Aikido is not a complete martial arts system but a lot of martial artists miss the point in what Aikido truly teaches. O-sensei found a way where strength isn't required, this is one of the main points of Aikido (as well as Judo). The techniques were designed such that nage uses the most minimal energy to break down uke which helps conserve nage's energy. Most of the techniques are not martially effective but what it does teach are the angles and body mechanics where uke is weakest. In my opinion, it doesn't teach you how to fight effectively, but what it does teach you is more a full understanding of the biomechanics of the body (strongest and weakest positions). O'sensei "accidentally" actually discovered through his decades of practice engineering principles where nage uses 0 energy to perform the techniques. A lot of martial artists critique aikido but what they don't understand really is the art's true teaching of how one overcomes uke with minimal energy during a confrontation even when performing non-aikido techniques. Although not martially effective, aikido basics are a necessary building block to other martial arts practice.
My discussions with many older martial artists suggest the same thing. That Aikido, as a system, is incomplete, similar to Taichi systems. However, if you interpret Aikido from the perspective of other martial systems and "plug the gaps" then it is a useful martial system. My first Aikido instructor studied and taught Karate before finding Aikido, and he immediately started using its techniques and principles to great effect in Karate sparring. From there he also became a Bagwazhang teacher and blended much of that art with his Aikido instruction. He would kick when rolling backwards or forwards, and he taught us to "slice" with our hands, as if we were "cutting" with them. After a few months of training Aikido, my first martial art, I did some light sparring with my buddy who had started Krav Maga, his first martial art, to see what would happen. I was taught to use my arms and hands as a sword, and I was moving far too strangely for my friends to enter easily. Our sparring would regularly end with my fingers at his throat. I think we need to differentiate between "incomplete" and "not martially applicable".
It's also incredibly good for mental health people never really seem to touch on that it's wonderful to help you relax and for mental health it teaches you how to be calm and everyday life in situations but yes there are several different forms of this art and there are a few of them that are extremely effective
Great perspective! I am an aikido guy that is critical about the art also. Ueshiba was a special guy that lived though an interesting time. People mistakenly only imitate his final form of aikido without the depth of his training. He was an extremely strong and talented guy that experienced life and death. Not to mention the internal training and esoteric training that added to his arsenal. I ageee with your opinion. Thanks
Anyone have to understand the art's historical background very well to talk about _Aikido_ since it practically developed between two very different cultural worlds of the _same_ era, between two very different generations: The imperial stage on one side, and the "fat man" and "little boy" _after_ Japan on the other. It can be said that Aikido is the very example of the most concrete dichotomy that one can see. An art founded on the principles of war, but that now denies it, arguing that through martial practice (war), authentic peace is obtained. This is in essence, the catharsis of Morihei Ueshiba, a man that few understood... Or that some rather did not want to understand. The product of this shock is what is practiced today, a vision _with_ many visions. Ueshiba, contrary to popular belief, was a stern and irate man, his upbringing forged in a militaristic Japan ready to bring all of Asia "under one roof" This man was made in harsh conditions. When he served in the army, he distinguished himself by his great skill with the bayonet (which would be the later base of the Aiki-Jo and not from "staff arts" as it is sometimes misunderstood). He was quickly promoted to sergeant. This was not easily accomplished, and it clearly tells us what kind of man he was. A man of action. In short, his natural talent for combat opened many, many doors for him. He was not the average guy, since even a man has Sokaku Takeda considered him his favorite disciple. For this and many other reasons, he was one of the few men supported by the high military spheres of that time. He instructed in many army and navy academies thanks to these sponsors. In particular, he continually instructed in the Toyama military academy of espionage, spearhead for special tactics and sabotage in the continent which maintained links with the paramilitary group Kokuryukai (黒竜会). Subsequently, some distinguished members of this ultra-nationalist organization came to have several meetings at Ueshiba's Kobukan dojo in Tokyo (Today Honbu) via Deguchi Onisaburo and his Dai-Nippon Budo Senyokai (大日本武道宣揚会) the armed wing of the O-moto "religion" of which Morihei was deputy president. The "Aikijujutsu" that was practiced in the Kobukan "era" was savage, intense and with the objective of killing the enemy, that simple. It was taught so, that projection techniques had to be in such a way performed that Aite (uke) fell headlong. It was Aite's responsibility to survive Tori's technique at any cost. The training was that severe "If you can't stand the heat, get off the fire". This was the distinctive mark of the Kobukan that the later "Doshu" wanted to erase with all his might. When the war ended in disaster, the world ended for Japan, literally. Everything they had believed in, died the day their emperor gave his famous radio speech. Japan died that day. Few understand the magnitude this actually had. It seems dramatic, but it is the truth. From then on, everything changed 365 degrees... For those who decided to live of course. For Aikido, that change was represented by one man: Kisshomaru (Koetsu) Ueshiba. A man that was the _totally_ and _diametrically the opposite_ to what his father represented. An excellent bureaucrat and civil servant, his effort to eradicate the "warlike roots" of his father art is what we know today as the _Zaidan Hōjin Aikikai_ (財団法人合気会) The new "Aikido", the opposite and "peaceful" version of his father's _Zaidan Hojin Kobukan_ (財団法人皇武会) the old Aikijujutsu (or Aiki-Budo). *This is* the key point where all misunderstandings begin. From this point on, and as a result of this, many ramifications were produced. If you want to understand what Aikido _really is_ you have to understand these two men clearly and what they _did_ in the postwar period. One in Iwama and the other in Tokyo. Two worlds that collide even today.
As a little boy I started my martial arts training with aikido too... then later when I joined my high school wrestling team, I realized for the first time what it was really like to go up against a resisting opponent, since there was almost no sparring in the aikido school I went to... And I realized how different sparring is from just doing katas over & over with a compliant partner.
I love this video. I never practiced Aikido, but I did Judo. I believe that Aikido was created as part of an ideal vision of a peaceful society. In that ideal, only the good people would learn martial arts, and to ensure this, Aikido itself would place peacefulness and honor at the center of it's teaching. People who wished to do harm would in this ideal not have sufficient skills and would be easily subdued using Aikido without anybody getting hurt. Ueshiba was really a very enlightened and visionary person. As a military man in his earlier life, it makes sense that his utopian vision was one of profound love and compassion even from a victim to their attacker. I believe that perhaps the time for Aikido is this very moment where we need more than ever to envision and embody a peaceful future. The expansion of MMA has just shifted the conversation to a very trivial dimension of what's the most effective martial art to dominate, inflict damage and submit another person, no matter their abilities. With MMA, our culture is just becoming ever more violent, and there are a lot more people with bad intentions that are learning deadly skills. From that perspective, when understood on the dimension of social vision, Aikido is actually a step beyond Judo and far better than other martial arts. It actually makes me quite sad that the Gracies have so effectively occupied the space of martial arts with their one one dimensional marketing where it's assumed that the obvious intent of a martial art is to dominate other martial arts. Did they know that the proliferation of their ideas would make the world a more violent place? At least the Judo that I practiced did a good job of emphasizing respect, sportsmanship and humility. I think as long as the ultimate goal is the be an Olympic athlete at least we are not promoting violence.
I see Aikido has two parts to it. The hard style pre war style is one of the most effective martial arts to destroy a person and that works for combat purposes but later developed the soft style post war and on his death bed. I appreciate Aikido for both parts it has as a martial art. I love martial arts and practice it too. Just subscribed to your channel after watching this video.
@@wubear260 Aikido is a philosophy.. The early Aiki-budo stuff O'Sensei taught (Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu), before it became Aikido is where the martial art is at. The Aikikai is all about the spiritual esoteric shit that's about as "martial" as Billy Blanks' Tae Bo. I have zero interest in any Aikido styles founded on developments after Iwama. The earlier Aikido styles (i.e., Yoseikan, Yoshinkan, and Shodokan are getting closer to the koryu jujutsu, yet still under the Aikido banner. Takuma Hisa's students founded the Takumakai. Start there or find students of Yukiyoshi Sagawa if you want to learn the Aiki-jujutsu before it transformed into something else.
aikido is for a beta male who work in office from 8 to 5, dont have relationship, get reject by women and dont cut it in any 'real' martial art like muay thai or judo, jujitsu
@@vuquanghuy3441 No! It's for someone who already has extensive training in other combat arts and wants to learn a few more tricks (specifically wrist and arm controls) or for police/bouncers etc. It's a perfect option for someone who is older and/or injured who can't be sparring with strikers OR rolling with athletic kids OR getting judo slammed anymore. It's something you end your martial journey with, not something you start with.
I have been saying this for months to so many people. Thanks for having the ability to understand.Akido is about harmony with one self and there surroundings. Also in the video you asked yourself can I fight. Remember O.Sensi had many years of combat training before he traveled on a path of peace. So it is possible to root yourself in peace yet prepare for war.
Aikido is not a martial art because the founder was a good fighter. He did not teach people aikido to pass on his abilities to kill and defend himself. Noone can say it's bad for you or that it doesn't have huge benefits, but so does tennis and biking and weight lifting. The point is that aikido is not a martial art because it doesn't teach how to fight or defend yourself. The definition of a martial art is a fighting art, not a healthy exercise.
My discussions with several lifelong martial art masters led me to completely different conclusions about Aikido. From what they've told me, Aikido is a compilation of different advanced martial art techniques which would not normally have been taught to students without years and years of training under other martial systems. Aikido techniques, methods, and mentalities honestly seem to become martially useful if you've mastered at least one other martial system first. My first Aikido instructor, Sensei Orchard, trained and taught Karate for many years before finding Aikido. He claimed that it complimented his Karate, and it was eventually blended with his Baguazhang, which he also teaches. He taught Aikido, but he would also blend it with the other arts that he had learned and he, like Sensei Seagal, would pressure test in Aikido class to the greatest extent possible to force us to be able to use the techniques under stressful circumstances. I was also told that O Sensei's greatest students were often Judokas who, due to their previous martial arts experience, could understand the use, application, and insight into what O Sensei was teaching.
The founder knew at least as much about war and personal fighting as anyone. Aikido is developed for people who already know extremely well how to handle themselves. And in the modern era it has been modified to make the principles accesible to people who don't. People like me, who've barely ever been in a real serious fight since high school. I'm not yet even ShoDan first grade black belt. But I know this much: O Sensei said that atemi is 80 percent of aikido. And he said it is "Sen no Sen". You move before-before. Before "moving first". You create your own dojo. I am lucky enough to study with Hiroshi Tada, and he teaches us this. I used to wonder, why does Uke "do what he's told" so obediently in a demo? And my seniors are teaching me that if you're an experienced fighter, then you will move as fast as possible to get out of the zone that Tori can hit or kick you, and as fast as possible to a zone where you regain the ability to hit or kick Tori or to throw or roll yourself out to a safe distance to regroup and come again. My seniors are teaching me that the thing is set up such that if you, as Uke, don't do what's best for your own good, then Tori can just nail you with something much simpler than the full flowing technique that's being taught. The technique that's being taught is BOTH practice in and learning to feel the underlying principles AND the wisest way for Tori to stay on his/her feet when Uke *really* knows how to look after themselves on the field of mortal battle. At least, that's my take, for now. I'm aiming for first grade black belt this year.
Great video! I am going through similar journey. I am a ni dan in Aikikai Aikido, but recently change my training in judo. I too had a struggle with letting go of my ego and delusion when I first start training judo.
I love your videos Chadi. I love to grapple, and love all of the grappling arts. I’ve trained and competed in so many different styles and feel fortunate to have had those opportunities. Some of my favorites were Judo, BJJ, Catch as Catch Can wrestling, Combat submission wrestling, freestyle wrestling, Shuai jiao, Tui Shou, Dumog, etc., ( I’m stating only to give readers an idea of my background so that they know I’m not simply giving an opinion without substance or real knowledge.) I also studied Aikido for a couple of semesters as an undergraduate at University. When I bounced (a couple of decades ago to supplement my income as an adjunct professor), I mostly used Judo and Tui shou, but definitely some of the Aikido joint locks (especially in my first month or two). After a while I found spinning the combatant around and controlling them using standing rear naked style chokes to control the neck for escort out of the club was mostly hassle free, especially if I applied a little pressure to a kidney or lower back to ‘lift’ them onto their toes. Most of the guys I worked with were football (American) players which also was effective. I also worked public safety in KC and out of an LAPD sub-station in California where I needed to hand cuff numerous suspects. I say all of this to say that although I would rarely admit out loud that I often used Aikido (or tui shou), techniques , or principles because of the stigma attached to these arts; I would say that they really can be helpful for law enforcement. For me personally, I feel that I would not want to try to use Aikido or Tui Shou without my Judo background, but , that the Aikido and Tui shou enhanced my Judo skills, but that’s just me. Also, I think these arts are useful for law enforcement when punching a suspect is not an option. I trained a little Aikido in Hong Kong (1994) and at that time I was told that Aikido was the official art of the police department in H.K., I haven’t verified that, but I can tell you that there were many service men and law enforcement officers that were studying Aikido at that gym. The level seemed much higher, as well, perhaps because of the backgrounds these individuals were bringing with them into the school. Again, thanks for the content! Your cross analysis of different wrestling and grappling systems are exemplary, and informative. Much respect!
