Is Aikido Useful in a Real Fight?
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009No, says this Aikido instructor:
“In street combat situations,” his instructor said, “you must use kicking and punching. Aikido alone will not work.”
Discussing the matter further, the aikido instructor recalled an altercation he had with a fellow sixth-degree black belt.
“What techniques did you use?” Lau asked.
“We didn’t use any techniques,” the instructor said. “We just punched it out!”
For real fights, Aikijujutsu is the thing to learn, according to “Aikijujutsu vs. Aikido: The Transition From Deadly Combat to Gentle Self-Defense“. [edit: the original link is no longer active, but there is a cache of the article here]
Even if you disagree with the basic premise, the article is worth reading, since it describes the early history of Aikido, and its gradual evolution into the forms we practice today.
Update, July 21, 2012: there is an interesting discussion about this article in reddit’s aikido section.
