Aikido, Japanese martial art, its beauty and form: a discourse

[Aepsilons]

@Nihonjin1051 - Is Aikido really effective as a martial arts ? I read somewhere that whereas Judo, Taekwondo, Karate etc. are practiced by MMA fighters...Aikido isn't because it isn't effective - Whats your opinion about it ?

Aikido is conservative, remains true to the philosophy. It may not be popularized in MMA fighting, but rest assured that practitioners of Aikido can take down and defend against any attacker, irrespective of their training style.

@Nihonjin1051 - Is Aikido really effective as a martial arts ? I read somewhere that whereas Judo, Taekwondo, Karate etc. are practiced by MMA fighters...Aikido isn't because it isn't effective - Whats your opinion about it ?

Eventually, practitioners in Aikido will go into Weapons Training, @Armstrong , where you will be trained to use the knife, the Nihonto (Katana), staff with your training. In addition, you will also be trained to disarm such weapons from attackers. Aikido, is an art that goes back to the Samurai, and its elegant form is as beautiful as it is deadly.

Aikido can be used for defense as it can be used to deliver fatal blows. Self control is of course required by the practitioner.


A demonstration for you,

 

[Armstrong]

Aikido is conservative, remains true to the philosophy. It may not be popularized in MMA fighting, but rest assured that practitioners of Aikido can take down and defend against any attacker, irrespective of their training style.

Eventually, practitioners in Aikido will go into Weapons Training, @Armstrong , where you will be trained to use the knife, the Nihonto (Katana), staff with your training. In addition, you will also be trained to disarm such weapons from attackers. Aikido, is an art that goes back to the Samurai, and its elegant form is as beautiful as it is deadly.

Aikido can be used for defense as it can be used to deliver fatal blows. Self control is of course required by the practitioner.


A demonstration for you,

Dude the knife attack one - 3rd video - who the heck plunges a knife that slowly ?

Thats why I am a bit confused whether its effective or whether its just a martial arts with flowery moves and little substance.

 

[gambit]

@Nihonjin1051 - Is Aikido really effective as a martial arts ? I read somewhere that whereas Judo, Taekwondo, Karate etc. are practiced by MMA fighters...Aikido isn't because it isn't effective - Whats your opinion about it ?

Some martial arts are more amenable to the 'sporting' aspects of physical exertions and Aikido is NOT among them.

Boxing is arguably the oldest martial art and the most 'sporting'. It is somewhat unfortunate that we form our opinions of the efficacy of a martial art base upon how well the martial artist-turned-athlete present his martial art but competition of skills in controlled environments offers the best chance of any martial art to illustrate its techniques and applications. This is why martial arts that are related to boxing in terms of principles are so popular and many ill informed opinions inevitably formed about other martial arts like Aikido.

Let us take boxing...

In boxing as a sport, the fighters pads their weapons -- fists. This lessens the physical impacts of contacts and any injuries. But in boxing as a method of self defense, if the fighter is not careful, he can do serious damage to his weapons -- fists -- in their initial contacts with his opponent, rendering him vulnerable and possibly defenseless. There are plenty of medical stories on how streetfights gave their fighters broken hands just from hitting each other.

In boxing as a sport, the controlled environment tests fighters to their stamina and athleticism, meaning the fights are literally rigged to allow the fighters to fight the same opponents for as long as possible. The padding of the fists, the time limits per round, restrictions of targets on the body, and so on. But in boxing as a method of self defense, the fighter's mentality must change and change instantly. There are literally no rules. His opponent must be 'put down' as soon as possible and with as lethal a technique as possible as the martial art contains, which means an upper cut to the jaw.

So just because Aikido is not as amenable to become a sport martial art, that does not mean its techniques are not seriously damaging or even lethal in reception. Its techniques are designed to put the opponent down as soon as possible and the degree of physical damage that can be incurred depends on the kindness of the martial artist who dealt the technique. Basically, if the man did not get any booty the night before, you might end up paying for his frustration.

Dude the knife attack one - 3rd video - who the heck plunges a knife that slowly ?

Thats why I am a bit confused whether its effective or whether its just a martial arts with flowery moves and little substance.

It is far less about the speed of the attacking knife than it is about how to deal with an attacking knife. In a real fight, the aikidoka will move just fast enough, not faster, to intercept the knife.

 

[Armstrong]

Some martial arts are more amenable to the 'sporting' aspects of physical exertions and Aikido is NOT among them.

Boxing is arguably the oldest martial art and the most 'sporting'. It is somewhat unfortunate that we form our opinions of the efficacy of a martial art base upon how well the martial artist-turned-athlete present his martial art but competition of skills in controlled environments offers the best chance of any martial art to illustrate its techniques and applications. This is why martial arts that are related to boxing in terms of principles are so popular and many ill informed opinions inevitably formed about other martial arts like Aikido.

Let us take boxing...

