he has millions of followers. He finally got challenged by too many who really know their art and,after more than 7 years of phony taiji teaching, he is making videos about something totally different. This time he is honest. But he fooled millions for years. Just like donald trump. 70 million americans believe him. Crazy society we live in where people can so easily be fooled. America is in a stupidity pandemic.
@@nathanplunkett4641 what a fucking stupid and disrespectful thing to say. If you have ever actually learned martial arts, you just disrespected your teacher or teachers. What a simpleton.
I think most of the Martial Arts of useless. Muy Thai, Ju Jitsu, Judo are pretty much legit. It doesn't become practical unless it is practice in a full contact manner. Demonstrations do nothing but give you the semblance that you know what you are doing and the notion that your "skills" will get you out of a tight situation. As a former boxer, I understand full contact fighting, and I understand how training is so important to your development. Belts and "knowing" it means nothing.
Like nuclear weapons eh, useless. U said tight situation. Exactly. That's how fights start usually, face to face. Not ding ding ding from across a padded floor with ropes and space. Yeah jabs and strikes from your perfect range beat aikido or pure win chung. Starting with someone in a crowded bar, up against you, not so much. Security guys, bouncers, are in the tight situations, real situations all the time. If they were a WBC belt holder in boxing it can't help them. Neither can they choke out or arm bar someone, though that's less likely to get an assault charge. Adding grappling to boxing and kicks was just the start of making a real world fighting. A boxer beats a wrestler unless there's a takedown. Most fights do end up on the ground. Kicks are more damaging than just punches, but if the boxer closes the distance the kicks don't win. Then there are the martial arts techniques to also be applied where they have their place. Without mouth guard most MMA and boxers would walk around without front teeth. Also, without a referee and rules, they would all be too badly injured to fight a complete untrained novice. Even with the referee and rules, if the had their matches on concrete or tiles with solid walls instead of ropes or nets, they would be injured every time. There are different levels of practice and preparation for different situations. What use is boxing or kickboxing when in most situations today, the most force you will legally use is to restrain or remove someone? Police get to use force, they can't use mu Thai. Sparring is necessary, these defensive aikido moves are definitely useful in real world situations. There's also applications of all martial arts. No traditional one or sport has all the answers.
Right up front, thanks for the videos, keep them coming. I like how you word things in your videos. An you often bring back memories of the people I trained with and events of those days. This video reminded me of an event with two aikido students. Tammy a petite young lady tried to show me a technique that was supposed to lock an opponent. She couldn't do it. Her boyfriend Jim was actually able to make me react to his technique though I easily escaped it. Going over it her technique was nearly perfect, the only difference was he was bigger and far stronger than her. Don't get me wrong, I have respect for aikido the art. It's the commercial schools and hype. In my experience Internal martial arts of any kind requires more training and practice than most Americans want to put in. Even me 😉
I used to practice Aikido, and much of what you say is right. I'd tried various martial arts, but was drawn by the philosophy and spirituality of Aikido, and wasn't so interested in learning to fight, but across a half dozen or so teachers in various places and over almost 15 years I saw big differences. My main teacher was a 6th dan and had trained at a place called the Hut in London's East End - back in the day a rough place (and an early UK Aikido centre) - and he clearly knew how to make it work, but interestingly he was also into not hurting people and he'd show us, from his early days, the older style aiki techniques with much harsher joint locks, talk about the strikes used (knees, gouges, everything), and would often say we don't do this any more and know we harmonise. We had a boxer in his school and he could make everything work on the jabs and stuff he threw, often by simplifying the aikido. What he didn't really explain, which another teacher did (who also did various striking arts) was the principles behind it, so that you weren't learning "techniques" (the curriculum) but body mechanics, which I think was never explicit traditionally. The idea was, I think, that if you were good you'd work it out yourself. But this other teacher was much more in the AikdoFlow style, of making it modern and to work as a thing for the streets. But I also went to schools where harmony was such a big thing that you were just meant to fall for people no matter what, and I got told off for not falling after somebody had "done" the technique - whereas in my main schools, if people didn't put you down you didn't go down (else how do people learn?), which isn't to say that there wasn't cooperation and blending - especially as you were teaching new folks, but as we got more experienced we resisted each other much more and also, at the higher levels, there were the counter techniques - but a lot of schools didn't seem to have this at all. So, basically, yeah, the problem, I think, is often how it's taught, but also, even in many good schools, the emphasis is not on learning to fight but developing yourself to blend and harmonise, which is not a bad thing, but Aikido's ethos can mitigate against actually learning any practical fighting. Having said that, of various martial arts I have learned, Aikido has been the most useful for me in the real world: when I've fallen over or gone down, I've known how to roll and fall without hurting myself; when the random dude with an improvised club tried to bash my head in and rob me, because I'd done Aiki weapons I could distance myself and get out of harm's way in a way that boxing/ MMA/ etc. distancing and fighting styles just don't teach you - I got behind them, had disarmed him, then I was out of there as fast as I could rather than mess around, while the guy searched in the dark for his stick/ club/ whatever it was and was long gone before he started after me. I mean I realise that most of the Aikido I learned wouldn't help me against a trained MMA/ BJJ person, but I think in a rounded curriculum it has it's place, primarily in knowing distancing against weapons, and falling, but the locks and escapes from holds are also useful. Most Aikido schools, however, won't necessarily teach you to do it well - having been in quite a few schools, most didn't teach well or usefully, and almost all students wouldn't have learned anything they could use except in the dojo with a compliant partner I think.
i trained in aikido since i was 6 until i graduated high school and i find what you're saying is true and relateable.. we were told how to do techniques, how to do basics, how to break falls, how to throw people, but never taught about the meaning or the philosophies behind the movements. it was all about curriculum and about passing to the next rank, and i also had the same take that the actual aikido training will only start when you reach the 1st or 2nd dan.. My big sensei back then was a 4th dan, and being considered as the highest ranked sensei in my city.. his posture was small and scrawny (probably around 157 or 160 cm in height), but he can literally manipulate anyone no matter how big that person is.. he got this different feel about how he acts, it more like a kind of tranquility in everything he do. The problem with our trainings was, he (the big sensei) never teach the kids/teen classes, he only teach the adult classes. and from the little experience i had trained by him, i think he only gives some little hints about the aiki.. he taught us a tiny bit about how to do some detailed movements, but he never actually mentioned about aiki or the philosophies behind it..
Recently, i found an old book in my university's library titled "Aikido with Ki", written by Koretoshi Maruyama, supervised by Koichi Tohei. Quite an old book first printed on March 1984.. It explained about the 4 philosophies of the aiki in aikido and how the philosophies being applied in aikido techniques. and it blew my mind, because those hints my big sensei gave us back then are starting to make sense... Turns out it takes more than aikido training to master aikido.. and i definitely not ready to understand or even master it..
All in all, great video!! and keep up the good work! PEACE
surely you need at least two things, respect and intelligence, maybe you don't have one or none. Don't blame aikido blame yourself that you don't know how to recognize.
Aiki, ki, energy, or any other supernatural power is not real. You have been conned into believing this. Aikido doesn't work because it is a bullshit martial arts that was founded on supernatural powers and religion, rather than effectiveness. Find a real martial arts, you will learn better to defend yourself in 10 weeks better than the 10 years you spent "learning" aikido. Good luck.
@@juliusreigns4218 absolutely.. look, i don't believe in bullshit martial art like those fraud masters teach too.. as for aikido, i see aikido as more spiritual teaching than martial art.. aikido teaches the integration of mind and body in everything you do in life, and the physical exercise in aikido helps to understand and apply these teachings.. some also said that it's a form of zen meditation.. well it's kind of a rough explanation, but that's the gist.. i do agree in aikido's lack of application in real combat situation, and yes it's a bit of a scam to say by learning aikido you can really defend yourself, while it's only applicable in a highly conditioned environment.. also yeah, i do have a bit of regret for not learning a more competitive combat martial art when i was younger, but it is what it is.. Thank you for the input thou. Cheers!
you had a bad teacher, and the speaker isnt saying true
I am a former member of the Honolulu Ki Society in Honolulu. I have practiced with both Tohei and Maruyama Sensei.
I'm not an Aikido student, but I am a student of martial disciplines. I liked your video, your calm explanations, your lack of bashing, and your questioning of some things which others consider sacrosanct (and thus not questionable). Well done!
Thanks for sharing 👍
Sometimes its not bashing, its calling a spade a spade. Aikido is a bullshit martial art that has no real world capabilities or effectiveness, no matter how hard you believe in ki, aiki, chi or any other bullshit supernatural power you have been brainwashed into accepting.
Good video. Ueshiba learning/putting major finishing touches on his internal skills in China (not that anything is truly finished per se, constant evolution is part of life) is not a theory. When I studied IMA in the Taiji/Xing Yi/Baguazhang community in China, they openly said that Ueshiba studied amongst them.
There's no reason for them to spin this narrative, and I was not amongst pointless narrative spinners. It would not even have been a boast to say 'we Chinese, in our wonderful Taoist exeptionalism, do a lot of nei gong practice and trained xyz great person'.
They don't really care in such a manner within these communities since a style like Aikido has a flavour so similar to so many of their arts, it wouldn't be a major flex.
In a similar manner, it wouldn't be an incredible flex to say 'An Indian person taught so and so personality in the West yoga or this American gym instructor taught Western style body building to a Delhi based athelete etc'.
Some activities are historically bound somewhat (although not entirely of course) to certain cultures, so certain meetings, outcomes and sharing of skills are not so shocking.
I digress, when I was talking about the topic of 'heqidao' (Aikido) within the Chinese IMA community, and they so casually and unpretentiously mentioned that Ueshiba or 'the founder of the style', as they said it, was a former part of the TCMA community in China, I nonetheless had tingles going up and down my spine at that moment. For it is, in any case as I recognised it, an interesting and relevant factoid.
Are you genuinely saying it is strange that a man, already known in Japan as a martial arts instructor, with an almost obsessive love of exploring this or that martial idea, going to a neighbouring martial culture with similar social customs, ways of meeting, mingling and sharing around the theme of martialiality, didn't learn some of the core things, which are best preserved in that culture?
Although we are often told that Japanese went to China to prove their superiority, there are definite counters to this claim in terms of all consuming, overarching and singular intent. For example, pre war Japan actually had a definite affection, even high regard for, Tang era China (the era which most influenced Japanese culture) and were very much anti Qing and Marxist culture which, ironically, they saw as a degradation of real Asian culture.
Therefore, contrary to what you'd think as first reflex, the idea that Ueshiba would want to flesh out concepts within his culture from a neighbouring culture which certainly had an important historical influence/mutual sharing influence on his skillset, is not odd.
One other reason, to return to a previous paragraph, why I had spine tingles when I heard this Ueshiba/ICMA connection from the relative horses mouth, is also partly because, if you know the concept of 'Chinese whispers', you realise that Chinese can talk about things which happened 100s of years ago like it occurred last week.
Therefore, when you hear something of this nature from a community with a certain oral sharing tradition, you get a strong flavour of the 'obviousness' and even the 'nearness' of the event within your conversation. It is in the vein of 'Oh yeah, Morihei was over here for a cup of cha the other day, as he is interested in tea, why would you even doubt something so apparent?'
I like the humble and sincere take this video has. The guy is calling out the entire Aikido community to stop the bullshit and do the work if you want the top-tier skills and capabilities. This call for action is more than fair and honest.
I have practiced Aikido and I bet I could drop this wanna be big mouth inside 15 seconds.
@871jamie i see......good luck 4 u, i think he has sincerity.
i´m black belt in judô shodan 7 years, if u wish a friendly handori, i´m available.
He just said his opinion, he didn`t was disrespect the aikido.
Well, i was in boxing tkd and then aikido, regardless what arts you are it really depends to indvdual how well he can apply he learn in actuL combat.
