Is Aikido practical in a real fight?

Question

I can't find a video that doesn't look like a dance. Is there one out there that has 2 people trying Aikido on each other in some sort of match. Not just one guy running at the other one with his arms out and getting thrown around. Or is it supposed to be a dance type thing.

Answer 1

Any martial art takes time to develop and make it useful. Yes, Aikido can work very well in a real fight, but only if you know how to properly apply the techniques. Will you be invincible and never get hit? Hell no! Mr. siem-pro muy thai above doesn't believe that other martial arts can be hard training, but he hasn't trained everywhere. The "hardest" style of Aikido is Yohshinkan, founded by Gozo Shioda Sensei, a little 108 lb. man who could kick some serious butt, and some of these aikidoka still train in the traditional ways, including the Tokyo riot police. Maybe Mr. SPMT should spend a year training with these guys.

Martial arts take time to develop, and no matter what you do, even simple self defense techniques, you have to spend the time to learn them so well that you don't have to think about using them, you can react quickly to protect yourself. If you aren't proficient with the techniques, I don't care how nasty you think the style is, you'll get your face pounded into the dirt. It's not the style, it's the fighter.

Answer 2

Yes and no. Some of it is, some of it isn't, just like all martial arts. There are parts or moves that are practical, and some that you would just never be able to pull off in a real fight. Aikido uses alot of throws and joint manipulation. I've found that most of the join manipulation and throw moves only work in a "grab" situation, ie grabbing your shirt or throat for example - vs. someone throwing a punch. If you are interested in learning how to just fight, take a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) class and see how you like it. They tend to be very physical, so if you don't like wrestling around with someone, it won't be for you. If you want to learn "street" self defense - Krav Maga is by far the best practical self defense system. That or Brasilian JuJistu - no one with mess with you after you break someone's arm in 2 moves. If you want to learn things like movements for personal health, tranquility, and self-defense, then go with a more traditional art such as Aikido, Shotokan, Kung-Fu, etc.....hope that helps.

Answer 3

Practical yes, very much so. I have a friend who has trained in Aikido and the men he trained with were all police swat officers or prison guards. They were looking for a method of controlling and subduing people without throwing a punch and thus being able to be blamed for assaulting a person.

Now before you rush into things know that most people I have talked to say that the first year of Aikido all you learn is how to fall so you won't hurt yourself while learning the forms. The second video I'm putting up below should show you why you need to learn to fall properly. If your patient and willing to take it slow this is a very good style to learn.

Steven Segal or not Aikido is very real and very good at what it does.

Ok have to throw in a comment here after reading some of the comments below my answer. Everyone is big on MMA, MMA is awesome UFC kicks butt the only people that win these events do certain styles because only certain styles can win these events. I've bit my tongue for a bit but come on do you have such a narrow view of the world to think that because you never see an Aikido master or and old kung fu master sitting in the ring that they are not capable of winning the match. Have you ever even for just a second thought maybe the guys that fought in that stuff did so because they had something to prove to themseleves? What IF the true masters had nothing to prove and thus did not compete?

At a seminar I attened once by a grandmaster of his style I was told of story of his master who was a great martial artist and others would come from miles around to study and train with him. One man though came to challenge him and kept challenging him, the master kept refusing him as he saw no need to fight to prove how good he was. This went on for weeks and months when the master finally relented to fight the man. The fight ended with one blow, the master killing the challenger. I was told at the end of the seminar, to fight a 1000 fights and only lose 1 still makes you a loser. ( I will not say the grandmasters name out of respect as I am not sure if he would want this story told to just anyone. I felt though that this just might prove a point to some of those out there)

Just because a man chooses not to fight does not mean that he can't defend himself. Just because you don't see certain martial artist fighting in these extreme fights doesn't mean that they are not every bit as dangerous and deadly as any MMA out there. Maybe they feel that the fights are pointless because in a real life situation they would seriously injure or kill the person attacking them and thus there is no point in competing.

You talk about the videos and how everything is choreograhped everyone is waiting blah blah blah, this just shows your ignorance to the styles. Apparently you have never had someone place a joint lock on you and move you around like a ragdoll, oh they can't do that they could't grab one of my punches or kicks and do that because I study an MMA!! I've had it done to me and seen men the size of line backers up on there toes dancing like a little girl as they were controlled by an old man half their size. Are you really that arrogant to believe that you are that much better than anyone else. I tell you what I'll take any of your MMA guys the best of the best and I'll put them up against an old grandmaster of these awfull styles, I'll put them up against Kung Fu, Aikido, Tai Chi and I'll let you wager whatever you want because my money would go with them everytime.

