Just wanted to say Rokas, your journey though Aikido helped reflect on my relation with TKD and ultimately lead me to the conclusion I need to do other martial arts and look more critically at TKD. Keep up the good work man!
hey man, I'm a TKD black belt, had to take some time off due to college, and have since gotten back into combat sports. I first started boxing while in college but had my first boxing tourment cancelled due to COVID, since then I finished college and moved, now I'm training BJJ and have my first tournament coming up. Everyone's journey is different but I can say that branching out and experiencing other forms of fighting has enriched me in some many ways. Good luck with your journey!
I appreciate you talking about this. It's rare candor that people will talk about their low points as well as their high ones. I'm glad you're sharing your journey, and I know how tough it has been sometimes, particularly mentally and socially.
I've been doing HEMA right now for 3 years, I've lost every tournament since I've started...and each time i broke down and wondered if this (in my 30s is worth it). You're journey from aikido to mma to now is inspiring and showed me the road ahead is long but worth walking. Thank you!
Come on man, I've had my ass handed to me in HEMA tournaments by 50+ year olds. Weapons are a great equaliser, and it is still an amateur sport, so champions are not some kind of super athletes. Most people train once or twice per week and then do nothing. If you just put more hours in your training - in addition to normal classes, you will very quickly rise above the average.
@@titmusspaultpaul5Historical European Martial Arts. It’s mostly built around weapons such as the long sword, sabers, spears and so forth, but it also involves wrestling
Hey Rokas, Ive been a fan of your channel for a long time. I really appreciate your journey - and its one I have shared in a way. I grew up training judo - competed at a national level even (both under 18 and over 18). Im 44, I was there at the start of MMA/UFC and cross discipline martial arts meetups - atleast in england. When I was about 17 I went up against various styles of martial arts, and I learned that my judo + being a doorman was not enough to make me a well rounded fighter. I found out that I had big parts of the whole picture missing, I think we all did - regardless of style. Grapplers went off to study striking, strikers went off to study grappling, and most importantly some of the historical techniques and a lot of what people these days call 'bullshido' was left by the wayside. The difference I guess Is that when I went through this, i was not alone - there were many of us from many arts all going through the same thing. I just wanted to pass on my respect from an old fighter to a young one for having the courage to not only go through that alone(at first) but to share it with the world.
Rokas can i ask you a question? Why are you doing all this? It sounds like you're pushing yourself very hard (always stressed, burned out, tired etc). but for what? i mean do you want to become a professional fighter who wins tournaments? - is that your dream? Or is it just because it's fun to you? I mean you could do anything...horseback archery, playing warhammer tabletop with friends, become a dog coach etc.. i don't know, whatever. Why exactly you're so focused on becoming a martial artist who wins fights? When watch your videos i feel sometimes you're a little obsessed with that and i wonder why. (no offense tho, i'm just curious)
That's a good question. I think part of that is since I was a kid I wanted to become good at fighting. I wanted to be a "powerful warrior" that others could trust to defend them and I think part of me still wants that. I was also undervalued by many of my viewers at the beginning of my journey, telling me that I could never become a fighter. That I don't have what it takes to be one. And I think another part of me wants to prove it to them that I can. I believe I have learned a lot, and improved greatly over these last few years, but I guess it's just something ingrained in our brains, that in order to prove that you are good - you have to win. Which is not true. But it is something I'm thinking about myself and questioning it at the same time.
Your journey has been so inspiring to watch all these many years, Rokas! I think you already know that, but you have been a motivation for many of us who took up martial arts for other reasons than self-defense and who have come to see through your journey that you don't have to give up those core ideals to also be practical! I can't wait to see what came out of you sparring with Jeff Chan!
Hey, bro! You've always been willing to question Aikido's workability, and I thank you for that. *Someone* had to do it, and you did it great. I say this as a FAN of Aikido. It has always fascinated me. It's probably the most spiritual martial art, and I loved every minute of my time in the dojo. But the question remains: does it work in actual combat? No, it does not. I still love some of its elegant techniques, but that's not gonna help you if some guy starts throwing punches. I admire, and very much appreciate, your desire to take a real-world look at Aikido. Thanks!!
I think aikido works a lot better when you mix in some punches, which seems to be what the end of the video was alluding to for the next video. I've watched Jeff Chan for a little bit now, and he is *amazing* at sparring, regardless of the size of the guy he fights. Jeff Chan is like 5"7 and Rokas is over 6", maybe 6"2 or something. I'm really curious to see what kind of sparring session they have and I think it'll be super educational. While Jeff can certainly go hard if needed, he is skillful enough that he can pull off a lot of very difficult techniques quickly without hurting his partner. I'm stoked for the next episode.
Rokas.... We did it mate. We broke free from the cult of Aikido and the grip it has on you for so long. We freed ourselves from it's VICE. Thank goodness. 8 years for me and NEVER looked back!
I remember a few years back you done a podcast with Dan the Wolf man, and he insisted that aikido does work if you are a good enough martial artist to apply it. At the time, it seemed somewhat arrogant and disrespectful on his part. But looking at it in hindsight, you have come on leaps and bounds as a martial artist and were able to apply aikido techniques in the Ultimate Self Defence Championship. Would you say that Dan the Wolf man was actually right? And would you be willing to have another conversation with him to see how your views align now?
I think it's true that you can make Aikido work if you are a good fighter. Regarding Dan, the last conversation I had he didn't represent himself well and afterwards I have no more interest to talk to him anymore. You can see the conversation here: ruclips.net/video/IF0WAsMhRQg/видео.html
@@MartialArtsJourney absolutely fair. I caught one of his reviews of the Self Defence Championship and I don't think I'd be interested in having a conversation with him either! Well done on your progress and absolutely loving the content.
@@MartialArtsJourney it’s not easy to share our failures, or our moments of doubt, especially on cameras, but that when all the growth happens! I think it’s great you share this, cause peopl le only see the final result but not the journey that came with it.. well done!