@@871jamie,
No. You couldn't do shit.
I practiced Aikido for 5 years before founding/joining a fight club of martial artists only. It was a group where we tried things out in "real scenarios" 1v1 as well as 3v1 since most fights are not even. It was a very painful learning experience but the basics of Aikido held up. The fancier movements? Not at all. Later I learned Tai Chi and Xing-I and that tought me true ward off energy and completely changed my Aikido.
The problem with aikido students is they study aikido.
I like their pajamas
Two problems i came cross is aikido attacks weak minded students and no real resistance training.
@@robd1329 especially the hemp ones
LMAO
... And the problem with criminals, is that they commit crime. 😆
Exceptional, thoughtful, insightful and appropriately modest analysis of the continuing issues of Aikido. Congratulations on your scholarship and spirit.
Good
For any Aikido student wondering about this, go get a copy of the latest edition of Ellis Amdur's book, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Esoteric Power Training Within Japanese Martial Traditions". That's a very thorough treatment of the internal aspects of what Ueshiba Sensei was up to. As for the idea that he got anything directly during his trips to China/Manchuria, that's been convincingly debunked for years now (see historical work by the late Stanely Pranin). The plain fact is that most modern Chinese arts have next to zero if any real internal understanding despite claims otherwise. Why? the training is tedious, takes years, very few had it to begin with, and as Prince notes, you still have to know how to fight, it's a layer on top of basic skills, not a replacement for those skills. Learning it is one thing, applying it usefully is a whole higher level.
100%
Good video. Ueshiba learning/putting major finishing touches on his internal skills in China (not that anything is truly finished per se, constant evolution is part of life) is not a theory. When I studied IMA in the Taiji/Xing Yi/Baguazhang community in China, they openly said that Ueshiba studied amongst them.
There's no reason for them to spin this narrative, and I was not amongst pointless narrative spinners. It would not even have been a boast to say 'we Chinese, in our wonderful Taoist exeptionalism, do a lot of nei gong practice and trained xyz great person'.
They don't really care in such a manner within these communities since a style like Aikido has a flavour so similar to so many of their arts, it wouldn't be a major flex.
In a similar manner, it wouldn't be an incredible flex to say 'An Indian person taught so and so personality in the West yoga or this American gym instructor taught Western style body building to a Delhi based athelete etc'.
Some activities are historically bound somewhat (although not entirely of course) to certain cultures, so certain meetings, outcomes and sharing of skills are not so shocking.
I digress, when I was talking about the topic of 'heqidao' (Aikido) within the Chinese IMA community, and they so casually and unpretentiously mentioned that Ueshiba or 'the founder of the style', as they said it, was a former part of the TCMA community in China, I nonetheless had tingles going up and down my spine at that moment. For it is, in any case as I recognised it, an interesting and relevant factoid.
Are you genuinely saying it is strange that a man, already known in Japan as a martial arts instructor, with an almost obsessive love of exploring this or that martial idea, going to a neighbouring martial culture with similar social customs, ways of meeting, mingling and sharing around the theme of martialiality, didn't learn some of the core things, which are best preserved in that culture?
Although we are often told that Japanese went to China to prove their superiority, there are definite counters to this claim in terms of all consuming, overarching and singular intent. For example, pre war Japan actually had a definite affection, even high regard for, Tang era China (the era which most influenced Japanese culture) and were very much anti Qing and Marxist culture which, ironically, they saw as a degradation of real Asian culture.
Therefore, contrary to what you'd think as first reflex, the idea that Ueshiba would want to flesh out concepts within his culture from a neighbouring culture which certainly had an important historical influence/mutual sharing influence on his skillset, is not odd.
One other reason, to return to a previous paragraph, why I had spine tingles when I heard this Ueshiba/ICMA connection from the relative horses mouth, is also partly because, if you know the concept of 'Chinese whispers', you realise that Chinese can talk about things which happened 100s of years ago like it occurred last week.
Therefore, when you hear something of this nature from a community with a certain oral sharing tradition, you get a strong flavour of the 'obviousness' and even the 'nearness' of the event within your conversation. It is in the vein of 'Oh yeah, Morihei was over here for a cup of cha the other day, as he is interested in tea, why would you even doubt something so apparent?'
Internal martial arts was invented in CHINA!!
-And probably goes back to a previous era
That is utter nonsense. In the real tai chi that is much more internal principle then i have ever seen in aikido. Aikido hardly connects the arms to the wIst. They use the waist, but hardly in conjunction in moving the arms the same way.
"Playing the game without putting the work" Seriously my friend you could not have said it any better, that is exactly how it is.
That is a very clever way of putting it. I didn't know how to actually put what I was thinking until hearing it being explained in that way
@@vergilmontiero2558 when it comes to aikido it is hard to explain it in anyway, there is a lot of defect in their training. And whatever practical technique they may have they end up making it useless due to their low level mentality and weak performance.
@@alanarroyo7139 wha?? I do believe that you are and have been greatly misinformed in such a very obvious manner that whomever you have Gotten your information from the Wrong People. THIS SADDENS ME DEEPLY.
@@tallulabellmaritzamercado7718 if it makes you sad that is on you. Plus I didn’t get informed by anybody I tried Aikido myself when I was younger so you better believe that I know what I’m talking about.
Yes absolutely beautiful way of putting it. Couldn't have said it any better myself.
In my study of the martial arts I have found that Aikido derives mainly from the martial art of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, but began to diverge from it in the late 1920s, partly due to Ueshiba's involvement with the Ōmoto-kyō religion. Ueshiba's early students' documents bear the term aiki-jūjutsu. It originally was a form of Jujitsu and in its purest form it is an art to be reckon with.
My background in the martial arts is mostly Japanese forms of martial art with a little bit of Taoist Yoga, Yang Form Tai Chi and some Kung Fu mixed in. I studied Four different types of Karate, Three different types of Jujitsu, Judo, and Aikido. The Aikido instructor I first had was a jujitsu and Tai Chi master so he knew what was missing from the curriculum. If you really look at the upper echelon of Aikido masters you can see the difference.
So you pretty much know the ways of the force
You mentioned,"Kung Fu Styles mixed in", Which kung fu Styles?
@@craigbosko2229 WuSu and Taichichuan
O-Sensei, in his latter years never referred to his Aikido as a “martial art” did he? In his younger years he trained with many more people than just Takeda Sensei. (Who, by the way, was never able to document any Takeda lineage) Can Aiki- Waza be applied to defend oneself? Sure, but like anything else, you must put in the time to make them automatic, and know that whatever your muscle memory manifests at any given time is what will either defend you or not.
Well said. Any analysis of any art is inherently flawed. It is only an analysis of a person at that given time. And then it is only
from your perspective. Seeing is not doing.
I am not a very well practiced student of Aikido, but I am in full agreement with you. The part of your commentary that spoke loudest to me is where the woman in the class didn't think her room-mate would make a good uke because he wouldn't cooperate with the technique being trained. If the uke *must* cooperate with the technique in order for it to work, then it is either not being taught correctly, or is just not a good technique. There's a conceit where the uke cooperates to the point where the technique only need be gently applied, to avoid injury, but beyond that, the technique, correctly taught and trained, then correctly applied, should work, every time.
I really appreciate the spirit with which you approach this. There are many schools of aikido, each springing from the students that Ueshiba-sensei kept closest to him, and diverging with each of their own students who went on to teach, and so on. Each dojo is different. Each instructor is different. Some places are more ki-oriented, and some are more mechanics, physics, and anatomy-oriented. Aiki-kai is very different than Ki-Society aikido.
Likewise, each instructor is a human being, with their own flaws and strengths. This is true for any art, martial or otherwise, yes? And some instructors have 'it'. And some don't. Is this not the case for Tai-Chi, or watercolor painting, or baseball? There are masters and hacks in every discipline.
I respectfully feel that it might be less than fair to generalize an entire art based upon a visit to a dojo.
Totally agree. Well said.
You are absolutely correct in what you said. I have learned different styles of martial arts especially Aikido. I also learned from both Sam Chin and Dan Harden. Both are excellent teachers. I am only a beginner. Martial arts without AIKI are just fighting techniques (katas) or exercises almost like body building, gymnastics etc. AIKI is learning how our body functions and how to maximize this knowledge to generate/redirect power. Having "mastering" AIKI alone does not make you a "good" fighter or a "REAL" martial artist. All martial arts have some form of AIKI even "external" style martial arts. Dan Harden said "Not the weight of a feather can be added nor a fly can alight." that is one simple example of AIKI in motion.
Really nice video @goldenbell training! I’ve just been bitten by the aikido bug and am at a Dojo in Congleton, UK. There are… maybe about 8 or 9 different “types” (schools) of aikido and the one most closely associated with Ōsensei and his family is Aikikai. Within Aikikai there are instructors who teach with “it” and those who don’t. “It” being chi (in Japanese it’s called ki) or a life force. I love my own dojo, because we cultivate that ki first and foremost - the techniques come second. But using it, we can really see how attackers can be flipped to the ground before they even know what happened. Respect.
Got stuck on your channel. am really impressed with the way that you calmly go through the various martial arts. Thanks for doing such a great job
Dude love ur channel just found it yesterday thru ur problem with aikido video and love ur interest in eastern philosophy and martial arts.
Keen insights from a guy who simply emanates humility and an earnest openness.
Thanks again for an excellent presentation. As always, insightful and well articulated. I'm currently reading Scott Meredith's material(books) and it's excellent for developing internal awareness.
@@azlaroc12 if it’s real then there should be many who use it in practical applications. It’s a martial art, if you can’t use it in combat , well then it’s not martial. MMA is highly technical and proven in battle at the highest level. MMA utilizes wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu because they work.
Yep.
@@bluwng by that regard one would have to ask what is considered many? Because as was states, there are people that can put techniques deemed useless into practical applications. I think the key point being missed is that what works for one may not work for another...so for that other the technique would be considered useless, but for the one it works for it isnt useless, it's useful. Try having a boxer throw any kick, in moat regards it'll be useless for that boxer....the other facet is a person can practice a technique for years and still not understand it if they don't analyze the technique and its purpose. Specific blocks can be deemed useless because of this problem as well.
I am one of the old time students, from back during the time of only two "systems." They were called Tomeiki (no pain techniques) and the Tohei (with pain techniques.) My teacher learned Aikido in Japan (from two third degree black belts,) just after the close of WW II. Prior to this time, if you wanted to learn Aikido, you had to have a black belt in either Judo or Karate, better yet both. You also had to present two letters of recommendation from prominent citizens, preferably of the Administrative/Legislative type. After the war, Ueshiba released Aikido to the general public to help Japan regain its' status as a "world leader." These two missing arts are a major part of "what's wrong" with Aikido.
So there was a pre-requisite back in the old days.
So what you are saying is that Aikido in it's nature is supplementary martial art, that put additional ideas and knowledge of how to compliment your martial arts skill and move to the next level, once you have already mastered the physical part of it. Which makes sense. In some of the latest Rokas' videos you can see that a lot of principles of Aikido are used in other martial arts albeit in a slightly different matter, which is not big of a deal, when we talk about forms, as forms very based on what your opponent have learned.
And the thing which Goldenbell (and Rokas in the quotes) said as problem is that most modern Aikido schools are that they are trying to put it as a mystified inner-strength school of magic
@@dtibvgz8441 That is a very intelligent analysis, but I would only dispute your choice of the word "supplementary." True Aikido is formless, so I would rather call Aikido the _achievement_ of Martial Arts, or Budo, or Kung-Fu. I was told by my Aikido instructor, John Fields, a story of how Master Ueshiba achieved enlightenment. The story goes that he was challenged by a superior officer aboard a Japanese ship. This challenge involved live steel. If Ueshiba proved victorious, he would be put to death for injuring or killing his superior officer. If he allowed himself to lose the battle, his death would be immediate. So he determined that he would avoid direct conflict and only deflect his opponent. As the duel continued, the superior officer could not touch Master Ueshiba, and eventually tired, declaring the contest a "draw." Later on, the Master explained that while he was evading and redirecting his opponent's attacks, that "heaven and earth opened up before him."
