This might be a long post . But i think i have decided to lay out all my concerns and questions i have and not keep them to myself .
I started practicing aikido in 2012 . I really had no goal or whatsoever when i started it . I has just watched some Steven Seagal movies and thought that it was cool ! The first few months of class and practice went really smooth . I really enjoyed it and found it fun . I even went for a grading , my first ever grading in which my teacher didn't even prepare me for ! When i went to the grading venue , there were other aikidokas with other ranks . Some of them were chit chatting in groups while others , like me , were just standing there alone waiting for their turn .
The grading took place in a small mall . With a large number of tatami mats arranged . Everyone who was grading had to wear a small number tag . Together in groups , we had to perform different techniques. We started off with our basic ukemis . I was still starting then and i couldn't do the ukemi with my right hand . I remember the chief instructor calling out my number on the mic and saying " Number 23 ! Do your ukemi on both sides ! " . I stood there stuck to the ground . Everyone else finished their ukemi and waited at the other end of the mat . An instructor then came up to me and help me out with it . It was really embarrassing for me .
Another embarrassing moment came during the ending , during jiyu waza . I had no idea what on earth that was . I remember pinning down my uke . An instructor came up to me and screamed at me saying that i was supposed to throw him . The grading ended and i was almost out of breath .
I got my promotion a week later and my blue belt . To be honest , i wonder how on earth i even got promoted when my ukemi wasn't even good ! I guess because i paid them $50 for the grading .
I remember going for a seminar a few months later . I only learnt one thing from the seminar . That was to grab a punch and place the guy into an arm breaker . Everyone seemed happy to be meeting new people rather than training . To be honest , it seemed like a social gathering rather than a seminar . I remember meeting new friends there .
The wake up call came a few months later . With the rise of MMA and UFC , everyone now wants to be a cage fighter . A few guys in my class are always interested in cage fighting and UFC . I think one of them even trained in MMA for a while . Anyway , i got into a few "fights" in school in which i got my butt kicked . I often asked myself " Why didn't the technique work ? ". I actually found it either hard , or impossible to pull off any of the techniques that i have learnt in these fights .
I began to ask my instructors these questions in class but i could not get a proper answer . That's when i begun to seek the answers myself . " Why aren't there realistic punches and attacks ? Why do we only train for the dojo ? Do this things work in the street ? Can i actually use my training in a real fight ? " These were the questions i started to ask myself .
I started off by going to the library and reading up about martial arts . Silat , karate , wrestling , i remember reading a couple of books . I even spent long hours watching documentaries on martial arts . During my research , i found something interesting . Morihei Ueshiba in his earlier days was a strong man and a fighter ! The stuff he was teaching in his earlier days was more closer to aikijujutsu , which had more emphasis on combat and fighting .I immediately knew that , that was what i wanted to study .
The problem i found was that what i was being currently taught had no combat application . It was more of a self perfection . Even the people in my class were not really serious . Sloppy attacks , chit chatting was what i saw every week in class.
I got into another fight last year with this really big guy ! He got me into a side headlock . My managed to take away his hand and get him into a sankyo . But of course , he didn't let me . He tried to counter it by elbowing and punching me . Soon after , i got him into a correct position and placed the lock on him . I brought this up to one of my instructors and he simply put me into a sankyo and asked " How can you punch me ? " . Of course my couldn't ! He already had a lock on me . " How about placing a lock on someone who is trying to beat the crap out of you " was what i wondered .
I begin to wonder what if the technique fails ? They did not even talk about that in class at all . I am guessing there are already in assumption that you have the lock on .
Another biggest concern i had , and still have , is that fact that people pull their hand back when they punch . Ukes in class always left out their hands when they punch . It looked very impressive to perform throws and locks when they did that . I remember sparring with a friend once , and tried grabbing his punch . Non of that BS worked and everything i was taught went straight out of the window .I was even told once in class that only karate and taekwondo guys pulled their hands back when they punched . What a bunch of BS ! I taught . You can easily watch street fights . Even the homeless bum would pull his hand when he punched . I still could not find as answer .
I even got made fun by an instructor once when i asked all these questions . I view aikido as a martial art , and not as some form of dance and yoga . I believe that the hard training Morihei Ueshiba did in his younger days was what led to be the " old man who could throw people with ease " in his later days . I was even told once that you did not need to fight in aikido as it was all about peace ! Bullshit ! How can you talk about peace when you have not understood violence ! Ueshiba fought in wars in his earlier days , I am sure he had seen enough violence to be able to talk about peace when he was older .
I find Steven Seagal's aikido to be hard and practical . After talking to some of his students , i found out that he actually teaches aikido as a fighting art , to be able to use it both offensively and defensively. I have heard Seagal say this many times . He believes that aikido is a martial art and it should be able to help you in any situation , against anyone , who is trying to hurt you or your loved ones .
I believe that there are not much people that actually teach aikido as a MARTIAL art . They all seem to be teaching the same BS. Same attacks everytime . I personally believe that we have to evolve in our training in order to fit the modern times . I was told by an instructor once that people are actually going to attack you with shomen and yokomen uchis in the street ! Everyone is either going to punch , kick or take you down in the streets !
While training to be good in the dojo , i have decided to go on my own to find ways to make aikido actually work for me . No one else is interested . I remember asking people in my class if they would like to join me . Non of them are interested . Seems that only dojo training is enough for them .
No doubt that Ueshiba was an excellent martial artist and he created aikido from his own personal experience . But it seems that due to some BS , the art got watered down so much that it is a laughing stock now among martial artists .
I am on my path to train in aikido as martial and combat art , putting all the BS aside. First thing i should do is to train in strikes . From my research , pre war aikido had strikes . " How are you able to defend against an attack if you dont know how to execute it in the first place ? " was my question . I am trying to find a striking art , maybe muay thai , boxing , karate and learn striking . I even read once that in order to train with Ueshiba in his early days , students needed to have Dan grades in other arts like Karate , Judo , Kendo etc .
I hope to write a follow up to this post soon !
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