This guy trained with my aikido sensei more than 25 years ago -- and according to him, he has the same attitude now as he did back then.

Good to hear. Ive only trained for about 5 months, 6th kyu. I train with Sorrentino and Laskey Sensei. I havent been to a class with Saotome, though I know I should.

In reply to this comment by thesnipe:
Yeah I train locally here in NJ with an Aikido club associated with the USAF, I try to make it to NY's dojo whenever I can and take Yamada's class. When I was in Florida I trained with Donovan and many other great USAF and ASU senseis. It's been about 4 years for me, I purposely haven't tested but I usually help out with teaching beginners and train alongside 1st kyus and sho/nidans. I'm very lucky to have a 6th Dan as my instructor locally though!

In reply to this comment by NordlichReiter:
Do you train in any Japanese Traditional arts?

I train in ASU - Aikido in the DC area, I saw your vids and Bio and thought I would ask.

I practiced Aikido for a little while and I will definitely vouch for the description in that you really need to have your attacking partner attack as if they mean to hit you. One can definitely feel a difference if the attacker (Uke) is not making a sincere, honest attack.

Yeah I train locally here in NJ with an Aikido club associated with the USAF, I try to make it to NY's dojo whenever I can and take Yamada's class. When I was in Florida I trained with Donovan and many other great USAF and ASU senseis. It's been about 4 years for me, I purposely haven't tested but I usually help out with teaching beginners and train alongside 1st kyus and sho/nidans. I'm very lucky to have a 6th Dan as my instructor locally though!

In reply to this comment by NordlichReiter:
Do you train in any Japanese Traditional arts?

I train in ASU - Aikido in the DC area, I saw your vids and Bio and thought I would ask.

Do you train in any Japanese Traditional arts?

I train in ASU - Aikido in the DC area, I saw your vids and Bio and thought I would ask.

No harm in an academic interest, as you say, in hitting people, as long as you're up front about it. I've always had more of an interest in grappling than the other aspects of martial arts, myself. San shou has always looked cool to me, though, I would like to compete in it some day.

I used to fence Olympic-style, years ago, but I know that's very different as a sport from the more combative historical fencing. What's taiji sword like? Do you guys do mostly forms, or do you gear up and bang?

In reply to this comment by lavoll:
no i don't have much time for training. what i mostly do, is that i train (and instruct) in taijiquan. the club also has a sanshou team, so i have done a tiny bit of that, but i feel that when it comes to actually being hit and hitting someone, my interest is more academic. hehe. i am too old, and i need all my fingers alive for my job (as a composer, at the piano).
i also did 2-3 years(?) of aikido, and then some medieval european fencing with sword and buckler... and fencing is actually what i miss the most so when i get the time again, i think i want to start training more fencing and taiji sword as well.

no i don't have much time for training. what i mostly do, is that i train (and instruct) in taijiquan. the club also has a sanshou team, so i have done a tiny bit of that, but i feel that when it comes to actually being hit and hitting someone, my interest is more academic. hehe. i am too old, and i need all my fingers alive for my job (as a composer, at the piano).
i also did 2-3 years(?) of aikido, and then some medieval european fencing with sword and buckler... and fencing is actually what i miss the most so when i get the time again, i think i want to start training more fencing and taiji sword as well.

In reply to this comment by rembar:
From order of most to least experience, for unarmed martial arts:
Brazilian jiu-jitsu / Submission grappling
Judo
Boxing
Muay Thai
Kickboxing
Wrestling

By this, I mean I'm a lazy sub grappler, a shitty striker, and an even worse standup grappler. Hahah, but I still love doing it.

I have also trained krav maga, wing chun, hung gar kung fu, and aikido for varying amounts of time, but I don't consider them "arts I know" for various reasons. I remember you sifted that old-school GJJ vid, do you train BJJ or something?

In reply to this comment by lavoll:
upvote for rembars comments. but now i have to ask, what art(s) do you do know, rembar?

From order of most to least experience, for unarmed martial arts:
Brazilian jiu-jitsu / Submission grappling
Judo
Boxing
Muay Thai
Kickboxing
Wrestling

By this, I mean I'm a lazy sub grappler, a shitty striker, and an even worse standup grappler. Hahah, but I still love doing it.

I have also trained krav maga, wing chun, hung gar kung fu, and aikido for varying amounts of time, but I don't consider them "arts I know" for various reasons. I remember you sifted that old-school GJJ vid, do you train BJJ or something?

In reply to this comment by lavoll:
upvote for rembars comments. but now i have to ask, what art(s) do you do know, rembar?

I have no respect for Seagal as a martial artist, considering the fact that he pooped himself as a result of getting choked out because he thought his chi power could prevent it. And I don't typically consider aikido to be a practical martial art either.