I would therefore venture to say that true Aikido is a state of mind, rather than a sequence of techniques, and the forms that are taught are only a means to that end. Aikido is not really for beginners.
This makes a lot of sense. Aikido and Taichi are often regarded as BS, but they probably taught real unarmed combat principles at some point. I ran across a few Taichi sparring competition videos, and what does it look like? Good ole above-waist standing wrestling. Aikido and Taichi just suffers from generations of mainstream marketing like many other martial arts, perhaps a bit more. Karate is more fortunate because it has real martial artists actively competing in the mainstream and passing on their knowledge, but most students won't be real martial artists: they don't condition their body for strikes, they don't risk concussions in sparring, they don't risk chronic joint injuries. It's not hard to see what would happen when such "non-combat" black belts go on to teach the next generation and there WEREN'T active competitions to remind people what works.
@@MynameisBrianZX I say REAL Karate faired better than most arts due to the fact that it’s pretty much the most straightforward martial arts there is. The same for even Taekwondo. The Olympics TKD is absolutely garbage but ITF is the real deal.
Tai Chi is the most misunderstood one out of all imo. Tai Chi problem is actually finding a Tai Chi master who teaches the real art.
O'Sensei did study Tai Chi Chuan which he learned while in Mongolia. One of his top students Gozo Shioda was doing a Tai Chi Chuan form after his Aikido workout one day and O'Sensei had been watching him without his knowledge, O'Sensei came up to Gozo who was embarrassed that he had been caught doing a different martial art but O'Sensei then asked Gozo if he had ever seen the form done in this manner, he then demonstrated to Gozo the way he had learned Tai Chi Chuan. O'Sensei had said that Chi and Ki are the same internal strength just taught by different countries. My first Aikido instructor in the early 70's when Aikido was first introduced in the USA was Stanley Pranin who is the well-known historian of Aikido. He told me that O'Sensei had a very high rank in Aikijutsu before he created Aikido. He had studied many martial arts through his lifetime before he created what is now known as Aikido. We were taught O'Sensei's prewar Aikido so you did have atemi strikes before you would execute a throw, we were also taught Ki extension to be used with every throw. Now days a lot of what you see of Aikido has been watered down compared to what it was originally when first introduced in this country. Many dojos almost make it into a dance and take out all strikes which is really wrong, O'Sensei said that atemi strikes are 80% of Aikido. Many of the old teachers who actually studied under O'Sensei are all gone now. Aikido is real and if you can find an instructor who still practices the original Aikido as taught by O'Sensei then you may experience being thrown not even realizing how you were just thrown.
Thanks for sharing 👍
Watched your last and this video and good to see that you were level headed in your analysis. The only issue that I have with your observations on the efficacy of aikido techniques is that they seem to be coming from a viewpoint that seems to misunderstand the purpose of aikido? Unlike other martial disciplines where you have usually two opponents trying to block (resist) and apply techniques to overcome the other (all at the same time) in a rules based competition, aikido or related arts, like akijujitsu, there is no opponent as such as tori (executing techniques) and the uke (receiver of techniques) are not supposed to come into conflict! This does not mean that there is complete compliance! Aikido is primarily a defensive art but this should not be confused with the idea, coined by Gichen Funokoshi of Shotokan Karate, 'karate ni sen tenashi' (there is no first strike in karate - this doesn't mean you wait to be struck before responding as an INTENTION to attack by an opponent is enough to justify a pre-emptive strike). Pre-emptive strikes in aikido, or atemi, open the door to the application of techniques, which in many schools of aikido atemi has been reduced to a mere 'waft' of the hand or non-existent, with no physical or mental impact on the uke. At the end of the day, if you want students to return to the dojo each week, you can't be poking them in the eyes, punching them in the ribs, palm healing them on the chin, straight fingers strike to the throat etc or chopping on their carotid arteries can you? However, at my dojo the intention is to do just that but pulling the atemi before applying a technique, mainly to assist muscle memory. And the other point regarding your comment on 'I could easily resist any technique to stop it working' (paraphrased) is again kind of missing the point about aikido (see also above). If someone is being shown a aikido technique they already know what's coming so can easily subvert it by resisting or being awkward. But the pertinent thing here is that if someone lays hands on me, unrehearsed, they won't know how I am going to react or what I might be able to do, and vice versa, but one hopes that with years of training in the right martial frame of mind and acquired skills, I may be able to defend myself reasonably effectively using a combination of atemi and aikido techniques (which might include punches, strikes to vulnerable areas, locks and throws)? Although I do tend to agree that a lot of aikido you see can look like choreographed pseudo martial moves, a bit like wushu, with no real martial intent. I have trained in karate to dan grade and judo (brown belt) and many of the techniques of these arts already exist within aikido. We try to test our techniques on a regular basis and sometimes they are not as effective as they could be but with a bit of atemi applied, I often find that they are! O'Sensei's aikido emerged out of WW2 and occupation, where it was necessary to reduce the overt "violence' to allow practice to continue, so a softer form emerged, the same with other arts. When O'Sensei trained with Takeda sensei prior to the war in Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu, that discipline was pretty brutal. At my dojo we like to combine a bit of both in our training, which, as a defensive art, we believe is reasonably effective. And in a way, there is little benefit comparing the effectiveness of aikido against other arts as its a bit like trying to compare apples and pears!
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Nicely said. very friendly and to the point. good and logic explenation...and...you really dont disregard the art!!!
Hey Prince. A very interesting and informative video.
I've practiced tai chi for forty years. I've had very little opportunity to engage in the combat aspect of tai chi. Having said that, my daily tai chi practice has caused some interesting results which I would describe as "unusual sensitivity", as if my physical senses extend well beyond my physical body.
The solo practice is something more than just waving one's arms around. There are powerful results to be experienced with regular and sincere training.
Cool... Now don't fall into the chi blasting crap... Please continue to do what you are doing without the "I have gained magical mystical powers of chi able to kill a man without touching him."
Tbh, I think what you are describing is just moving meditation. It feels awesome ik.
VERY easy to verify. I'm pretty sure that you can find a boxing gym in your neighbourhood
I recommend the book, Angry White Pyjamas. It’s about a westerner and his brutal experience of studying Aikido in Japan.
Watching the two videos in this series makes me realize how fortunate I have been in my Aikido education. My teacher was a student of Michio Hikitsuchi who was a 10th dan direct student of O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, and the philosophy, internal work, and martial effectiveness were all taught. Ki was central to our training. The way we taught (I eventually became an instructor) was that Aiki was a philosophy and the physical technique was just one way to express and transmit that philosophy.
I moved away for a while and joined another dojo that was Aikikai based and it was more like you described in your videos. The instructor at the school and I had equivalent experience but I feel he always felt intimidated by me so I stopped training there because of the toxicity. There were no other black belts at that school and the other students would comment when I first showed up how much "fun" I was because I guess now they never felt real ki flow before in hindsight.
The way Aikido was taught in my home school smaller people usually had an advantage over larger people and we were taught not to muscle our way through our technique but use mechanical advantage and ki. When I was a beginner, one teenager Jr. Black belt threw me and it felt like I levitated and floated towards the mat. I think she was 16 and quite smaller than me.
Aiki, ki, energy, or any other supernatural power is not real. You have been conned into believing this. Aikido doesn't work because it is a bullshit martial arts that was founded on supernatural powers and religion, rather than effectiveness. Find a real martial arts, you will learn better to defend yourself in 10 weeks better than the ever how many years you spent "learning" aikido. Good luck.
Whats "ki"?
Aikido without aiki is like a beggar without a bowl. A sad sight in a chronically depressed world.
I was exposed to Aikido Around 1975 at the age of 14. Life took my sensei and me in other directions, so I never developed expertise or rank. That said, the short at the dojo still improved everything about my approach to physical movement. Basketball defense and shots improved. Even boxing punches had more power because I always "kep weight underside" with an awareness of my center.
- Beore each class we spent a hour in meditation and ki development.
- There were many techniques that simply did not work if the student wasn't "extending" ki.
- Techniques were not taught in 1-2-3 steps. They were performed in continuous movments.
- Hand techniques were subservient to evade and redirect movements. Even if the hand teqnique didn't go as planned, the student evaded harm and had good balance while the 'attacker' went stumbling out of control.
Thank you for making this video.
I practiced Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido for about 8 years. I had one fight when a younger, bigger stronger man attacked me. I was 53 years old at the time my attacker was in his late 20s to early 30s.
Long story short, he got in the first punch to my nose but my ability to spin away from his punch saved me from severe damage.
As he tried to get me in a headlock, my aikido training allowed me to duck straight down and grab him by his ankles, lift him up and throw him on his back.
He never laid another hand on me, I did kick him in the knee (Atemi), twice in the groin and hit him with a straight right to his mouth!
Was it pure Aikido? Probably not but, I can honestly say that my Aikido training was definitely responsible for keeping me calm, and slowing the fight down in my mind which allowed me to outthink and defeat my attacker!
He was arrested by the local Sheriff. I received a call the next day asking ne to reconsider pressing charges (which I had refused to do). The sheriff complimented me on the beating I gave the young idiot!
I told him that getting beat by a man 20+ years older than him was punishment enough and might give him pause the next time he’s feeling like a tough guy! I’m now 70 years old and still feel like I can protect myself pretty well.
I believe Aikido has a lot of value but you must get a good teacher and should incorporate striking arts as well.
I also studied Karate and Kempo and done some boxing, which helped round out my fighting ability.
Honestly I think that keeping calm has more to do with the boxing part in the last sentance than Aikido (unless you did actual sparring in your aikido training). Atleast from what I have witnessed and felt myself, keeping calm is not something you learn by being calm. It is an ability to overcome adversity that needs adversity to develop. So basically one needs to get used to danger, in order to keep calm in a dangerous situation. In a fighting sence, that can't happen without sparring (even going from sparring to actual fighting is a big jump in percieved danger and hence the ability to stay calm).
@@eiko4252 Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido as taught by the founder Koichi Tohei (Ueshiba’s Only student ever personally promoted to 10th Dan) incorporated mind, body and spirit as part of the whole art. That’s what kept me calm.
What boxing did was help my strategy during my calmness! My ability to predict what my opponent’s reactions were going to be in response to my feints were from boxing.
I punched him in the stomach to force his awareness of my right hand. Then faked a right hand jab knowing he wound duck away from it and be right where my left hand blasted him in the mouth and snapped him head back.
Suddenly he didn’t look as enthusiastic about fighting anymore. That was followed by two kicks to his groin! Shortly afterwards the fighting stopped and park ranger and Sheriff arrived.
The problem with Aikido students is a lot of them don't realize that it's the garnish not the meal, I don't see Aikido as a martial art I see it as a philosophy and conflict management system however, I have studied Asian studies at post grad level (Inspired by my martial arts training) if you go to Japan a lot of Aikido practitioners do either Judo or a form of karate as well as Aikido. Those who pair it with Judo use it like a karate practitioner would use their soft training.
That`s im aways thought.
I like this channel. I'm subscribing like a scribe. No idea what some of this stuff means, and haven't tried martial arts since I was 10, but I like this.
I've had a couple of aikido instructors and none of them did the bull crap. Each student did resist and they did put torque and they would throw you. It was like getting caught up in a tornado and couldn't get out of it. I think it depends on the mentality of the person who trains and the way they train. I definitely wouldn't just do aikido for sure but just like boxing or wrestling each has its place. I have been able to use my aikido functionally. When it comes down to it it's just the art of learning how to properly lock and throw someone or control the balance which is in more than one style.