Ladd you are more than qualified to speak and elaborate on the art of Aikido. Once again thank you for clarity of thought that went into you documentary. 👍👊
This is an old video but always I find something of value in your videos. You are right when you mentioned that we can't take an art which he developed towards the end of his life and hope to get the same maturity that he did. It's a journey. A few years ago I was very conflicted in my Judo. I had purchased 2 books simultaneously: Kano sensei's Mind over muscle and Ronda Rousey's autobiography. They are both polar opposites! Ronda spoke of breaking arms and revenge randori whereas Kano spoke of mutual prosperity even in practice!! I did not understand how to approach my practice!! It finally settled on me that they were written by two individuals at different stages in their lives. We have to go through a violent journey like Rousey before we settle down like Kano. Ditto for O sensei's Aikido I believe. Btw are you familiar with the works on psychologist Jordan Peterson?
brilliantly explained - context matters indeed. the person who first taught me aikido put it quite similarly, going into the history of o-sensei and his path. as for me personally, practice in aikido helped with anger issues and frustration management. yet because we were very open about the martial "holes" of aikido in our school i chose to further educate myself in other arts (where i met new friends and got my ass kicked, as you do). even if i might choose to discontinue aikido practice in the future, the mindset will stay with me. haven't met aiki-jerks yet, but the place where i trained was university based sooo this might be biased.
You have a very interesting explanation. I started Aikido for health and pursue of soft martial arts. As I practise the art, I moved to the pursue of perfection, placing importance in the detail of thd moves. Eventually i concluded that it is a spiritual practise through the use of martial art, because practising aikido is like a meditation process, enabling me to be aware of myself and my surrounding.
Nice! I also always suspected aikido is for people who already know how to fight! I did judo and a guy I knew did real-aikido before he came to aikido (and he's very good). As you said - the mindset of so many is so fragile... You have to venture outside to appreciate it. 👍
I trained in Akido back in the 80 s , more for using arm and waist locks and take downs for used as a special security officer back in the day, I really like the style more for personal self awareness and meditation, have mostly all the books on akido and and one day would like to get back into it because it is a very special martial art to study and be part of the philosophy for mental health growth..
Hi Chadi, great video I'm a black belt in Aikido and I know what it can do also what it can't do. The way you put the video is one of many interpretations that can be done regarding O Sensei in its last years but we need to understand that the was a previous version of Aikido before the war that was more martial also the version we have its not directly from O Sensei instead from his son Kisshōmaru Ueshiba so we have the interpretations he did, also another fact that we need to know is that he wasn't going to be inherited with the art the problem was that Ueshiba was rejected by other martial artist he trained. Being said that you understand that a lot was lost, because of the way training was done before the war and because many master moved away from aikikai. That's the reason we got a martial art that has a lot of holes. I have trained in hombu dojo and really it's completely different from what we get in the west, anyway it still has holes but you can get to see that there's a lot of things that get lost until the art reach us. What I believe is that Aikido should be done after you have some fighting experience in Judo, Box or something, so you can refine your technique and be better at fighting because Aikido puts attention to the little details that will make a lot of difference, for me Aikido is the way you should move when you want to overcome your level on the other art you mastered. Anyway this year I want to go and get more fighting experience I will go to a judo club and learn, btw how is the transition to Judo and have you employed full relaxation on the body to resist in Judo?
I believe that the "blend" and "harmony" aspect in Aikido is supposed to be the final result, not the first step; that's why O Sensei's Aikido worked. he was someone who has had his fill of experience and high enough skill. yet some/most Aikidoka today thinks they can get to the final stage like O Sensei right away. I believe we need to experience and train the basics and hard martial arts first as much as we can, and THEN we can be enlightened in terms of martial arts.
I've trained in Ki Aikido ... the fundamental is how not to get into a fight. However, Aikido without the spiritual aspect is basically Aiki Jitsu. Do is the way and Jitsu is technique.. So Aikido is a system of training in budo, which is aimed at attaining higher goals without limiting yourself to just techniques. End of the day, its the way you train and the way your apply and internalise aikido principles to effectively apply aikido.
Nice breakdown. It's the most based view on Aikido i have heard to date. Aikido can bring people a lot. But it's indeed not for fighting. That's the polar opposite of what it was created for. It always amazes me how people can do an art and not know it's underlying conceptional philosophies. Aikido was never about fighting. It was about not fighting. About not hurting. About not having to kill and avoiding war. It has some beautiful movements and momentum. The dynamics are amazing. But thinking it's in anyway applicable outside of training would be a mistake. The journey to perfection ot strives for is it's central paradox. Namely that it's impossible to achieve. And that's exactly it's point. One can't. Whenever i hear aikido people making claims it seriously annoys me. Because that means you do not understand it's true meaning. It's true goal. Wich has nothing to do with fighting at all. But more with meditation and contemplation. It's not made for the ring, it's not made for the street, it's not made for the body. That's what eludes most of it's practitioners too. It's about the spiritual not the physical. To take the best known Aikido master for the worst reasons Steven Seagal as an example. And not even going into his personal life. He would be the worst embodiment of it's principles. A man who is arrogant, full of ego, actively tried to hurt people using aikido on set, and is basically a walking contradiction on what Ueshiba intended. Unfortunately he is not alone in misunderstanding the shinto Buddhist principles. I doubt it was the founders intent to even have belts and grades so one can brag about their achievements. It goes against the non ego, non attachment idiology. It's painful to see such misunderstanding in life. Where the most noble of ideas and concepts get ruined by establishment and doctrine. Religion follows similar patterns. Where truth gets clouded out of power and self interest.
I started studying martial arts at the young age of 13. Indonesian Kung Fu. Poekalan. It became my passion. Fell in love with martial arts. Then I started Jeet Kune Do. And most of you know why.Then in 1984 I discovered Shotokan. And the Japanese Budo. And I fell in love with Shotokan. I’m 2nd Dan. Due to bad knee had to stop competing at 50. I’m 66 now. I checked Aiki out before and was negative about it. You had to go with the Defence. Well I was very incorrect. Years later I was chasing some guy on the freeway to kick his ass for cutting me off and almost causing and accident. Then I asked myself is this what your martial art is all about. Going to kick somebodies ass. As he pulls out his Mac Ten and blows you away. Then and then I knew I needed something more PASSIVE. BUT JUST AS AFFECTIVE AS WHAT IVE STUDIED. Then I join a Aikido class at the Y. And my life changed. I found what I needed and wanted. Aiki. The Way of Harmony. O’Sensie has change my life more than I can tell you. My training has taken on a Zen that is powerful. I’m so blessed to find Aiki. I use a 45lb Steel Jo. To do 31 Jo Kata. I explain Aikido to people this way. I will not be there when you attack. You will fall. In the hole I just left. It’s not about fighting. It’s about moving. Just don’t be there. If I can teach a 3 year old in Sazen to throw me. My biggest movement in Aikido. Is to SAY HI. THEN DROP YOU. OSS.
It looks like a catharsis of inner violence. A punch bag to release our anger. It should not be taught not as martial arts, because people make a joke of masters with real fights. Thanks for the video. Very informative with all the historical pictures to define how it all started 🙏
Hi Chadi, thanks you for your thoughts and insights! I started Aikido when I was 19 years old, paused my active training for decades and still feel myself as being an Aikidoka. In fact I am sure that Aikido thought me a lot about dealing with violence and aggression. It thought me the way to live, to move, to communicate that I never needed to violently fight. Aikido is not for winning sport fights (me sparring with Judoka was a lot of fun but a painful experience in means of “success”). It IS about self defense in the sense that you are prepared to prevent situations not to become physically violently. I never had an actual bar fight but I experienced several situations where one might have been starting. The best self defense is to prevent the fight. That can be leaving a bad place at the right time or it can be making a potential attacker _not_ throwing the first punch. Aikido thought me posture and position to be no goal for the first punch - and at the same time to be no threat to provoke preventive striking either. I did never _prove_ that my Aikido could win fights and if I would have had the need to test it might have resulted in fights - but not in Aikido. Yoshigasaki Sensei once gave us a long seminar teaching that Aikido is all about “winning without fighting”. This is ridiculous in the context of sports or street beef. But the main goal of _self defence_ is not winning but surviving unharmed. And the safest way for this is: solve a critical situation without a fight. I am lucky that I succeeded for more than 30 years in that sense. Maybe this is my pure personal luck but I like the thought that this is “Aikido in real life”.
Winning without fighting means you allow gravity to work against your opponent and use it. You shouldn't fight on the street but this is not the whole story. You need to be prepared for full fledged combat and use your full physical potential in the manner of our ancestors.
I think you have truly understood the basic idea of aikido. Indeed trying to avoid violence of any kind and for that i commend you. A non violent mindset and pacifist mentality. This was it's intent.
Great video Chadi! As judo practitioner point of view, Aikido is beautiful art and as any art it enriches a life. If considering some of the typical comments in judo (as well as karate), often people claims kata is useless and there's no point to practice it because some movement applications are not working in real life. Yes, some of those are not working in real life, what's the point at the end. Kata enriches the mind, creates social interactions and keeps mind fresh at the end. Becoming back to judo practitioner point of view, Aikido looks like kata training in judo and in judo there's kata competitions. In that sense I see Aikido as beautiful kata art.
Chadi -- My story is pretty much identical to yours. For me, giving up Aikido was the best decision I ever made. You were spot on when you said and I quote "Petty there's so many jerks in Aikido because nobody is kicking their asses to humble them" .
But I do think looking at Aikido through the lens of MMA causes us to fail to appraise it's self defense value accurately Nevermind that, in learning the sword strikes as a part of the training, it is technically true that some Aikido techniques are too deadly to be *legal* in MMA I think categorizing Aikido as a grappling art had caused us to fail to understand it accurately I think, like Karate, Aikido involves grappling, but, I think Aikido is a tactical martial art more than it is anything else, in the same way Karate is a striking art more than anything else. The tactical goals of Aikido training also do not apply to MMA.
I agree completely. I am not a martial artist, but a very proficient marksman. Given my skill with firearms I don't find martial arts to be overly compelling from a modern self defense perspective, except Aikido. Aikido is the only art I have found so far that provides concrete answers to the very serious questions that carrying a modern weapon for self defense raises. Though I am just beginning to get into Aikido I am seeing the potential in it to enhance my ability to protect my myself, and extend that protection to the aggressor as well. If someone does not know how to use a real weapon and does not carry that weapon as a part of civilian life it is probably impossible to see what it is that Aikido offers. Aikido is not a game, it is not a sport, or a contest. It is a very serious answer to a very serious set of problems.
Chadi, if someone would want to attack you with a knife or any stabbing or even a hitting weapon would you wish you were a BJJ, Judo or Aikido black belt, and what if you could grab a walking stick, broom handle or something like a short staff against that same attacker? What about if you had multiple attackers that are not wearing a Judo uniform. You said sparing is important. Do BJJ or Judo practice every class sparing against those type of weapons or do they at least practice every day those techniques against weapons more so than Aikido? I would love to know your thoughts on that. Cheers
I’ve been training for 37 years. Modern Arnis, Judo, Japanese jujitsu, bhuinkan nonlinear, Shaolin white crane kung fu, Aikido, and kenjitsu the past 29 years. Our kindred two is armored and we are pressure testing at all times. I don’t use aikido all of the time but sometimes I just have to use it just for style points or so that I don’t hurt the guy.
