Very interesting video! As far as I know (I am not an Aikidoka), O Sensei was taught from Takeda Aikijujutsu, a brutal style which was combat oriented. So, O Sensei took Aikijujutsu and transformed it in a way of life / philosophy , removing a piece of "martialness" of the original Aikijujutsu. Basicallly, in general, Jigoro Kano did the same, where he took Kito Ryu and Tenshin Sinyo Ryu Jujutsu and transformed them to Judo. The "Do" systems have their philosophies for the life and through their practice, someone can apply these philosophies in his/her life. For example, the practice of JU-DO (JU=flexible, DO=the way, the lifestyle) can teach us of the use of "flexibility" in life, or the "best use of energy" ("seiryoku-zenyo") and through it, all the people in society can benefit from each other ("jita-kyoei"). The "best use of energy" can be translated in using the energy for good purposes and not for bad ones (not to argue/fight with other people but to be helpful to others, or not to be sad for a failure (it is considered "bad use of energy") but try again for the best, and so on. All the combat oriented "Jutsu" systems (Aiki-jujutsu, Jujutsu, Ken-Jutsu, etc) had been transformed in "DO" systems (Aiki-DO, Ju-DO, Ken-DO etc) to be "vehicles" of physical, moral and spiritual development of the people, and less for combat. IMHO, as people get older, it is advisable to choose grappling styles (in general) over striking styles, avoiding future health side effects (CTE for example, found mostly on combat/contact sports in which head punches/kicks are allowed - MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing etc).As martial artists, I think we can gain a lot of good elements of both worlds (combat effectiveness combined with ethos - in the existence of only one of these, either it will produce dangerous practitioners without any moral values or it will produce only philosophers who cannot defend themselves). Thank you.
That's a great way to look at it! Having a balance of both the practical side with the philosophical side. Nice one! And thank you for watching the video 🙏🏾
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
@@changsublee1385 I didn't know this but hope if its true this spreads . I have long been a critic of Rokas and his arrogant beginning attitude of recreating Aikido. I have often commented on his poor technique that I had seen better sankyus. His lack of giving any correction to his BJJ instructors in Portland, while trying to see if Aikido could work in BJJ was nonexistent. Either no understanding of the technique or intentionally wanting it to fail.. There are many people in Aikido that have turned it in to dance even higher level people that confuse the philosophy. Even if he has the years he claims he is far from competent. Using controversy to build his site. Thank you. Hope You spread this information.
The techniques in the art are valid. The problem is most aikido dojos and organizations don’t train with a practical combative approach. The ones that do are closer to traditional Japanese jiujitsu
I don’t see how that’s a problem if combat is not your goal. The PROBLEM is that Aikidoka/teachers sell Aikido as a combative art when its clearly not... The demonstrations of how aikido works against boxers and other trained fighters are silly. But in street fights, scuffles and security situations, bullying situations etc, people do leave themselves open for Aikido techniques to be applied. If Aikidoka want to provide “proof” they should track real life applications...
I am Thai. practice muay thai and aikido. I start muay thai when I was twelve years old till twenty two years old. Then I train aikido hombu style for ten years, I see that there are many gap in technic. My friend advice me to change style to aikido iwama ryu. That's jackpot, I can mix muay thai with aikido iwama ryu. because bukiwaza (weapon technic) have footwork as same as boxing or muay thai. I can tell you that Rokas's aikido just imitate gestures, he knows how many technic have, but don't know when or how to use. I can only use muay thai to beat his mma. in aikido you have to train bukiwaza/open hand technic 50/50%, not only taijutsu (open hand technic). Aikido does not have only turning, it have triangular footwork too. It's variable like boxing, muay thai. you have to know that train to self defense or sport in ufc. You can't use mma in street fight. Technic should practice for survive, not win in sport rules. You can't close to opponent like in UFC. Not one by one, multiple attacters. poke eyes, pull ears, pull hair, break fingers, kick between legs, strangulation, can you close opponent? every way to survive. Rokas walk in the wrong way for sport, his aikido does baby level.
@@AlexanderGent pretty much the exact same thing, makes me wonder if the channel owner took his script. Check out his video and compare it for yourself
great point! basically one has to experience duality, so physical hardship first and then back to harmony. thats the true martial arts journey. lets wait to see rokas back to aikido after he finally get this!
That'd be great! A lot of us do worry about being able to defend ourselves. I've been training in BJJ for 8 years, Wing Chun since 1992, and have competed in Kickboxing. Yet, I'm still never going to be totally convinced that I can defend myself. For me, it's a journey that I can complete something very difficult. If I ever achieve a BJJ black belt, I think that I'd definitely start looking into Aikido. I've still got a long way to go though 😂. Thanks so much for your comment!!!
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
@@changsublee1385 wow.... that's interesting....I myself have questioned his martial integrity but not in the same way as yourself. but where is the truth about what you have said?...