The easier part is to learn technic and the sparing is to learn to fight.
Why is that so hard to understand? Many dojos don't want outsiders to see more powerful and deadly stuff.
Did you ever try a one-two-uppercut?
thank you for the video. i am someone who practices hard styles as well as soft and love aikido philosophy. it saddens me to here the many negative experiences with aikido as an art. i have found the teachings in the book Ueshiba wrote "the art of peace" to be instrumental in my own training the concepts of training joyously especially, as well as "crystal clear, sharp and bright, the sacred sword allows no opening for evil to roust.". i have read multiple books on aikido, mma, wing chun, bjj, wrestling, judo, boxing, tai ji and jkd and loves aspects of many forms. working part time as a bouncer for a little while did help some with understanding conflict better. having trained a small amount traditionally in karate and wrestling as a child. i found as an adult that it is much more important to train with goals of skill set and desired level of ability in mind. i love aikido and dont doubt that the quality of lesson varies. i do however think that understanding the use of force as it relates to conflict is something best trained both menially and physically and that falls in the end on the individual in my opinion. i have had the both benefit and burden of actually having been in a fair amount of street fights, which really makes me appreciate the concepts of striving for peaceful resolutions that are stressed so strongly in aikido literature. as well as the recognition that harming others is not something to be glorified or viewed as the best option in conflict. i have not tied my own sense of self or ability to defend myself to any style but for what it is worth i appreciate the focus on being respectful in the video and wish every one who reads this joy in training (if applicable) and life.
In my experience, it's a sense you develop from living the arts, rather than just training on weekends. I was training ten to twelve hours a day for several years with a group of people, and got to a point where I could feel movement before it happened and counter it. Then life got in the way, I had to quit training as much and this sense went away.
Agree with everything you said. You got another subscriber!
Talk more about internal marital arts, brotha, especially Xingyiquan
Hello Prince,
I have been involved with martial arts & ways for over 40 years. However, my later years have not been as active. I spent 30+ years in Aikido, and attained a nidan. My skill & ability level exceed that, but was not interested in any more hoop jumping. BTW black belt ranks outside of Japan. are not reflective of ranks in Japan. Typically, shodan-sandan ranks outside of Japan reflect a higher level than there corresponding ranks in Japan. Often Japanese students begin young, and are ranked quickly. As such, their personal maturity and age are younger during these ranks as compared to gaijin. However, the higher ranks, rokudan and above, often reflect a high degree of ability as compared to the same ranks outside of Japan.
I agree with your assessment. Like all martial arts & ways context is important. And, the context of Aikido as designed by the founder was not as a martial art, even though he himself had a very martial & combat oriented history. It was at least a martial way, and he attempted to cultivate it beyond that into a spiritual way. Most students, by far, have not or can't do that. So, at best it is a martial way as a social phenomenon. In fact, the techniques of Aikido are just really bad jujutsu. Aikijujutsu has the same situation, they are really poor jujutsu technique. The reason being is to make "it" work one has to cultivate as you express the ability of aiki. For a martial application, once you have aiki you should not let the classical techniques/forms restrain you. The forms employed are gross forms that were utilized for samurai wearing armor in bladed environments, not modern environments. So, back to context. The technical forms of Aikido are not designed for street self defense. Any more than MMA is designed to survive in projectile fire environments, or kung fu vs. SEAL Team 6. It would be a slaughter. So, people looking to be powerful in the martial/combat realm for real should just leave martial arts. Go join the military and seek every level of special forces opportunities they can muster. Not that martial arts aren't employed in training, cause they are, but it's trained in a context that is strategically relevant to being the baddest MF's they can be. Once someone changes their mind on that, and realizes they just want to take care of themselves a bit, I recommend Systema. It utilizes internal work in a way that the martial context is not hindered or deluded by classical forms. It's basically a watered down version of one aspect of Spetsnaz training.
I grew up in N. Calif., and experienced a lot of fighting from a young age. I met and trained with Angel Cabales (Eskrima) as a teen. Then Tae Kwon Do when it first arrived (Ernie Reyes (father not junior)). Then competitive wrestling. Then a Vietnamese form of internal martial arts (Binh Dinh). Then Japanese arts & ways; judo, karate, aikido. Ended up living and having a family with a woman from Hokkaido samurai lineage. Visited Abashiri (where O'Sensei trained with Takeda), many Hokkaido aiki sensei, and many aikido dojo throughout Japan. Then Frank Shamrock, and Cung Le when we were at the same community college (West Valley College, Saratoga, CA). Then was introduced to the most senior Systema proponents in the world (Vladimir Vasiliev, Mikhail Ryabko, Sonny Puzikas, Kwan Lee, Martin Wheeler).
Finally, when someone says to me "Aikido" doesn't work. I respond with, "Aikido works, you don't". This truth applies to just about anything.
A lot of what you said sounds like the conversation with the school's Sensei who inspired me to make these Aikido videos.
In Internal styles that actually teach the inner door material openly, you start with the internal training from day 1.
I practiced Aikido in the Saotome Shihan lineage at an Aikido Schools of Ueshiba in Seattle for six years. My Sensei is really good, but I wouldn't say she has "aiki" in the full sense. One of the visiting Aikido instructors was a Systema master too and his seminars were very eye opening to me. But Systema discussion is a whole separate topic in itself, because the school available in N. America is a copycat from the original Kadochnikov school. Look up the movie "Болевой Приём" (Painful Technique? -- th-cam.com/video/oel7Ly8dFLc/w-d-xo.html), and you would get to see Kadochnikov himself. You can search for "Кадочников Система" on YT and find videos of him also.
Nevertheless, the one thing in the video that I think is important to point out is the role of the uke. The author is right that if he resisted he could have easily confused the student-nage trying to perform the technique. The truth is that as Saotome Shihan is attributed to saying is that he can teach how to kill a man in 30 minutes, but to learn/teach aikido would take 30 years. All technique based martial arts schools are suffering from the fact that until your black belt (shodan) you as a student are merely learning the techniques, therefore uke is there to help you learn them. Once you have learned the foundation collection of techniques and demonstrated all of them during your ikkyu test (which in aikido takes 90+ minutes), and then with your shodan test (which actually lasts less time since your sensei already knows that you have learned the foundation by the time you do ikkyu, but s/he is looking for your better understanding of the techniques -- I am not gonna venture to try to explain what exactly). So the saying at my school was that shodan basically means that you can begin real training (interpret the word real whichever way you want). So if someone came to the dojo and asked how long it would take them to get to black belt, we would tell them that with Amazon Prime they can have a black belt in two days. In true aikido schools black belt is no big deal, and adults only get white, brown, or black belts, no other colors. Colors and stripes on the belts are for kids' classes. Once you get shodan, you are required to go to seminars with other teachers, so that you are exposed to a variety of sub-O'Sensei lineages. Some serious students end up going to Japan for a few years to get a broader exposure. So aikido is a long journey, and a very personal one too. I think of it as a "martial arts yoga". It is more about self discovery than being able to fight, but 30 years later (or maybe sooner) you may be able to do that too.
Systema doesn't teach techniques, it teaches principles. I tried it and got exposed to folks with a variety of backgrounds. During one class I remember the instructor had us lay down, then three guys would sit on you, and your task was to try to figure out how to get out from under them. So I as an aikido student prior to shodan would never claim that I know anything, though as I progressed I did recognize the situations were if uke wasn't helping me to learn the technique, then I knew that in real situation I would do something else, and sometimes I attempted to practice that kind of flexibility of the mind. It was told to us over and over that in aikido you never try to muscle against the point that keeps you stuck, say if your wrist is grabbed, then you are not to fight the grab, but you do a tenkan or something else to go around this immovable point and then have your uke get out of balance via other means, so that then you can affect them. The instructor I tried Systema with actually was a long time aikido practitioner (I think close to the proverbial 30 years), and he said that he switched to Systema because it felt to him that it is what aikido should be. And like I said technique focused training vs. principles based training are two different worlds.
Onegai-Shimasu!
"Aikido works, you don't"
This is what I would wanna say to everyone who said this form or that form of martial art doesn't work. A theory is just a theory. A tool is just tool. It was there for a purpose. It was made for a purpose, and remained simply because it was proven to have served it's purpose. The efficacy of theory as in the tool highly depends on the one who's wielding it. What most people failed to understand is that for something to work for themselves, it takes a lot of hard work and thorough understanding. Without hardwork and thorough understanding of the art, even boxing won't work. They thought they're so good at it but couldn't even throw a proper punch. Nah. Art is beauty carved out of pain.
Thank you for this great video, it explains a lot about what I missed from martial arts teachers I met in my live.
*Check out These Related Videos for MORE on Aikido »»»*
*The Problem with Aikido* → th-cam.com/video/cw_cubPihog/w-d-xo.html
*The ONE Reason Why Aikido Is NOT Effective* → th-cam.com/video/h2oewiqN4r8/w-d-xo.html
Nice video, why akido no teach a ganglia breathing openly. ? Many Asian countries are not Democratic and rely on many more forms of discrimination, lack of id ,ego security. Safety rationals? National electric codes require properly sized conduits for the energy flow less they .. champagne supernova?
Real aikido is hard to learn. Many of us did not continue. It is not for sports no sparing its deadly. Aikido force is in the ground. Develope hard as a rock & soft as water. Ex. Steven Seagal is good in Aikido.
What part of Nashville do you train in? Are you familiar with Master Rusty Gray? I believe his school is now in Hendersonville. He specializes in Sil Lum and Wing Chun. He was a bare knuckle lei tai world champion from 1989-1992. Powerful internal hitter, great fighter and great teacher.
nice video, but i have another point of view that i believe that Aikido is not a martial art for combat, aikido was an ART created as part of an ideal vision of a peaceful society. Its about blending with the society, with the people around you, creating a peacefull society. Aikido itself would place peacefulness and honor at the center of it's teaching. Ueshiba was really a very enlightened and visionary person. As a military man in his earlier life, his utopian vision was one of profound love and compassion even from a victim to their attacker. Thats why he (or the aikikai community) is against the idea of competing, pressure testing, and sparring.
you should check out this video for my point of view regarding aikido:th-cam.com/video/i2WRHzOgzG4/w-d-xo.html chadi is also a great channel focusing the topic of jujutsu, judo, shuai jiao and aikido.
have you heard of tomiki aikido? its an aikido thats using pressure testing, live ressistance, sparring, and competition. its a great aikido style if you want to learn more about it here is the video: th-cam.com/video/cz9ZFUstJy0/w-d-xo.html
Probably the best video I've seen regarding Aikido and Tai Chi. So many people don't get it. I would love to study Aikido because from Tai Chi, I learned how to apply principles not just moves. One Tai Chi story, I was in a class with a guy who studied with me from zero on up. We had studied for 6 months, and in push hands, I could beat him about 9 out of 10 times. I took ONE MONTH OFF. When I came back, I couldn't beat him--at all, not even one match in 10. He beat me every single time. He said, "you're just out of practice." Partly true, I was, but he had improved too--quite a bit. There's this sense you get. I thought of it as listening, where you can feel force, momentum, pressure, and changes in the same...call it what you will, with your whole body. I understand it. I can still do it. But it's not the same as when you practice every day.
Check out some of the teachers in the ASU headed by Mitsugi Saotome Shihan, such asHiroshi Ikeda, George Ledyard, William Gleason, and the late Kevin Choate to name a few.They are all exploring and teaching a much less technique based aikido;, concerned more with principals like connection, center, relaxation, etc. and less with simply perfecting a performance, which for the most part is what cooperative technique based aikido practice is all about,
Pre-War Aikido versus Post-War Aikido... Post-War is a softer and spiritual side of aikido. Pre-War Aikido is more vital in combat with locks, throws, and Jujitsu elements in it. I've used it in bouncing and outside altercation. But I've used aikido in combination of other forms of self-defense and it worked out fine for me.