"He can't help but be extreme. He was a Navy SEAL for 10 years and has 25+ years of training in several of the more brutal martial arts (muay thai, Jeet Kune Do, aikido, jujitsu, savate, arnis).

That's over 35 years of programming/brainwashing. You'd be pretty extreme too."

That's not an excuse, if anything most people with that kind of experience have the opposite kind of mentality. Actually, I didn't think the host was that bad compared to others, but he's playing up a bit of the "XTREME KOMBAT" angle up because the Discovery Channel producers think their military shows will be more successful if they go over the top and pander to the lowest common denominator, and damn them, they're right. Oh, and aikido is not a brutal martial art in any sense of the phrase.

He can't help but be extreme. He was a Navy SEAL for 10 years and has 25+ years of training in several of the more brutal martial arts (muay thai, Jeet Kune Do, aikido, jujitsu, savate, arnis).

That's over 35 years of programming/brainwashing. You'd be pretty extreme too.

Makes me wonder if he can still enjoy everyday life or if everything is a combat situation in his mind.

Wow great stuff. I'm sure they'll learn to add aikido and jujitsu style weapon defense and attack to this technique soon as it is young. I really commend them on using hardwood floors as I have taken breakfalls on those and they can hurt like hell.

You did mention that the gi makes judo throws easier and safer but it can also result in more grappling than you would see in a normal MMA fight.

I'm with you on everything you said, Skeeve and TS. Like I said, I have nothing against people who are into aikido as a philosophy and way of life. It's not something I'm really into, but I know there must be benefit to it, and I would never dismiss it offhand. And of course, I would agree that it's generally never a good idea to instigate a fight, nor to prolong it past the initial contact.

I'm more on the combat sports side of things as it were, but it's nice to see some people from the other side with their heads screwed on right these days.

I too can debate this till my fingers go numb and I agree that in aikido and mma fighting the techniques and counters are insane and almost never ending. I've practiced aikido where my partner and I have gone for what seemed like an hour (ok probably less) just countering one technique into another. Kote gaeshi (or mawashi) is one example of this never ending countering technique. If someone really wanted to spar I would advise cross training with jiu-jitsu, judo or some other art if you really wanted to fight people. That really isn't what true aikido is about. Since we are basically on the same page about this I'll skip to my main point.

I believe that aikido is all about the style and way in which it is taught. It all boils down to philosophy. I personally think there is no point in sparring with aikido, especially this kind of "hard" aikido. It goes against the main philosophy of aikido, "the way of peace and harmony." It teaches focus, centering, physical awareness and the use of minimal resistance to let yourself escape from an attack and stay calm. I always liked the teaching that the true aikidoka will never let himself get into a corner in which he would have to defend himself. Another states "If you have to resort to aikido you've already lost the battle."

While this isn't always practical it is a code to live up to and hopefully live by. I believe that yes, if you're going to battle someone picking a fight and beat him up, aikido is not the right sport for you. However for most people that I have seen in my aikido class they are not the ones wanting to try to fight at all. In fact in my dojo if you come in with the attitude of "I'll use this as soon as I leave these doors" you won't be staying very long. This traditional aikido training teaches one to be able to break away from an attacker (maybe immobilize him for awhile), not stay in a prolonged fight or spar, and run to get help. Of course some people argue (and this isn't towards rembar) "well that's a sissy way to fight" and you can think that, I feel it's taking a high road.

Again I just want to emphasize I think that if one was to take this style as a way of life it may impact on the effectiveness of the art in a physical fight, but that is not what this art was meant for. There is the bridge between aikido and jiujitsu which takes jiujitsu aspects into a form to not hurt the attacker. Some sections encourage the more violent follow through, but I don't think it is the majority. I still do think however that in a street confrontation (not two martial arts specialists sparring) against someone like a common drunk at a bar, traditional aikido could be very effective to get away from an initial attack.

I totally understand where you are coming from rembar, most aikido training is fairly "soft" and seems to concentrate more on the spiritual aspects of the art. I think I was fortunate to have a sensei that who not only taught aikido, but also excelled at jujitsu. When he demonstrated an aikido technique he usually showed the students the (usually more damaging) jujitsu equivalent. For example, breaking uke's arm instead of rolling him. Practice also included, after students understood the basics, a lot of resistance and trial and error.

Aikido has the potential to be "real world effective", especially as a foundation for other martial arts. The basics, such as using your "center", using your opponent's energy and the flowing (circular) movements, can be a distinct advantage that some other martial arts seem to forget about.

Unfortunately, for aikido, the demonstrations seem far too choreographed to someone who hasn't experienced it, as if uke is helping nage by being easy to throw. Though it has to be slightly scripted, to show the actual techniques, I can say for certain that when engaging an experienced aikidoka you generally end up doing what they want you to do simply because your choices are move with them or break your own arm.