Good video. I've been following Rokas for a couple years now from before he started to publicly question his aikido. One thing to add is that he was told by his past aikido teacher that his aikido would help him in self defense. So he, as many, where drawn to error. They where sold apples and got oranges. And when he realized what that, of course he got mad about it. At least he was honest and went on a journey to improve himself as a martial artist. I think that should be the goal.
Thanks so much for your comment!!! That's greatly appreciated!!! That's very true, many people, like Rokas, are told by their instructors that Aikido is great for self-defence. When they realise that this isn't the case, it can be a bitter pill to swallow. So, I agree, at least Rokas is doing something about that and training in arts that use sparring against a resisting partner etc. Once again, thanks a lot for your input 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 I want to be more specific: it was "the aikido" he was training, and it's methodology of training, what wasn't good for self defense. There are other styles and methods that are. So it's not that aikido isn't good for self defense, but the way it's practiced. One can't give what doesn't haves.
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
Dude, do you believe everything people tell you... represent to you on social media? Social media is 'free speech,' and has no standards of competency. Each TY Channel is able to say whatever they want.
If I remember correctly, all of the first generation Aikido guys were already well versed in other self defense/combat oriented styles. Training in Aikido, for them, would work well. They already had a solid base in a workable martial art. Aikido could almost be considered a secondary skill set, used to augment their foundational style. So they could have had the experience to make it work. Later generations would no longer have that foundational set of self defense/combat oriented skills needed for reality. As a system of self defense, it can work well as a supplemental or primary skill set....if you have the required foundational training to begin with. You can't really train to defend against strikes, if you don't really know how to strike. This applies to all forms of attack, not just striking. Atemi waza was taught early on, and at an early stage, in the beginning. Many schools seem to have gotten away from it completely, or reserve it for advanced students. There was a reason it was initially taught early, foundational training and a carry over from Daito Ryu. Learn to strike soft points early on; to learn to defend against them,to help break concentration and balance, and set up a throw or lock. This idea seems to have been lost. Like Karate, it was for self defense, not really a battle field art. It was designed for relatively untrained attackers, not world class fighters.
Yeah, that's true. The Ueshiba's first students had training in other martial arts, like Judo. So, they already had experience in applying technique through randori. Thank so much for watching my video and for your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 judo and Aikido was being developed at the same time. Interesting to look up Jigoro Kano's comments on Aikido when he and students visited Ueshiba, then sent his students to study with Ueshiba
I trained for 25 years in Aikido. Loved it... truly ... great for learning certain skills like falling! Body awareness, etc. But it sucks as a combat art. Sucks. That's not Aikido's fault ... it is what it is: a traditional Japanese "Do" or way. No combat component... it's about training ... refining your practice, etc. But you fight the way you train. Rokas is speaking from the best kind of place ... experience. (as am I). I do BJJ now and box ... and will never look back. I might go train again in Aikido (it's a beautiful art) but not to learn how to fight or defend myself. It's just fun. I say train in all arts that interest you, but if you want to learn how to fight: Muy Thai, Judo, BJJ, MMA, boxing. You have to spar, you have to fight.... b/c you fight the way you train. Let the trolling begin... OSU...
Love how thought out this is, I’m surprised no one ever mentions bjj and wrestling hand fighting as it is basically functional aikido however it’s not often trained for mma as boxers don’t clinch
A very well-made video that makes several excellent points. Another critique that doesn’t get much attention regarding the whole Rokas scenario is that even if you’re not an expert in Aikido you can see that his ability and technical proficiency are actually quite low. He has a very timid non-combative attitude which is conveyed in his lack of proper posture and physical frame which results in poor projection of power in his aikido technique. I’m not here to bash the guy but even though he claims he had 15 years of experience studying the art, he was far from proficient at executing it and that’s very easy to see.
This is an informative and excellent commentary on the subject! I've heard similar commentary from Stanley Pranin. Good stuff. Oh, you really can stretch your spine and be taller. Long-time yoga practitioners can certainly "grow" an inch or so. It's not really growing, but increasing the space between your vertebrae.
I also did some research on the Suffragettes and their link with Jiu-Jitsu in the UK. Quite a few of my friends were surprised of how early Jiu-Jitsu was in the UK. Please feel free to check that video out as well!
Aikido has to use Atemi when ring fighting. You can't throw anybody until you punch them in the face first. Shomenuci is a jab and Tsuki is a cross. If you don't use those how are you supposed to spar with anyone? Atemi is all you need for stand up sparring. Only an idiot would try kotegaishi against someone by grabbing their hand. Sheesh. People gotta be realistic. Put on some gloves, find a bro and start punching. You'll lose at first. Then you'll tie. Then you'll figure it out and win.