Osu!!! So so cool. one of the coolest videos on the internet. For real. you look like a completely different person/fighter in the more modern clips. So much growth. So many hard lessons. So much pain. Thank you for documenting this. Also, just as a question, why don't you go back to aikido when/if you've reached your fighting goals? It could be an idea for future vids and bring you joy / provide full circle in your spirit. And make it more applicable if you want. You could end up inventing a hybrid style lol. On your own time. love ya bro. Reconnecting with your old students could be reallyyy wholesome vid ideas also. @Martial Arts Journey
I appreciate you sharing your journey, and I enjoy a lot of your content, but a lot of your videos are based on criticising Aikido but the main thesis you present is essentially “if I can’t make Aikido work (in a fighting situation) then Aikido doesn’t work” which is where I struggle to accept your perspective. We would agree on a few things I’m sure, and we have had similar journeys in martial arts in some ways too, but we have also had some very different experiences both in our aikido training and using it in self defence. Aside from the problem with your main thesis above, I also am not sure that your mentality about what ‘success’ for a martial art (particularly aikido) looks like, is entirely reasonable or realistic. The idea that aikido is for ritual fights, combat sports, or that you should try and apply techniques in these matches etc seems weird to me, and I keep thinking “no wonder it doesn’t work” for many reasons and on many levels it seems like (intentionally or not) you’re setting yourself and the art up to fail, failing to apply it properly and then blaming the whole martial art. I mean the techniques are tools, and there are times when they are appropriate and times when they aren’t, good Aikido training should teach more about space, timing, position and atemi as well as how to respond without thinking , more intuitively to an opponent’s force, timing, balance. If you switch into ‘fight’ contest mode and play their rules of engagement then of course it doesn’t ‘work’ your trying to play tennis with a baseball bat.Anyway, I could go on and on.. lol ..In short, keep up the good work, keep asking good questions, both of martial / combat arts and yourself, but don’t be too sure you know everything about aikido yet. ;)
I used my time machine and I wind kicked my grandmother when she was ten years old killing her instantly, but nothing happened I didn't disappear.......I must be adopted.....or a GOD..........I challenged myself to a fight but out of pure cowardice I never should up I waited there for three days.........
Hey Rokas, I was just curious in your description you wrote "....running a professional Aikido Dojo until eventually I realized that Aikido does not live up to what it promises." What exactly did you think Aikido promises? Or what was your perception of that? Thanks!
Shout out to another Lithuanian martial artist. Now I can say I've known of two. Being as I'm an American born Lithuanian lol. I went through a similar journey to some degree, when I transitioned from Taekwondo to more of a hard style of mixed karate. My Taekwondo wasn't exactly traditional, but it taught alot of useless moves that were purely just made for kata or show. They didn't seem as practical as say Muay thai techniques. One thing I did notice though when transitioning between styles is it was alot easier to pickup things that someone new to martial arts would miss. Either case your journey is awe inspiring, and I hope to one day be able to set aside more time to dedicate myself to martial arts.
I think you could benefit from some Mental Resilience Training. I love you speaking on your experience but I'm hearing some disturbing aspects in your thought process. If you don't agree please ignore but even the strongest need some help every now and then. Thank you for the content
Your story about training with pros reminded me of my own progress in boxing class. When I was brand new, every time I sparred with someone, they were more experienced and better than me. Sometimes I'd feel like I couldn't even touch some of my sparring partners. Then a few months later, a new guy shows up. He's an athlete who regularly played and competed in football (soccer for Americans). Great agility, light on his feet, immense gas tank - some of the things you need for good boxing. But when it was my turn to spar with him, I found myself parrying and countering, finding my range and getting good positioning and angles during the spar. I was improving, but nobody else was getting worse, so it wasn't exactly easy to track how much I was progressing.
Heck yeah Rokas! You're an inspiration! I actually didn't know of you or Jeff Chan until the USDC but now you two are two of my biggest inspirations. Seth and Mike already were but I'm very happy to have found and now follow your journey as I start to progress on my own journey of martial arts discovery.
Isn't it crazy how you can lose track of your own progress? I have people who I remember from taking my intro class say things like "I suck," and I have to remind them that they couldn't even roll a full five minutes when they started, but now they're forcing me to be intelligent in my attacks, rather than just doing whatever I want. It's like the moment in the Matrix when Neo is on the ground panting, and Morpheus says, "you don't think that's AIR you're breathing right now, do you..?"
Great video!..... with aikido and MMA it is never either/or. You can have both.The cultural differences are radically but I have appreciation for both.
From a yoga champion, I know it takes a lot to put your best foot forward. Even if you don't win, you've inspired others. You've already won when you do that! :)
You're doing it right, sir. I hope some of your former students are still paying attention, because you're doing what a good teacher, and leader does: setting an example.
I've been here since the first one, I saw you going through your weird "wearing a costume" stage, and I see you now coming full circle into something more balanced... Honestly, I thought it would take you less time. I'm happy to see you mature. I see you needed to learn to fight to feel that confidence; it's great brother :) Level up...
My knowledge is limited, but I'd say weight lifting/endurance training. Strength can take you a long way in a fight. Looking muscular also prevents attackers from choosing you as a victim. Just my opinion though.
I would agree with Rokas and say Weightlifting (only little powerlifting, because that makes you stiff and slow). Weightlifting is olympic sport (snatch, Clean & Jerk+ their help moves/training)
Jeff and I are actually teaching together this September in Germany. I'd also love to join his Vietnam camp as a student but I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off
there will come a time where these rather humbling expieriences, will become such a advanage against opponents that never tried so hard and never had to overcome such adversity. you are building your character. keep it up rokas!
I like your entrepreneur spirit and your willingness to ask the hard questions both about yourself and your chosen field. Not many people are willing to look inside and ask the hard questions.
Rokas, your journey of not retreating to the familiar, and just kept on pushing forward in search of the truth is just inspirational. I've watch most of these videos before, but how your are turning your journey into a coherent episodic story is just brilliant. It's almost like a course to how to pull oneself back up after from being in a cult.
