| One of the most astounding facts in all the martial arts | | | | straight out, one must explore that attack with the |
| is that Aikido does not work well in combat. The | | | | arms crooked. Further, the attack must be explored |
| reason this is astounding is because it is derived, to | | | | with the motion of the attack to left or right, or in |
| large degree, from Daito Ryu Aiki Jujitsu, which is one | | | | conjunction with the movement of feet in any |
| of the most combat ready arts in existence. | | | | directions. Thus, the defender learns to not just go with |
| Interestingly, it doesn't take much to make Aikido into a | | | | the direction of the technique, but to make the flow |
| formidable combat ready art. | | | | work no matter which way the technique is flowing. |
| To understand why the aiki art is not street ready one | | | | The procedure I am describing here is nothing more |
| must understand the founder's purpose. Morihei | | | | than exploring all the potentials of motion, and not just |
| Uyeshiba, the founder of the art, designed the art | | | | the politely described entry techniques of a zen |
| around his enlightenment. This is to say that he | | | | shaped art. This is the procedure we used in rough |
| designed it for brotherhood, world peace, and love thy | | | | and tumble karate schools, and we managed to stay |
| neighbor. | | | | polite, and yet became aware to anything and |
| Of course Morihei had the ability to destroy that | | | | everything that could happen in a real fight. |
| neighbor, so he was safe in loving him. The modern | | | | I have meant many Aikidokas over the years, and the |
| Aikidoka, however, studying an art distilled for 'getting | | | | better ones have always subscribed to some |
| along,' does not have that ability, and so the art | | | | deviation what I have said here. Many a night I stayed |
| becomes unworkable. Thus, one has to tailor the art, | | | | late, after class, after the polite students had departed, |
| explore it specifically for techniques that do not enter | | | | and explored the possibilities necessary to survival on |
| and present themselves as 'get along' techniques. | | | | the street. And for any Aikido practitioners out there |
| In classical aiki instruction the attack is exactly | | | | who object to my opinions as I state them here, I |
| prescribed, and it is designed to feed the flow of the | | | | suggest they look into the Hell Dojo of Ushigome, and |
| receiver, and therefore the 'spirituality' of the receiver. | | | | other histories of O Sensei. |
| What one should do is, after delivering a flowing attack | | | | In reality, with the attention to detail, Aikido can be one |
| designed to fit the defender, is apply an attack in a | | | | of the most street wise arts in the world. It does take |
| more rugged way, that is not designed to fit into the | | | | an enlightened mind, however, to embrace not just |
| flow of the receiver. Thus, the defender must solve | | | | love and kindness, but the reality of violence. These, |
| the problem of being attacked the way he would be | | | | however, are the principles we embrace in the art of |
| attacked in real life. | | | | Matrix Aikido. |
| If an attack is offered, say a lapel grab, with the arms | | | | |