Is Aikido A Martial Art?

Tradition and historical context. There's nothing stopping people from cross-training. I don't pretend Aikido will teach everything there is to learn. In fact I don't think such a system exists at this point in time.

My personal experience includes a bit of boxing and judo when I was much younger. So being punched and thrown around was nothing knew to me when I took up Aikido. So I would argue that cross-training is essential if you find your chosen art is lacking.

 

Its not your teachers job to teach you how to strike, but it is their job to tell you that you must learn how to, and where they fit into your technique if you want your technique to be any good. I don't recall any stories of O sensei teaching how to punch or Kick, maybe he felt that Aikido was an advanced art/evolution of striking arts and thats why he only took experienced Budoka on?


I don't teach my deshi how to strike simply because I don't have the time, I spent years learning striking before Aikido, I was never any kind of great fighter but I know enough. But I do tell them if they are not confident strikers they should learn. go to boxing or Karate

 

As in elbowing someone in the ribs I never used it often but my teacher always made a point making us aware the option was there. He used to call it empi.

 

Quoted this by mistake, soz

 

ALOT, its in every kokyu nage if looked at correctly, any URA tech is perfect for Elbows

 

Weren't you condemning Aikido for not having any effective strikes a moment ago? You can't have it both ways. Either the art has strikes or it doesn't. If it does, someone's getting a fat lip at some point. And as far as I'm concerned there was no better candidate.

 

I didn't "condemn" Aikido for anything. I was asking questions about it, which quite a few practitioners have been kind enough to supply answers to, and I've thanked them for it (including yourself).

Yes, fat lips are par-for-the-course, but in consensual training. Not sucker-slapping someone because you don't like them. That stinks of ego and bad attitude.

 

He wasn't "sucker slapped". He let his guard down and showed his inexperience and lack of etiquette in the process. Aikido has no rules as such. Only etiquette. When training in an art such as Aikido. You should always expect uke to follow through. If you don't, you get a reminder.

But then again that goes against everything you see on YouTube.

 

i've actually gotten a fat lip twice in aikido.

the first time, i was working with a higher dan. we had become friendly and he knew i trained in hapkido. so we were just putzing around with a technique, and i can't even remember what it was frankly, but probably something off yokomenuchi, but i was concentrating way to much on where my feet were, how i was going to move my hips, all a bunch of nonsense. so we're just putzing around and suddenly he just punches me in the face. and he gave me this look like "why didn't you move". it was a great lesson and i was thankful for it, and knowing this particular gentleman, he was doing it to teach me something, not out of malice. first principle: stay safe.

the second time i just wasn't fast enough. again, a great lesson.

 

Sure, that's why you missed his face by a mile the first time and then he said "hopefully he'll not hit me" before you did.

I'm a bit confused how, regarding other demos I've asked about, you've said "it's just a compliant demo", whereas now Aikido "has no rules" and you all get to grudge-slap each other whenever you want.

I don't care about YouTube, and, as always, if you're not interested in explaining it, don't bother.

 

Another family fun day when you'd just expressly asked him not to hit you?

See, what you describe above is what would fall into my definition of consensual training.

 

So what happens when people throw a combination (follow up)?

 

But I did explain. And those were compliant demos. And so was that one actually. What you're not understanding is there are no rules governing what uke can or cannot do. It's not a sport. As such, tori must always expect uke to attack properly and uke must always expect tori to perform the technique properly. This guy "expected an easy ride". He let his guard down. He gave me a big fat opening and I took it.

 

I almost head-butted a guy once when he did that. Let my guard down. But basically you change. You move, deflect and create a new opening.

 

Elbow strikes were implicit :evil:

Striking using the forearms and bottom of the hand/chops much more explicit.

Since the strike is often used to unbalance, it is done with a stickiness (e.g. done quickly with force and then slowed down to fit the shape of the technique... like water)

For a regular strike it is like hitting uke with a brick. For a moving strike, you want uke to feel like half of their body hit a brick wall and the rest of their body kept going. :love:

 

lol. but i don't think i ever expressed to not hit me. i was just being a dummy and concentrating too much on the vagaries of aikido technique.

and THAT is actually what my biggest beef with aikido training is. too often, beginners are allowed to wallow in the details: how do i move my hips, is my footwork right, what is this kamae, am i doing shomeuchi right, and etc. first thing, evade the attack. not how am i going to move my feet in the proper aikido way. which is why i say i was thankful for the lesson of being hit. because it woke me up from my stupor.

next time my buddy matt liver punches me when we're boxing, i'm going to say to him: that was not consensual dude!

 

No trading blows. If the first movement/attack is not committed enough to counter on. Neutralize the first movement (e.g. do not get hit, parry the left jab with your right hand to the side or into uke). Enter to engage the second movement (e.g. enter to the outside of uke's left foot, strike down the middle to the eyes with your left hand... compel uke to defend with his right hand or get hit)... use the left strike to engage the elbows and take what technique is given. Hope this makes sense.

Like this (except the left and right is reversed in the picture from my example above):

http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25642&stc=1&d=1413904919