Keep up the great work, Rokas. Has been so inspiring and entertaining watching your journey. Definitely given me some extra motivation and support on my own journey, having taken up BJJ and Muay Thai late in life after giving up other sports. You are greatly appreciated by many, I hope you know that. Thank you.
Massive props to you, brotha. Takes a lot of guts to admit that something you dedicated your life to was wrong, up root, and reestablish yourself. Can't wait to see the next video!
Very inspiring and moving even to see how far you’ve come, Rokas. This path of integration is not for the feint of heart. You are a warrior with heart!
Ok, Rokas. I got your idea of re-telling your story :) it's gooood! Last scenę from USDC was awesome, when you learnt to fight, you started to really use aikido. Like Morihei's students in old times, when they joined dojo already being judo or jiu-jitsu fighters.
"In a Man's heart he makes his plans, but it is the Lord that determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9 - "Failing to plan is planning to fail. BUT when that first shot goes by your head, the plan goes right out the window." - Navy SEAL saying - "The enemy gets a vote." "Murphy gets a vote." - Navy SEAL saying - Nothing ever goes according to plan, but plans are still essential to growth. Sustained, focused effort, consistent training, and constancy of purpose are the most important thing. In the end your path will never be what you planned, but you will get somewhere you never imagined, and maybe somewhere that's better than what you imagined.
Your not here to let "everyone down". What the hell are you doing on the ground. Having a conversation with yourself. Thinking about how your "plan" wasn't working. Mushin. Fighting without thinking! Stop overtraining physically. Work on fighting with "no mind". We had a saying in my dojo: "Thinking man, dead man!" Osu!
Unfortunately Aikido itself is useless in MMA and street fights unless your enemy is also trained in Aikido and is willing walking into your moves and helping you kick his ass. It sure looks cool when steven seagul does it in the movies though =). You're style looks great, you've come a long way. Must be great having holds and striking in y our kit.
I've been practicing Silat and Escrima since 1993 and Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi since 2008. I like practicing slow twisting and circling steps with blades. It nourishes my brain and I circulate my chi to stay healthy and massage my internal organs to stay soft and limber. The first thing I would teach someone is how to relax and root and circulate Qi. After relaxing, someone can learn basic Gong Fu! I know a lot of takedowns and armlocks, mostly from Silat. I want to train BJJ. I am good at setting up takedowns and throws as well. I know some throws.
Who trained you Lol there not a BB !!! You know when you do !!! My dad is I box he fed me up !!! Baaaaad and I'm stronger and tuffer by far it's mental !!! It's all the slow stuff it's peace and harmony I. Your mind it flows like water like b. Lee said then you have it !!!
dude, I don't train Aikido and I'm not a fan of many Aikido instructors, but what you did for your students is so above and beyond awesome. seriously, I've never heard of a boxing, muay thai, wrestling, or bjj instructor going to nearly that length. In fact I've had multiple instructors just move away, black belts that are here one day then gone the next. super cool you didn't do that.
The problem with Aikido and the benefit of a Aikido is that it is a graduate level of study. The Art of Peace requires you to be very dangerous first and then CHOOSE peace. If you go into a Aikido without the ability to inflict harm, you are just harmless (but good defenses). But take a dangerous man and teach him the Art of Peace, now he doesn't need to be dangerous all the time.
I'm a 70 yrs old retired Veit Nam Veterans, and I like what you said, I'm a small guy _ walk with cane and, I use to box & wrestling in high school,1968 I got drafted,
Hi Rokas, I really admire your courage to stray from your Aikido roots and become a better fighter. One question: Do you think Aikido has helped you from a technical POV to be a better fighter? And from what you know now if you had your time again, would you learn Aikido like you had. done before? regards
bro to improve fighting , you got to train hard and fight as much as pssible while avoiding injuries . Take grappling and bjj matches , do amateur kickboxing fights and put time into developing your techniques . I was 0/2 in kickboxing this year and tried to fight muay thai competitions and while i have an average 2/1 record , i still have a ref stoppage win and the loss was pretty close . Never give up Rokas , just train hard , fight easy
Its always the fighter not the style. I am sure there will be Aikido practitioners that will dominate over Tadas or any pro MMA, MT, TKD,BJJ, Karate, Boxing or whatever. You never used Aikido vs MMA. It was just bad MMA vs excellent level MMA. So aikido is grab wrist of the oponent and you start to complain: - But master... oponent keep slip wrist out of my grab... aikido s*ck! Master: Nope that only means your grip strength s*ck. - But master! I get extremely tired at end of first round... aikido s*ck! Master: Nope. That means your endurance s*ck. - Jeez master! But roundhouse kicks keep slamming my pretty face! I told you Aikido s*ck! Master: Nope. That means your hand speed s*ck. - But low kicks, sweeps me all the time. Damnit Aikido s*ck! Master: That means your foot work s*ck. - But oponent overpowers me! See aikido is stupid. S*ck. Master: That means your power s*ck. -But master! Oponent punches go straight through my hands! Boxer nearly kills me! Stupid aikido s*ck. Master: That means your hand to eye coordination s*ck. -But master how i will make aikido work vs mma? Master: more training. - But master what about BJJ? Always they choke me, lock me, double leg takedown me...MT flying knee me, elbow me, clinch me every single time! I told you that aikido s*ck. Master: Well this only means your timing s*ck. Oponents simply have better timing than you. You wanna win so badly using certain set of moves over way much stronger and tougher oponents than you. You will dominate with better timing. Its much more important WHEN you gonna do something and HOW MUCH you gonna do it than WHAT you gonna do. For example hook punch is coming to you. Your job is to grab the wrist BEFORE fist come to you. If you can't this means your speed s*ck. You have simple task. Grab a wrist. If oponent is going for double leg takedown and put both hands on your legs and you fail to grab the wrists this means your REFLEX s*ck. You have simple task - grab the wrists. If you can't pull out the wrists and throw the oponent this means your POWER s*ck. You have to put some violence in your violence.
Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, is famously quoted as saying that aikido is 90% atemi. 😎😎I used Aikido a few times especially with drunk people it work
I've been in mma as long as I can remember, training each art alone however until mma was a series on TV. In any fight I've had the dance is similar to improv drama school. Both fighters draw on their knowledge but I would react to their moves impulsively drawing from what I knew that would counter or defend. It wasn't until I decided to become an aggressor that I actually lost a fight lol. May be helpful..
With your increase in combat skills has came a massive in crease in the content and quality of your videos, and also how you spread a theme. Well done.
Different styles have different purposes. No, Aikido will not help you knock someone out. It's not for that. Doesn't mean you need to shit on aikido because it took you (howver long that was) to realize Aikido doesn't have an offense... Because it's intended not to have an offense. I'm glad you're not teaching whatever you thought Aikido was anymore and moved on to what you wanted to do.
Even if my background is Yoseikan Budo it's more than 15 years since I started collecting the more different martial trainings and sparring to test me and always take me back to reality. Thanks for sharing Sir 💪💪💪💪🤗
Clearly you did not absorb the essence of the philosophy. Aikido is the way of the peaceful warrior meant for defence only . Switching to MMA was a personal choice. You did your students a disservice.
Rokas i know you wont reply to me, but for the longest time i have been trying over and over again to defend aikido. I swear it worked but then, i had a fight with my 'friend' and he took it physical . I tried aikido and while yes, it worked i was condemned to defeat. I did not want to quit aikido and wanted to make sure it was my main part. And thats when i combined it with karate. Aikido as the main part but karate was just to throw punches, kicks e.c.t . all because of you and your efforts that inspired me to keep fighting. Aikido is viable as you easily illustrate.
"that's when I learned how important leadership was". Well it's only important since we have learned that it is. Humans lived the majority of human history without fixed and lasting hierarchys. So leadership is not important but relearning the skill of self organisation and cooperation is important
dude i have been following you for a while i dont know how i forgot that you were at sbg in portland thats a historic spot in that school( and mma in general) i go by one of the sbg on my way home from work. i am glad you are having fun, i am studying jiu-jitsu (at the place i moved here to train at😇🤯🥳) with alot of intent. the best thing that i believe aikido has to offer is not as much the forms(which i dont actually know past having read some manuals) as it is the mindset(which i have definitely grown from at points in my life). i built who i am now in part from the art of peace. positive intent and open compassionate heart are what is important in life and fighting. limiting harm is a relative concept and should be talked about more. thanks for your work, take care
Nice one... i saw a few aikido moves at the end right? super hard to do it with gloves especially to a guy trained in sports martial arts... ... a little sad for your students though... i guess it was part of the process, usually you give clases when you are super high degree or have lots of years of experience, maybe you started backwards which is not bad tho. must say i feel a little conflict of interest between training for real and doing youtube videos (which are great by the way) but, train without thinking in your viewers and rating and likes and stuff... that must be challenging becouse the path of fame in social networks like youtube and sports competitive martial arts are in may opinion a distraction from the ultimate purpose of martial arts which is getting peace against war not enterteining the masses.
I love that you never throw your aikido away. My sifu always says to take other styles like vitamins. If you already have a base, there's no sense in throwing it away. Just learn more stuff to supplement what's lacking.
First off you were never supposed too be trying to spar in the first place and not because it couldn't work but,because it is a defensive art and it is more dangerous then you think.See from the beginning you never understood Aikido too began with because if you did you would've never been trying to spar with it.
![Armored MMA: John Stegmeier v Andrew McCabe [Axe Profight Middle Weight]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0RXm_dVtAKc/mqdefault.jpg)
Watch all the episodes here: ruclips.net/p/PL4FJXg8RNp-nVt9624wqEc9XMR6cSo6je
challenge Adam Mizner to a fight... would love to see that.
Just wanted to say Rokas, your journey though Aikido helped reflect on my relation with TKD and ultimately lead me to the conclusion I need to do other martial arts and look more critically at TKD. Keep up the good work man!
Really glad to hear it! I hope you are enjoying where your journey took you after TKD
@@MartialArtsJourneyI still love TKD but thanks to reflection I’m no longer blind to it’s faults
hey man, I'm a TKD black belt, had to take some time off due to college, and have since gotten back into combat sports. I first started boxing while in college but had my first boxing tourment cancelled due to COVID, since then I finished college and moved, now I'm training BJJ and have my first tournament coming up. Everyone's journey is different but I can say that branching out and experiencing other forms of fighting has enriched me in some many ways. Good luck with your journey!
What's tkd?
@@tomiwaaina5499 Tae Kwon Do
So basically, Rokas went through a real-life zenkai boost over the course of 9 months.
Nice.
I appreciate you talking about this. It's rare candor that people will talk about their low points as well as their high ones. I'm glad you're sharing your journey, and I know how tough it has been sometimes, particularly mentally and socially.
I've been doing HEMA right now for 3 years, I've lost every tournament since I've started...and each time i broke down and wondered if this (in my 30s is worth it). You're journey from aikido to mma to now is inspiring and showed me the road ahead is long but worth walking. Thank you!
Come on man, I've had my ass handed to me in HEMA tournaments by 50+ year olds. Weapons are a great equaliser, and it is still an amateur sport, so champions are not some kind of super athletes. Most people train once or twice per week and then do nothing. If you just put more hours in your training - in addition to normal classes, you will very quickly rise above the average.
@PaMuShinexcuse my ignorance, but what is hema?
@@titmusspaultpaul5Historical European Martial Arts. It’s mostly built around weapons such as the long sword, sabers, spears and so forth, but it also involves wrestling
the person who teaches our longwsord group is 56
Hey Rokas, Ive been a fan of your channel for a long time. I really appreciate your journey - and its one I have shared in a way.
I grew up training judo - competed at a national level even (both under 18 and over 18). Im 44, I was there at the start of MMA/UFC and cross discipline martial arts meetups - atleast in england. When I was about 17 I went up against various styles of martial arts, and I learned that my judo + being a doorman was not enough to make me a well rounded fighter. I found out that I had big parts of the whole picture missing, I think we all did - regardless of style. Grapplers went off to study striking, strikers went off to study grappling, and most importantly some of the historical techniques and a lot of what people these days call 'bullshido' was left by the wayside. The difference I guess Is that when I went through this, i was not alone - there were many of us from many arts all going through the same thing. I just wanted to pass on my respect from an old fighter to a young one for having the courage to not only go through that alone(at first) but to share it with the world.