I mostly agree with much of what you say but I think I had the best of both worlds in gaining a 4th Dan in Tomiki aikido and was taught by a plethora of instructors both Japanese and British of high level... I also competed in many tournaments in both kata and randori shiai... A lot in traditional aikidoka would probably not agree, but then again like you say they are delusional as to their true ability... before I did Tomiki aikido, I also did junior judo, boxing, back to judo, karate and Wing Chun gung fu at the same time to understand more fundamentals... One thing I have discovered is that all the martial arts have the same fundamentals whether it be grappling, striking or traditional aikido which is not really a fighting art... I just see it as an addition to my other skills and have actually used it on a few occasions as a part-time door person in my past employment... So to say it doesn't work is naive... It depends on whether you want to smash your aggressor or use pain compliance to diffuse a nasty situation... I found humour to be a good diffuser, but sometimes it wasn't enough to stop a drugged up drunken lout intent on taking your head off!!... If you can use aikido purely, which is extremely rare, then that can be the case, but with real fights one on one, it nearly always goes to the ground if you don't want to cause unnecessary injury... As one of my old teachers said "If in doubt up the snout!! Now that was effective and I used it many a time to take a nasty aggressor down and out... It was called shomen ate or aigamae ate and is taught as "atemi" techniques within the system in their sport randori techniques... So I beg to differ on that score Chadi... Anyhow, I enjoy your channel... And the old footage...
I like Shodokan Akido. I also like that they do a form of resistance training. And their techniques look very simple and direct. I had a judo/jujitsu/ boxing instructor who was impressed with an expert in Tomiki Akido. He claimed the guy could pull off the techniques against boxing combos at full speed.
Chadi, this is the most truthful, honest, video on Ueshiba's AiKiDo excercise program for his Omoto Kyo religion. This video is unadulterated truth. Egos deeply invested into their delusion will be triggered by the truth that challenges their delusions reinforced by decades of financial, physical, mental and emotional investments. AiKiDo is physical excercise program for the Omoto Kyo religion. I suggest Chadi that you go visit Daito Ryu after you've achieved your shodan in Judo, if you wish aikido were truly a combat art. Peace be with you. You're truly a seeker of unadulterated truth. This is why I follow & support your channel and your journey.
Also as a aikido black belt I agree with ur assessment of it. I have also moved mostly to BJJ but also Judo and fallen in love with them. I dont mind to put on a white belt, I am disillusioned with the whole belt system I just want to go and train have fun and dont care what colour belt I have around my waist. Belt colours are only a tradition that goes back to the 1930s. I was going to focus on Muay thai and wrestling but just prefer BJJ and judo
If Ueshiba was still alive I believe he would have continued evolving Aikido. That is one of the problems of having a curiculum that doesnt change. I heard that he was developing ground techniques and submissions towards the end of his life but at that point he was getting weaker.
@@Chadi if Aikido evolves it will have to be through unaffilliated means unfortunately. The Aikikai will not accept other Aikido styles that doesnt teach close to the curriculum. Although I have a feeling Aikikai may evolve after the great grandson is in charge. Ive heard he likes to experiment. Seagal's Tenshin Aikido is a good style that is independent. They incorporate punch deflections and other techniques. Hapkido incorporates kicking and leg strikes. I think in the long run there will be more changes.
I love the videos promoted and discussed in this channel, however one point I disagree with the content, “ aikido cannot be used for self defence” And that for the following reason: I have 19 years of experience in Traditional Aikido (Iwama ryu) and 5 years of experience in boxing, and i can bring my experience to the table on how can Aikido be brutal and effective: 1- using ATEMI effectively 2- breaking the balance of the opponent effectively 3-then applying Aikido techniques to subdue the opponent The legendary Morihiro Saito always breaks these above points so you excel in Aikido techniques In addition to the above the aikidoka have to get out of the “comfort zone” of practice, meaning sparring with other martial artists from time to time to hone your skills is essential, An example of my own experience: The first many sparring sessions with a professional Muai thai were a bit hard to get results, after a bit of time of body conditioning, understanding the mecanism of Muay Thai, and rigorous aikido training, things have changed dramatically. The peaceful techniques in the later days of Osensei hide brutal ones, but he amended it so to have peaceful meaning of martial arts rather than killing. And that is why most Aikido schools have nowadays the soft, circular, harmonious moves of Aikido, that i agree on with this video
Just find this vlog-entry. I very appreciate your work here in this vlog for judo and aikido. Very interesting stuff and valuable insights. Thanks. i can*t imagine that i know a peace you didnt, so may i suggest you, beacause you*re in japan, that you look for a chance in japan to get an seminar in yoshinkan aikido. The Tokio Riot Police use it, so far i know. and they use it because of the effectiveness of this style. This would be a great insight, too. But the internal training is important, too. Where Aikido lacks sparring, other martial arts lacks internal training. So far i know, Master O'Sensei has tought experienced fighters from other arts, so i mean, Aikido is putting flash on the bones. So you get a completed Martial Art in yourself, together with the basics of another martial art. At the end, i agree with your opinion. Thanks.
As long as everyone understands that aikido is not practical for realistic self defense, it’s fine. It’s when people start to believe that they can actually fight is the problem. It’s just for exercise and mental training.
Hello Chadi, I watch your videos often. On this video and another you've said how O Sensei created Aikido as an art that doesn't work. I assume you've watched Nishio Sensei. He says that he was like a 3rd or 4th degree black belt in Judo, and also in a type of karate, but gave them up to learn aikido with O Sensei. Nishio Sensei said aikido was true budo - a true martial art. He said that at the highest state, the aikido adept should defeat an attacker the moment he attacks. The very instant of the attack, the aggressor is defeated. He also taught that O Sensei taught that you win in the half step, and that nearly all techniques involved initiating atemi. The point is, Nishio Sensei believed aikido was a true martial art, and said when it stopped being an effective martial art it would then be only like a dance or theater. Maybe he was correct. If it is not effective anymore then it is not the martial art Nishio Sensei practiced and has become simply a dance, theater for a bit of stress relief.
Do (way or path) arts come from jitsu (combat science) arts. Aikido specifically made Aikijujutsu safe and is more of a study of motion that reflects Shinto values. However, some of my students are prison guards that used to study aikido and have used many of the joint locks successfully to subdue prisoners who were attacking or trying to kill them or others.
This is the -Do aspect of the art, versus a -Justsu/Jitsu art like Ju-Jitsu or Nin-Jutsu or Ken-Jutsu. Understanding the meaning of Do will bring you back to the intended purpose of the art in question, whether it is Aiki-Do, Ju-Do, Ken-Do, Iai-Do, or what have you. One of the first things a Sensei should explain to a new practitioner is what Do means.
just like a professor don't know everything about everything the founder of aikido don't know everything about fighting i served at the IDF as a krav maga instructor after 3 years at the front line i trained judo 10 years and muay thai 4 years before service still i dont know anything if im gonna create a martial of my own thats still doesn't mean im gonna right about all the techniques and whats effective and what not same for every martial art
What is an effective martial art? Is it punching and kicking.. choking? Every martial arts practice has a place depends truly on how you can use it even Aikido
Ultimately, once the essence of combat and fighting is lost in a system, it becomes just an art. I feel that has what happened to aikido overtime. Right now, it is almost like a cult where the practitioners live in their own delusional world. But no doubt, there are groups out there that train in a practical way. I really like tomiki aikido and the yoseikan group as they include live sparring in their training.
@@jonlong5541 That's because you don't understand it... Like a lot of traditional people in aikido... to know is to know and it's likely that you don't... judo and aikido come from the same source... Ju jutsu...
Wrist locks do work And beleive it or not Aikido is probably best for self defense because instead of beeing at the bar or a party where you might get into a fight you will be spending that time upgrading ur self in the dojo
everything you said is right. it was also a tough time for me to quit Aikido and move to Judo. The more the Aikikai changes the system, the more they make Aikido worsen and worsen.
@@Chadi I love your content. Keep up the gôd work. Your channel is the second channel after The Martial Art Journey in which I was looking for advice before I had decided to switch from Aikido to Judo training. I have been studying and coaching Aikido for more than 10 years. It's changed my life, to be honest. But then I realized that to improve my martial art skills I need more than that. I was a bit of shame and depressed after leaving the dojo to start a new journey in Judo. But after 2 months I think this is the right choice. Thanks for replying my comment. Stay safe.
Let me tell you a little parable: A friend of mine used to work with WW2 veterans and one told him about how the commandant of the Japanese POW camp, who used to torture them, gave them all sweeties and tried to make friends when he heard that the Americans were on their way to liberate the camp. They threw the guy, who had been torturing them, down the well with a couple grenades.
@@whel-auxnavigatesthedystop8709 Yeah as if Americans didn't torture right? Get the f out of Japan then if that's the view you have. They certainly don't want you there
@@MybeautifulandamazingPrincessI'm sure the Sakura Kai or the Black Dragon Society wouldn't be happy for me to be in Japan ever! I think the split and controversy in Aikido are easy to understand once you train Iwama and Aikikai styles and read about Ueshiba's life.
@@aasserelzoghby6781 Hello. It's the Korean Martial Art also based on Aikijujitsu but unlike Aikido, Hapkido is purely a Self defense system that includes various stick weapons & Amazing Kicks.
I suspect that a lot of the wrist locks that easily break the wrist were designed to "de-claw" the hand of the weapon-holder. If you can't resolve peacefully, break the wrist, game over, you walk away. Don't try to wrestle someone with a dagger.
I really think aiki-jujitsu was developed for ARMED samurai. The whole curriculum assumes either you or your attacker are armed. I thought it was developed by armed samurai working in castles as security guards where it was illegal for anybody but them to be armed so they were anticipating unarmed assassins trying to take their weapons away and kill them with it. Context is very important in this case.
Aikijujutsu and jujitsu were created from weapons and designed to be used against weapons and or empty hand attacks. In the castles, samurai did not have their swords but they always had their wakizashi (short sword) or tanto (knife) with them. But it was frowned upon to shed blood in the castle so you had to be ready to use your empty hand fighting against opponent/ opponents with weapons.
Ueshiba was part of japanese forces that attacked and occupied China. The atrocities inflicted on the chinese were beyond unspeakable. Unit 731. It behooves us to know this history of Japan.
You trained under Tissier and he defines aikido as a budo, teaching self defense and character growth. But you say its not for self defense. It has practical application, and sure its very helpful to train with another martial art as well but aikido can complement them very well, and there are many good things to learn from aikido.
To me Aikido appears to be almost like flow state, it's not meant to be self defense more like a physical meditation the opposite of Judo which is more aggressive in it's throws, that's how I view Aikido. If Aikido masters stopped presenting it as self defense maybe it wouldn't get bashed by the general public like it does today.
In 1964 the shihanke Seki Humitake of Kashima shinryu challenged and beat a 8th Dan Aikidoist . That’s Aikido’s hay day! Who was the 8th Dan? Couldn’t have been too many 8th Dan back then. Love to find out , if you know, post it. Until then we’re satisfied in knowing a traditional Samurai school Kashima Shinryu defeated a top if not the top Aikido black belt
I struggle with aikido as O Sensei’s expression in his last years versus a system promoted and studied by others. perhaps aikido is to Sensei what JKD is to Bruce Lee in the ultimate goal? Few people can get it and most end up imitating the founders. A key point you made is that Sensei taught established experts in fighting arts. In other words Aikido was perhaps not construed as a beginners art. I feel the same about old tai chi pre-Yang Cheng Fu.
16:01 iIt's not that you CANNOT spar, is that you shouldn't because it's MORTAL, it comes from Dayto Ryu, it's designed to be quick on the battlefield and against multiple opponents as Randori shows. .. Morihei removed the intention to kill and it wasn't just him, many masters started the same thing after Budism zen ...
It is interesting, you are commenting the video and you say that Ueshiba doesn't explain you how to fight but rather how to be peaceful, and in the same second, an old (not a young one, since man people said that the strike is not part of aikido for Ueshiba's Morihei decision) Ueshiba is throwing knee strikes like Mifune in the other video you posted. And then Ueshiba is trowing swinging punches and other actions, and this is not complement for him, he is already for many years in the aikido realm. So for him this is not self defense from aikido point of view, This is aikido period. If we would consider Judo and Aikido grappling arts, the best would be to bend like in grappling sports in order to put the centre of gravity lower, and to be difficult to be thrown. But both Mifune, and Ueshiba, (and probably also Kano) don't do that, because in a real fight, you would take a knee strike. Which looks to be whart Ueshiba is saying, and also the reason why even in randori, Mifune was quite straight postured. And none of them had the judoka fingers, since the grabs were gentle, and there was not what we call today push/pulling. These arts are not popular wrestling, they come from jujutsu and so from battlefield, where even when you lost you weapon, you couldnt grab your opponent, otherwise you would have been engaged too much, taking a stab from somebody else from behind. This explains why people in judo and in aikido have much tay sabaki, because the problem is not onl not to be stabbed or punched from the person in front of you, but also not to be a target for the people behind you, and that you cannot see. Otherwise if you want to crate push power in front of you, you can just ben like in greek-roman style.