That's interesting. Atemi is a big part of Aikido, especially for the set up of throw etc. To really appreciate how difficult it is to be able to get the techniques to work, you do need to spar resisting opponents. It's a really good point. Thanks for your input 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 For sure. You can't throw somebody if you don't strike them first! At least in a stand up sparring match. And Tsuki and Shomenuchi work great if you practice doing it with gloves on. It all depends on the rule set - Chinese martial arts work best on the raised platform Lei Tai with no ropes. Boxing works great in a boxing ring. Sumo works great in a sumo ring. Karate works great in a point sparring match. Judo and BJJ work great in grappling. But try using MMA under Sumo rules or using Muay Thai in a karate point sparring match and you won't stand a chance.
Well many times the "fights" in real life doesn't start by a bell to start a round of consensual fighting, rather it escalates and many times those techniques as kotegaeshi and finger locks can be used preemptively, way before someone even pull their guard up or throw a punch
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yh That's very true.My first judo teacher reckoned your first defence is what you say.But there was a phenomenon known as the cowards punch happening in Sydney Australia for some time.It was very hard to detect coming as it came from behind and it was putting folks in comas. The solution was a massive government campaign against it and a heafty jail sentence.That settled that.I nearly got done myself,a guy asked me for a dollar in the a crowded Sydney streat.As he was engaging me I caught another guy squaring up behind me and advancing ,his dukes up ready.I moved into a position so I was 90 degrees between both them real fast
@@grantsolomon7660 this thing is common in many countries. Your first line of defense is ma-ai distancing and being aware and alert on who you let in within arms/legs reach.
@@martialartsaddict9966 Aikido was my first martial art. I moved on to Chinese martial arts. Both helped me a lot in sparring with other average joes. Aikido works great if you test it out against fully contact opponents. If not, it won't work.
@@NeiJiaQuanBook I've heard that Ba Gua Zhang has a lot of spiralling steps and movements. Are these quite similar to Aikido - in regards to the idea or philosophy behind the techniques? It's really interesting. I agree with you, if you don't practice against resisting training partners, it will never work. Thanks so much for your comment 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 Ba Gua Zhang has all the exact same footwork and throws as Aikido. Just used in a more ruthless manner. Take a look at: ruclips.net/video/9o1-WTzR5j8/видео.html
You are right. As an Aikido practitioner, I have to cross training boxing and shuai jiao for self-defense. Aikido principles are good, they help you know more about human physical movements. You can learn Aikido first or after other martial arts training. Both are fine. Unless you reached 3 dan, most of Aikido practitioners are same or a little above average Joe.
Rokas biggest problem is that he is terrible at fighting. Even in his recent videos, after several years of intense training in arts that teach fighting, he is pretty much useless. He recently sparred with a Judo black belt on youtube and got handled like a child. He couldn't apply any BJJ on the ground and just got tossed around like a rag doll by th eJudoka who was obviously trying to move very slowly so he wouldn't hurt Rokas.
I couldn't agree more. This was the main lesson I learned from Aikido. Bouncers show higher level Aikido everytime they use their verbal skills to resolve things peacefully, which they do all night long sometimes. With that being said it's good people have shown evidence of the common ancestor that Aikido has with other martial arts. I fell as often in Aikido as I did in Judo sometimes and when your tired and lack focus it can be a tough day lol. Hopefully videos like this can get more exposure to let people know. I learned aikido with people who were less built for other martial arts and those that competed in them. All of us know how to take a fall now.
Nice point about using verbal skills to resolve conflict peacefully, being an example of higher level Aikido! Thanks for watching and thank you for your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 Thank you for your contribution. Martial artists on RUclips have done a lot to reveal some terrible truths and its the perfect time to express well presented counter arguments coming from that place of experience as well. It would be a huge benefit to a lot of people outside of martial arts to adopt many of the founders teachings. "The loving reconciliation of all things" is a great way to describe Aikido.
You are neglecting the key element of Rokas' critique of aikido - when he started, he was told by an aikido sensei that it is a valid art for self defense. Which, on its own, it is not. Many, many aikido dojos make that claim, which is what Rokas is pushing back against. If Aikido senseis gave people the information you provide here, this kind of problem/misudnerstanding would not exist in the 1st place.
But styles like muay thai and BJJ arent self defence either, I cross train in both and have a black belt in aikido. Aikido has a good message about harmony and avoiding attack which is probably the best thing to do in a confrontation
There are training methods with resistant opponent in jujutsu but never adopted in aikido. Reason is that people that extends their aikido experience with jujutsu switched to jujutsu mostly and don't do aikido anymore.
That's very true. A lot of people have done that, in the same way that Rokas has. It's kind of like a wake up call, especially if you went into Aikido to develop your fighting ability or self-defence skills. Thanks so much for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏽
@@martialartsaddict9966 that's was my way too so I describe what I've done already. I tried both aikido and traditional jujutsu and after 4 month I stayed with jujutsu only after around 7 years with aikido. But I'm not like Rokas I don't want to criticize aikido publicly. It doesn't make any sense. Moreover aikido is the painless start in martial arts. It's quite soft so even women and children could do it without higher risk of harm.
