What is Akido?

[VampireMonk]

maybe some people think I'm crazy when I say an Aikido-ka
can tell if they can win a fight or not, just by looking at the guy.

but Aiki means the engagement of energies, one can argue that this is
what happens in a street fight, Aikido studies this, it studies the atmosphere
when opposing energies meet.

I remember a top Aikido-ka saying that the best technique in Aikido is the
ability to make your enemy your friend.

 

[Gregster]

1. I mentioned Tank to show that a confessed "professional bar fighter" Who is said to win a lot of bar fights, is NOT a particularly skilled technical fighter with a superior fighting style. Tank wins bar fights because he's big, has a head made of concrete, and enjoys seriously hurting people (criminality). His MMA status was not what I was getting at, no. My point was that what works in bar fights has little to do with finding superior fighting arts, as we all know that Tank isn't exactly the most 'skilled' of martial artists.

I find the idea of a one art being superior to another to be rather spurious, though I'm not about to argue that there's no evidence do suggest some fare better than others in style-vs.-style competition. I am well aware that this is what the Gracies were doing when they put thier weight and family name behind UFC I, as they had done for decades before with their famed $100K challenge against any comer fighting any style. I'm likewise aware there's a reason why a small number of styles are popular in MMA with but few exceptions.

But that's not what I'm getting at. Aikido is not without some use as a defensive style for street fights. As someone who's trained predomnantly traditional (excepting boxing, which beside being older than many supposed "TMAs" isn't considered traditional, but what the hell ever...) and won fights, seen training partners win fights, and seen his instructor win them routinely for a living and has spent the past couple of years at Sherdog listening to know-it-alls talk about how "TMA don't work in the street blah blah blah if it was so great why isn't it in MMA?", I don't worship at the altar of MMA as proving the worthiness of a fighting style. I've no desire to compete MMA, I want to defend myself, and since I don't just now live in a neighborhood dense with competitive mixed martial arts fighters, I'm not too worried.

Though as I mentioned before, I've aspired to train BJJ and Muay Thai and only am not due to being thwarted by circumstance, and all things remaining stable intend to start soon. Previously mentioning that, as well as previously mentioning I have a healthy respect for both, I would think might have some bearing on this conversation. I could run out and train Aikido and TKD right now if I wanted to...it's just that for a variety of reasons, it's not my preference. Aikido is not my first choice of fighting style, and good TKD is too damned hard to find (even the place I trained went MCDojo ages ago, which is why my instructor left and I walked out the door behind him). I want to learn no-nonsense, no-bullshit fighting to defend myself if, God forbid, I have to.

Then again I have a certain respect for any art when it's taught properly and studied diligently. This whole business of hating on one or the other confounds me.

3. I meant that royce and ali would fare the same against the bartender with a shotgun, as you or I. Just to clear that up. Surely they'd fare better one on one with the patrons.

Well, yeah...unless your style happens to be Wear Kevlar Do, you're fucked.

 

[SKD]

I think BJJ is great. It's the attitude of many of the practitioners that bugs me.

I know what you mean, I've come across quite a few people who openly disrespect martial arts which don't have any representatives in MMA.

Like from my point of view, I have no idea about a lot of martial arts. I might state the generic things like "if a martial art doesn't have proper sparring on a regular basis in its curriculum, then it might not be that useful", but I don't make statements like "martial art XXX is shithouse".

It pisses me off when people act like that, and even more so when they have never even participated in that martial art.

 

[VampireMonk]

it doesnt have to be be about martial arts or traditional martial arts,

the main thing is about being disrespectful,
hating or judging something unfairly. stereo typing is a cruel form of
categorizing wether it be true or not is besides the point, it hurts people's feelings.
and to say, well they shouldn;'t be so sensitive type remark shows just how
unsenstive un-understanding, close minded, inconsiderate person you are.

forcing your opinion down someone's throat is not nice or a good method to help someone.

if you firmly believe someone is being mislead, you should help them, not force your
opinion down their throats or hit them with a hammer unless you absolutely have to.

 

[VampireMonk]

all this is an exercise in communication,

just like in BJJ, when you can develop the care to details, you begin to kick butt,
so same with conversations and ways of thinking, when yu can take the time to care
about the other person's feelings, and be in their shoes, you wont make
harsh comments like their style sucks.
and you will be on path to being a better person.

a better person = better fighter
bad person = your world will eventually come crashing down on you