@@Gieszkanne it looks an artificial way to distinguish a product from another. It is true that there was a lot of secrets in the past, but apparently those secrets didn't cover the fact that atemi is part of aikido. Maybe the secret is HOW they are delivered. But this is another story.
@@Gieszkanne you know what? Jigoro Kano studied also JuJitsu with atemi, and he never push-pulled anybody and same for Mifune. Kano included even in his school documentation of the pressure points for atemi waza. Then you see that despite the documents presented exactly on this channel, in the channel itself it is promoted the idea that aikido and judo are forms of grappling. And the thing is so underestimated that is not even worthy for comments. and then people say that they love these martial arts. bof... It is hard to accept that judo and aikido are not grappling, and that are not even a kind of old MMA mixing this and that. Of course these martial arts got the legacy from amny different earlier martial arts, but cannot be considered just the sum of wrestling, boxing, and other stuff, they are a systematic whole.
@@Eternaprimavera73 Even the Kodokan Judo before it becomes a sport used atemi. If you are intersted in atemi you should read the book "atemi - the thunder lightning of Aikido" by Walther Krenner. He was one a the few western disciples Ueshiba had. Gozo Shioda also wrote in his book "My spiritual journey" a lot about atemi. And its not just punching its more or different. He wrote that he won some real fights with atemi. Many of the fellows here are not interested at all what the arts realy are. They just make everything up their own mind and think that is the trouth. Its kind of sad that Judo had become grappling or kind of wrestling. If you ask me Ueshiba realized this and als because of that he wanted no competition in Aikido. There are differnt styles and Aikikai has no problem with it. But Tomiki with his mix of Judo and Aikido and compitition was the only one (as far as I know) of they demand him to not call it Aikido because its something else.
@@Gieszkanne I already knew this much much before the publication of the book you mention. Unfortunately also the book you mention doesn t cover all the aspects
I so want to believe that Christian Tissier's could use his transcendent skill in a fight? People at that level are never seen fighting so we will never know. My experience with Aikido is that the few real masters are so far in advance of everyone else, by miles. The question is - could these rare individuals apply that skill in a fight? Ueshiba undoubtedly could. I accept that someone like Tissier is not going to be as tough or take a punch as well as an experienced MMA fighter. However, is it possible that his years or training with compliant attackers, developing incredible skill, give him the ability to avoid real attacks from from a killer? I wish Steven Segal would have gone into the UFC, when there were no rules!
No he did not. It is the modern mislead Aikidoka (mostly in the US) who made something cultish from it. The Aikido I practice has no cult, and no special "harmony bullshit". We simply do Aikido.
@@Jiyukan The concept of AIKI was not invented by Morihei Ueshiba the idea of flow and Aiki is very old. But Ueshiba said that AIKI was the DO or the way. The Shōwa period was an odd time in Japan and besides Aikido many other martial arts took religious undertones like Shorinji Kempo. But of course, Aikido overdo it and made it very creepy
@@Yoandrys23 I did not say that Ueshiba invented the term Aiki. Obviously he did not. It predates him 1000 years or more. And the term "Aiki" has completely different meanings in different martial arts anyway. The Aiki in Aikido has nothing to do with Aiki in Aiki Jujutsu, for example, or Aiki in Ken Jutsu.
I have taken a knife away from an attacker with an aikido wrist lock (kote-gaeshi or nikyo) a few times. In real life street situations. No sparring situations in the gym.
@@seppokangas1488 So you were attacked with a knife a few times? Highly unlikely. Emphasizing real street fight in contrast to sparring, shows to me at least, that you have issue with sport combat arts and you misunderstand the simple tool of sparring. In conclusion, sorry I do not believe you were ever attacked by a knife. Having said that, Aikido in my opinion can work in some cases and can work in many more cases if trained in a combative way. Is it the best way to for self defense training? No it's not. Have a good day.
@@outofthebox7 No, I wouldn’t say I was attacked by any real thugs. Just some kids who tried to steal my wallet because they had nothing else to do, they thought I was an easy target as a tourist I guess.
That is why I am interested in learning Tenshin Aikido. I have trained 5 years traditional under Aikikai Foundation Hombu Dojo and I will not waste my time in testing for this organization as I have seen downgraded and week black belt testing where the one testing did not even break a sweat and passed. I don't believe bin this Shinto religion as I am. Catholic Christian and their is only one true God Jesus Christ. But I do love the philosophy of Aikido in it's awareness and bringing a violent situation to a peaceful one without anyone getting hurt. 🤕 But what I Like about Tenshin Aikido is that if your life is on the line or family member we train for violence but we are not violent by nature we do have love peace and harmony. But Aikido itself is not sufficient as ai also mix it with Pakamut in other words Filipino Martial Arts.
11:20 I am sorry, really it was not my intention... but I can not agree with this as well... we don't create harmony, the harmony is already there... we choose it... instead of freely aggression... the Atemi is also there, and as O'Sensei said, it is 90% of Aikido... Atemi is not harmony but is the consequence of the aggression of the oponent against us... harmony would be "to talk" and have a pleasing arrangement of the conflict... what does not happens, but it is not from our side but from the opposite
I fully agree what you are saying in a very elegant way - Aikido is learning to blend and to deal with what life brings to you, and learn to find your way through, growing to be a better person. At least, it was not very well understood even among aikidokas. After all, we're only humans. Practiced myself about 12 years before changing to other arts and forms of practice. And, I do recognize the need to turn away from war and fighting from my long gone relatives who had experienced, fought in and survived through war. Thank You for your work, videos and thoughts. Always a pleasure to watch, think and learn. Bless You.
Chadi you gave very good analysis. But way you analyze the art, it is difficult to work "what is given to you". The Shinto religion was one of the reasons why Japan went to was and try to subjugate the rest of Asia because the Japanese Imperial Army believed that the Japanese were the superior race. They even thought that the Chinese in Nanking were dogs. But with Aikido the nepotism the way the school was managed. From O'sensei son to his grandson, the art of peace or harmony is almost non existent in the dojo. The next problem was that no teacher wanted to adapt the techniques for combat. You have uke that act like zombies when they "attack". Tomiki or Kyoshin even Aikijutsu were somewhat successful in addressing the problem of timing. This is because, like you said, its a defense kind of art without any form of attacking. I had a good teacher who taught about leverage, rotational inertia. One author who wrote the book, Aikido, the Dynamic Sphere, gave the idea that the nage is like a spinning basketball or sphere. Lastly, is to discipline the mind; I had to go to a Buddhist teacher to learn about meditation. I learned to apply a certain portion in aikido training. 14: 50 The question Can I fight will be a different answer as you reach each or the end of the decades of your life. Your physical agility will change and so will your opponent. But in the end the question is what principles can I use from every art to increase my survival rate in a real street fight? What are my limitations ( this will increase as you age). It is more delusional to be carrying on trophies and be good in sparring, etc because in the streets, there are no rules. So, throw away your judo rules and karate rules, referees and mats. Its not the points amassed but what is the minimum time spent in combat before you can get out and with minimum technique? running, isolating your rnemy to your turf?
Certainly Aikido is misunderstood. I have seen and even trained with instructors that believe in 'hard' amd 'soft' aikido. Fundamentally aikido is about not getting resistance to force, so whether what you apply is strong or soft is irrelevant. But it isn't about being weak or 'soft'. Having trained with some of his direct students, despite their differences, they're not weak. Yoshimitsu Yamada can do excellent throws where you seriously feel he can put you where he wants, and is extremely powerful, but throws in a way not to damage you. I'm sure Kano would have felt similar. Anyway, not sure why aikidoka feel they don't have to be tough. There a aikidoka that see the movement but don't understand the dynamics of what is going on. It's like watching a boxer and copying the movements without doing any speed and power training. Anyway, quite sad really. Aukido has degenerated, but feels like that happened to many japanese arts.
IMO not all aikido styles are equal there is so much politics among them all. Especially in Aikikai which have watered down aikido to more of a "dance" form rather than a martial form. IMO Iwama and Yoshikan has got it right in regards to keeping things martial.
I don't think Ki Society got it right in terms of combat application but it's descendant art (the only other style of Ki Aikido) emphasizes resisting the throws during training, not practicing the techniques exactly the same way every time, continuing to evolve the techniques (some Kokikai throws are based on older Aikido throws but only exist in Kokikai) I believe Kokikai's founder is the only still living uchi deshi of OSensei
Aikido is a philosophy.. The early Aiki-budo stuff O'Sensei taught (Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu), before it became Aikido is where the martial art is at. The Aikikai is all about the spiritual esoteric shit that's about as "martial" as Billy Blanks' Tae Bo. I have zero interest in any Aikido styles developed after Iwama. The earlier Aikido styles (i.e., Yoseikan, Yoshinkan, and Shodokan are getting closer to the koryu jujutsu, yet still lacking. Takuma Hisa's students founded the Takumakai. Start there or find students of Yukiyoshi Sagawa if you want to learn the Aiki-jujutsu before it transformed into something else.
Why do I need a martial arts to tell me to become a better person? If I wanted that I'd just go to a temple or church or whatever. Only thing that matters in martial arts is mechanical efficiency of techniques and overcoming resisting opponents.
Aikido is not a complete martial arts system but a lot of martial artists miss the point in what Aikido truly teaches. O-sensei found a way where strength isn't required, this is one of the main points of Aikido (as well as Judo). The techniques were designed such that nage uses the most minimal energy to break down uke which helps conserve nage's energy.
Most of the techniques are not martially effective but what it does teach are the angles and body mechanics where uke is weakest. In my opinion, it doesn't teach you how to fight effectively, but what it does teach you is more a full understanding of the biomechanics of the body (strongest and weakest positions).
O'sensei "accidentally" actually discovered through his decades of practice engineering principles where nage uses 0 energy to perform the techniques. A lot of martial artists critique aikido but what they don't understand really is the art's true teaching of how one overcomes uke with minimal energy during a confrontation even when performing non-aikido techniques. Although not martially effective, aikido basics are a necessary building block to other martial arts practice.
Yes,Take aikido only as One part of Whole Martial Art,Physical training ..as aif u are learning Some principles of martial Art
@@chenwang643 overall Saying educating Our body a New Movement of Giving in ,to be relaxed in a Confrontational Scenario.
My discussions with many older martial artists suggest the same thing. That Aikido, as a system, is incomplete, similar to Taichi systems. However, if you interpret Aikido from the perspective of other martial systems and "plug the gaps" then it is a useful martial system. My first Aikido instructor studied and taught Karate before finding Aikido, and he immediately started using its techniques and principles to great effect in Karate sparring. From there he also became a Bagwazhang teacher and blended much of that art with his Aikido instruction. He would kick when rolling backwards or forwards, and he taught us to "slice" with our hands, as if we were "cutting" with them.
After a few months of training Aikido, my first martial art, I did some light sparring with my buddy who had started Krav Maga, his first martial art, to see what would happen. I was taught to use my arms and hands as a sword, and I was moving far too strangely for my friends to enter easily. Our sparring would regularly end with my fingers at his throat. I think we need to differentiate between "incomplete" and "not martially applicable".
It's also incredibly good for mental health people never really seem to touch on that it's wonderful to help you relax and for mental health it teaches you how to be calm and everyday life in situations but yes there are several different forms of this art and there are a few of them that are extremely effective
Great perspective! I am an aikido guy that is critical about the art also. Ueshiba was a special guy that lived though an interesting time. People mistakenly only imitate his final form of aikido without the depth of his training. He was an extremely strong and talented guy that experienced life and death. Not to mention the internal training and esoteric training that added to his arsenal. I ageee with your opinion. Thanks
Agreed!
@@vids595 internal training. Solo exercises. Breathing, visualization and other ones hidden in plain sight.
