Do you think the aikido is a good martial art for self defense?

Yes I do. What you want to do in a real life fight is get control of an out of control situation. You need to be calm and keep your wits about you.


Aikido is an art that lets you use the force of the attacker against them to control and subdue them. No, you%26#039;re not going to %26quot;kick their butt%26quot; but that%26#039;s not what a fight is about. Fights are about loos of control/chaos. Akita lets you get control of the problem as well as control of the opponent and end the situation in a peaceful manner.


It%26#039;s a great art for self defense!|||Honestly, not really. You need a lot of experience to make it work for you and it depends on a lot of unreasonable assumptions. After a couple of years, it can work, but jiujitsu, judo, krav maga, etc.. would be much more efficient if your goal is truly self-defense.|||When a predator attacks you it will always be at his advantage and at your worst time. His attack will be swift and chaotic. You only have one chance to defeat this attack. So don%26#039;t waste your time defending against weapons, punches and kicks. You must attack as if your life depends on it. Pierce his eyes, strike into his neck and keep pouring it on with focused strikes using all parts of your body. until the perp runs or is out. You must be all wolverine. The problem with many martial arts is that the rehearsed attack/counter attack moves just don%26#039;t happen that way in the street. And when it doesn%26#039;t, the martial artist hesitates, not certain how to proceed, and dies or gets gravely injured. Sure aikido works if the perp cooperates, but he is not going to cooperate. Now if you are a grand master in any one of the martial arts systems, you would think they would acquit themselves well. I remember though a young professional karate guy on television named Benny the Jet. Years ago. He was a superb kicker and puncher who mowed down his opponents. He became very famous. I read in Sports Illustrated that some grand master in Hong Kong or some place similar challenged Benny the Jet. He took up the challenge and the big fight was on. The Grand Master was going to show this upstart what real martial arts was. The GM went into his stance, and Benny the Jet knocked him out within seconds. The difference was the GM practiced kata and was generally revered by his students. Benny the Jet on the other hand was constantly in the ring fighting. Benny the Jet was used to fights. He knocked the Grand Master out just like he had knocked out all his opponents. So whatever works in the street is what is important.|||it helps! but not at all times|||Any martial art can be used for self defense if you put in the time to properly learn it. I don%26#039;t know what unreasonable assumptions the other respondant refers to but I think he means the set-ups to specific movements, but don%26#039;t think that practice and real-life encounters are going to equate. You have to learn and adapt whatever techniques you learn to the situation at hand no matter what style you learn. Many of the techniques I have learned in karate and aikido would be difficult to use in real situations, but others are easily adaptable and very useable.