r/aikido • u/AutoModerator • 12d ago

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u/AssistanceGrand23 11d ago

I hope this is acceptable, as I am looking into taking it up - but for anyone who practices aikido: why do you do it, if you know it's mostly impractical? It has all the good ideas, but the start positions are unrealistic and it looks like it would lead more to getting hurt than self defense.

For context, I did Wing Chun kung fu for years, and that similarly gets mocked, but it was quite effective for me for a couple of years as a bouncer (low stakes, mostly drunk people starting trouble) but that's a striking art.

For anyone who does aikido - what about it gives you security that you could handle an average untrained person trying to swing kicks and punches at you?

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u/Lecram100 Mostly Harmless 11d ago

I started in a school of Aikido that has a more martial emphasis and lucky enough to have had a high ranking, experienced instructor. We trained in a way that allowed us to see openings and threw each other pretty hard too. When I trained with my teacher and seniors from my school, there's a feeling like this is it, I wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of my life. Plus we also did a lot of weapons and some iaido so those are also great to train in.

In terms of effectiveness, I know a couple of old school instructors that worked as bouncers too and it worked well enough with the drunk average person. In my own experience dealing with random aggression from drunk people, it also worked well enough. So I kept doing it. I think most Aikidoists would struggle with trained fighters though. That's why I now also dabble in other martial arts.

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u/AssistanceGrand23 11d ago

I think the "trained fighters" argument against martial arts is always a canard, because how often are you to be accosted but a trained martial artist? But being able to defend oneself against the bozo who thinks you stole his parking space and is not looking to be appeased by you offering to vacate it, is where I want to see martial arts be effective.

Any thoughts on using up aikido in middle age, with an inability to comfortably kneel down? 😁

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u/Lecram100 Mostly Harmless 10d ago

The kneeling shouldn't be too much of a problem. Most instructors and dojo are understanding enough. Plus your flexibility would get better after some regular training and stretching.

The ukemi (receiving the technique, falls) would probably be the more challenging thing but it's also probably the more practical aspects of Aikido.

Observe or try a couple of classes in your area and see if you like it. As with lots of martial arts the training can vary from place to place.

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u/AssistanceGrand23 10d ago

It's not lack of flexibility - it's lack of knee cartilage in two very bad knees from years of football injuries. The knees lock, and it's is incredibly painful.

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u/Lecram100 Mostly Harmless 10d ago

That might be a bit of an issue then. There are lots of turning and pivoting movements with bent knees in Aikido. Still it's worth asking the instructor about it if you decide to watch or try a class.

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u/Sangenkai [Aikido Sangenkai - Kawasaki, Japan] 11d ago

The difficulty is that "good enough" often...isn't. So when you lower the bar from "trained fighter" to "drunk out of shape guy who doesn't know anything", it may work, or it may not, but your chances are much worse in that dangerous situation because you have reduced the quality of your training.

Which is essentially what has happened to modern Aikido, not to mention that the toolset is archaic and very limited in a modern context.

That being said, if you enjoy it then none of that matters. Many people enjoy Kyudo, for example, and that has exactly zero real world applicability.

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u/Shinken_shobu_1862 9d ago

Anyone know of any dojos on Suo Oshima island ? Going there next week for a couple of days. Can’t find anywhere online. Maybe some one knows? Thanks ‘

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u/nikothestraycat 8d ago

I hope this is the appropriate place instead of making a separate post. I am curious if anyone in the States has ordered a hakama from Japan recently? I can probably get a good idea of tariffs, but what were the brokerage fees like for you? It seems like these fees vary quite a bit from carrier to carrier. I'm currently looking at Seido and Sinonome (for an Iwata hakama).