“Is aikido effective? Will it teach me how to defend myself in the event of an attack? This is a common question among novices and neophytes; "Aikido is not serious, the partners are complacent," the skeptic occasionally responds, sulking, preferring to turn to other more demonstrative arts...
We frequently come to martial arts with our heads full of popular images offered by cinema and television. The reality, on the other hand, is far more mundane, and it may be necessary to clarify these points.
First and foremost, we must underline that aikido is the direct descendant of martial arts that have successfully proven themselves on battlefields. As such, it includes methods whose serious warrior status cannot be questioned. We recall that the originator of aikido was a soldier and even a bayonet instructor for the army.
However, saber duels have become increasingly infrequent, and opportunities to defend against a dagger strike are, thankfully, limited. Wouldn't it be futile, then, to learn these arts while expecting that our lives will be as concretely dependent on them as the samurai of medieval Japan were? It is also for similar reasons (with the extinction of the samurai caste at the start of the Meiji era) that Japanese warrior techniques (Bujutsu) became martial arts (Budo): moving beyond the simple warrior utility opened up a new horizon for these techniques, turning towards personal development and elevation: the way (do) could supplant the technique (Jutsu), whose usefulness had become secondary.
Aikido, when practiced in a dojo, is devoid of conflict. During the practice in pairs, we recreate the conditions of fake combat in order to understand the key concepts of regulating the dynamics of the partner, which are also the main guiding principles of all martial disciplines: attitude (Shisei), time, and distance (Ma-ai), guard (Kamae). Thus, the question of martial efficiency is not definitively avoided, but it is considered more deeply: aikido develops in the practitioner self-confidence, the ability to manage life situations, and the ability to better understand all the relationships that can unite him to others – of which conflict is only one example among many.
But don't be alarmed by all those huge words! You'll notice that your practice on the tatami will be much more concrete, with a healthy dose of strikes, convulsions, projections, keys, immobilizations, and so on. Because, while combat is not the primary goal of aikido, it is the primary beginning point and educational instrument. According to this formula, which is frequently attributed to Morihei Ueshiba, "killing is merely the beginning of the study."
A Story That Everyone Should Know
Let me introduce myself: I've been doing full contact for four years and aikido for nearly eight. I'm 1m88 tall and weigh 89 kg (its muscle).
I'm 17 years old (18 in December) I've been doing aikido since I was in CM2, and I'll tell you about my experience.
In the sixth school, I was a year old in aikido, and one day a guy provoked me. I tried to project aikido on him, and he beat me up and humiliated me.
Following this experience, I wanted to give up aikido, but my cousin, people from my club, and my teacher persuaded me not to. Why? How so? Alternatively, what?
When I told my friends who did (and still practice) aikido with me, "I'm going to stop aikido," they asked, "Why?" It's a pity:(" When I told them my tale, they responded, "But aikido isn't applied in real situations in a year huh, it needs a few more years."
"Yeah yeah, the laziness of waiting, nevertheless, it's maybe for me to stay that you tell me that," I remarked, and they said, "Trust us."
I also told my teacher about my experience, and he stated that learning to defend yourself with aikido takes time (etc.).
After then, I was still undecided about continuing with aikido until I told my cousin (who was 26 years old with 14 years of aikido under his belt at the time). "Keep doing aikido, it's a great sport, and you can't learn it fast," he said. Then he told me his story, and I coughed. I told him, "Yes, ok, maybe only at the end will we become strong, but I don't want to wait." Then he said to me, "Okay, ok, if you want it to move faster, I can give you private lessons; additionally, I can bring friends and acquaintances who have many years of aikido experience to come and give you private lessons with me on occasion." "Yeah, okay, we'll see," I told him.
It persuaded me to continue aikido in a club, but also to take private instruction in order to get strong as rapidly as possible.
I trained aikido 5 times a week (3 times at a club and 2 times in private, not including the lessons during the holidays that he offered me in private) and the more time went, the more confidence I regained, the louder I felt, and so on.
I was strong enough in fourth grade (3 years of aikido) to use aikido in a real-life circumstance. In sports class, a guy whacked me on the back of the head. "You have a problem!" I shouted as I turned around. "He's revolting, Abderrahmane MDR!" he yelled. "Do you have a problem?" I asked. "Do you want to fight?" he said. Then he began pounding me in the stomach and head, and I caught his fist >Aikido threw>He bled and cried as a result of the fall on the ground induced by my throw.
In 4th grade, I also began full contact, but I rarely utilized it in real situations, preferring to use aikido projections.
I told my cousin about it, and he said to me, "Frankly congratulations after 3 years of practice you managed to have the strength that I obtained in 6 years." His compliment warmed my heart, and I am grateful.
I am currently in the terminal, I have nearly 8 years of aikido and 4 years of full-contact, I am stronger, faster, and more confident in myself, I fight frequently (at the same time as many idiots in my school and I frequently defend friends/cousins who are in trouble), and I occasionally use aikido projections to fight, and they were effective and worked (most of the time I use full contact but sometimes I use aikido and aikido serves me).
I've been doing aikido for about 8 years, full-contact for 4 years, and I've done 2-3 free trials in almost every sport (taekwondo, judo, French boxing, English boxing, Thai boxing, karate Shotokan, etc.).
"How long does it take for Aikido to be useful?" some people question. Personally, it took me 3 years for it to be applicable (I took private courses in addition, so that's why I was able to apply it so rapidly), but if you put your mind to it, I believe it will take 5 years.
My cousin no longer trains me personally, but we still spar for fun on occasion.
So, stop criticizing aikido; yes, it takes time to learn, but it is not a useless sport.
So, is aikido effective?
Certainly. But, as we hasten to stress, it is not the question. It would also be delusory to suggest that such a question exists in other current combat arts.
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