Just discovered your channel. You do a great job. I really appreciate the time and effort that you put into your research. New subscriber.
Thanks for watching 👍
Props on mentioning Bruce Francis. I met that guy at a martial arts presentation in NYC once. I've heard is speculated about The Aikido founder just like you're saying. In the beginning his techniques were linear....he started going to China and at some point they became circular.
Have you ever done Tai Chi push hands? If not look it up because when you do it with high level folks it feels like they're not there. Hard to explain. I suspect another problem with Aikido is that it's difficult to practice in real life. You would break your partners wrist if not careful. So without proper resistance it's difficult to practice the technique. The flipping you see in many techniques is done to avoid having your wrist broken.
I totally see what you are saying, I studied Aikido for a while, and I can tell that many schools are crazy about having a lot of students and to have the most flamboyant techniques. And this is not a just an Aikido problem. My school was Aiki Kokyu Kan, and we spent a quite good time studying physics and history even calligraphy. So I experience the "Ki" applied on me, and till now I have not a good explanation other than mastering the control of your whole body. I never reach that level of Ki, even though my sensei introduced me to His Sensey as a young promise he kept me on white belt, Sensey told me: you should be black but I want you to be humble. My sensei always told me that I had a lot of future in aikido, no need to be crazy about the Ki, you will definitely will master it . But life is always moving ( I got into college)
Talking about History, O'sensey Ueshiba, was the disciple of Sokaku Takeda! Ueshiba was the one that put the name Aikido because is his own version of what the clan Takeda practice, and it was just for the family Takeda; that were samurais. So, Ueshiba made a verision that was more gentle and not as savage as the Dayto Ryu Aikijujutsu that Takedas practiced for war. If you notice all the movements are samurai movements but without a katana. Well, good video, remembering that we should always look for a full knowledge and not just the outside shape!
Thanks for sharing this 👍
You really hit all the nails on the head with this video. As a 5'3" woman who was raised by a (similarly sized) Tai Chi teacher mom but who has no martial arts background myself, I got interested in Aikido in my early 20s. The dojo I attended was in St Louis, and they taught what they called "Japanese Yoga" alongside Aikido and referenced the internal techniques constantly. I only studied for six months, but the internal techniques I learned in that time (learning the difference between relaxing completely and collapsing completely, learning to strengthen and clearly direct your ki) I have carried forward to this day. What made me stop was several experiences that traumatized me (it's the best word I can think of) while performing the role of attacker (I've forgotten the term now). I wasn't prepared for how violent a spear throw would feel, how I didn't feel strong enough to control such a violently directed throw and stop myself from slamming face first into the mat, when practicing with one of the more forceful (bigger and stronger) students. You're expected to just keep rushing to attack, and it felt like I would lose face at the dojo if I stepped to the side and said I needed a break. And then, while facilitating a class with our sensei, I got yelled at in front of the students for resisting a throw too much - he said he could break my wrist if I did that. It was so confusing - so when am I supposed to practice strong directed ki and when am I supposed to comply immediately?? I think, at the right school, they are teaching the curriculum well, but if I go back to a martial art it will be Tai chi. Having seen how it benefits my mom to this day even in her 70s, despite the fact that she hasn't taught or attended classes for about 10 years now, is evidence enough for me.
Aiki, ki, energy, or any other bullshit supernatural power you've been brainwashed into believing in, is not real. You have been conned into believing this. Aikido doesn't work because it is a bullshit martial arts that was founded on supernatural powers and religion, rather than effectiveness. Find a real martial arts, you will learn better to defend yourself in 6 days better than the 6 months you spent "learning" aikido. Good luck.
I trained at an Aikido dojo in St Louis in the mid-90s. It was a small dojo and the sensei was very patient with people. I was sorry I didn't really have enough time and money to devote to it. Probably for the best since the closest dojo to me now is 4 hours away.
This is a tough subject. I have studied martial arts for over 35. Karate, jujitsu, close quarter combat and boxing. In my opinion what seems to have helped me the most is pressure testing and having the experience to know what technique works for my body type. Just saying what works for me may not be for you. Like Bruce said be like water.
with you thair man relising that traing in stuf that works with my body has truly helped me as a fighter. Im a big guy strong legs and arms but have almost zero acrobatic skill (dispite hears of trying) so my style is a vary rooted one with a focuse of defence and conter actions. as one of my friends say I let my opent brake them self on me
Some schools are like water , all wet!
Problem with aikido is it doesn’t work at all maybe some of the wrist locks but other than that what else?
I have to agree on it :) back in my Aikido school, they taught you the moves but they never touched on breathing, or foot works even. I used my prior experience in tai chi to complement what they lacked training.
Mr. GT, I enjoyed this video and I am happy that it is generating some conversation on this important (for Aikidoka anyhow) topic. Variations of this discussion are constant in the group of longtime Aikido practitioners that were shared to this post. The 4 members in our 'group' have over 160 years of combined experience (I also have trained with Goldberg and Harden Senseis and have familiarity with Sifu Chin). I have included my response to the group (with some editing) which you may find of interest;
This guy did a thoughtful expose on what is a REAL PROBLEM in the Aikido community and referenced some quality MARTIAL ARTISTS in the video. Thanks.
I do think that O sensei did expose himself to Chinese internal arts because if one is a knowledge seeker one would naturally take advantage of any opportunities that presented themselves. What the guy in the video left out is that the main teacher of the Japanese art that Ueshiba practiced, Takeda Sokaku, was himself a/the MASTER OF AIKI. And that Morihei's long term and close relationship with him (he received a teaching certificate from Takeda) was likely the primary source of O Sensei's development of his own 'Aiki'.
IMHO, the two main components of high(est) level of Aiki/Internal Power which O Sensei demonstrated have been rarely taught or shown by Aikido instructors are Takemusu Aiki and Internal Power. The former should be automatic among 5th Dan and above since it is commonly accepted as the highest form of Aikido and should be a worthwile goal at that level.
With regard to the latter; it should be noted that one eyewitness account has Ueshiba throwing Shioda 48 feet during a demonstration for the Crown Prince. Who in the Aikido community does anything remotely like this. Dan Harden is a great resource for this.
The handful of Aiki practioners from any art that wish to use 'Aiki' as an ultimate self defense must be able to follow these almost impossible guidelines. The following is a quote from Matsuda on what Sagawa (the subject of the book,"TRANSPARENT POWER) learned from Takeda Sensei,"
That is, when our body is grabbed or pushed, or various techniques are applied to us, we instantly intercept the power of the enemy through Aiki-no-jutsu, render it powerless, stick to it and make it impossible to separate, and apply throwing, reversal or joint locking techniques.
When the enemy comes to strike us we stop that movement, reverse it, or execute throwing techniques or reversals after floating and destabilizing them through the action of Aiki-no-jutsu .
Even when they move before us, after destabilizing the enemy and rendering them powerless through the principles of Aiki we attack them. This is the unique Aiki-no-jutsu technical method of this art.
Simply stated, in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu there are 2,884 techniques which give birth in turn to an endless number of variations. Each and every one of them employ the action of the Aiki-no-jutsu mm
I'm an Aïkidoka, and I had the luck to start in the school that actually tries to teach Aïkido. I have to say, you are very right, I have since I started visited two different dojos out of curiosity, and in both cases their training was focusing on the techniques and movements, rather than the fundamental principles behind that make the techniques work, and can be used without them.
Also, the fundamental role of aïte (he who is on the receiving end of a technique) is to challenge his partner during the practice. Past setting up the situation appropriate to the exercise being shown, you need not let your partner do whatever they want and be complacent, but every step of the way pointing out mistakes mades, sometimes by turning the situation back in your favor, so that they learn and improve, if those mistakes are at a level that the partner can understand. You have to be challenging, but you can't be too challenging. And riding that edge will make everyone improve.
I thought Uke naivity was the main problem, after doing the movement once it is hard to not adapt the attack, as you know what counter you are facing. Up to a level, I visited another dojo and they hit me in the face, sometimes the uke must be cautiously attacking.
Well done with the video. Very respectful and informative.
Much respect to this man for making a video right after a good workout 💪
😂😂😂was thinking ‘is it just me or is he sweating’
Exceptionally good vid. Much appreciated Prince
The “problem” with any martial art is not the art but the teacher. If you train under a real deal sensei in Japan they will make you a machine. “Internal power” or not.
This is purely my opinion and it could be total bs since I am not a black belt in anything. But from what I have studied about Eastern Martial Arts is that Qi or Chi is a real thing, some western scientist have found a relationship between our bioelectricity output and Chinese acupuncture points. Leading some people to speculate that when people maniplute their "Qi" it is really maniplutating your breathing or bloodflow in such a way you can control where your body outputs the most bioelectricity.
Now I don't think this "internal power" is what really seperates the regulars from the pros. But I think that is why many Eastern Martial Arts have a philosophical part to them that studies things like Zen Buddhism and Taoism. Maybe that is why certain aspects of Aikido are not being passed down in western schools.
@@shuheihisagi6689 exactly. By controlling your qi you control how much power and from where you want to exert it by controlling breathing and flow.
nonsense, some martial arts are just arts and packed and sold as being martial, thats is the real problem.
@@arnonabuurs7297 not exactly. All types of styles are considered martial arts. But not all styles are effective in combat situations. Some styles are aesthetic, for health, for fitness, for military etc.
@@arnonabuurs7297...the Asian masters don't "pack and sell" anything. It's fake "senseis" who "water down" or have no clue what they are teaching. If you think Aikido is a bunch of bull go to Japan and challenge the sensei of the dojo...but make sure you have very good health coverage.
Number 1 requirement for aikido enthusiasts. You’ve gotta have the ponytail hair.
Just like any new guys joining kempo have to have the best unshaved look to go with their grey gii’s, the aikido guy NEED!! to have that ponytail.
This is from where they get their power source. Like Samson who gathered strength from his long hair….well so do they.
Aikido is as much spiritual as physical, Sensei matters. I personally live an Aiki Life.
in most places, Aikido is taught as living katas ... the movements themselves without explaining the biomechanics behind them ...
As I comment at Roka's video, the big issue is how people is teaching and practicing aikido and others martial arts. They try to be like O-Sensei but didn't pass through the process.
When I first started with Aikido, all of us White Belts just went with the flow of the attacker. This helped us to learn the movements without developing ki. I started developing Ki as I went for my yellow belt. My Sensei was also a power builder who had an easy 100 pounds on me. Trying to go through the motions I felt like I ran into a brick wall. As I developed ki while working with him one on one, I began to move him like he was a feather. That is when I fell in love with it. My experience is that you have to push beyond the initial teachings to truly understand an art.
I cant say I actually believe in an idea of ki outside of a simplification and conglomeration of a bunch of biological physics and reactions using ideas like the potential energy created by unbalancing an opponent and turning that energy into kinetic energy. But even with that, learning how to manipulate the body is definitely helpful and I see in hapkido which I do. But my masters noticed some things just don't work if someone is resisting. There's some techniques we could alter and there's some that just have some specific requirements we couldn't notice without pressure testing it. I have really seen the difference in the technique of big strong guys who could never do it on someone their size and small framed short people who have excellent technique, because it won't work otherwise. It's fascinating stuff.
But there is that mental part. That confidence. Even with my masters who recognize that we need to add pressure, they sometimes let me do the technique unconsciously without real resistance to make me feel good. But I really realized this when I would go to my other classes in traditional tand soo do. They almost never do locks or grappling and so I would try my techniques on them. They had no idea what to expect except that some really wanted me to fail. Sometimes I'd get a real reaction like someone on the street, or I'd get someone actively trying to make me fail. Here this helped me improve my technique. If I didn't do it perfectly I'd fail since they didn't even know how to help me. And with the ones that wanted me to fail and knew what I was trying to do, it was a great chance to train the idea of switching to a different technique when being countered in a specific way. So worth it.