Nice man. Really brave to challenge your convictions this way. Inspiring us.
Thanks
Your content inspired me to start BJJ. I'm 10 months in and just got my third stripe! Thanks Rokas
Awesome! So glad to hear that. Congratulations with your third stripe!
@@MartialArtsJourney Thanks man! I start Muay Thai next week too! It feels great to have sports back in my life!
Rokas can i ask you a question? Why are you doing all this? It sounds like you're pushing yourself very hard (always stressed, burned out, tired etc). but for what? i mean do you want to become a professional fighter who wins tournaments? - is that your dream? Or is it just because it's fun to you? I mean you could do anything...horseback archery, playing warhammer tabletop with friends, become a dog coach etc.. i don't know, whatever. Why exactly you're so focused on becoming a martial artist who wins fights? When watch your videos i feel sometimes you're a little obsessed with that and i wonder why. (no offense tho, i'm just curious)
That's a good question. I think part of that is since I was a kid I wanted to become good at fighting. I wanted to be a "powerful warrior" that others could trust to defend them and I think part of me still wants that. I was also undervalued by many of my viewers at the beginning of my journey, telling me that I could never become a fighter. That I don't have what it takes to be one. And I think another part of me wants to prove it to them that I can. I believe I have learned a lot, and improved greatly over these last few years, but I guess it's just something ingrained in our brains, that in order to prove that you are good - you have to win. Which is not true. But it is something I'm thinking about myself and questioning it at the same time.
Keep at it Rokas. It's great to see you evolve over the years. Win or lose, doesn't matter. It's the journey that matters.
Your journey has been so inspiring to watch all these many years, Rokas! I think you already know that, but you have been a motivation for many of us who took up martial arts for other reasons than self-defense and who have come to see through your journey that you don't have to give up those core ideals to also be practical! I can't wait to see what came out of you sparring with Jeff Chan!
Nothing beat a good old Hadoken..........by they way why dont you do a street fighter 6 competition with Ramsey, Sensei Seth etc
This journey is not about winning fights, it's about growth, and man are you growing as a person. THAT'S the victory from the fight.
jajajajajjajajaja
Hey, bro! You've always been willing to question Aikido's workability, and I thank you for that. *Someone* had to do it, and you did it great. I say this as a FAN of Aikido. It has always fascinated me. It's probably the most spiritual martial art, and I loved every minute of my time in the dojo. But the question remains: does it work in actual combat? No, it does not. I still love some of its elegant techniques, but that's not gonna help you if some guy starts throwing punches. I admire, and very much appreciate, your desire to take a real-world look at Aikido. Thanks!!
I think aikido works a lot better when you mix in some punches, which seems to be what the end of the video was alluding to for the next video. I've watched Jeff Chan for a little bit now, and he is *amazing* at sparring, regardless of the size of the guy he fights.
Jeff Chan is like 5"7 and Rokas is over 6", maybe 6"2 or something. I'm really curious to see what kind of sparring session they have and I think it'll be super educational. While Jeff can certainly go hard if needed, he is skillful enough that he can pull off a lot of very difficult techniques quickly without hurting his partner. I'm stoked for the next episode.
You are a trully Martial Artist. I wish you resilience to do everything. A warm hug from a fan from Brazil.
Rokas.... We did it mate. We broke free from the cult of Aikido and the grip it has on you for so long. We freed ourselves from it's VICE. Thank goodness. 8 years for me and NEVER looked back!
This man's story would fit in an anime
Great job dude :>
You are amazing
🙏
I remember a few years back you done a podcast with Dan the Wolf man, and he insisted that aikido does work if you are a good enough martial artist to apply it. At the time, it seemed somewhat arrogant and disrespectful on his part. But looking at it in hindsight, you have come on leaps and bounds as a martial artist and were able to apply aikido techniques in the Ultimate Self Defence Championship. Would you say that Dan the Wolf man was actually right? And would you be willing to have another conversation with him to see how your views align now?
I think it's true that you can make Aikido work if you are a good fighter. Regarding Dan, the last conversation I had he didn't represent himself well and afterwards I have no more interest to talk to him anymore. You can see the conversation here: ruclips.net/video/IF0WAsMhRQg/видео.html
@@MartialArtsJourney absolutely fair. I caught one of his reviews of the Self Defence Championship and I don't think I'd be interested in having a conversation with him either!
Well done on your progress and absolutely loving the content.
The key is constant improvement, great inspiring story!
Thank you Nick!!
@@MartialArtsJourney it’s not easy to share our failures, or our moments of doubt, especially on cameras, but that when all the growth happens! I think it’s great you share this, cause peopl le only see the final result but not the journey that came with it.. well done!
Osu!!! So so cool. one of the coolest videos on the internet. For real. you look like a completely different person/fighter in the more modern clips. So much growth. So many hard lessons. So much pain. Thank you for documenting this. Also, just as a question, why don't you go back to aikido when/if you've reached your fighting goals? It could be an idea for future vids and bring you joy / provide full circle in your spirit. And make it more applicable if you want. You could end up inventing a hybrid style lol. On your own time. love ya bro. Reconnecting with your old students could be reallyyy wholesome vid ideas also. @Martial Arts Journey
Taking on Aikido again is one of the things I'm considering. Just not as a full time student/teacher :)
I agree with what you’re doing. Your doing well my friend you’re making aikido functional for mma.
