Question by : martial arts effectiveness?
first I want to run a test. how effective do you think a style is that:
1) was in use for over a thousand years on the battle field
2) was developed almost solely for war
3) meant to disarm an opponent
4) whose techniques are illegal in most competitions
5) was used by warriors where their lives were on the line
please be honest does that sound like a good style?
now what do you think about when you hear daito ryu aikijujutsu? have you ever heard of it?
what about the more common name japanese jujutsu? do you think it’s effective
now what about Aikido? don’t think it’s very effective? well your not alone. but why? all three of those styles were described above, they are all in fact the same style with some very slight tweaks in philosophy.
now what about japanese jujutsu vs. brazillian jiu-jitsu? brazillian jiu-jitsu (to my knowledge) came from judo which is very similar to japanese jujutsu but made into a sport. so removed the more dangerous joint manipulations. but people still think BJJ is superior.
it’s just interesting to me how people view styles after watching youtube. you look on youtube and you see some old guy throwing a bunch of young guys without hardly touching them and you think bull. but after taking aikido I see that the instructor could easily kill or seriously hurt me if he wished. i’ve trained in tang soo do, tae kwon do, wing chun, bjj, shotokan for 16 years and I know that if he wished it I would be crying on the floor. but people still think it’s in effective.
so my question is, do you think aikido has it’s merit. is it effective. what did you think when I described it, what about japaness jujutsu vs bjj, why do you think people think it’s ineffective. also what do you train and for how long. have you tried aikido and turned away. or did you try aikido and stick with it like I have?
please nothing about it’s all about the practitioner. that’s not the question.
thekitten, I don’t think that you understood my question then. I train as much as I can, so 2-3 days a week in class. I just started taking aikido and I think the way he teaches it is the most effective style I have ever seen. but I don’t like the view people take on the style after seeing youtube. So after reading your response i’m assuming that you think aikido is ineffective. although you really didn’t answer the question. and it’s not an argument about the style rather people’s point of view on the style.
thank you for your response corey. I think that you answered my question well. but do you think that it’s lack of real aspects is due to it’s lack of sparring? i have seen sparring at black belt level but not below. and certain styles have tournaments. but if they had sparring with random moves do you think the practitioners would be more effective?
Best answer:
Answer by TheKitten
For the most part, all these arguments about style are silly.
In my experience, they come mostly from people who like to view martial arts from a couch. Practitioners aren’t really that bothered with what other people are doing, as a general rule.
Also, there is a difference between brutal and effective. Not everybody expects the same result from techniques. Nor is there anything wrong with learning a martial art for its more formal aspects.
And of course, a “weaker” art well learned and deeply practiced, beats a “stronger” art badly taught and practiced on the surface any day of the week.
What do you think? Answer below!
Posted in Martial Arts Training Part 2
5 Responses to “Q&A: martial arts effectiveness?”
Leave a Reply
I feel that Aikido can be very effective if taken as a life practice, and you truly dedicate yourself to it. However any type of serious training that you practice for this amount of time is probably going to be effective no matter what. I think the reason that people think Aikido is in effective is because very few people ever get close to “mastering” (I don’t believe you can ever truly master a martial art) it. And from my experience it isn’t that effective with a small amount of training.
I’m not quite sure what exactly you are asking, because there is alot to read. But, I train in BJJ, which I feel is one of the most effective martial arts in the world, if not the most effective. You are right, that BJJ is derived from Judo, and Judo is derived from Japanese Jujutsu. However, no small joint locks or other “dangerous” moves were removed in the creation of BJJ because Judo does not include alot of techniques like that(small joint manipulation, spine manipulation, etc.) In your question, I believe that you said you train in Aikido, and you are wondering about other people’s opinions about Aikido. I have seen Aikido videos on Youtube, and I have watched my friend train in person at his Aikido dojo(is it called a dojo? or an academy?) From what I have seen, I do not believe Aikido is effective. I don’t think it is effective because it’s techniques display perfect, symetrical moves. Street fights are not perfect. Thay are messy, confusing, and awkward. I highly doubt that an Aikido practioner could execute a perfect throw or disarm in a real street fight. I actually did fight my friend who practices Aikido, and beat him. He just did not know what to do once on the ground.
In short, I do not believe Aikido has it’s merit, and I do not believe it is an effective martial art. I think that BJJ is much more effective that Aikido(by a long shot).
I think a lot of people are very confused. As said before they confuse brutality with effectiveness. In reality, talking can be an effective self defense on certain occasions. The police certainly think so as they use it as often as possible especially with hostage situations. On some occasions it isn’t, which is why the police also carry guns.
Sometimes landing a guy on his butt is all you need to win the fight. Sometimes however, you need to gauge his eyes out.
I think what’s really the big thing is not to be caught up in “Most effective.” Obsession over the suplurative (good, better, best) only puts limits on your training.
the style is only as good as the person using it. In my opinion modern is better, the modern styles have been revolutionized to meet today’s standards, and beyond. In today’s world your not going to be carrying a martial arts weapon, your not going to be in armor like the Samurai who used Japanese Jujutsu, ect ect.
Deciphering which style is better than the next is a very subjective question. The answer always depends on the intent of your training and what your personal goals are. Many people who claim to be knowledgeable about martial arts gained their ‘knowledge’ from watching others fight. Currently the most notorious organization of ‘professional martial artists’ is the UFC. The UFC and other forms of sport combat are just that, sports. True martial arts are much more than simple sporting competitions. When we talk about tradition, etiquette, honor, discipline, self-exploration and personal development martial arts is revealed as what it really is and was intended to be: a way of life. That is literally the translation of the suffix ‘do’ used in many martial arts.
If your personal martial arts goals are more practical and less spiritual, the answers are a little easier, but not much. Contrary to popular opinion, if you train for self defense, you should seek a traditional style. Modern styles tend to teach watered-down techniqes which have been specifically selected for sport competition. Don’t get me wrong, you could survive a self-defense scenario by throwing a round house to the head, but it’s much more practical to throw a thrust kick to the knee. Sport styles rarely teach these techniques because 1) they are illegal in a sport venue and 2) sport instructors may not understand the ‘true’ application of the techniques.
I am not saying that sport training is without value, but if you train for self-defense keep this in mind: We do not live in a padded world. I don’t care what style you study, if a technique isn’t safe to use when you need it, it’s not safe, period. I live in Wisconsin, where we have ice and snow for 7 months of the year. I cannot expect to be able to spin and jump when I’m standing on ice. Let alone kick head level with a 2 lb snow boot on my foot. I also have no desire to roll around on a tavern floor covered in broken glass and spilled beer trying to submit the guy who just blind-sided me. I know I could break his arm with an arm-bar, but I’d rather break his jaw.
As far as Aiki-do, I consider it a valid art form. It may look like choreography to a layman, but experienced artists will realize the value in deflecting and evading attacks. Avoiding attack, redirecting energy and decentralizing opponents-sounds pretty effective to me.
Feel free to disagree, but this is my opinion.