About Aikido...how To Make The Techniques Efficient Enough For The Street
When I hear people talk about Aikido, it is generally a description of how the aikido techniques are graceful, or how they don't work. This enters the old argument, do you want form or function? This can further be refined as, do you want force or flow?
If one analyzes Aikido History, and here we are looking directly to O Sensei, one needs examine two specific martial arts. One should examine Daito Ryu Aiki Ju Jitsu, and one should inspect the techniques of the sword and spear. These are generally accepted as the two martial arts from which Aikido was created.
Daito ryu Aiki Ju Jitsu was founded a millennium ago. After a tumultuous time in Japan's history, the samurai who had survive countless battles were gathered and asked for the most workable techniques. They ended up with a list of over 3,000 solid martial techniques.
About Aikido sword and and spear techniques, these are gathered from a variety of martial schools throughout Japan. While a couple of schools could be singled out, the fact is that techniques are shared, training routines are shared, and there will be a commonality here. This holds true for both the sword and the spear.
The direct result of this combining of the arts of Daito Ryu and sword and spear is plain to see. The attacks executed in Aikido training are drawn from the sword or the spear. They tend to be wide and easy, and some people think that this makes Aikido less than adequate as it is based on handling attacks one would not see on modern streets.
The defenses, similarly, are large and perhaps unworkable. They are commonly drawn from Daito Ryu, and they are wide arcs and curves, instead of the tight geometry one would need in todays self defense situations. This matter, of wide and overly circular being a faulty geometry, is the crucial point to understanding the problem, and fixing it in Aikido.
Go at a slower rate of motion (in the beginning), and make the geometry of the attack tighter. Instead of the large circle of a chopping hand coming down like a sword, come off the elbow and make the circle of attack tighter, and let the defender adapt to street fast attacks. And, instead of the slow motion of the wrist grab, translate the movement into a quick fist, and let the defender learn to move in a combat manner.
These two things will cure any who dare to think that Aikido is less than combat ready. One should, of course, begin their aikido training slower, and take the time to adjust their body movements and harmony, so that there are no accidents, and so that Uke can adjust to the fact that he is going to be thrown quick and fast, and not in ballet fashion. Do these things, and one will never think less about aikido again.
If one analyzes Aikido History, and here we are looking directly to O Sensei, one needs examine two specific martial arts. One should examine Daito Ryu Aiki Ju Jitsu, and one should inspect the techniques of the sword and spear. These are generally accepted as the two martial arts from which Aikido was created.
Daito ryu Aiki Ju Jitsu was founded a millennium ago. After a tumultuous time in Japan's history, the samurai who had survive countless battles were gathered and asked for the most workable techniques. They ended up with a list of over 3,000 solid martial techniques.
About Aikido sword and and spear techniques, these are gathered from a variety of martial schools throughout Japan. While a couple of schools could be singled out, the fact is that techniques are shared, training routines are shared, and there will be a commonality here. This holds true for both the sword and the spear.
The direct result of this combining of the arts of Daito Ryu and sword and spear is plain to see. The attacks executed in Aikido training are drawn from the sword or the spear. They tend to be wide and easy, and some people think that this makes Aikido less than adequate as it is based on handling attacks one would not see on modern streets.
The defenses, similarly, are large and perhaps unworkable. They are commonly drawn from Daito Ryu, and they are wide arcs and curves, instead of the tight geometry one would need in todays self defense situations. This matter, of wide and overly circular being a faulty geometry, is the crucial point to understanding the problem, and fixing it in Aikido.
Go at a slower rate of motion (in the beginning), and make the geometry of the attack tighter. Instead of the large circle of a chopping hand coming down like a sword, come off the elbow and make the circle of attack tighter, and let the defender adapt to street fast attacks. And, instead of the slow motion of the wrist grab, translate the movement into a quick fist, and let the defender learn to move in a combat manner.
These two things will cure any who dare to think that Aikido is less than combat ready. One should, of course, begin their aikido training slower, and take the time to adjust their body movements and harmony, so that there are no accidents, and so that Uke can adjust to the fact that he is going to be thrown quick and fast, and not in ballet fashion. Do these things, and one will never think less about aikido again.