Anyone have to understand the art's historical background very well to talk about _Aikido_ since it practically developed between two very different cultural worlds of the _same_ era,
between two very different generations: The imperial stage on one side, and the "fat man" and "little boy" _after_ Japan on the other. It can be said that Aikido is the very example of the most concrete dichotomy that one can see.
An art founded on the principles of war, but that now denies it,
arguing that through martial practice (war), authentic peace is obtained. This is in essence, the catharsis of Morihei Ueshiba, a man that few understood... Or that some rather did not want to understand. The product of this shock is what is practiced today, a vision _with_ many visions.
Ueshiba, contrary to popular belief, was a stern and irate man, his upbringing forged in a militaristic Japan ready to bring all of Asia "under one roof" This man was made in harsh conditions. When he served in the army, he distinguished himself by his great skill with the bayonet (which would be the later base of the Aiki-Jo and not from "staff arts" as it is sometimes misunderstood). He was quickly promoted to sergeant. This was not easily accomplished, and it clearly tells us what kind of man he was. A man of action.
In short, his natural talent for combat opened many, many doors for him. He was not the average guy, since even a man has Sokaku Takeda considered him his favorite disciple. For this and many other reasons, he was one of the few men supported by the high military spheres of that time. He instructed in many army and navy academies thanks to these sponsors. In particular,
he continually instructed in the Toyama military academy of espionage, spearhead for special tactics and sabotage in the continent which maintained links with the paramilitary group Kokuryukai (黒竜会). Subsequently, some distinguished members of this ultra-nationalist organization came to have several meetings at Ueshiba's Kobukan dojo in Tokyo (Today Honbu) via Deguchi Onisaburo and his Dai-Nippon Budo Senyokai (大日本武道宣揚会)
the armed wing of the O-moto "religion"
of which Morihei was deputy president.
The "Aikijujutsu" that was practiced in the Kobukan "era" was savage, intense and with the objective of killing the enemy, that simple. It was taught so, that projection techniques had to be in such a way performed that Aite (uke) fell headlong. It was Aite's responsibility to survive Tori's technique
at any cost. The training was that severe "If you can't stand the heat, get off the fire". This was the distinctive mark of the Kobukan that the later "Doshu" wanted to erase with all his might.
When the war ended in disaster, the world ended for Japan, literally. Everything they had believed in, died the day their emperor gave his famous radio speech. Japan died that day. Few understand the magnitude this actually had. It seems dramatic, but it is the truth. From then on, everything changed 365 degrees... For those who decided to live of course. For Aikido, that change was represented by one man: Kisshomaru (Koetsu) Ueshiba. A man that was the _totally_ and _diametrically the opposite_ to what his father represented.
An excellent bureaucrat and civil servant, his effort to eradicate the "warlike roots" of his father art is what we know today as the _Zaidan Hōjin Aikikai_ (財団法人合気会) The new
"Aikido", the opposite and "peaceful" version of his father's _Zaidan Hojin Kobukan_ (財団法人皇武会) the old Aikijujutsu (or Aiki-Budo).
*This is* the key point where all misunderstandings begin. From this point on, and as a result of this, many ramifications were produced. If you want to understand what Aikido _really is_ you have to understand these two men clearly and what they _did_ in the postwar period. One in Iwama and the other in Tokyo. Two worlds that collide even today.
As a little boy I started my martial arts training with aikido too... then later when I joined my high school wrestling team, I realized for the first time what it was really like to go up against a resisting opponent, since there was almost no sparring in the aikido school I went to... And I realized how different sparring is from just doing katas over & over with a compliant partner.
Try Tomiki Aikido if you want randori.
I love this video. I never practiced Aikido, but I did Judo. I believe that Aikido was created as part of an ideal vision of a peaceful society. In that ideal, only the good people would learn martial arts, and to ensure this, Aikido itself would place peacefulness and honor at the center of it's teaching. People who wished to do harm would in this ideal not have sufficient skills and would be easily subdued using Aikido without anybody getting hurt. Ueshiba was really a very enlightened and visionary person. As a military man in his earlier life, it makes sense that his utopian vision was one of profound love and compassion even from a victim to their attacker. I believe that perhaps the time for Aikido is this very moment where we need more than ever to envision and embody a peaceful future. The expansion of MMA has just shifted the conversation to a very trivial dimension of what's the most effective martial art to dominate, inflict damage and submit another person, no matter their abilities. With MMA, our culture is just becoming ever more violent, and there are a lot more people with bad intentions that are learning deadly skills. From that perspective, when understood on the dimension of social vision, Aikido is actually a step beyond Judo and far better than other martial arts. It actually makes me quite sad that the Gracies have so effectively occupied the space of martial arts with their one one dimensional marketing where it's assumed that the obvious intent of a martial art is to dominate other martial arts. Did they know that the proliferation of their ideas would make the world a more violent place? At least the Judo that I practiced did a good job of emphasizing respect, sportsmanship and humility. I think as long as the ultimate goal is the be an Olympic athlete at least we are not promoting violence.
Agreed thank you for your insight
I see Aikido has two parts to it. The hard style pre war style is one of the most effective martial arts to destroy a person and that works for combat purposes but later developed the soft style post war and on his death bed. I appreciate Aikido for both parts it has as a martial art. I love martial arts and practice it too. Just subscribed to your channel after watching this video.
@@wubear260
Aikido is a philosophy.. The early Aiki-budo stuff O'Sensei taught (Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu), before it became Aikido is where the martial art is at. The Aikikai is all about the spiritual esoteric shit that's about as "martial" as Billy Blanks' Tae Bo. I have zero interest in any Aikido styles founded on developments after Iwama.
The earlier Aikido styles (i.e., Yoseikan, Yoshinkan, and Shodokan are getting closer to the koryu jujutsu, yet still under the Aikido banner.
Takuma Hisa's students founded the Takumakai. Start there or find students of Yukiyoshi Sagawa if you want to learn the Aiki-jujutsu before it transformed into something else.
aikido is for a beta male who work in office from 8 to 5, dont have relationship, get reject by women and dont cut it in any 'real' martial art like muay thai or judo, jujitsu
@@vuquanghuy3441
No! It's for someone who already has extensive training in other combat arts and wants to learn a few more tricks (specifically wrist and arm controls) or for police/bouncers etc.
It's a perfect option for someone who is older and/or injured who can't be sparring with strikers OR rolling with athletic kids OR getting judo slammed anymore.
It's something you end your martial journey with, not something you start with.
I trained in Aikido for 6 years starting in 1974.
Best description I've heard.
I have been saying this for months to so many people. Thanks for having the ability to understand.Akido is about harmony with one self and there surroundings. Also in the video you asked yourself can I fight. Remember O.Sensi had many years of combat training before he traveled on a path of peace. So it is possible to root yourself in peace yet prepare for war.
Thank you for your insight!
Dont waste your time with them i did you that too
Aikido is not a martial art because the founder was a good fighter. He did not teach people aikido to pass on his abilities to kill and defend himself. Noone can say it's bad for you or that it doesn't have huge benefits, but so does tennis and biking and weight lifting. The point is that aikido is not a martial art because it doesn't teach how to fight or defend yourself. The definition of a martial art is a fighting art, not a healthy exercise.
@@perrypelican9476 it’s rooted in samurai tradition and has plenty of martial applications
My discussions with several lifelong martial art masters led me to completely different conclusions about Aikido. From what they've told me, Aikido is a compilation of different advanced martial art techniques which would not normally have been taught to students without years and years of training under other martial systems. Aikido techniques, methods, and mentalities honestly seem to become martially useful if you've mastered at least one other martial system first. My first Aikido instructor, Sensei Orchard, trained and taught Karate for many years before finding Aikido. He claimed that it complimented his Karate, and it was eventually blended with his Baguazhang, which he also teaches. He taught Aikido, but he would also blend it with the other arts that he had learned and he, like Sensei Seagal, would pressure test in Aikido class to the greatest extent possible to force us to be able to use the techniques under stressful circumstances. I was also told that O Sensei's greatest students were often Judokas who, due to their previous martial arts experience, could understand the use, application, and insight into what O Sensei was teaching.
The founder knew at least as much about war and personal fighting as anyone. Aikido is developed for people who already know extremely well how to handle themselves. And in the modern era it has been modified to make the principles accesible to people who don't. People like me, who've barely ever been in a real serious fight since high school.
I'm not yet even ShoDan first grade black belt. But I know this much: O Sensei said that atemi is 80 percent of aikido. And he said it is "Sen no Sen". You move before-before. Before "moving first". You create your own dojo. I am lucky enough to study with Hiroshi Tada, and he teaches us this.
I used to wonder, why does Uke "do what he's told" so obediently in a demo? And my seniors are teaching me that if you're an experienced fighter, then you will move as fast as possible to get out of the zone that Tori can hit or kick you, and as fast as possible to a zone where you regain the ability to hit or kick Tori or to throw or roll yourself out to a safe distance to regroup and come again.
My seniors are teaching me that the thing is set up such that if you, as Uke, don't do what's best for your own good, then Tori can just nail you with something much simpler than the full flowing technique that's being taught. The technique that's being taught is BOTH practice in and learning to feel the underlying principles AND the wisest way for Tori to stay on his/her feet when Uke *really* knows how to look after themselves on the field of mortal battle.
At least, that's my take, for now. I'm aiming for first grade black belt this year.
Chadi, I really appreciate your hidden depths!
I'd love to hear you interview Tissier about this at some point ^^
Thank you! I will try to interview many senseis in the future, hopefully it works
As many people seem to want a combat tested deadly form of Aikido, it's surprising that Daito Ryu remains a relatively rare art.
What a beautiful video. Thank you for publishing this.
Great video! I am going through similar journey. I am a ni dan in Aikikai Aikido, but recently change my training in judo. I too had a struggle with letting go of my ego and delusion when I first start training judo.
Excellent and accurate insight. Thank you for adding this to the conversation.
I love your videos Chadi. I love to grapple, and love all of the grappling arts. I’ve trained and competed in so many different styles and feel fortunate to have had those opportunities. Some of my favorites were Judo, BJJ, Catch as Catch Can wrestling, Combat submission wrestling, freestyle wrestling, Shuai jiao, Tui Shou, Dumog, etc., ( I’m stating only to give readers an idea of my background so that they know I’m not simply giving an opinion without substance or real knowledge.) I also studied Aikido for a couple of semesters as an undergraduate at University. When I bounced (a couple of decades ago to supplement my income as an adjunct professor), I mostly used Judo and Tui shou, but definitely some of the Aikido joint locks (especially in my first month or two). After a while I found spinning the combatant around and controlling them using standing rear naked style chokes to control the neck for escort out of the club was mostly hassle free, especially if I applied a little pressure to a kidney or lower back to ‘lift’ them onto their toes. Most of the guys I worked with were football (American) players which also was effective. I also worked public safety in KC and out of an LAPD sub-station in California where I needed to hand cuff numerous suspects. I say all of this to say that although I would rarely admit out loud that I often used Aikido (or tui shou), techniques , or principles because of the stigma attached to these arts; I would say that they really can be helpful for law enforcement. For me personally, I feel that I would not want to try to use Aikido or Tui Shou without my Judo background, but , that the Aikido and Tui shou enhanced my Judo skills, but that’s just me. Also, I think these arts are useful for law enforcement when punching a suspect is not an option. I trained a little Aikido in Hong Kong (1994) and at that time I was told that Aikido was the official art of the police department in H.K., I haven’t verified that, but I can tell you that there were many service men and law enforcement officers that were studying Aikido at that gym. The level seemed much higher, as well, perhaps because of the backgrounds these individuals were bringing with them into the school.
Again, thanks for the content! Your cross analysis of different wrestling and grappling systems are exemplary, and informative. Much respect!
I totally agree. Thank you for posting this.
Very good analogy, and some people do find that they are musicians after all! It doesn’t have to be the end result, but sometimes it is
This is one of the videos that best describes what Aikido really is.
Ladd you are more than qualified to speak and elaborate on the art of Aikido. Once again thank you for clarity of thought that went into you documentary. 👍👊
This is an old video but always I find something of value in your videos. You are right when you mentioned that we can't take an art which he developed towards the end of his life and hope to get the same maturity that he did. It's a journey. A few years ago I was very conflicted in my Judo. I had purchased 2 books simultaneously: Kano sensei's Mind over muscle and Ronda Rousey's autobiography. They are both polar opposites! Ronda spoke of breaking arms and revenge randori whereas Kano spoke of mutual prosperity even in practice!! I did not understand how to approach my practice!! It finally settled on me that they were written by two individuals at different stages in their lives. We have to go through a violent journey like Rousey before we settle down like Kano. Ditto for O sensei's Aikido I believe. Btw are you familiar with the works on psychologist Jordan Peterson?
