If I could get video of me being thrown... you all could get a good laugh.

Im a big dood, and I make a good thud.

I practice breathing... and therefore I make very loud exhales when I am falling.

^dude, you practice breathing? Me TOO!!!

To expand on the Hakama point he makes, hakama were designed to be compatible with horse-back riding. You can't ride in a skirt, so the hakama has two pant legs. In that respect, you could make parallels between Hakama and Chaps. Within the context of combat, however, they're long enough to obscure your feet if you just barely bend your knees, and hiding your footwork can help hide what you're going to do next - its one less thing your foe can read about your moves.

Regarding Ukemi, yeah, he makes some good points. If you're going to practice the technique, you need to know how to "take" the technique. Learning the proper way to roll-out and high-fall is a very big part of learning Aikido. And its not that uke are taught to not resist techniques, on the contrary - it may be very beneficial for an uke to resist application of technique, in order to ensure nage understands some of the deeper principles behind some techniques. - this tends to happen more in classes specific for yudansha training (and boy, did my wrists hurt after those classes...). But resisting joint-locks and pins can lead to some nasty injuries, and part of learning ukemi is learning how to minimize the risk of injury in those techniques.

The kid sounds like a seasoned beginner who's probably had to field the tough questions about the "real-world" applications of Aikido. And if I were his sensei, I'd be proud of the way he articulates some good counter-points.

Next time I hear someone ask some "real-world" questions, I'm showing them the police handcuff techniques, though.

You don't mess with an Aikido expert, or you'll go home in a stretcher. I knew a guy who was an Aikido master. I SO wanted to learn while at university.. just no time. Damn intensive physics coursework. I very much regret not training in it.

>> ^honkeytonk73:
You don't mess with an Aikido expert, or you'll go home in a stretcher. I knew a guy who was an Aikido master. I SO wanted to learn while at university.. just no time. Damn intensive physics coursework. I very much regret not training in it.


Yeah, but my Aikido instructor in Japan admitted that in a real bar-fight he got involved in, it was his Judo techniques that won the day for him. As other posters have mentioned, Aikido is great for mental discipline, body awareness, etc.

In terms of practical fighting technique, my one gripe with Aikido has always been that it prepares you for guys who are throwing the haymaker or trying to end the fight with a single punch or kick, but not for the more technical fighters (like boxers) who are content to pick away at you with jabs, pretty much denying you the use of much of your techniques. It also doesn't take into account fighting in an enclosed space(such as a crowded bar or elevator) where mobility is extremely limited and you're much more likely to have to grapple.

Not saying it isn't a great martial art--it is. Especially the way the Japanese train, you get a hell of a good physical and mental workout. If you're taking Aikido classes because you want to be an ass-kicker, though, you're probably in the wrong place.

There are some interesting points here, but it looks to me like there's so much philosophy and mysticism surrounding it that it's missing out on some real world value.

The best way to be able to feel physically confident is to know you can handle yourself with some intelligence if something unexpected comes up. Students don't necessarily realize that their physical readiness is going to be limited if they only train in Aikido.

Adding a small amount of grappling work doesn't seem like too much to ask for, and it doesn't have to conflict with Aikido's defensive philosophy.

>> ^chilaxe:
There are some interesting points here, but it looks to me like there's so much philosophy and mysticism surrounding it that it's missing out on some real world value.

I've only taken a few classes and learned a few of the exercises, but from that little experience I can attest that Akido definitely has some real world value.

Give it a try. I think you'll be surprised.

It's all about "ki".

There seems to be persuasive evidence against ki and related concepts, so I'd like to see someone demonstrating their ki against a genuinely unwilling opponent to prove they're doing what they think they're doing.

I have tried Aikido, and I agree it has some real world value, but I feel it's problematic because it would be hard in a real world situation to sift through which of the teachings are practical and which are untested.

None of us can prove that we know what will happen in a "real life event".

We cannot know, and will never know, because fights in a bar or things like this are not spontaneous therefore some one has an advantage right from the get go.

Learning to kill with strikes is easy, learning to break arms, is easy, learning to choke and break a neck is easy.

These techniques are easy, you study a martial art to learn something that is not easy.

I do not practice Ki or Chi, if an unwilling opponent appears I will just use the techniques to cause massive damage.

Sankyo, Shihonage, irimi nage(to break the neck), kubishime, yonkyo, and rokyo(Looks like an arm bar), kotegaeshi.

Do not think that in a real fight there is only one opponent, because there are always multiple opponents, they just haven't joined the fray.

We all like to use that real world saying... Know what happens to some one when they are on the ground, or grappling? They get stomped on, or stabbed by some one they didn't see because they were to busy with another opponent. Know what happens to some one who tries to use a chi ball, or a form? They get they're asses handed to them.

The best way to decimate an opponent? Look for the nearest weapon, take the time to look around you at your computer. See how many things are there that can be used as weapons.

To a master every thing and anything is a weapon. Remember when Jason Bourne used the rolled up paper, pen, and power cord as weapons?

There is a saying in the firearm defense world "A handgun is so you can fight your way to a long gun."
Fists are so you can fight your way to a weapon.

make love and flowers

I poop flowers.

There is break falling in Ju Jitsu as well. Its remarkably painless, at least until you wake up the next morning with every muscle in your body complaining