I appreciate you sharing your journey, and I enjoy a lot of your content, but a lot of your videos are based on criticising Aikido but the main thesis you present is essentially “if I can’t make Aikido work (in a fighting situation) then Aikido doesn’t work” which is where I struggle to accept your perspective. We would agree on a few things I’m sure, and we have had similar journeys in martial arts in some ways too, but we have also had some very different experiences both in our aikido training and using it in self defence. Aside from the problem with your main thesis above, I also am not sure that your mentality about what ‘success’ for a martial art (particularly aikido) looks like, is entirely reasonable or realistic. The idea that aikido is for ritual fights, combat sports, or that you should try and apply techniques in these matches etc seems weird to me, and I keep thinking “no wonder it doesn’t work” for many reasons and on many levels it seems like (intentionally or not) you’re setting yourself and the art up to fail, failing to apply it properly and then blaming the whole martial art. I mean the techniques are tools, and there are times when they are appropriate and times when they aren’t, good Aikido training should teach more about space, timing, position and atemi as well as how to respond without thinking , more intuitively to an opponent’s force, timing, balance. If you switch into ‘fight’ contest mode and play their rules of engagement then of course it doesn’t ‘work’ your trying to play tennis with a baseball bat.Anyway, I could go on and on.. lol ..In short, keep up the good work, keep asking good questions, both of martial / combat arts and yourself, but don’t be too sure you know everything about aikido yet. ;)
I used my time machine and I wind kicked my grandmother when she was ten years old killing her instantly, but nothing happened I didn't disappear.......I must be adopted.....or a GOD..........I challenged myself to a fight but out of pure cowardice I never should up I waited there for three days.........
Wow! Thanks for continuing sharing your way! That’s so cool to watch!
You have to write a book some day
Thanks! I actually have the first draft, but never got to rewriting it
Hey Rokas, I was just curious in your description you wrote "....running a professional Aikido Dojo until eventually I realized that Aikido does not live up to what it promises." What exactly did you think Aikido promises? Or what was your perception of that? Thanks!
Can't wait for the next one.
That spar with Jeff was amazing 😄.
Thanks!! I will definitely give some insider details to that 😁🙏
Your video making skills are also getting quite sharp!
Thanks!
Shout out to another Lithuanian martial artist. Now I can say I've known of two. Being as I'm an American born Lithuanian lol. I went through a similar journey to some degree, when I transitioned from Taekwondo to more of a hard style of mixed karate. My Taekwondo wasn't exactly traditional, but it taught alot of useless moves that were purely just made for kata or show. They didn't seem as practical as say Muay thai techniques. One thing I did notice though when transitioning between styles is it was alot easier to pickup things that someone new to martial arts would miss. Either case your journey is awe inspiring, and I hope to one day be able to set aside more time to dedicate myself to martial arts.
So basically if you want to get better at something you need to be surrounded by people better than you
I think you need to surround yourself with all types of people: better, worse and equal. Just better can be demotivating in the long run.
I think you could benefit from some Mental Resilience Training. I love you speaking on your experience but I'm hearing some disturbing aspects in your thought process. If you don't agree please ignore but even the strongest need some help every now and then. Thank you for the content
Your story about training with pros reminded me of my own progress in boxing class. When I was brand new, every time I sparred with someone, they were more experienced and better than me. Sometimes I'd feel like I couldn't even touch some of my sparring partners. Then a few months later, a new guy shows up. He's an athlete who regularly played and competed in football (soccer for Americans). Great agility, light on his feet, immense gas tank - some of the things you need for good boxing. But when it was my turn to spar with him, I found myself parrying and countering, finding my range and getting good positioning and angles during the spar. I was improving, but nobody else was getting worse, so it wasn't exactly easy to track how much I was progressing.
When I saw you throwing Jeff Chan around with Aikedo I was literally looking at my screen thinking “wow!”
Dude, you have something special here, functional Aikido would be a very fresh style!
Heck yeah Rokas! You're an inspiration! I actually didn't know of you or Jeff Chan until the USDC but now you two are two of my biggest inspirations. Seth and Mike already were but I'm very happy to have found and now follow your journey as I start to progress on my own journey of martial arts discovery.
Isn't it crazy how you can lose track of your own progress? I have people who I remember from taking my intro class say things like "I suck," and I have to remind them that they couldn't even roll a full five minutes when they started, but now they're forcing me to be intelligent in my attacks, rather than just doing whatever I want.
It's like the moment in the Matrix when Neo is on the ground panting, and Morpheus says, "you don't think that's AIR you're breathing right now, do you..?"
Yep. Great job man. You got desensitized. I don't see you flinching, like at all anymore. They've beaten the fear out of you! Awesome! 👍
Every upload makes me even prouder of Rokas. Keep up the great work and the great content, king
Great video!..... with aikido and MMA it is never either/or. You can have both.The cultural differences are radically but I have appreciation for both.
From a yoga champion, I know it takes a lot to put your best foot forward. Even if you don't win, you've inspired others. You've already won when you do that! :)
Lol, yeah. Easy mistake, training with higher level and over training 😮
You may be my favorite channel on RUclips... but you're ABSOLUTELY my favorite Martial Arts channel.
new subscriber here, from Boston mass, love your content. keep up the great work.
Thanks! Glad to hear that!
You're doing it right, sir. I hope some of your former students are still paying attention, because you're doing what a good teacher, and leader does: setting an example.
I've been here since the first one, I saw you going through your weird "wearing a costume" stage, and I see you now coming full circle into something more balanced...
Honestly, I thought it would take you less time. I'm happy to see you mature. I see you needed to learn to fight to feel that confidence; it's great brother :) Level up...
Bro u make me smile. By the time in the vid you started talking about Tadas I got so hyped
What's the best NON-combat sport to cross train martial arts with?
My knowledge is limited, but I'd say weight lifting/endurance training. Strength can take you a long way in a fight. Looking muscular also prevents attackers from choosing you as a victim. Just my opinion though.
@@MartialArtsJourneyI'd have to agree with you. Powerlifting is a hell of a thing!
I would agree with Rokas and say Weightlifting (only little powerlifting, because that makes you stiff and slow). Weightlifting is olympic sport (snatch, Clean & Jerk+ their help moves/training)
maybe rugby, like volkanovski and most of the helpers in the usdc were also rugby players iirc
Snooker.
Rokas. How about joining Jeff Chan training camp? Would like to see that.