This is really interesting i really like it when you put out videos like this.
Keep it up 👍😄
Thank you very much i truly appreciate it Felix
brilliantly explained - context matters indeed. the person who first taught me aikido put it quite similarly, going into the history of o-sensei and his path. as for me personally, practice in aikido helped with anger issues and frustration management. yet because we were very open about the martial "holes" of aikido in our school i chose to further educate myself in other arts (where i met new friends and got my ass kicked, as you do). even if i might choose to discontinue aikido practice in the future, the mindset will stay with me. haven't met aiki-jerks yet, but the place where i trained was university based sooo this might be biased.
Thank you for sharing your experience
very good. many thanks chadi.
You have a very interesting explanation. I started Aikido for health and pursue of soft martial arts. As I practise the art, I moved to the pursue of perfection, placing importance in the detail of thd moves. Eventually i concluded that it is a spiritual practise through the use of martial art, because practising aikido is like a meditation process, enabling me to be aware of myself and my surrounding.
Thank you
Great video and how much truth in your words, many people who do not know the true purposes of Aikido think so, thank you very much for sharing 🙏🙏🙏
13:43 The video shows O'Sensei at the "SELF-DEFENSE Agency Dojo, Tokyo 1957" presening his art, that in your opnion is NOT for self-defense...
Nice! I also always suspected aikido is for people who already know how to fight! I did judo and a guy I knew did real-aikido before he came to aikido (and he's very good).
As you said - the mindset of so many is so fragile... You have to venture outside to appreciate it. 👍
I trained in Akido back in the 80 s , more for using arm and waist locks and take downs for used as a special security officer back in the day, I really like the style more for personal self awareness and meditation, have mostly all the books on akido and and one day would like to get back into it because it is a very special martial art to study and be part of the philosophy for mental health growth..
Hi Chadi, great video I'm a black belt in Aikido and I know what it can do also what it can't do. The way you put the video is one of many interpretations that can be done regarding O Sensei in its last years but we need to understand that the was a previous version of Aikido before the war that was more martial also the version we have its not directly from O Sensei instead from his son Kisshōmaru Ueshiba so we have the interpretations he did, also another fact that we need to know is that he wasn't going to be inherited with the art the problem was that Ueshiba was rejected by other martial artist he trained. Being said that you understand that a lot was lost, because of the way training was done before the war and because many master moved away from aikikai. That's the reason we got a martial art that has a lot of holes. I have trained in hombu dojo and really it's completely different from what we get in the west, anyway it still has holes but you can get to see that there's a lot of things that get lost until the art reach us. What I believe is that Aikido should be done after you have some fighting experience in Judo, Box or something, so you can refine your technique and be better at fighting because Aikido puts attention to the little details that will make a lot of difference, for me Aikido is the way you should move when you want to overcome your level on the other art you mastered.
Anyway this year I want to go and get more fighting experience I will go to a judo club and learn, btw how is the transition to Judo and have you employed full relaxation on the body to resist in Judo?
Great insight! It's hard to relax at first you'll be stiff for sure but with time it becomes easier
I believe that the "blend" and "harmony" aspect in Aikido is supposed to be the final result, not the first step; that's why O Sensei's Aikido worked. he was someone who has had his fill of experience and high enough skill. yet some/most Aikidoka today thinks they can get to the final stage like O Sensei right away.
I believe we need to experience and train the basics and hard martial arts first as much as we can, and THEN we can be enlightened in terms of martial arts.
Very true! And that is what I teach :D
I started out with Aikido and I'm doing Karate now since our Shihan died.
I've trained in Ki Aikido ... the fundamental is how not to get into a fight. However, Aikido without the spiritual aspect is basically Aiki Jitsu. Do is the way and Jitsu is technique.. So Aikido is a system of training in budo, which is aimed at attaining higher goals without limiting yourself to just techniques. End of the day, its the way you train and the way your apply and internalise aikido principles to effectively apply aikido.
Nice breakdown. It's the most based view on Aikido i have heard to date. Aikido can bring people a lot. But it's indeed not for fighting. That's the polar opposite of what it was created for. It always amazes me how people can do an art and not know it's underlying conceptional philosophies. Aikido was never about fighting. It was about not fighting. About not hurting. About not having to kill and avoiding war.
It has some beautiful movements and momentum. The dynamics are amazing. But thinking it's in anyway applicable outside of training would be a mistake. The journey to perfection ot strives for is it's central paradox. Namely that it's impossible to achieve. And that's exactly it's point. One can't.
Whenever i hear aikido people making claims it seriously annoys me. Because that means you do not understand it's true meaning. It's true goal.
Wich has nothing to do with fighting at all. But more with meditation and contemplation. It's not made for the ring, it's not made for the street, it's not made for the body. That's what eludes most of it's practitioners too. It's about the spiritual not the physical.
To take the best known Aikido master for the worst reasons Steven Seagal as an example.
And not even going into his personal life.
He would be the worst embodiment of it's principles. A man who is arrogant, full of ego, actively tried to hurt people using aikido on set, and is basically a walking contradiction on what Ueshiba intended. Unfortunately he is not alone in misunderstanding the shinto Buddhist principles. I doubt it was the founders intent to even have belts and grades so one can brag about their achievements. It goes against the non ego, non attachment idiology. It's painful to see such misunderstanding in life. Where the most noble of ideas and concepts get ruined by establishment and doctrine. Religion follows similar patterns. Where truth gets clouded out of power and self interest.
I trained Goju Karate and HS Wrestling before I did Aikido. I saw parallels.
I started studying martial arts at the young age of 13. Indonesian Kung Fu. Poekalan. It became my passion. Fell in love with martial arts. Then I started Jeet Kune Do. And most of you know why.Then in 1984 I discovered Shotokan. And the Japanese Budo. And I fell in love with Shotokan. I’m 2nd Dan. Due to bad knee had to stop competing at 50. I’m 66 now. I checked Aiki out before and was negative about it. You had to go with the Defence. Well I was very incorrect. Years later I was chasing some guy on the freeway to kick his ass for cutting me off and almost causing and accident. Then I asked myself is this what your martial art is all about. Going to kick somebodies ass. As he pulls out his Mac Ten and blows you away. Then and then I knew I needed something more PASSIVE. BUT JUST AS AFFECTIVE AS WHAT IVE STUDIED. Then I join a Aikido class at the Y. And my life changed. I found what I needed and wanted. Aiki. The Way of Harmony. O’Sensie has change my life more than I can tell you. My training has taken on a Zen that is powerful. I’m so blessed to find Aiki. I use a 45lb Steel Jo. To do 31 Jo Kata. I explain Aikido to people this way. I will not be there when you attack. You will fall. In the hole I just left. It’s not about fighting. It’s about moving. Just don’t be there. If I can teach a 3 year old in Sazen to throw me. My biggest movement in Aikido. Is to SAY HI. THEN DROP YOU. OSS.
It looks like a catharsis of inner violence. A punch bag to release our anger. It should not be taught not as martial arts, because people make a joke of masters with real fights. Thanks for the video. Very informative with all the historical pictures to define how it all started 🙏
Hi Chadi,
thanks you for your thoughts and insights!
I started Aikido when I was 19 years old, paused my active training for decades and still feel myself as being an Aikidoka.
In fact I am sure that Aikido thought me a lot about dealing with violence and aggression. It thought me the way to live, to move, to communicate that I never needed to violently fight.
Aikido is not for winning sport fights (me sparring with Judoka was a lot of fun but a painful experience in means of “success”).
It IS about self defense in the sense that you are prepared to prevent situations not to become physically violently.
I never had an actual bar fight but I experienced several situations where one might have been starting. The best self defense is to prevent the fight. That can be leaving a bad place at the right time or it can be making a potential attacker _not_ throwing the first punch. Aikido thought me posture and position to be no goal for the first punch - and at the same time to be no threat to provoke preventive striking either.
I did never _prove_ that my Aikido could win fights and if I would have had the need to test it might have resulted in fights - but not in Aikido.
Yoshigasaki Sensei once gave us a long seminar teaching that Aikido is all about “winning without fighting”.
This is ridiculous in the context of sports or street beef. But the main goal of _self defence_ is not winning but surviving unharmed. And the safest way for this is: solve a critical situation without a fight.
I am lucky that I succeeded for more than 30 years in that sense. Maybe this is my pure personal luck but I like the thought that this is “Aikido in real life”.
Thanks for sharing, hopefully we all never get in a fight
Winning without fighting means you allow gravity to work against your opponent and use it. You shouldn't fight on the street but this is not the whole story. You need to be prepared for full fledged combat and use your full physical potential in the manner of our ancestors.
I think you have truly understood the basic idea of aikido. Indeed trying to avoid violence of any kind and for that i commend you. A non violent mindset and pacifist mentality. This was it's intent.
Great video Chadi! As judo practitioner point of view, Aikido is beautiful art and as any art it enriches a life. If considering some of the typical comments in judo (as well as karate), often people claims kata is useless and there's no point to practice it because some movement applications are not working in real life. Yes, some of those are not working in real life, what's the point at the end. Kata enriches the mind, creates social interactions and keeps mind fresh at the end. Becoming back to judo practitioner point of view, Aikido looks like kata training in judo and in judo there's kata competitions. In that sense I see Aikido as beautiful kata art.
Chadi -- My story is pretty much identical to yours. For me, giving up Aikido was the best decision I ever made. You were spot on when you said and I quote "Petty there's so many jerks in Aikido because nobody is kicking their asses to humble them" .
"Leaving Aikido was the best thing I did: I don't want to keep walking on my own delusions" - This is GOLD!
But I do think looking at Aikido through the lens of MMA causes us to fail to appraise it's self defense value accurately
Nevermind that, in learning the sword strikes as a part of the training, it is technically true that some Aikido techniques are too deadly to be *legal* in MMA
I think categorizing Aikido as a grappling art had caused us to fail to understand it accurately
I think, like Karate, Aikido involves grappling, but, I think Aikido is a tactical martial art more than it is anything else, in the same way Karate is a striking art more than anything else.
The tactical goals of Aikido training also do not apply to MMA.
I agree completely. I am not a martial artist, but a very proficient marksman. Given my skill with firearms I don't find martial arts to be overly compelling from a modern self defense perspective, except Aikido. Aikido is the only art I have found so far that provides concrete answers to the very serious questions that carrying a modern weapon for self defense raises. Though I am just beginning to get into Aikido I am seeing the potential in it to enhance my ability to protect my myself, and extend that protection to the aggressor as well. If someone does not know how to use a real weapon and does not carry that weapon as a part of civilian life it is probably impossible to see what it is that Aikido offers. Aikido is not a game, it is not a sport, or a contest. It is a very serious answer to a very serious set of problems.
I was wondering if you would do a video on Aikido Atemi Waza. It seems that is an area that is often overlooked in the art.
sure
It is still widely used, at least here in Brazil we train atemi
its still used here in Egypt too
Great video , I took aikido because lots of the moves are from sword fighting and it made me better with a sword
Great 👍🏾 video
14:37 this I agree with you, was definitely the best decision you made... thank you
Hey, nice video.
What is the black and with video?
I love Judo more than anything
Chadi, if someone would want to attack you with a knife or any stabbing or even a hitting weapon would you wish you were a BJJ, Judo or Aikido black belt, and what if you could grab a walking stick, broom handle or something like a short staff against that same attacker? What about if you had multiple attackers that are not wearing a Judo uniform.
You said sparing is important. Do BJJ or Judo practice every class sparing against those type of weapons or do they at least practice every day those techniques against weapons more so than Aikido?
I would love to know your thoughts on that.
Cheers
You are indeed a wise guy, Chadi!
I’ve been training for 37 years. Modern Arnis, Judo, Japanese jujitsu, bhuinkan nonlinear, Shaolin white crane kung fu, Aikido, and kenjitsu the past 29 years. Our kindred two is armored and we are pressure testing at all times. I don’t use aikido all of the time but sometimes I just have to use it just for style points or so that I don’t hurt the guy.
Cool I can only use books or Dvd's here in GA. And I agree.