Similar situation here. In the 70's troughout the 80's I had studied Karate and Judo. I'm not a very tall guy but you know muscular, very strong and in shape. I went to study Jukaïdo. All the students were phenomenals. The teacher a small guy about 5'3". He was known to have been a student of O'Sensei. He would move me around like I was nothing to the point I got mad and throw a punch at him. God was he fast and he was the real deal. Lesson learned. Thanks Sensei!
@@PR-fk5yb " The teacher a small guy about 5'3". He was known to have been a student of O'Sensei. He would move me around like I was nothing to the point I got mad and throw a punch at him. God was he fast and he was the real deal"
I have only a few months training in Aikido. But one experience stands out. I was the cooperating partner to a brown belt who claimed I was not cooperating. What I was doing was taking her lead and moving my body to comply with the. leading arm and body moves, and wrist holds and arm locks. All the while I was flowing ki through my arms and out my fingers. We never got specific instruction of directing ki for the moves. It was up to us to figure that out.
Finally, frustrated that she could not convince me I wasn’t cooperating, she called the Sensei over to instruct me.
He put a wrist hold to lock my arm on me and did not try to bend my wrist, but instead injected ki into my wrist which initially joined my ki flow out my fingers, no pain, no joint lock. His words were that I had very strong wrists.
Taking the hint, I stopped my ki flow and felt for his. His ki then cut off my flow totally and the pain was extremely excruciating. He said “got it”. So I reassessed his true red and white belt authority to rule ki flow in my white belt body and reestablished my flow. He said “lost it”, the pain stopped. As did my old sense of what cooperating was.
I don’t believe the failure to teach is totally in the failure to allow resistance, but to fully engage the cooperative training with Q & A. Especially with instruction on Ki control. In O’sensei’s day the students spent a lot of time exchanging techniques with each other. No doubt perfecting the lessons that they were learning without improving the quality of instruction. The culture is very rigid with who is in charge and who teaches who.
The reality is we are our own teachers, senseis are just leaders, they can’t make us learn. My Sensei in New Orlean (Saul Smithson always sparred with his eyes closed, he also insisted everyone practice meditation.). My understanding of the physics of the body and mastering transcendent awareness and transcendent fighting arts require complete coordination of cellular functions largely ignored or denied by Western science. These are natural abilities. Anyone can develop them individually to a level that exceeds a fixed curriculum, there are no secrets from transcendently aware people. This is why only practicing kata or limited moves with cooperating partners is not good preparation for real fights. And why there can never be one dominate master of all arts (nature adapts and changes.) Nature teaches superior fighting methods based on how it works (right on track with Bruce Lee’s fight theories). Thanks for bringing your perspective.
A long time ago I had a Friend who showed me a Video of Morehei Ueshiba which he claimed was smuggled out of Japan . At the time I didn't believe him ( Regarding it being smuggled out of Japan ) I do now though . The video showed Ueshiba fighting 5 men at a time . When I say fighting , I don't mean Sparring . This was full contact , full speed , full power . No pulling punches . Not one of those Ueshiba Demonstration Videos like you see on You Tube . I saw men's heads cracking together . Bodies flying all over the place . His opponents were seriously trying to hurt him . Punching , Kicking , trying to drag him down , hurt him ,.It was mayhem . This was no BS . I've never seen anybody , anybody in my life and I mean anybody , fight like this guy . It was unbelievable . Just unbelievable . I have scoured You Tube countless times trying to find this Video . I can't find it or anything that comes close to it . What I saw in that Video I've never seen again . Ever . This is no bullshit . When people say Aikido is bullshit , fake , wouldn't work in a real fight etc etc maybe in general it's true . But , in regards to what I saw in that video , regarding Ueshiba's fighting ability , those statements are total , total BULLSHIT !!!! This guy Ueshiba was unbelievable . I wish todays Martial Arts Community could see what I saw in that Video . The problem with his Aikido would be in a real fight he'd be kicking anybody's ass . This guy would've been a problem for ANYBODY . I believe now that the Video I saw was not supposed to be for Public Consumption . Maybe because it was too violent , I don't know . Maybe Ueshiba because of his peaceful Philosophy didn't want it shown . Who knows. I know what I saw though . It was beyond mind blowing . I will never ever forget it . He was a True Master . What I said here is 1000% true.
Hi , I went to a dojo that was directly setup by him. It was both mental and physical. It was real fighting, once you got past a certain point.
You really get it, once you pick up swords. The movement becomes very apparent.
I 100% agree.. I thought this was gonna be another video crapping on Aikido, but yes, the inner dimension of directing ones Ki, is the true basis (or should be) of every martial art.
I asked the local guy, if he teaches this and he said.. no we don't, and he asked if I was still interested.. I said no.
The reason IS.. is because it takes a lot of devotion, time and effort on the practitioner. Much of which can only be had through meditation and cleansing the self of imbalances that can disrupt or corrupt this power.
Thank You for pointing out this this training flaw. Another flaw that I haven't really heard anyone talking about either is the Budo Spirit and how it is key to not just understanding the culture it came from, but vitally important for practical combat. In my own words, I would describe it as breaking through to the superego and learning to bind and control ones demons(Jungian depth psychology). Anyone who has "it" should be breaking their students ego from day1 and forcing them to have no other side of the mind to go to but the superego. Training in the Budo Spirit is traded in order to keep a large class of paying students because the Budo Spirit is not at all the nice good-sport environment. It is the heart that you are leaving tomorrow on a military campaign and if you don't get this today, your chances of returning alive are slim. Any teacher who has "it", will likely have only a handful of hard dedicated students who always have that look in the eyes like "daddy just sent brother to hell for eternity and I'm next". Pressure training your Spirit is the true heart of this Entire thing and for a student to come out and still have their head in their ass thinking about technical mechanics as being apart from hell training has missed everything and nothing will work for them in "the street".
Thanks for sharing 👍
I can't comment on the Budo spirit. I study kungfu.
What is this about a black dragon whatever in China? Re you saying that Onisaburo was not about what he professed?
Uhm.... I thought Aikido derives from an even older art called Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu?
This is exactly why I stopped training in Aikido. I did about 7 years at a school that was founded by and taught by Akira Tohai a student of O Sensei. The place was full of bullies who tried to make less experienced students feel that they were learning something special when they were actually getting abused. There were a few teachers who understood 'real' aikido and they all eventually left the toxic envorment of the Midwest Aikido Center in Chicago to found their own schools. I eventually went on to train in traditional kung fu and tai chi. During my tai chi practice (Hsu Fun Yen's Yang style) I discovered ward-off energy and that's when my Aikido clicked and my kung fu instructor was always smacking me to keep it "tai chi" during push hands or sparring.
Thank you so much for being objective and finding the truth. The world needs to hear this more than you know.
Thanks for sharing 👍
This has been my experience with most main stream schools. The barrier to entry is a check. The culture is horrible, side stepping the self improvement and spiritual enlightenment aspects in place of dueling. Human's are monkeys, a 10% difference is mass largely negates any advantage an opponent has. I love how demonstrations involve a seriously undersized and inexperienced opponent getting his ass kicked by someone that clearly has 10 years and 10kg's on them.
Yeah I've seen that too. In my case it was a legit school founded by the man who spread Aikido through the Midwest, east coast, and parts of Canada, he was the highest ranking person in North and South America at the time. He died and the power hungry started their long campaign to take over the school vs listening to the people that had good intentions and a solid practice. Eventually the main power hungry man Walter, an alcoholic who was caught drunk on the mat more than once (which was covered up, partially by hurting the person who called him on it) took over, instilled his toxic culture and the whole school fell apart. I joined for the last good year that place had over 10 years ago. Left after 4-5 years as the reality of the actual culture of that place is guarded from new people (which is messed up) and the folks who would tell you the truth were ostrosized. So a little different at the start but yeah, that place can't keep new members long, particularly women. But they host the largest Midwestern seminars (sometimes in the while USA) so the larger governing body of Aikido keeps them in good standards cause the mat can actually fit 150 people on it.
Attended a seminar given by Akira Tohai. He was a nervous guy. Always fussing with his hakama. Tohei sensei's students in Hawaii (Yamamoto Sensei, Moriyama Sensei, Yoshioka Sensei, Suzuki Sensei, Nonaka Sensei, Ueki Sensei)would leave him in the dust cuz Koichi Tohei always stressed Ki. At the seminar he used a lot of physical strength and used uke's who would play the game. Yoshioka Sensei, the head Aikikai guy after the split, would sometimes ask his students to attack him at anytime, any way (not while teaching an art but when he circulated on the mat assisting with a particular technique). When someone did they found themselves on the mat or bouncing off a wall. I think this was a way of training himself to always be aware in the moment 360 3D.
I really enjoyed having stumbled across this. When I was studying Wing Chun, I started doing warding rotations by rote. One day, my Sifu called me in front of the class and had us practice. At some point, I felt something "click" within me, and he said, "Stop. Open your eyes. Look at your body. Look at my body. Remember that feeling. Now, pull my wrist closer to you, and I will be off balance." To this day, I think he knew I had discovered something.
I agree with your thoughts. The peng jing, fa jing, all the energies developed from long time internal style kungfu are the goals to develop in martial art. In aikido, it is not so obvious in the usual training. I did both tai chi (since 1996) and aikido (only 6 months). And i felt it's easy to master aikido forms because i have the tai chi basics.
All the best with your quest.
I always respect people who question things.
It means they are in search and they will find it.
well, here are my two cents. I took several years of a variation of Jujitsu that is very similar to Aikido. In fact, it seemed like a dirty version of Aikido. I also received several years Krav Maga center that, as part of its training, included full contact sparring.
From what I can tell, what Aikido is lacking is effective aggression and too much of a commitment to a defensive approach to a fighting situation. Basically, what is supposed to happen is, in principle, you are responding to an attack by by redirecting its force in a way that discourages an attacker from further attacks. In practice this means that you are only reacting and countering their technique with your technique. The problem with this, is that this is extremely difficult to do, if that is all what you are doing. However, for most of us, and I would say most Aikido practitioners, except those of senior rank or uniquely talented individuals, normally, their technique is never quite good enough unless it is supplemented by some aggressive technique. For example, Take the Tai Otishi,. Someone could take a hook from a boxer and use its force to perform a Tai Otoshi. To pull that off requires lots of skill, practice, and an extremely calm presence of mind. On the other hand, you can block, or parry the hook, deliver your own punches, and then perform your Tai Otoshi. In that situation the skill level you need to pull off the Otoshi (or any other Aikido technique), is much lower.
Now, I do understand that Aikido does have strikes. However, as far as I know, the emphasis they do get is so small, they do not realistically solve this problem. It seems to me that Aikido, or at least the techniques, can be useful for someone who already has good understanding of a fighting art, and either wants to learn a set of techniques, or is in a situation where fights are inevitable but wants to end those in a way that values the attacker.
Well... but when you use any counter that is possible against a real strikes (because I have seen several Aikido trainings and presentations, and didn't notice even ONE real punch, just some theatrical gestures instead), and answer with delivering your own strikes, then you don't need the Aikido anymore :-)
Thank you glad you hear someone talk about Aiki!
All the traditional martial arts require time to develop for them to work. A lot of people skip the development or never put in the time which could vary depending on the student. They'll conclude it doesn't work and discard the practice. I've also researched O'Sensei and saw that he might've picked up internal training in Manchuria. Wherever he picked it up from isn't important, but that he took time to develop his skills.