Jeff and I are actually teaching together this September in Germany. I'd also love to join his Vietnam camp as a student but I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off
there will come a time where these rather humbling expieriences, will become such a advanage against opponents that never tried so hard and never had to overcome such adversity. you are building your character. keep it up rokas!
damm, man
You really nailed the hook game in the end.
I am so hyped for the next ep👁️👄👁️
🙏
Loving the series.
Thanks!
Thanks for your content. Hope i manage to meet you and Jeff in Nuernberg in September. Can t wait for more content
Thanks. See you there!
I like your entrepreneur spirit and your willingness to ask the hard questions both about yourself and your chosen field. Not many people are willing to look inside and ask the hard questions.
What a journey
You can be proud of yourself
Respect from The Netherlands 🫡
Rokas, your journey of not retreating to the familiar, and just kept on pushing forward in search of the truth is just inspirational. I've watch most of these videos before, but how your are turning your journey into a coherent episodic story is just brilliant. It's almost like a course to how to pull oneself back up after from being in a cult.
Also taking a break helps mind/ muscle connection. Ramsey Dewey made a video about this! Great stuff man!
Keep up the great work, Rokas. Has been so inspiring and entertaining watching your journey. Definitely given me some extra motivation and support on my own journey, having taken up BJJ and Muay Thai late in life after giving up other sports. You are greatly appreciated by many, I hope you know that. Thank you.
I will advice against asking if guys are super fresh in their martial art. It’s almost like asking a woman if she’s pregnant.
Props to you Rokas! Not many people are so intellectually honest to themselves and change life path! You're an inspiration
Wowww. Just wowww. Ur amazing man
Next episode - bring it on!
my journey started from aikido too and I bloody LOVE your video! GIMME MORE CONTENT love ya, have a good weekend
Massive props to you, brotha.
Takes a lot of guts to admit that something you dedicated your life to was wrong, up root, and reestablish yourself.
Can't wait to see the next video!
Very inspiring and moving even to see how far you’ve come, Rokas. This path of integration is not for the feint of heart. You are a warrior with heart!
Oooh!! That last part is such a tease! Very intriguing
Great video! Also, your thumbnail game is super on point 👌
Ok, Rokas. I got your idea of re-telling your story :) it's gooood!
Last scenę from USDC was awesome, when you learnt to fight, you started to really use aikido. Like Morihei's students in old times, when they joined dojo already being judo or jiu-jitsu fighters.
Wow. Excellent.
If you are winning, you are teaching. If you are losing, you are learning.
"In a Man's heart he makes his plans, but it is the Lord that determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9 -
"Failing to plan is planning to fail. BUT when that first shot goes by your head, the plan goes right out the window." - Navy SEAL saying -
"The enemy gets a vote." "Murphy gets a vote." - Navy SEAL saying -
Nothing ever goes according to plan, but plans are still essential to growth. Sustained, focused effort, consistent training, and constancy of purpose are the most important thing. In the end your path will never be what you planned, but you will get somewhere you never imagined, and maybe somewhere that's better than what you imagined.
Your not here to let "everyone down".
What the hell are you doing on the ground. Having a conversation with yourself.
Thinking about how your "plan" wasn't working.
Mushin. Fighting without thinking!
Stop overtraining physically.
Work on fighting with "no mind".
We had a saying in my dojo:
"Thinking man, dead man!"
Osu!
I like how he had the Aikido guy with a weapon in the ring but using weapons are against the rules in MMA
Unfortunately Aikido itself is useless in MMA and street fights unless your enemy is also trained in Aikido and is willing walking into your moves and helping you kick his ass. It sure looks cool when steven seagul does it in the movies though =).
You're style looks great, you've come a long way. Must be great having holds and striking in y our kit.
I've been practicing Silat and Escrima since 1993 and Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi since 2008. I like practicing slow twisting and circling steps with blades. It nourishes my brain and I circulate my chi to stay healthy and massage my internal organs to stay soft and limber.
The first thing I would teach someone is how to relax and root and circulate Qi. After relaxing, someone can learn basic Gong Fu!
I know a lot of takedowns and armlocks, mostly from Silat. I want to train BJJ. I am good at setting up takedowns and throws as well. I know some throws.
Who trained you Lol there not a BB !!! You know when you do !!! My dad is I box he fed me up !!! Baaaaad and I'm stronger and tuffer by far it's mental !!! It's all the slow stuff it's peace and harmony I. Your mind it flows like water like b. Lee said then you have it !!!
dude, I don't train Aikido and I'm not a fan of many Aikido instructors, but what you did for your students is so above and beyond awesome. seriously, I've never heard of a boxing, muay thai, wrestling, or bjj instructor going to nearly that length. In fact I've had multiple instructors just move away, black belts that are here one day then gone the next. super cool you didn't do that.
The problem with Aikido and the benefit of a Aikido is that it is a graduate level of study. The Art of Peace requires you to be very dangerous first and then CHOOSE peace.
If you go into a Aikido without the ability to inflict harm, you are just harmless (but good defenses).
But take a dangerous man and teach him the Art of Peace, now he doesn't need to be dangerous all the time.
When I fail in my progress I remember your progress and it keeps me moving forward. you are one of the most inspirational people in my life.Thank you.
Thank you. Keep owning your journey!
I'm a 70 yrs old retired Veit Nam Veterans, and I like what you said, I'm a small guy _ walk with cane and, I use to box & wrestling in high school,1968 I got drafted,
Hi Rokas, I really admire your courage to stray from your Aikido roots and become a better fighter. One question: Do you think Aikido has helped you from a technical POV to be a better fighter? And from what you know now if you had your time again, would you learn Aikido like you had. done before? regards
I think it's important to say one thing: I always wanted to be like Icy Mike, but i realized i SHOULD be like You. That's it. You will understand.