I mostly agree with much of what you say but I think I had the best of both worlds in gaining a 4th Dan in Tomiki aikido and was taught by a plethora of instructors both Japanese and British of high level... I also competed in many tournaments in both kata and randori shiai... A lot in traditional aikidoka would probably not agree, but then again like you say they are delusional as to their true ability... before I did Tomiki aikido, I also did junior judo, boxing, back to judo, karate and Wing Chun gung fu at the same time to understand more fundamentals... One thing I have discovered is that all the martial arts have the same fundamentals whether it be grappling, striking or traditional aikido which is not really a fighting art... I just see it as an addition to my other skills and have actually used it on a few occasions as a part-time door person in my past employment... So to say it doesn't work is naive... It depends on whether you want to smash your aggressor or use pain compliance to diffuse a nasty situation... I found humour to be a good diffuser, but sometimes it wasn't enough to stop a drugged up drunken lout intent on taking your head off!!... If you can use aikido purely, which is extremely rare, then that can be the case, but with real fights one on one, it nearly always goes to the ground if you don't want to cause unnecessary injury... As one of my old teachers said "If in doubt up the snout!! Now that was effective and I used it many a time to take a nasty aggressor down and out... It was called shomen ate or aigamae ate and is taught as "atemi" techniques within the system in their sport randori techniques... So I beg to differ on that score Chadi... Anyhow, I enjoy your channel... And the old footage...
Thank you so much for this insight
@@Chadi You're welcome...
I like Shodokan Akido. I also like that they do a form of resistance training. And their techniques look very simple and direct. I had a judo/jujitsu/ boxing instructor who was impressed with an expert in Tomiki Akido. He claimed the guy could pull off the techniques against boxing combos at full speed.
Great video
Chadi, this is the most truthful, honest, video on Ueshiba's AiKiDo excercise program for his Omoto Kyo religion. This video is unadulterated truth. Egos deeply invested into their delusion will be triggered by the truth that challenges their delusions reinforced by decades of financial, physical, mental and emotional investments. AiKiDo is physical excercise program for the Omoto Kyo religion. I suggest Chadi that you go visit Daito Ryu after you've achieved your shodan in Judo, if you wish aikido were truly a combat art. Peace be with you. You're truly a seeker of unadulterated truth. This is why I follow & support your channel and your journey.
Thank you so much i will seek it out, we have it in France
@@Chadi th-cam.com/video/Fbb4phXa4zA/w-d-xo.html Daito Ryu school in training.
Very interesting thoughts.
Also as a aikido black belt I agree with ur assessment of it. I have also moved mostly to BJJ but also Judo and fallen in love with them. I dont mind to put on a white belt, I am disillusioned with the whole belt system I just want to go and train have fun and dont care what colour belt I have around my waist. Belt colours are only a tradition that goes back to the 1930s. I was going to focus on Muay thai and wrestling but just prefer BJJ and judo
If Ueshiba was still alive I believe he would have continued evolving Aikido. That is one of the problems of having a curiculum that doesnt change. I heard that he was developing ground techniques and submissions towards the end of his life but at that point he was getting weaker.
Shodokan/Tomiki aikido should be given a push
@@Chadi if Aikido evolves it will have to be through unaffilliated means unfortunately. The Aikikai will not accept other Aikido styles that doesnt teach close to the curriculum. Although I have a feeling Aikikai may evolve after the great grandson is in charge. Ive heard he likes to experiment. Seagal's Tenshin Aikido is a good style that is independent. They incorporate punch deflections and other techniques. Hapkido incorporates kicking and leg strikes. I think in the long run there will be more changes.
@@JoseFuentes-fn3dl i hope the great grandson is more progressive
I love the videos promoted and discussed in this channel, however one point I disagree with the content, “ aikido cannot be used for self defence”
And that for the following reason:
I have 19 years of experience in Traditional Aikido (Iwama ryu) and 5 years of experience in boxing, and i can bring my experience to the table on how can Aikido be brutal and effective:
1- using ATEMI effectively
2- breaking the balance of the opponent effectively
3-then applying Aikido techniques to subdue the opponent
The legendary Morihiro Saito always breaks these above points so you excel in Aikido techniques
In addition to the above the aikidoka have to get out of the “comfort zone” of practice, meaning sparring with other martial artists from time to time to hone your skills is essential,
An example of my own experience:
The first many sparring sessions with a professional Muai thai were a bit hard to get results, after a bit of time of body conditioning, understanding the mecanism of Muay Thai, and rigorous aikido training, things have changed dramatically.
The peaceful techniques in the later days of Osensei hide brutal ones, but he amended it so to have peaceful meaning of martial arts rather than killing. And that is why most Aikido schools have nowadays the soft, circular, harmonious moves of Aikido, that i agree on with this video
Boy he whips that stick around so fast !!!
Just find this vlog-entry. I very appreciate your work here in this vlog for judo and aikido. Very interesting stuff and valuable insights. Thanks. i can*t imagine that i know a peace you didnt, so may i suggest you, beacause you*re in japan, that you look for a chance in japan to get an seminar in yoshinkan aikido. The Tokio Riot Police use it, so far i know. and they use it because of the effectiveness of this style. This would be a great insight, too. But the internal training is important, too. Where Aikido lacks sparring, other martial arts lacks internal training. So far i know, Master O'Sensei has tought experienced fighters from other arts, so i mean, Aikido is putting flash on the bones. So you get a completed Martial Art in yourself, together with the basics of another martial art. At the end, i agree with your opinion. Thanks.
As long as everyone understands that aikido is not practical for realistic self defense, it’s fine. It’s when people start to believe that they can actually fight is the problem. It’s just for exercise and mental training.
Hello Chadi, I watch your videos often. On this video and another you've said how O Sensei created Aikido as an art that doesn't work. I assume you've watched Nishio Sensei. He says that he was like a 3rd or 4th degree black belt in Judo, and also in a type of karate, but gave them up to learn aikido with O Sensei. Nishio Sensei said aikido was true budo - a true martial art. He said that at the highest state, the aikido adept should defeat an attacker the moment he attacks. The very instant of the attack, the aggressor is defeated. He also taught that O Sensei taught that you win in the half step, and that nearly all techniques involved initiating atemi. The point is, Nishio Sensei believed aikido was a true martial art, and said when it stopped being an effective martial art it would then be only like a dance or theater. Maybe he was correct. If it is not effective anymore then it is not the martial art Nishio Sensei practiced and has become simply a dance, theater for a bit of stress relief.
Do (way or path) arts come from jitsu (combat science) arts. Aikido specifically made Aikijujutsu safe and is more of a study of motion that reflects Shinto values. However, some of my students are prison guards that used to study aikido and have used many of the joint locks successfully to subdue prisoners who were attacking or trying to kill them or others.
This is the -Do aspect of the art, versus a -Justsu/Jitsu art like Ju-Jitsu or Nin-Jutsu or Ken-Jutsu. Understanding the meaning of Do will bring you back to the intended purpose of the art in question, whether it is Aiki-Do, Ju-Do, Ken-Do, Iai-Do, or what have you. One of the first things a Sensei should explain to a new practitioner is what Do means.
just like a professor don't know everything about everything the founder of aikido don't know everything about fighting i served at the IDF as a krav maga instructor after 3 years at the front line i trained judo 10 years and muay thai 4 years before service still i dont know anything if im gonna create a martial of my own thats still doesn't mean im gonna right about all the techniques and whats effective and what not same for every martial art
What is an effective martial art? Is it punching and kicking.. choking? Every martial arts practice has a place depends truly on how you can use it even Aikido
It's ineffective if it doesn't suit your end goal.
Ultimately, once the essence of combat and fighting is lost in a system, it becomes just an art. I feel that has what happened to aikido overtime. Right now, it is almost like a cult where the practitioners live in their own delusional world. But no doubt, there are groups out there that train in a practical way. I really like tomiki aikido and the yoseikan group as they include live sparring in their training.
In my opinion if you add kumi kata to aikido you can apply from it all the aikido techniques
Idk but live sparring in Aikido?? It looks like some bad randori in judo
@@jonlong5541 That's because you don't understand it... Like a lot of traditional people in aikido... to know is to know and it's likely that you don't... judo and aikido come from the same source... Ju jutsu...
Agree. But aikido practitioners will just tell u something of the likes of “… you just don’t understand it” XD
even tai chi has some shet or stuff worth learning or implementing:
th-cam.com/video/StzFn70abvw/w-d-xo.html
He said Aikido is to kill with one blow. That sounds pretty deadly.
Wrist locks do work
And beleive it or not Aikido is probably best for self defense because instead of beeing at the bar or a party where you might get into a fight you will be spending that time upgrading ur self in the dojo
In your judo style, do you mix aikido in judo sparring?
Not really, standing locks in judo are forbidden
Instead of wrist lock grab a sleeve. It will work. Elbow will follow. Breaking balance is as usual. Same balls. Lateral view.😉
everything you said is right. it was also a tough time for me to quit Aikido and move to Judo. The more the Aikikai changes the system, the more they make Aikido worsen and worsen.
I love Aikido but i couldnt stay anymore
@@Chadi I love your content. Keep up the gôd work. Your channel is the second channel after The Martial Art Journey in which I was looking for advice before I had decided to switch from Aikido to Judo training. I have been studying and coaching Aikido for more than 10 years. It's changed my life, to be honest. But then I realized that to improve my martial art skills I need more than that. I was a bit of shame and depressed after leaving the dojo to start a new journey in Judo. But after 2 months I think this is the right choice. Thanks for replying my comment. Stay safe.
Let me tell you a little parable: A friend of mine used to work with WW2 veterans and one told him about how the commandant of the Japanese POW camp, who used to torture them, gave them all sweeties and tried to make friends when he heard that the Americans were on their way to liberate the camp. They threw the guy, who had been torturing them, down the well with a couple grenades.
@@whel-auxnavigatesthedystop8709 Yeah as if Americans didn't torture right? Get the f out of Japan then if that's the view you have. They certainly don't want you there
@@MybeautifulandamazingPrincessI'm sure the Sakura Kai or the Black Dragon Society wouldn't be happy for me to be in Japan ever! I think the split and controversy in Aikido are easy to understand once you train Iwama and Aikikai styles and read about Ueshiba's life.
Your so right. If people want Combat Aikido then they should study Hapkido.
What is hapkido?
@@aasserelzoghby6781 Hello. It's the Korean Martial Art also based on Aikijujitsu but unlike Aikido, Hapkido is purely a Self defense system that includes various stick weapons & Amazing Kicks.
@@MrEdium very interesting
But I would rather stay with my grappling and judo 😂
I suspect that a lot of the wrist locks that easily break the wrist were designed to "de-claw" the hand of the weapon-holder. If you can't resolve peacefully, break the wrist, game over, you walk away. Don't try to wrestle someone with a dagger.
I really think aiki-jujitsu was developed for ARMED samurai. The whole curriculum assumes either you or your attacker are armed. I thought it was developed by armed samurai working in castles as security guards where it was illegal for anybody but them to be armed so they were anticipating unarmed assassins trying to take their weapons away and kill them with it. Context is very important in this case.
Aikijujutsu and jujitsu were created from weapons and designed to be used against weapons and or empty hand attacks. In the castles, samurai did not have their swords but they always had their wakizashi (short sword) or tanto (knife) with them. But it was frowned upon to shed blood in the castle so you had to be ready to use your empty hand fighting against opponent/ opponents with weapons.
Finally someone who understands it!
Ueshiba was part of japanese forces that attacked and occupied China. The atrocities inflicted on the chinese were beyond unspeakable. Unit 731. It behooves us to know this history of Japan.
"If you are not capable of cruelty, you are absolutely a victim to anyone who is"-Jordan Peterson.
I heard a rumor that O Sensei ,included kicks and punches in pre WWII Aikido.
Punches and low kicks yes
You trained under Tissier and he defines aikido as a budo, teaching self defense and character growth. But you say its not for self defense. It has practical application, and sure its very helpful to train with another martial art as well but aikido can complement them very well, and there are many good things to learn from aikido.
To me Aikido appears to be almost like flow state, it's not meant to be self defense more like a physical meditation the opposite of Judo which is more aggressive in it's throws, that's how I view Aikido. If Aikido masters stopped presenting it as self defense maybe it wouldn't get bashed by the general public like it does today.