When an art requires enough time and training (which usually ends up being years and years) for them to just work, it means they're not practical. It takes less time for someone training in grappling arts like BJJ and striking arts like Boxing/kickboxing to be formidable opponents, because those are practical styles of combat. You don't even need that much formal training to learn how to throw a proper punch and protect your face.
The problem with kung fu and Aikido is they overcomplicate combat with their supposed "simple" theoretical approaches, and it's always performed with a compliant opponent.
Thanks again for another thoughtful video. I believe you and feel that you are quite sincere. I know next to nothing about these things but I am an older man thinking about doing some aikido for excercise. I don't think I will ever use it to compete or fight anyone, except maybe an angry woman! I think learning some aikido is probably a good idea for me! Keep up your good work!
I learnt a lot from this thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
I trained in judo in college and it is legit re being able to defend oneself.
When were you stationed in Sasebo, Japan. I taught there for two weeks while taking Karate in Hawaii.
I was actually teaching classes for the Navy in diesel engines and auxiliary systems.
Another great video on Aikido, Sir. Having studied Aikido myself for 20+ years, what I find lacking in many practices is atemi. O’Sensei maintained that atemi was 90% of aikido, yet you rarely, if at all, see it being taught in modern Aikido schools. Atemi is what makes the techniques look magical. It’s the unseen part of the larger spectacle. Atemi assured you (as nage) of being in the proper position, effectively breaks the balance of the uke (even if uke is larger and stronger), which makes the joint manipulations and throws effective.
I’d love to sit with you over beers and talk martial arts!!
Didnt O Sensei also studied other martial arts throughout his life like Judo and a version of Jui jitsu? Most of the people I trained aikido with also trained other martial arts and those were the people who could use aikido. People who just trained aikido didnt seem the most effective and most likely to have their heads in the clouds
I too have trained for over 20+ years in Aikido+ (you might say closer to 30 years). It's the teacher AND the student. Unfortunately some people are just NOT going to get it, regardless of the martial art. I have been lucky. My sensei began with wing chun at age 7 (and continues), Okinawa style karate (2nd Dan) and Aikido (5th Dan). He brought in other martial art styles to cross-train with us (kicks and strikes). Keys: posture, extension, kokyu, core strength AND a block IS A STRIKE. There is your atemi. He even taught us the 1" punch & targeted pressure point strikes using various hand positions (nasty stuff). He's not your typical Aikido instructor and made it a point in saying "don't do this in other Aikido dojos". One the side, I also cross-trained for some time with a Jiu Jitsu practitioner who was trained by an ex-SAS Jiu Jitsu instructor. Interesting and a great deal of fun.
Training in an Aikido dojo is a slippery slope because once you DO 'get it' a great deal of care has to be taken. There's a big difference between your typical Aikido training and the dynamic application, which we, the senior students have been trained in. I suppose what I'm trying to say is if you limit yourself to one style you won't grow as a martial artist regardless of the style you begin with. All martial arts have there limitations if you just 'train in a box'.
@@georgep3868 I agree would recommend cross training, your instructor sounds like an interesting guy. One of the best martial artist I met had a black belt in Japanese jui jitsu, was a local wrestler for a number of years, did boxing, and 3 Dan aikido. He was very effective and came up with his own style incorporating all these, which included sparring and pad work.
I think my interest in Aikido ended after getting my 1st Dan. I changed jobs so couldnt train so much and started doing stuff which was closer to home like boxing and more recently BJJ and Judo. Having done these I think it's less likely that i will do aikido now. The aikido training I have done barely helps when I'm live sparring with people in boxing, BJJ or judo.
Great video, I enjoyed how you explain the force of Chi
My introduction to aikido was aikijutsu, ive seen too many aikido and "ninjitsu" artists saying they could do this or that but it was nonsense. Im sure a true practicioner would have 0 problem.
What a aikijutsu? Is it Japanese jiu-jitsu with aikido elements, or is it early gen aikido, or aikido with jiu-jitsu touch?
Never heard about that one. What is it?
@Book Knight, Aikijutsu or Aikijujutsu is very early gen Aikido
Aikijutsu is a shorter term for the style called Daito Ryu Aikibujutsu (Daito is another word for Katana, Ryu is Dragon, Aiki means a clash of energy, and bujutsu means Martial Art).
@@nathanplunkett4641 That's not entirely correct.
I think you are streight up😊 keep up the good work
My first Aikido Dojo had Dan Harden visit to give us intensive seminars a handful of times. There’s nothing controversial about his approach. His intention is to truly help us develop that missing internal aspect of the art in order to make our Aikido better. He’s an incredible teacher.
Hey man just found out about your channel, great videos! It's not easy to find good internal martial arts channels :)
Ikr👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
Bruh, you boutta sweat through that shirt! 🤣🥵😅😆
Did my workout, took a cold shower, and I started recording. I told you man, all I do is sweat in this new apartment. It wasn't like this in the other place!
@@GoldenbellTraining Hey brother off topic I just found your channel I'm 41 years old and wanted to get into martial arts What do you suggest haganai combat, jujitsu or Kali? Thanks
@@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658 bjj is very good, but i dont know a lot about normal jiu jitsu. I do know about hapkido and if you want it to work youll have to spar with people to know when to exactly use a technique
@@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658 Try them all and see which one you enjoy.
@@Kali-8 original jiu-jitsu would be better; it has striking. Today society don't fight one on one anymore. They shoot or jump you
I have another idea about Aikido. Which i practiced for one year straight with great effort. I stopped then because i started boxing parallel to aikidotraining. And it felt like Aikido goes really the wrong way with it's training.
What many people do not understand is, that the techniques work. The locks work. There is also a moment in aikido where you can not resist anymore. My Sensei referenced to that as breaking the center. Nothing magical. A master, a soon as the center is broken, can constantly guide you in the hole as i call it and play with you.
The hole appears as soon as the center is broken. What is the hole? Well have you ever run in one direction and tripped? And then instead of falling flat on your face you kept running? And the only thing which prevented you from falling flat on your face was the fact that you kept running fast. That is the hole. First you play along to be a good uke. But then comes the point when you have not other choice than to go with the movement. A master of Aikido can then play with you, like with a ragdoll. That ist the frightening part of Aikido. If you let you, or he lets go, you are fucked.
But here comes the but. As so many Martial Arts. Aikido trains against unrealistic attacks. It only trains the applications. It never trains the part to earn the application. Like most martial arts.
On top of that, Aikido probably offers the most unrealistic ways of attacking. The classic Martial Art attack i call the stop and freeze attack. The Training Partner starts his attack from kicking range, which is already nonsense and the launches at the other person. He has no intention to hit the other guy. He just freezes there with an extended arm and waits for big sifusensei to do his magic trick. No snap punching no combination, no evading the punches. Just playing the Sub-Zero victim.
Now Aikido goes one step further with that. It runs at the training Partner with an extended arm like a rhino charges. An he keeps on running. You can dodge an Aikidoattack just by stepping aside and letting it pass. For me this attacks are the training tools to develop the technical skill of the application. But those are no real attacks. This is in my opinion why Aikido does not work.
Every marital art is different, if you do not like Aikido, try Silat or Kali...very effective too
Prewar branches/ Iwama style Aikido teaches and trains with Aiki.
It trains with resistance and intention.
That is what is missing from Hombu/Tokyo branch.
Difference between a technique actually working and the deer in the headlights.
I have repeatedly felt this many times at mixed training conferences. I can instantly tell who trains with resistance and intention and who does not.
Nice name drop with Dan harden. I trained with Dan also. Prob one of the most skilled martial artists I have ever met.
Nice! I wanted to attend one of his seminars in Atlanta a few years ago, but I am at the point where I need to focus on my own stuff before I go see what other people are doing
@@GoldenbellTraining -- Hey Prince. good stuff! I think Dan would characterize aiki as chansi-jin built upon peng-jin (i.e. gotta have six directions as a foundation for spiraling jin). Having trained with Dan and Sam, I recommend you spend mat time with Dan and specifically compare notes regarding ILQ (e.g. use of body planes and circular points of contact) and Dan's agnostic internal power model. While Dan started out known for trying to put the aiki back into aikido, he's now also well thought of by a number of taiji and other ICM practitioners, in addition to karateka, MMA fighters, et al. I messaged Rokas to recommend he check out what Dan's doing for the reasons you outlined. No response yet, unfortunately -- but I'm hopeful he'll make that effort, given his "martial arts journey" is predicated on having an open mind and evolving, and Dan's specific aiki-in-MMA model would nicely knit together both ends of Rokas' journey.
I used to practice aikido. We had a very tiny girl in our dojo who could toss around Marines and Sailors who were more than two times her weight. She had what you're talking about. Most students did not.
In one line - Aikido needs the other person to know your plan and never opose it.
That sounds like a big problem. Also it teaches you to protect yourself from a minor percentage of real life attacks, while not doing much about the major percentage. All demonstrations will have someone attacking while running to hug the aikido master or to bump him with their bodies. Also preferably the attacker comes running with the hand above his head from some 5 meters or more distance so that all the neighbourhood can know from a minute ahead what blow is intending to do. But that happens rarely if ever. What if someone just does a lightning punch in the nose without trying to climb on you at the same time? Or a stationary kick? And for the wrestling part, there are much better suited disciplines. So no wrestling, no punching, no kicking and barely any defense against those. At least the roll nice when they fall, you need to give them the point there :) Also, if someone tries to run on you while attacking, yes, that case is covered, so some use it has.
That's only true for the basic training. Too bad it seems like many Doujous don't go further.
If you let two amateurs try an Aikidou technique full force and speed, I'm very sure that at least one of them will end in a hospital.
@@kaltaron1284 that's true for all aikido. It's a bullshit martial art that has no real world use no matter how brainwashed you are. Reality is reality bud. I wish you the best and hope that one day you will find it.
@@juliusreigns4218 If you say so. I'm glad I don't live in your "reality".
I'd done quite a bit of aikido by the time I checked out a freestyle kung fu class. I went in smug, thinking "they can't even say what kind of kung fu it is, how good is this gonna be?" but they paired me with a woman who was rising through amateur boxing, and she threw those punches to make contact. I learned that I'd got lucky - my aikido seemed to be pretty solid, insofar as I could still apply a defense with just my hips while kneeling, something I don't think we'd actually practised at aikido, but the principles of standing torque applied, happily - and secondly, that every class I was in was taking it easy. It's a completely different experience training with someone who won't just let it happen. I was lucky I guess that someone I did ninjutsu with who got three black belts in the time I knew him, would meet up with me and we'd go over stuff with the resistance I didn't find in class. Training "live" as I've heard it called, with resistance, is absolutely vital if you want to protect yourself. Nobody believes me that I fought a guy off of a woman he was stranling with tai chi once, but they didn't see me in the back garden thinking of how each move could be applied. It's great that these aikido folks are trying to bring the aiki back. Maybe my foundation in aikijutsu helped, but I know those locks and throws work. Sorry for the ramble, I just woke up :3
The problem with "non" aikido people trying to explain a aikido students problems. Issue number one- know the objective truth concerning the history not the subjective conjecture. When one looks at let's say Judo through a Wrestling lens even after four years, so much in the application and implementation of skill sets is lost. Bottom line, it's a lifelong individual pursuit. In the beginning, drills are designed to help with the coordination of movement and cooperation is extremely necessary for growth and development in any art form. Lastly, you don't know what you don't know an "ego" has a funny way of rising when you least expect it.
Life In Every Breath....
I would agree with just about everything you’re pointing out; if it wasn’t labeled as a martial art, and if the demonstrations weren’t limited to cooperative or flow movement.
The question, then, is for those of us who want the true Aikido and not the 'watered-down' version, is where to find a good teacher. Any thoughts on that?
Up yurz, try to find one a federation dojo. Make sure of sensi. I studied under yamada, in NYC. Good luck, Peace.