In boxing as a sport, the fighters pads their weapons -- fists. This lessens the physical impacts of contacts and any injuries. But in boxing as a method of self defense, if the fighter is not careful, he can do serious damage to his weapons -- fists -- in their initial contacts with his opponent, rendering him vulnerable and possibly defenseless. There are plenty of medical stories on how streetfights gave their fighters broken hands just from hitting each other.

In boxing as a sport, the controlled environment tests fighters to their stamina and athleticism, meaning the fights are literally rigged to allow the fighters to fight the same opponents for as long as possible. The padding of the fists, the time limits per round, restrictions of targets on the body, and so on. But in boxing as a method of self defense, the fighter's mentality must change and change instantly. There are literally no rules. His opponent must be 'put down' as soon as possible and with as lethal a technique as possible as the martial art contains, which means an upper cut to the jaw.

So just because Aikido is not as amenable to become a sport martial art, that does not mean its techniques are not seriously damaging or even lethal in reception. Its techniques are designed to put the opponent down as soon as possible and the degree of physical damage that can be incurred depends on the kindness of the martial artist who dealt the technique. Basically, if the man did not get any booty the night before, you might end up paying for his frustration.

I hear you; I've just heard conflicting views about it. I've read people saying that its elegant, uses minimal effort to induce the maximum result and isn't depended on one's physical fitness (that much) whereas others have argued that its efficacy is seriously overrated 'cause real-life situations don't happen in a controlled environment like Aikido is practiced in in the sense that no one is going to knife you that slowly and know one is going to punch you in such a manner that you've got enough time to use their own leverage against them.

I wonder if Aikido is practiced by any military ?

 

[gambit]

I hear you; I've just heard conflicting views about it. I've read people saying that its elegant, uses minimal effort to induce the maximum result and isn't depended on one's physical fitness (that much) whereas others have argued that its efficacy is seriously overrated 'cause real-life situations don't happen in a controlled environment like Aikido is practiced in in the sense that no one is going to knife you that slowly and know one is going to punch you in such a manner that you've got enough time to use their own leverage against them.

I earned by bleak belt, I mean black belt, in Tae-kwon do many yrs ago in the USAF. Before the military, I grew up in Hawaii and trained in many other martial arts.

Reality is dirty compared to the cleanliness of the theory and the martial arts are no different, and martial arts practitioners know this. At least the wise ones do, anyway. What controlled environments do is isolate the practitioners from influences so that he can focus on the techniques. What this mean is that no matter how many yrs you train, how many trophies and ribbons you won, and the color of your belt, it all depends on your mind and how well can you deal with the dirtiness of reality. I have seen black belts got reamed in streetfights because the man's mentality cannot switch from the dojo to the street. In TKD, high kicks are impressive and testaments to athleticism, but in streetfights, and I have been in a few, a well executed front kick common to TKD and Karate will put down anyone other than a professional fighter. Mas Oyama is correct in this.

I wonder if Aikido is practiced by any military ?

As with any introduction of a martial art to the military, certain techniques are adapted. Not all, usually just a few.

 

[Koovie]

I hear you; I've just heard conflicting views about it. I've read people saying that its elegant, uses minimal effort to induce the maximum result and isn't depended on one's physical fitness (that much) whereas others have argued that its efficacy is seriously overrated 'cause real-life situations don't happen in a controlled environment like Aikido is practiced in in the sense that no one is going to knife you that slowly and know one is going to punch you in such a manner that you've got enough time to use their own leverage against them.

I wonder if Aikido is practiced by any military ?

Nope, its far away from a dirty real life fights (not to mention the bestiality of hand to hand combat in a battle) and applying many "traditonal MA" techniques in real life situations is close to impossible for most people and even for the few "masters" quite unlikely.
Infact most martial arts cant be used in that way, but they do have elements which can be used in real life situations.

Thats why "open pot" systems like Krav Maga are so effective: You take elements from various martial arts and combine them in a way which makes them usable in a real life situation (=Relatively easy to learn, remember and execute, even under immense psychological stress).

 

[ComradeNam]

The people who doubt martial art effectiveness are people who never learn martial arts or participated in any tournament. Martial art itself is a weapon use by warriors in ancient time to destroy others before the invention of gun powder. The effectiveness is more rely on which style over another and skill of person studies it. TKD is the less effective one, Jiu Jit Su and Muey Thai are the most effective ones are known in ring battle.

 

[gambit]

The people who doubt martial art effectiveness are people who never learn martial arts or participated in any tournament. Martial art itself is a weapon use by warriors in ancient time to destroy others before the invention of gun powder. The effectiveness is more rely on which style over another and skill of person studies it. TKD is the less effective one, Jiu Jit Su and Muey Thai are the most effective ones are known in ring battle.

Anytime I see something like this, I know the person is a 'know-nothing' about the martial arts.

 

[Aepsilons]

The people who doubt martial art effectiveness are people who never learn martial arts or participated in any tournament. Martial art itself is a weapon use by warriors in ancient time to destroy others before the invention of gun powder. The effectiveness is more rely on which style over another and skill of person studies it. TKD is the less effective one, Jiu Jit Su and Muey Thai are the most effective ones are known in ring battle.