In 1964 the shihanke Seki Humitake of Kashima shinryu challenged and beat a 8th Dan Aikidoist . That’s Aikido’s hay day! Who was the 8th Dan? Couldn’t have been too many 8th Dan back then. Love to find out , if you know, post it. Until then we’re satisfied in knowing a traditional Samurai school Kashima Shinryu defeated a top if not the top Aikido black belt
I struggle with aikido as O Sensei’s expression in his last years versus a system promoted and studied by others. perhaps aikido is to Sensei what JKD is to Bruce Lee in the ultimate goal? Few people can get it and most end up imitating the founders. A key point you made is that Sensei taught established experts in fighting arts. In other words Aikido was perhaps not construed as a beginners art. I feel the same about old tai chi pre-Yang Cheng Fu.
16:01 iIt's not that you CANNOT spar, is that you shouldn't because it's MORTAL, it comes from Dayto Ryu, it's designed to be quick on the battlefield and against multiple opponents as Randori shows. .. Morihei removed the intention to kill and it wasn't just him, many masters started the same thing after Budism zen ...
It is interesting, you are commenting the video and you say that Ueshiba doesn't explain you how to fight but rather how to be peaceful, and in the same second, an old (not a young one, since man people said that the strike is not part of aikido for Ueshiba's Morihei decision) Ueshiba is throwing knee strikes like Mifune in the other video you posted. And then Ueshiba is trowing swinging punches and other actions, and this is not complement for him, he is already for many years in the aikido realm. So for him this is not self defense from aikido point of view, This is aikido period.
If we would consider Judo and Aikido grappling arts, the best would be to bend like in grappling sports in order to put the centre of gravity lower, and to be difficult to be thrown.
But both Mifune, and Ueshiba, (and probably also Kano) don't do that, because in a real fight, you would take a knee strike. Which looks to be whart Ueshiba is saying, and also the reason why even in randori, Mifune was quite straight postured.
And none of them had the judoka fingers, since the grabs were gentle, and there was not what we call today push/pulling. These arts are not popular wrestling, they come from jujutsu and so from battlefield, where even when you lost you weapon, you couldnt grab your opponent, otherwise you would have been engaged too much, taking a stab from somebody else from behind.
This explains why people in judo and in aikido have much tay sabaki, because the problem is not onl not to be stabbed or punched from the person in front of you, but also not to be a target for the people behind you, and that you cannot see.
Otherwise if you want to crate push power in front of you, you can just ben like in greek-roman style.
Yes you can also find fotos of Ueshiba where he is already old but still perform atemi. He dont understand Aikido right.
@@Gieszkanne it looks an artificial way to distinguish a product from another.
It is true that there was a lot of secrets in the past, but apparently those secrets didn't cover the fact that atemi is part of aikido.
Maybe the secret is HOW they are delivered.
But this is another story.
@@Gieszkanne you know what?
Jigoro Kano studied also JuJitsu with atemi, and he never push-pulled anybody and same for Mifune. Kano included even in his school documentation of the pressure points for atemi waza.
Then you see that despite the documents presented exactly on this channel, in the channel itself it is promoted the idea that aikido and judo are forms of grappling.
And the thing is so underestimated that is not even worthy for comments. and then people say that they love these martial arts.
bof...
It is hard to accept that judo and aikido are not grappling, and that are not even a kind of old MMA mixing this and that.
Of course these martial arts got the legacy from amny different earlier martial arts, but cannot be considered just the sum of wrestling, boxing, and other stuff, they are a systematic whole.
@@Eternaprimavera73 Even the Kodokan Judo before it becomes a sport used atemi. If you are intersted in atemi you should read the book "atemi - the thunder lightning of Aikido" by Walther Krenner. He was one a the few western disciples Ueshiba had. Gozo Shioda also wrote in his book "My spiritual journey" a lot about atemi. And its not just punching its more or different. He wrote that he won some real fights with atemi. Many of the fellows here are not interested at all what the arts realy are. They just make everything up their own mind and think that is the trouth.
Its kind of sad that Judo had become grappling or kind of wrestling. If you ask me Ueshiba realized this and als because of that he wanted no competition in Aikido. There are differnt styles and Aikikai has no problem with it. But Tomiki with his mix of Judo and Aikido and compitition was the only one (as far as I know) of they demand him to not call it Aikido because its something else.
@@Gieszkanne I already knew this much much before the publication of the book you mention. Unfortunately also the book you mention doesn t cover all the aspects
It is said they when Mabuni Sensei studied with Ueshiba Sensei it was as I f he had the Hachiman himself.
I so want to believe that Christian Tissier's could use his transcendent skill in a fight? People at that level are never seen fighting so we will never know. My experience with Aikido is that the few real masters are so far in advance of everyone else, by miles. The question is - could these rare individuals apply that skill in a fight? Ueshiba undoubtedly could. I accept that someone like Tissier is not going to be as tough or take a punch as well as an experienced MMA fighter. However, is it possible that his years or training with compliant attackers, developing incredible skill, give him the ability to avoid real attacks from from a killer? I wish Steven Segal would have gone into the UFC, when there were no rules!
In my humble opinion the first on misunderstood was Morihei Ueshiba. He basically made Aiki-Jujutsu into something cultish.
No he did not. It is the modern mislead Aikidoka (mostly in the US) who made something cultish from it. The Aikido I practice has no cult, and no special "harmony bullshit". We simply do Aikido.
@@Jiyukan The concept of AIKI was not invented by Morihei Ueshiba the idea of flow and Aiki is very old. But Ueshiba said that AIKI was the DO or the way. The Shōwa period was an odd time in Japan and besides Aikido many other martial arts took religious undertones like Shorinji Kempo. But of course, Aikido overdo it and made it very creepy
@@Yoandrys23 I did not say that Ueshiba invented the term Aiki. Obviously he did not. It predates him 1000 years or more.
And the term "Aiki" has completely different meanings in different martial arts anyway.
The Aiki in Aikido has nothing to do with Aiki in Aiki Jujutsu, for example, or Aiki in Ken Jutsu.
@@Jiyukan nothing?
Hey a simple question. Do you believe you can defend yourself with aikido?
Personally, no
@@Chadi Ok. I just read that you left aikido, I didn't know. But good for you. See if you like kalah or urban combatives. Have a good day.
I have taken a knife away from an attacker with an aikido wrist lock (kote-gaeshi or nikyo) a few times. In real life street situations. No sparring situations in the gym.
@@seppokangas1488 So you were attacked with a knife a few times? Highly unlikely.
Emphasizing real street fight in contrast to sparring, shows to me at least, that you have issue with sport combat arts and you misunderstand the simple tool of sparring. In conclusion, sorry I do not believe you were ever attacked by a knife.
Having said that, Aikido in my opinion can work in some cases and can work in many more cases if trained in a combative way. Is it the best way to for self defense training? No it's not.
Have a good day.
@@outofthebox7 No, I wouldn’t say I was attacked by any real thugs. Just some kids who tried to steal my wallet because they had nothing else to do, they thought I was an easy target as a tourist I guess.
aikido isn’t result-oriented, its a process-oriented
...yet, it's a martial art and should be made to work in self-defense.
That is why I am interested in learning Tenshin Aikido. I have trained 5 years traditional under Aikikai Foundation Hombu Dojo and I will not waste my time in testing for this organization as I have seen downgraded and week black belt testing where the one testing did not even break a sweat and passed. I don't believe bin this Shinto religion as I am. Catholic Christian and their is only one true God Jesus Christ. But I do love the philosophy of Aikido in it's awareness and bringing a violent situation to a peaceful one without anyone getting hurt. 🤕 But what I Like about Tenshin Aikido is that if your life is on the line or family member we train for violence but we are not violent by nature we do have love peace and harmony. But Aikido itself is not sufficient as ai also mix it with Pakamut in other words Filipino Martial Arts.
11:20 I am sorry, really it was not my intention... but I can not agree with this as well... we don't create harmony, the harmony is already there... we choose it... instead of freely aggression... the Atemi is also there, and as O'Sensei said, it is 90% of Aikido... Atemi is not harmony but is the consequence of the aggression of the oponent against us... harmony would be "to talk" and have a pleasing arrangement of the conflict... what does not happens, but it is not from our side but from the opposite
When people want to make Aikido practical for combat, they are just trying to change it back into aikijujutsu. They should just study that instead
Misunderstood? No, it really isn’t.
I fully agree what you are saying in a very elegant way - Aikido is learning to blend and to deal with what life brings to you, and learn to find your way through, growing to be a better person. At least, it was not very well understood even among aikidokas. After all, we're only humans. Practiced myself about 12 years before changing to other arts and forms of practice. And, I do recognize the need to turn away from war and fighting from my long gone relatives who had experienced, fought in and survived through war. Thank You for your work, videos and thoughts. Always a pleasure to watch, think and learn. Bless You.
Chadi you gave very good analysis. But way you analyze the art, it is difficult to work "what is given to you". The Shinto religion was one of the reasons why Japan went to was and try to subjugate the rest of Asia because the Japanese Imperial Army believed that the Japanese were the superior race. They even thought that the Chinese in Nanking were dogs. But with Aikido the nepotism the way the school was managed. From O'sensei son to his grandson, the art of peace or harmony is almost non existent in the dojo. The next problem was that no teacher wanted to adapt the techniques for combat. You have uke that act like zombies when they "attack". Tomiki or Kyoshin even Aikijutsu were somewhat successful in addressing the problem of timing. This is because, like you said, its a defense kind of art without any form of attacking. I had a good teacher who taught about leverage, rotational inertia. One author who wrote the book, Aikido, the Dynamic Sphere, gave the idea that the nage is like a spinning basketball or sphere. Lastly, is to discipline the mind; I had to go to a Buddhist teacher to learn about meditation. I learned to apply a certain portion in aikido training. 14: 50 The question Can I fight will be a different answer as you reach each or the end of the decades of your life. Your physical agility will change and so will your opponent. But in the end the question is what principles can I use from every art to increase my survival rate in a real street fight? What are my limitations ( this will increase as you age). It is more delusional to be carrying on trophies and be good in sparring, etc because in the streets, there are no rules. So, throw away your judo rules and karate rules, referees and mats. Its not the points amassed but what is the minimum time spent in combat before you can get out and with minimum technique? running, isolating your rnemy to your turf?
I have studied many arts including Aikido. All arts are misunderstood and have some 🐂💩.
A good secondary martial art.
Certainly Aikido is misunderstood. I have seen and even trained with instructors that believe in 'hard' amd 'soft' aikido. Fundamentally aikido is about not getting resistance to force, so whether what you apply is strong or soft is irrelevant. But it isn't about being weak or 'soft'. Having trained with some of his direct students, despite their differences, they're not weak. Yoshimitsu Yamada can do excellent throws where you seriously feel he can put you where he wants, and is extremely powerful, but throws in a way not to damage you. I'm sure Kano would have felt similar. Anyway, not sure why aikidoka feel they don't have to be tough. There a aikidoka that see the movement but don't understand the dynamics of what is going on. It's like watching a boxer and copying the movements without doing any speed and power training. Anyway, quite sad really. Aukido has degenerated, but feels like that happened to many japanese arts.
IMO not all aikido styles are equal there is so much politics among them all. Especially in Aikikai which have watered down aikido to more of a "dance" form rather than a martial form. IMO Iwama and Yoshikan has got it right in regards to keeping things martial.
I don't think Ki Society got it right in terms of combat application but it's descendant art (the only other style of Ki Aikido) emphasizes resisting the throws during training, not practicing the techniques exactly the same way every time, continuing to evolve the techniques (some Kokikai throws are based on older Aikido throws but only exist in Kokikai) I believe Kokikai's founder is the only still living uchi deshi of OSensei
Aikido is a philosophy.. The early Aiki-budo stuff O'Sensei taught (Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu), before it became Aikido is where the martial art is at. The Aikikai is all about the spiritual esoteric shit that's about as "martial" as Billy Blanks' Tae Bo. I have zero interest in any Aikido styles developed after Iwama.
The earlier Aikido styles (i.e., Yoseikan, Yoshinkan, and Shodokan are getting closer to the koryu jujutsu, yet still lacking.
Takuma Hisa's students founded the Takumakai. Start there or find students of Yukiyoshi Sagawa if you want to learn the Aiki-jujutsu before it transformed into something else.
Why do I need a martial arts to tell me to become a better person? If I wanted that I'd just go to a temple or church or whatever. Only thing that matters in martial arts is mechanical efficiency of techniques and overcoming resisting opponents.
If you take away all the techniques you still have Aikido