Go back in time or try to find one of Ueshiba's students.
The problem with Wing Chun, the problem with Aikido, Respectfully Prince their is No problem with "ANY" of the traditional martial arts and their curriculums, theirs good teachers and the bad teachers period. Bruce Lee didn't believe in either the forms and or the belt's, when receiving a black belt is only making it through Basic Training with rehearsed choreographed forms, like robots with good memories, I've seen 12 year olds to 65 year olds receive black belts. Finding the right teachers of the Arts is a challenge to start with. In "all" of the Arts the *Ki and the *Chi is one of the main attributes that students must understand in order to progress, the most vital force in us ( air ) their's a natural force from Heaven to the ground pushing everything downward, that involves our 60 percent Conditioning example Holding different stances for long periods of time, horse straddle etc. Many of us have seen the different levels of instructors from the Master's on down, teaching for the wrong reasons, delaying time spent teaching for belt certificates for More Profits including unnecessary techniques, Self Recognition etc. What comes around goes around in the real world. Only that individual knows what techniques and it's attributes that works for them they can choose from that works for them and discard what does not. Not every technique can work for every individual in all of the Arts, it's not how much we have learned it's how much we have Absorbed of what we have learned. Put your time in and find the right teachers who truly want to help they're out there but few and far between. *You'll know when it's time to move on to another Martial Art even if we get to learn half a dozen Techniques from one Martial Art style that works for us is certainly worth the time and money. I did not teach for the money if I had to, to survive I would have charged, it was rewarding in *many other ways. Martial Art's is 60 percent Conditioning and 40 percent Techniques, everyone is at a different percentage of both. In my 34 years after College football so far, I was blessed to fit in *Tae Kwon do, *Jeet Kune do *Wing Chun, *Aikido, *Boxing * and some Ground work from a good friend who was a student of jiu-jitsu and self experimentation of much variety. I was fortunate enough to find a good Aikido instructor and I have a good understanding of it's Spirit Harmony and it's Root's. In the "past" on the streets and in the ring the Aikido Techniques that I kept that works for me mostly helped me set up my opponent's for Strike's plain and simple, not leaving out it's conditioning attributes. The more skilled a Martial Artist gets the more reluctant he is to inflict pain. Only a Respectful suggestion Prince, being you are a Martial Artist yourself and like to communicate about Martial Arts, how's about changing your outlook concept or perceptions of the different Martial Art's, just because you have a genuine gift and charisma about yourself, much appreciated. If you Prince or anyone else has a bump in the road or to speed up your intentions, I'd be honored to answer any questions. I'm not on social media, this is only my second comment I'm humbled and mind my own business, life is too short. Our cups will never be full however be careful not to bump it. SPAR-SPAR-SPAR God bless, Sensei Greg 🙏☯️
I was looking for Bruce lee and I found you and your channel. Awesome channel. I like what you say and how you say it.
Very articulate and insightful. Please allow me to interject. The reason the uke is expected to be compliant, is so that the nage can learn and practice the technique. No one is expected to master aikido in a year or two. Yes, you learn the techniques in two to three years but it takes longer to actually master the art. Practitioners tend to poke holes in the theory of different systems. But each person gets out of a system what they are willing to work hard for. Since do it for exercise, some use it to enhance their original system. Overall, I respect all systems, as they all have their own benefit. Thank you for your insight. Peace be unto you.
Thanks for your thoughts 🙏
My man, I’ve been teaching/practicing Aikido for 30 years and not only is what you’re saying is true, but it’s the very reason I’ve been blackballed in the Aikido community.
I think the last straw is when I made a comment to someone about the ranking system in all martial arts including Aikido. We try to come up with all types of Philosophical reasons why it’s necessary, but the truth is logically, it makes no sense!!
I also teach Argentine Tango and it’s the same thing!! People would rather learn cool moves than dedicate themselves to the Essence of the art. The question I always ask experienced students both in Aikido and Tango when they decide to come to me is, “Do u want be a Dancer/Aikido Practitioner, or do you want to appear to be one”?
1:13 thank you for your service, sir.
I trained in Akido for two months and my take on it is. It is not a set of moves but a strategy on how the body moves. I trained in Karate
For 6yrs, and I have to say Akido did improve me as a martial artist. I have been pressure tested in real life situations when I worked as a security guard at Universal CityWalk in California. Pretty much they threw a punch and ended up pinned to the floor and handcuffed before they knew what happened to them. The principals of Akido work if you learn them correctly. But I do believe it was my prior experience in Karate that allowed me to see and feel what I was being taught in Akido.
Just how many Aikido classes did you witness? It sounds like some of your assumptions about Aikido are based on hearsay and what you have read online and elsewhere.
That's what I'm gauging. Not actually years of investing oneself into the art.
Oh yeah he didn't see the REAL aikido...right?...
What did I say about aikido that is not true? Aikido teachers do not teach how to fight. They teach how to interact with another aikido practitioner. One student throws or performs wrist locks on the other student who cooperates 100%. Am I right? If so then the students only learn to throw or be thrown, with no resistance. I know there are schools that stray from that way of teaching but that is very rare. Do you think it is possible to be able to fight effectively if you never practice against an opponent who wants to hurt you? One day the aikido student is attacked and has no idea what to do because all his/her life of aikido was without sparring against an opponent who is attacking to hurt. Imagine his surprise when the bad guy punches him and kicks him in rapid succession. He can fight back only if the attacker leaves an arm extended and waits for him to grab it and perform a technique, but wait, as soon as he takes the wrist, the guy kicks or punches with the other arm/fist. Tell me where I am wrong, but please think first.
99% of aikido dojos teach no sparring aikido with no competition. A fight is a competition where the winner walks away and the loser is hurt or ran away.
Aikido has very effective techniques and is a great workout but is useless on its own the way it is taught. O sense must have had internal skills, but did not teach it, maybe to make sure his students would never be better than him or because he was not creating a fighting art, nor a self defense art. I don't know what his goal was with his students. The thing that I will never get is why he had any students at all unless they really wanted to learn how to gain his level of skill. I guess it was great for business. He demonstrated that he was able to beat anyone bigger or smaller or stronger, but never gave away his secrets, which were probably to do with chi gung and some grappling. The highest level practitioners provably have those internal energy skills, honed to allow them to have a good chance to disrupt the balance of any fighter at any level of Kung fu or any other art like karate, bjj etc.
Your point is so valid. From my experience, the teaching of Aiki in most Aikido dojos is mostly reserved for the 1st Dans and above. For students below 1st Dan ranks, they were only expected to learn the external forms, simply because external forms are easier to teach (especially in large classes). Only when special Dan classes are organised, where numbers are small compared to the regular open classes, is when the internal Aiki aspects may be taught.
Uhhh, please. Leave the fantasies of Disney and fairies. We are in the 21st century. There is no such nonsense as: "Ohh, the Aiki", the "Chi", "the mystical energy".
Stop making a fool of yourself, please.
If you want to try something, jump into an octagon and blow up the MMA heavyweights.
Stop lying, please, where does this end !!
@@marcelochagra3307 You're probably right, but maybe you should watch this video. th-cam.com/video/BAl7M9HTKYU/w-d-xo.html
In my opinion but throughout experience, somewhere back in the 70s tai chi, aikido, and much of the Shaolin ways, have been restricted because they are too deadly and too dangerous to teach do the average guy who may have a bruised ego and abuse people
No, Aikido was flawed by it's conception because it was always intended, like Tai Chi, to be a reflection of the inner spirit than the outer Dragon. Ueshiba was a cultist Shinto pacifist, so he designed his martial art to be focused on inner development and eschewed all of the truly effective techniques of the martial art he allowed to die with him. Its really sad because even Kano Jigoro was impressed with Ueshiba's skill as a fighter.
Now finally someone who knows what he is talking about ..congrats about this vid (I would give it 100 like sif I could) you just won a subscriber....after 20 yrs of martial arts I have come to the same conclusions as you asbout internal energy based aspects of MA ..but you put it so well in words so much better than I could ever have...you just won a subscriber...keep up the good work...and Morihei was indeed exposed to bagua he actually incorporated may aspects of bagua into aikido
Internal Martial Arts is the highest form and many Americans want to be instructors in two months and get a certificate. Can you become boxing coach in two months? Unless you are naturally gifted, it could take two months to learn how to do one technique correctly. It's like Americans teaching yoga after taking a two month boot camp.
Can you name which studios have Instructors that only trained for 2 months?
@@anthonysicily5768 American students will insist on it. I've been asked if they could just learn it in two month and teach it. They ruin the class where the instructors are not business people and need students and need to start teaching the class like school P.E. class, instead of working with each student individually.
There are more people making teaching videos that have no clue what they are talking about or at least do not know more than can ve learned in a few weeksl There is one that i am sure watchex a video and then just mimics it in his own video and because he looks good, is in shape and flexible, he has millions of followers. He finally got challenged by too many who really know their art and,after more than 7 years of phony taiji teaching, he is making videos about something totally different. This time he is honest. But he fooled millions for years. Just like donald trump. 70 million americans believe him. Crazy society we live in where people can so easily be fooled. America is in a stupidity pandemic.
Those who can do. Those who cannot, teach.
@@nathanplunkett4641 what a fucking stupid and disrespectful thing to say. If you have ever actually learned martial arts, you just disrespected your teacher or teachers. What a simpleton.
Congratulations on 100K subscribers. Thanks for sharing. Aikido? Domination and submission martial arts style?
I think most of the Martial Arts of useless. Muy Thai, Ju Jitsu, Judo are pretty much legit. It doesn't become practical unless it is practice in a full contact manner. Demonstrations do nothing but give you the semblance that you know what you are doing and the notion that your "skills" will get you out of a tight situation. As a former boxer, I understand full contact fighting, and I understand how training is so important to your development. Belts and "knowing" it means nothing.
Like nuclear weapons eh, useless. U said tight situation. Exactly. That's how fights start usually, face to face. Not ding ding ding from across a padded floor with ropes and space. Yeah jabs and strikes from your perfect range beat aikido or pure win chung. Starting with someone in a crowded bar, up against you, not so much. Security guys, bouncers, are in the tight situations, real situations all the time. If they were a WBC belt holder in boxing it can't help them. Neither can they choke out or arm bar someone, though that's less likely to get an assault charge. Adding grappling to boxing and kicks was just the start of making a real world fighting. A boxer beats a wrestler unless there's a takedown. Most fights do end up on the ground. Kicks are more damaging than just punches, but if the boxer closes the distance the kicks don't win. Then there are the martial arts techniques to also be applied where they have their place. Without mouth guard most MMA and boxers would walk around without front teeth. Also, without a referee and rules, they would all be too badly injured to fight a complete untrained novice. Even with the referee and rules, if the had their matches on concrete or tiles with solid walls instead of ropes or nets, they would be injured every time.
There are different levels of practice and preparation for different situations. What use is boxing or kickboxing when in most situations today, the most force you will legally use is to restrain or remove someone? Police get to use force, they can't use mu Thai. Sparring is necessary, these defensive aikido moves are definitely useful in real world situations. There's also applications of all martial arts. No traditional one or sport has all the answers.
Right up front, thanks for the videos, keep them coming. I like how you word things in your videos. An you often bring back memories of the people I trained with and events of those days. This video reminded me of an event with two aikido students. Tammy a petite young lady tried to show me a technique that was supposed to lock an opponent. She couldn't do it. Her boyfriend Jim was actually able to make me react to his technique though I easily escaped it. Going over it her technique was nearly perfect, the only difference was he was bigger and far stronger than her.
Don't get me wrong, I have respect for aikido the art. It's the commercial schools and hype. In my experience Internal martial arts of any kind requires more training and practice than most Americans want to put in. Even me 😉