It depends really , buddy. Each school has their particular strengths, and Tae Kwon Do is offensive base -- if you look at their forms, it is mostly offensive based and the goal is to hammer their opponent. Compare that to the more defensive based Korean martial school known as Soo Bak Do, which is a bit more of the opposite. I've attended Soo Bak Do and went up to 2nd Dan , i can say that the forms is similar to Shotokan Karate, however, the principle of Shotokan Karate is identical to that of Tae Kwon Do -- being that it is offensive based.

They have a saying in Korean about Tae Kwon Do : Beomjoe choeseon-ui bang-eo, hamnida.

Translated it means: "Striking offense is best defense"

 

[Carlosa]

It depends really , buddy. Each school has their particular strengths, and Tae Kwon Do is offensive base -- if you look at their forms, it is mostly offensive based and the goal is to hammer their opponent. Compare that to the more defensive based Korean martial school known as Soo Bak Do, which is a bit more of the opposite. I've attended Soo Bak Do and went up to 2nd Dan , i can say that the forms is similar to Shotokan Karate, however, the principle of Shotokan Karate is identical to that of Tae Kwon Do -- being that it is offensive based.

They have a saying in Korean about Tae Kwon Do : Beomjoe choeseon-ui bang-eo, hamnida.

Translated it means: "Striking offense is best defense"

Of the Korean martial arts, I always liked Hap Ki Do.

 

[Aepsilons]

Of the Korean martial arts, I always liked Hap Ki Do.

Hap Ki Do definitely is interesting, buddy. It is actually created from 大東流合気柔術 -- Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu. Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu is a style similar to Aikido and karate so it has the philosophy of Aikido in that the goal is to redirect the opponent's Ki back at them. Use the opponent's own power onto the opponent. So in Hap Ki Do, yea, it has that eclectic style that is seen in Daito Ryu and Aikido. The goal in Hapkido that I like is not necessarily to break the opponent, rather, it is to de-arm the opponent. The practitioner definitely has the capability to kill the opponent (like in Aikido), but that's not the ultimate goal, of course.

Hapkido , to me, is beautiful, and lethal.

Soo Bak Do, for me, was very refreshing because it was siimlar to Shotokan Karate. Actually for Soo Bak Do i did about 2 years of it, and after i tested for my 2nd Dan, i stopped going (demands of work) prevented me.

Btw, here's Soo Bak Do:

I wonder if Aikido is practiced by any military ?

Yes, it is. In fact many in the special forces use core aspects of Aikido for the lethal kills, take downs.

Aikido, in it purest form, is defensive. But it can be used to kill eloquently and with rather ease.

I wonder if Aikido is practiced by any military ?

Aikido Combat Techniques, used in the Singaporean Army:

Notice the neck grapple technique used in the second video. I can do that ; and I can easily break the opponent's neck that way. Quick, no resistance, and death is imminent.

 

[Fenrir]

I'm a practitioner of the Death Hug

 

[Aepsilons]

I'm a practitioner of the Death Hug

What is the martial arts style they teach in the Norwegian Armed Forces, Me'Lady?


In the Japanese Military, the standard is Shotokan Karate, the Kata Jion is offensive based, and kill-oriented.

No mercy...

And we also are trained in Bayonet practice...hehehe...my favorite.

 

[Fenrir]

What is the martial arts style they teach in the Norwegian Armed Forces, Me'Lady?


In the Japanese Military, the standard is Shotokan Karate, the Kata Jion is offensive based, and kill-oriented.

No mercy...

And we also are trained in Bayonet practice...hehehe...my favorite.

Our grappling is based on the Viking martial art Glima - our's is a more aggressive version called Løse-tak:

It's much, much faster and more aggressive than these guys make it seem

We're using Krav Maga and Systema too. Many military combatives are base on these two systems. Our exact training regiment is classified though.


@Nihonjin1051 I'll see you in a few hours. It's almost 5, I'm going out for my morning run, then hitting the shower and then off to work. I'll be back around 2 pm (10 Eastern Standard - I'm on GMT+2/UTC+01:00) or so. No one I like to talk to here lives in Europe.

 

[ComradeNam]

Anytime I see something like this, I know the person is a 'know-nothing' about the martial arts.

Perhaps you lack of research, or knowledge of martial art, 5 years practice Vovinam right here. We Asian know martial art better than you guys. Watch this, Shaolin is no 1 in China lost for muay thai. Why is it Shaolin consider no 1 in China among so many styles? There's rank in martial art in Asia. In ancient time often there 's tournament for all styles to compete each other to select the best one. Muay Thai is not Vietnamese martial art, no reason for me to praise it.

TKD vs Muay Thai

Look at the TKD style, they dont defence their face while fighting, hands are almost useless. Those Judo, Aikido, Jiujitsu will ground TKD faster.