What is the use of Aikido?

I do jujitsu and i%26#039;ve taken interest in doing Aikido as well... but i wanted to know what use does it have, since when i watched some people doing it i noticed it was a little fancy (if you get you drift) it felt like time was wasted on getting a simple technique performed. It just doesnt feel right so i wanted to know what was the use of it and what the benefits of it is?|||Aikido is a very effective style of fighting although others may disagree and talk alot of smack about it. but that is because they have not taken the art or were not into the peace and gracefulness. Aikido is based on big/small circle movements that interrupts the opponents balance. In return leaving the opponent finding them self on the ground or getting thrown through the air. Yes Aikido has a large learning curve but once you start to learn how to feel balance and taking ones balance you will start putting the Aikido techniques to there full use with little effort. I have made a Aikido video that I teach the beginner on how easy it is to take ones balance although I wasn%26#039;t worried about perfect form while making this video just wanting to show the techniques. hope this helps on answering your question





http://youtube.com/watch?v=nLXZbnBcuNQ|||The real value of AIKIDO lays in it%26#039;s escape technique.


If you watch a demo by som,eone advanced against mutiple opponents you will notice at any time he could easily escape.


This is a very valuable skill set when attacked by more than one assailant .My aikijutsu sensei used to call it %26quot;breaking the circle%26quot;|||Hi there





Aikido is a great art and has many benefits and I can see your point if you are studying Jujutsu already. As many have mentioned its theory works around circular body movement. It may seem much more refined than Jujutsu but there are other competitive versions of Aikido such as Tomiki that are a little more aggressive. The main point to it is it teaches you to work around your attacker taking his balance by using his momentum. This takes years to master and is rather more advanced compared to some other forms of jutsu. Some practitioners can dress it up as you say but this is usually for demonstration purposes. If it came down to using it for real am sure they wouldn%26#039;t be as fluffy with its application. Like all arts it does have its place.





Best wishes





idai|||I do Jiu Jitsu and have studied Aikido for several months, I;am not sure about the fancy but what I had noticed is the circles in Jiu Jitsu are much smaller than the ones in Aikido, I won%26#039;t put the art down but it just was not me, circles were way to big for my liking and I agree with you it did not feel right.|||the benefit of it in a fighting sense is almost non-existent compared to a combat art like jujitsu. It was created by a monk as a sort of moving meditation.|||At the earliest stages, not much in the way of self-defense. It%26#039;s elegent, takes practice and discipline, but you will not be able to use it in realistic self-defense for a long time. It is very similliar to the internal arts of China (Hsing-I, Ba Gua and Tai Chi) which are very powerful only after YEARS (maybe DECADES) of practice. Akido appears to have it%26#039;s basis in the internal martial arts. Remember that while these arts were developed and practiced to learn self-defense, that was only part of the reason, so the practitioners were quite patient to wait for thier prowess to develop, They were taken as much for their health and cultural aspects. Also, when these arts were developed and practiced, they devoted hours a day to their studies. Most people today have trouble trying to study every day, much less hours a day, My guess is that the average person studying Akido in the modern American world will never get to the point where they can use it reliably to defend themselves. That%26#039;s the average person, putting in 1-2 hours of practice, 3-4 days a week. If your willing to %26quot;enjoy the journey%26quot; more so than reach a destination, then check it out. If you%26#039;re one of the %26quot;average%26quot; practitioners described above, and you%26#039;re looking for realistic self-defense, you could expand from jiu-jitsu to judo if you%26#039;re looking for something different. Good luck,|||Its uses are the development of chushin-ryoku (centre power), chuchu-ryoku (focusing power), balance, timing, using the opponent%26#039;s weight against them, smooth movement, how to intercept your opponents power great joint locks and throws, and probably more things that I have yet to see in my training.





It creates centre power and the ability to use it. It is derived from daitoryu aiki-jujutsu with a few other influences.





