angrywhitepajamas
Yellow Belt
Hello everyone,
Please pardon my rant but I am tired of hearing the complaint of "Aikido doesn't work".
The complaint that "it doesn't work" in aikido usually can be traced back to five issues. The first issue is that aikido techniques require years practice or a specialized training regimen to obtain sufficient grip strength to apply many techniques. Many dojos do not teach or require a training regimen using Jo or Bokkendo to aid in the development of technique and strength. This is understandable because both Jodo and Bokkendo take additional time to practice, lots of space which may not be available, and come with significant safety issues which may not be worth the risk of practicing in that particular dojo. Therefore many dojos wait for hand strength to develop as a side effect of years of practice.
The second issue is that Aikido practice is geared in mindset of not causing permanent damage to your partner. A lot of techniques if done wrong will permanently injure your partner. This can be a difficult problem with large classes as they are harder to observe in detail as well as manage instruction on correct technique application and performance.
Third is that Aikido is a partner interaction based system. In the beginning it is a struggle for both the the attacker and the receiver to be able to practice together. The receiver has the capability of doing permanent harm to the attacking partner if they misapply the technique. At higher levels your partner giving the attack (the “uke” for those non Aikidoka here) has to have a better ability to control his or her fall than the partner receiving the attack (the “nage”
has to perform the technique. If the uke cannot ukemi (a break fall or the ability to control their own fall) to the appropriate degree of proficiency then the nage does not have the chance to perform more advanced techniques. Also the mutual practice between the uke and nage builds trust and competency. Without the trust, there can be very little skill building; therefore the technique that is being attempted is not effective. So unlike many striking forms, it is easier to practice aikido with a partner (it looks kinda funny to outsiders when you’re doing shihonage by yourself). This is also why you don’t see many people doing “rigorous waza” like Boulder Drop.
Fourthly there aikido has no kata and is circular in the stepping patterns. The lack of kata (patterns, forms, poomce… is a plus an a minus. I won’t get into the specifics of each technique and its applicability beyond saying that yes even shihonage can work against a baseball bat. Each technique has the presentation for, the foreword application, the reverse application, the counter application, kind application, “hard and nasty” application…and so on. Further complicating this is an additional layer of complexity of neutralization, projection and redirection techniques. The easiest way to accommodate this, and depending who you talk to the path to least resistance, is the lovely two step (“ude furi undo”. Most dojos teach ude furi undo as a two step dance and it works for the most part. This stepping pattern has the potential to put the practitioner in a more advantageous position (ie “not meeting force with force, but arranging a date with gravity and the floor”.
Fifthly there is the philosophical nature of the different Aikido associations. To my knowledge on the gentle extreme there is the Ki society with their emphasis on soft throws and extreme cooperation, on the other side of the spectrum is the Tomiki groups which have greater emphasis on application. Most dojo’s fall in between so the aikido you are talking about may not be the aikido someone else is talking about. Each group shares most of the same techniques they just practice and apply in vastly different manners. In addition similar to Shotokan, many aikido dojo’s try to teach in a manner that results in the fewest possible injuries during practice.
Finally many people seem to have the opinion that aikido is a “peace and love art man”. Practice in aikido can be painful, mentally complex, and difficult. Like any other art we try to be careful not to injure our willing vic/partner. Please consider all this when someone makes the statement that “Aikido doesn’t work”. Those are some of the difficulties involved, but they are not insurmountable. They merely require a different perspective in order to be applicable.
Just to mention this, but Aikido was my first martial art and I have used it since grade school and it hasn't let me down yet.
Please pardon my rant but I am tired of hearing the complaint of "Aikido doesn't work".
The complaint that "it doesn't work" in aikido usually can be traced back to five issues. The first issue is that aikido techniques require years practice or a specialized training regimen to obtain sufficient grip strength to apply many techniques. Many dojos do not teach or require a training regimen using Jo or Bokkendo to aid in the development of technique and strength. This is understandable because both Jodo and Bokkendo take additional time to practice, lots of space which may not be available, and come with significant safety issues which may not be worth the risk of practicing in that particular dojo. Therefore many dojos wait for hand strength to develop as a side effect of years of practice.
The second issue is that Aikido practice is geared in mindset of not causing permanent damage to your partner. A lot of techniques if done wrong will permanently injure your partner. This can be a difficult problem with large classes as they are harder to observe in detail as well as manage instruction on correct technique application and performance.
Third is that Aikido is a partner interaction based system. In the beginning it is a struggle for both the the attacker and the receiver to be able to practice together. The receiver has the capability of doing permanent harm to the attacking partner if they misapply the technique. At higher levels your partner giving the attack (the “uke” for those non Aikidoka here) has to have a better ability to control his or her fall than the partner receiving the attack (the “nage”
has to perform the technique. If the uke cannot ukemi (a break fall or the ability to control their own fall) to the appropriate degree of proficiency then the nage does not have the chance to perform more advanced techniques. Also the mutual practice between the uke and nage builds trust and competency. Without the trust, there can be very little skill building; therefore the technique that is being attempted is not effective. So unlike many striking forms, it is easier to practice aikido with a partner (it looks kinda funny to outsiders when you’re doing shihonage by yourself). This is also why you don’t see many people doing “rigorous waza” like Boulder Drop.Fourthly there aikido has no kata and is circular in the stepping patterns. The lack of kata (patterns, forms, poomce…
is a plus an a minus. I won’t get into the specifics of each technique and its applicability beyond saying that yes even shihonage can work against a baseball bat. Each technique has the presentation for, the foreword application, the reverse application, the counter application, kind application, “hard and nasty” application…and so on. Further complicating this is an additional layer of complexity of neutralization, projection and redirection techniques. The easiest way to accommodate this, and depending who you talk to the path to least resistance, is the lovely two step (“ude furi undo”. Most dojos teach ude furi undo as a two step dance and it works for the most part. This stepping pattern has the potential to put the practitioner in a more advantageous position (ie “not meeting force with force, but arranging a date with gravity and the floor”.Fifthly there is the philosophical nature of the different Aikido associations. To my knowledge on the gentle extreme there is the Ki society with their emphasis on soft throws and extreme cooperation, on the other side of the spectrum is the Tomiki groups which have greater emphasis on application. Most dojo’s fall in between so the aikido you are talking about may not be the aikido someone else is talking about. Each group shares most of the same techniques they just practice and apply in vastly different manners. In addition similar to Shotokan, many aikido dojo’s try to teach in a manner that results in the fewest possible injuries during practice.
Finally many people seem to have the opinion that aikido is a “peace and love art man”. Practice in aikido can be painful, mentally complex, and difficult. Like any other art we try to be careful not to injure our willing vic/partner. Please consider all this when someone makes the statement that “Aikido doesn’t work”. Those are some of the difficulties involved, but they are not insurmountable. They merely require a different perspective in order to be applicable.
Just to mention this, but Aikido was my first martial art and I have used it since grade school and it hasn't let me down yet.