I was waiting for the full circle. There are only two RUclipsrs I know that mix aikido with their mma. One of them is probably you
bro to improve fighting , you got to train hard and fight as much as pssible while avoiding injuries . Take grappling and bjj matches , do amateur kickboxing fights and put time into developing your techniques . I was 0/2 in kickboxing this year and tried to fight muay thai competitions and while i have an average 2/1 record , i still have a ref stoppage win and the loss was pretty close . Never give up Rokas , just train hard , fight easy
Its always the fighter not the style. I am sure there will be Aikido practitioners that will dominate over Tadas or any pro MMA, MT, TKD,BJJ, Karate, Boxing or whatever. You never used Aikido vs MMA. It was just bad MMA vs excellent level MMA. So aikido is grab wrist of the oponent and you start to complain:
- But master... oponent keep slip wrist out of my grab... aikido s*ck!
Master: Nope that only means your grip strength s*ck.
- But master! I get extremely tired at end of first round... aikido s*ck!
Master: Nope. That means your endurance s*ck.
- Jeez master! But roundhouse kicks keep slamming my pretty face! I told you Aikido s*ck!
Master: Nope. That means your hand speed s*ck.
- But low kicks, sweeps me all the time. Damnit Aikido s*ck!
Master: That means your foot work s*ck.
- But oponent overpowers me! See aikido is stupid. S*ck.
Master: That means your power s*ck.
-But master! Oponent punches go straight through my hands! Boxer nearly kills me! Stupid aikido s*ck.
Master: That means your hand to eye coordination s*ck.
-But master how i will make aikido work vs mma?
Master: more training.
- But master what about BJJ? Always they choke me, lock me, double leg takedown me...MT flying knee me, elbow me, clinch me every single time! I told you that aikido s*ck.
Master: Well this only means your timing s*ck. Oponents simply have better timing than you. You wanna win so badly using certain set of moves over way much stronger and tougher oponents than you. You will dominate with better timing. Its much more important WHEN you gonna do something and HOW MUCH you gonna do it than WHAT you gonna do. For example hook punch is coming to you. Your job is to grab the wrist BEFORE fist come to you. If you can't this means your speed s*ck. You have simple task. Grab a wrist. If oponent is going for double leg takedown and put both hands on your legs and you fail to grab the wrists this means your REFLEX s*ck. You have simple task - grab the wrists. If you can't pull out the wrists and throw the oponent this means your POWER s*ck. You have to put some violence in your violence.
Such a Journey. What a courage. Capricornian/Taurus unbreakable determination. So much respect for you brother.
Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, is famously quoted as saying that aikido is 90% atemi. 😎😎I used Aikido a few times especially with drunk people it work
I've been in mma as long as I can remember, training each art alone however until mma was a series on TV. In any fight I've had the dance is similar to improv drama school. Both fighters draw on their knowledge but I would react to their moves impulsively drawing from what I knew that would counter or defend. It wasn't until I decided to become an aggressor that I actually lost a fight lol. May be helpful..
With your increase in combat skills has came a massive in crease in the content and quality of your videos, and also how you spread a theme. Well done.
Thanks!
Different styles have different purposes. No, Aikido will not help you knock someone out. It's not for that. Doesn't mean you need to shit on aikido because it took you (howver long that was) to realize Aikido doesn't have an offense... Because it's intended not to have an offense.
I'm glad you're not teaching whatever you thought Aikido was anymore and moved on to what you wanted to do.
Even if my background is Yoseikan Budo it's more than 15 years since I started collecting the more different martial trainings and sparring to test me and always take me back to reality. Thanks for sharing Sir 💪💪💪💪🤗
Clearly you did not absorb the essence of the philosophy. Aikido is the way of the peaceful warrior meant for defence only . Switching to MMA was a personal choice. You did your students a disservice.
Why can't you teach a functional Aikido utilizing MMA like when Jeff Speakman invented Kenpo 2.0?
I believe in you, Mr. Rokas.
Rokas i know you wont reply to me, but for the longest time i have been trying over and over again to defend aikido. I swear it worked but then, i had a fight with my 'friend' and he took it physical . I tried aikido and while yes, it worked i was condemned to defeat. I did not want to quit aikido and wanted to make sure it was my main part. And thats when i combined it with karate. Aikido as the main part but karate was just to throw punches, kicks e.c.t . all because of you and your efforts that inspired me to keep fighting. Aikido is viable as you easily illustrate.
"that's when I learned how important leadership was". Well it's only important since we have learned that it is. Humans lived the majority of human history without fixed and lasting hierarchys. So leadership is not important but relearning the skill of self organisation and cooperation is important
dude i have been following you for a while i dont know how i forgot that you were at sbg in portland thats a historic spot in that school( and mma in general) i go by one of the sbg on my way home from work. i am glad you are having fun, i am studying jiu-jitsu (at the place i moved here to train at😇🤯🥳) with alot of intent. the best thing that i believe aikido has to offer is not as much the forms(which i dont actually know past having read some manuals) as it is the mindset(which i have definitely grown from at points in my life). i built who i am now in part from the art of peace. positive intent and open compassionate heart are what is important in life and fighting. limiting harm is a relative concept and should be talked about more. thanks for your work, take care
Master O Sensei...loved those who didn't give up...that's what matters...😊♥️
Nice one... i saw a few aikido moves at the end right? super hard to do it with gloves especially to a guy trained in sports martial arts...
... a little sad for your students though... i guess it was part of the process, usually you give clases when you are super high degree or have lots of years of experience, maybe you started backwards which is not bad tho.
must say i feel a little conflict of interest between training for real and doing youtube videos (which are great by the way) but, train without thinking in your viewers and rating and likes and stuff... that must be challenging becouse the path of fame in social networks like youtube and sports competitive martial arts are in may opinion a distraction from the ultimate purpose of martial arts which is getting peace against war not enterteining the masses.
I love that you never throw your aikido away. My sifu always says to take other styles like vitamins. If you already have a base, there's no sense in throwing it away. Just learn more stuff to supplement what's lacking.
First off you were never supposed too be trying to spar in the first place and not because it couldn't work but,because it is a defensive art and it is more dangerous then you think.See from the beginning you never understood Aikido too began with because if you did you would've never been trying to spar with it.
Now that's the story telling bro. You are getting much better at this. This is the best till now. Keep owning your journey 😁