It%26#039;s focus is on controlling your partner without %26quot;conflicting%26quot; with their power. While it may seem %26quot;fancy%26quot; or submissive, at the higher levels the techniques are incredibly powerful (I%26#039;ve felt technique from my sensei%26#039;s sensei who is the Yoshinkan Aikido technical director and him going easy on me hurt).





While it does have a long learning curve the techniques are eventually incredibly powerful and once developed to a certain point can be used like the jiujutsu techniques the were derived from, ie an armbreak instead of a lock for hijishime.1





After 4 years of practice, due to the development of my centre power, balance, and power concentration, my strikes have become much more powerful even without striking practice.





While it has a long learning curve it is eventually worth it. But I do reccommend Yoshinkan aikido as it focuses most on application of technique while other branches such as the ki society are a little more %26quot;flowery.%26quot;|||this may be more to your liking





http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7_dzu4TQDs|||It uses your opponent%26#039;s own strength against them.





Where as in other martial arts your own strength is a huge factor say, a %26quot;crippled%26quot; 70-year old knowing Aikido can use an opponent%26#039;s momentum from a punch to spin or trip that opponent...and the stronger the opponent charges the easier the opponent is to take down.





It is, in my mind, probably the most elegant martial art out there...it can%26#039;t be used to kick the crap out of people but, rather, to let attackers take themselves out. :-D|||Aikido is very useful for many of the paths a martial artist should seek to walk. It embodies all of the best core values of a true martial art, rather than merely a defensive system. The decision on whether it appeals to an individual is a personal one.





Aikido is extremely effective, but it does take a considerable amount of time, effort, and hard work to achieve the ultimate expression of the art, just as all martial arts do. Sure, with TaeKwon-Do or Jiu-Jitsu you may learn within the first few months how to throw a kick or punch, or wrestle an apponent to the ground, but your skills at that level are primative at best.





Aikido is a highly developed expression of the art of peaceful redirection of energy. It adopts the principals of most traditional martial arts, that of using the techniques only in defense and only when all other possible avenues of resolution have failed. Aikido philosophically however does not then decide to become an agressor in defense of the self or others, but rather attempts to continue to be peaceful, even in defense. Thus redirection prevents the opponent from hurting you, while you do nothing expressly designed to damage, debilitate, injure, or maim the opponent. If throught their own follishness or lack or training they hurt themselves as they fall, roll, or trip, this is of their own doing.





I have a great deal of respect for Aikido, its traditions, philosophy, and concepts. It is an art that is difficult for some Western practitioners to embrace and comprehend as its philosophical core is often at odds with our scientifically inclined viewpoint and aggresive response postures.





The ultimate expression of any discipline is to look to the Masters and Grand Masters and understand the art in their eyes, from their understanding, and in their perception. Having met and trained with a few, I hold a deep respect for the art and its practitioners. It is effective for those with the dedication to undergo its mental, physical, and spiritual paths in my personal opinion.








Ken C


9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do


8th Dan TaeKwon-Do


7th Dan YongChul-Do|||It is an interesting art as it has a lot of locks. You may want to learn it just for the locking techniques. The rest is a lot like Judo in that is uses a lot of redirection. I personally don%26#039;t care for it except for the locks and control techniques are useful for handling people in security situations where you don%26#039;t need to pound them up.|||http://www.kifederationofgreatbritain.co...





take a look around here. I did Aikido for 3 years but stopped because of ill health.





everything is circular in Aikido. when you first learn the movements everything is exaggerated. you can turn in circles maybe 2 or 3 times. as you progress the movements become smaller and more powerful. Black belts will only take a step to do the move. the basics are that you use your opponents wight and movement against him, turning it all back to them without any real effort. you should pop in to the dojo and ask the sensei to tell you about it. when mastered it can be a very powerful art.





http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tv4f6xH-OwM%26amp;f...


take a look at this. he makes it look so easy