As I stated earlier my friend that took Aikido studied with a grandmaster of Aikido that would spend a couple months a year in Langley VA teaching special forces and counter intelligence experts Aikido manuevers. Now do you honestly think the goverment would hire him to train these guys if this form did not have quick and deadly applications. Just because these applications are not readily taught or used does not mean they don't exist.

Get off your high horse learn humilty that was one of the things I was always taught was inherent in martial arts. Being Humble, but I guess in todays fast paced societies everything has to be proven and needs to be done right now. It is sad that this narrow point of view contiues, I feel sorry for you the day you realize the world does not revolve around you and your precious MMA's.

Answer 4

Yeah, Aikido taught under the right kind of pressure can be useful in a scrap....it works on universal principles of balance, angle, and body alignment (and ways to misalign it.)

But, all too many Dojo teach Aikido with terminal "kata mindset"....it's sad really.

I've trained with a few guys from a Japanese Yoshinkan Aikido Dojo...and they were beasts.....but they trained in the old school ways of it all.

Avoid Aikido that's taught with too much Zen-hippie flair...and keep with a tough instructor if you want it to work.

Answer 5

NO! Not at all! Let me tell you I'm a semi pro Muay Thai fighter and I have many many friends who fight in MMA and Muay Thai and boxing as well. If Aikido was practical then it would be used in match. However it's not!

The video of lady tossing man around was horrible! The man did a perfect textbook strike with sword every time. He start out by pause for a milisec to show the lady he's about to strike then start slow then speed it up which give lady time to react. If it was a realistic base training she would have got hit with sword a couple time. Think about this, in fighting sport vide, do you see fighter block or slip every single punches EVERY time? NO! They get hit once in a while and sometime they did manage to dodge or block it. It should be same with video.

Second video is worse! You can see the student wasn't even resisting or anything and let the person throw them around all they want to. Do you think in real fight someone will go limpy and let you throw them around?

basically Aikido is worthless! Especially if you have to grab someone limbs while they're trying to hit you or moves, it's very hard to do those in training, let lone fight when your body have aderliene rushing all through it.

The reason people like Aikido is because it give those who don't have the discpline to bust their *** to train hard everyday some hope that one day they will be a bad *** like their hero, Steve Seagal. That describe 90% of american! They want fast foods instead of cook at home, they want fast easy excrise that will give them body of god/goddess in a week, they want drive through wedding, they want drive through furneral, and they want something that will allow them to accomplish goal with very little efforts so they can show off to their friends about what awesome person they are.

Answer 6

True Aikido for fighting is not taught in the USA.Go to Malaysia.
Aikido will not work against a Chinese internal system.

Answer 7

part of aikido is learning to be thrown and minimizing the damage of grappling attacks. if a person tried to resist the direction of an aikido grappling defense thier joints or bones would be destroyed very easily as the moves are designed to do just that. it is a hell of alot more practical to defend using aikido grapples and throws, then to try and strike an attacker with punches or kicks.
aikido is all but useless for attack.

Answer 8

I will be honest with you and make my answer short. No martial art will make you 100% safe. All martial arts do is lessen the probability of you being hurt or killed. I have known boxers who get sucker punched and I have known people who had no training, werent bullies and they have protected themselves.

Aikido is a good martial art. It too deals with wrist locks, evasive manuvers, defensive stances, teaching you to untilize yor weight and to balance yourself. Judo does the same, Karate is about striking. Brazilian Jujistsu is good if you want to lay on the ground with someone an fight. I dont want to.

Really... outside the dojo the world is much more faster, unpredictable and unexpected. Just be confident, visualize and play dirty.

Answer 9

That's exactly what I've been trying to tell people. They don't need to do nhb (no hold barred) to be able to defend themselve. However they does need to at do realistic full contact sparring or grappling of some sort, even wrestling or boxing lone will help ten folds. I disagree about armlock or other locks. It actually work very well if you apply it right because most person would rather to stop instead of go home with a broken bone. Also if their bone got break they're really in bad situtation. but you need to know what you're doing to make it work.

Answer 10

Practical, no, useful and smart, DEFINATELY. Aikido can really help you when you're in a real fight.