Reassessing Aikido in the Modern Age

The ring is you can get a guy like GSP. who is as good a martial artist as anyone can ask for.

And he can train with John Wayne par who is probably a better striker.

And the trickle down effect of that is martial arts just gets better.


And this hasn't been the case traditionally.
Compared to line training. Where nobody will really innovate or improve the system. The instructor is the best example you can get of the method.


And this is far more common. And you could do this for a hundred years and your fighters would be about as good as the fighters were a hundred years ago.
 
Compared to line training. Where nobody will really innovate or improve the system. The instructor is the best example you can get of the method.


And this is far more common. And you could do this for a hundred years and your fighters would be about as good as the fighters were a hundred years ago.
Military combat systems require training which is simple and to the point. Look at Rex Applegate in the US, Fairbairn and Sykes in the UK. These trainings were straightforward because soldiers need to spend more time training tactics and handling weapons than hand-to-hand fighting. What worked then, still works now. However, there is often a glamorous image of modern day warriors as super-heroes with martial arts skills akin to those we see in the movies, but the reality of the battlefield is far removed from Hollywood and the UFC.
 
Military combat systems require training which is simple and to the point. Look at Rex Applegate in the US, Fairbairn and Sykes in the UK. These trainings were straightforward because soldiers need to spend more time training tactics and handling weapons than hand-to-hand fighting. What worked then, still works now. However, there is often a glamorous image of modern day warriors as super-heroes with martial arts skills akin to those we see in the movies, but the reality of the battlefield is far removed from Hollywood and the UFC.
You are building a case on what isn't though. Rather than what is.

There is no metric to tell if Rex's system really worked other than it isn't the UFC which doesn'tmake sense.

There is a metric to tell if army combatives works. Because they do competitions.
 
You are building a case on what isn't though. Rather than what is.

There is no metric to tell if Rex's system really worked other than it isn't the UFC which doesn'tmake sense.

There is a metric to tell if army combatives works. Because they do competitions.
Just offering an opinion based on experience. There is no aim of building a case for or against anything. Competition fighting is not reflective of modern day combat during overseas conflicts. Training for competitions to prepare for a battlefield is a rather bizarre concept, but it is really good promotion and marketing for MMA, UFC, etc :)
 
Just offering an opinion based on experience. There is no aim of building a case for or against anything. Competition fighting is not reflective of modern day combat during overseas conflicts. Training for competitions to prepare for a battlefield is a rather bizarre concept, but it is really good promotion and marketing for MMA, UFC, etc :)
Tim kennedy has a different opinion based on experience.

Jocko willick has a different opinion based on experience.
 
Aikido is a martial art which encourages the blending of soft and hard techniques. Some scenarios require harder solutions than others. Aikido in Everyday Life by Terry Dobson and Victor Miller offers examples of how we can assess conflict from different angles. Whilst training in Wado-Ryu I also noticed many similarities with my experiences in aikido. At the higher levels it could be said that all martial arts offer the same lessons of flexibility in mind and body. Reading Aikido in Everyday Life has given me the ability to consciously choose my responses to situations rather than responding instantly with preconditioned habits. It even helps in responding here on the forum which can mean avoiding heading off on unnecessary tangents - all in all, I have found it to be inspiring and influential reading material 👍
 
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I just realized that I threw the MAC training program out there without explaining how it is actually applied. All recruits must complete level 1 certification in order to graduate. This training replaces the bayonet assault course of old, as it was a course to teach aggressiveness, not actual skills. In the general purpose force, soldiers can progress in MAC and compete but mostly on their own initiative. In the special operations community, they have the time and budget to get more soldiers trained to proficiency.
 
Aikido is a martial art which encourages the blending of soft and hard techniques. Some scenarios require harder solutions than others. Aikido in Everyday Life by Terry Dobson and Victor Miller offers examples of how we can assess conflict from different angles. Whilst training in Wado-Ryu I also noticed many similarities with my experiences in aikido. At the higher levels it could be said that all martial arts offer the same lessons of flexibility in mind and body. Reading Aikido in Everyday Life has given me the ability to consciously choose my responses to situations rather than responding instantly with preconditioned habits. It even helps in responding here on the forum which can mean avoiding heading off on unnecessary tangents - all in all, I have found it to be inspiring and influential reading material 👍
Books like the martial arts themselves have the potential to alter ones perspective.
 
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