@@vano-559 Yeah, it's a great way to get into martial arts. You can also learn some important skills, like breakfalling, that can carry through to other arts - like Judo, for example. So, it definitely has its place in the world of martial arts - and you're right to not want to criticize it.
@@martialartsaddict9966 and you need a lot of emotional strength to stop doing things take of your black belt and start over. I did that twice. Most of the people can't do that 'cause of narrow mindset proud or money just.
@@vano-559 I know how that is. I had a black belt in karate and 10 years of Wing Chun training. I started Judo and got my ass whooped. I've been training in BJJ for the last 8 years and I'm still getting my ass whooped 😂. I still train in Wing Chun though. I think the time I invested in it made me actually appreciate it.
Kito Ryu did not involve sparring in the regular training. Sparring was actually the main thing that made Judo noteworthy. Sometimes some classical Jujutsu schools sparred some of the time (basically/usually if senior students organized it themselves, otherwise not) but I don't think any of them were known for doing it regularly. Judo was made famous in part for being the first to spar as a standard for the training
Thanks for pointing that out. They probably didn't spar on the same level that Judo does. I'm kind of still questioning all this. I used to think that they didn't do any randori and only did Kata based training. I'm not so sure now, as I've read different things about Jigoro Kano taking part in randori at different schools - this was before he developed Judo. However, I'll continue to look into it. Thank you for watching the video and for the info you've shared in your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 I believe Kano was regarded as an innovator for his work with Kumi Kata (grip fighting) Kito Ryu was historically trained in armor, grip fighting for all intents and purposes didn't exist in that context
What it all boils down to is that you have limited time on the planet Earth. Limited time for family, limited time for friends, limited time to improve yourself. A few decades at most. So if your goal is self defense, what is the most efficient way to obtain combat skills that would serve your goals of self defense. If that is your journey, Aikido isn't the answer.
the best explanantion ever ...this is what I have been explaining people for years now... Useshiba did not learn to fight by doing aikido!!!!...AIKI is just an expression of fundamental high understanding prinicples..not an actual martial art...the fault lies with the people who MARKET aikido as a miraculous solution for weak willed people to make them think they can actually defeeat a dangerous opponent/assailant with some cheap tricks
Agree with your analysis. Many great martial artists started with other arts before learning a soft art. Chang Sang Fung, the legendary founder of Tai Chi was a former student of Shaolin, Yang Lu Chen of the “Invincible Yang” fame, the founder of Yang Style of Tai chi was a martial artist before he stole into the Yang household to secretly learn the Yang Style. Also, as you rightly surmised, Uyeshiba’s art changed at each stage of his life. His student Gozo Shioda, created Yoshinkan Aikido which is so different from Aikikai Honbu style. Kochi Tohei, another student who had studied judo started the Ki Society which concentrated on developing Ki.
Lots of sensible conclusions here. I trained in a bunch of traditional systems and combat sports but found myself teaching a mix of Aikido and JJJ, with elements of FMA, and Muay Thai. The Aiki part of the curriculum was trained both hard and soft, with the hard side being integrated into striking trapping and vertical grappling and the locks being trained for ballistic application to destroy limbs and finish a fight. The soft training was an exploration of blending with and redirecting force to subtly overextend, unbalance or reposition an opponent and adjust joint manipulations to counter counters. As you suggest in the video, Ueshiba's students already knew the Ju-jitsu, including all the locks and I suspect that it was this subtle enhancement of heir ability to flow into them that drew people to Ueshiba. Certainly among the guys that trained with me, soft training improved both speed and responsiveness.
Really interesting stuff! I like how you express the hard and soft attributes of Aikido into your overall curriculum. Thanks so much for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 we do resist in locks to try if we locked uke completely. Some techniques require atemi to make uke losses balance. Sometimes we ask for more resistance in training to make sure it work well.
@@martialartsaddict9966 most aikido demonstrations in public are about soft training. In actual training some uke would resist if you don’t kuzushi or catch correctly. I don’t know about other places but in Vietnam when you reached 2nd dan you have to train hard and seriously, since Aikido founder in Vietnam learn Aikido directly from O sensei. We do atemi and counter aikido moves too. Their headquarters are at the same place of police training. In Vietnam, Aikido is only amongst security and police officers so people don’t know about it.
Just came across this video! I've come to realise since watching Rokas, is I think the founder created Aikido as a way to deal with PTSD. As well as using it as a way to bring peace. I think those of us who haven't done Aikido need to realise what the original purpose was, as well as other martial arts. I will also point out, if your goal in the martial arts is self-defense, you need to learn a lot more than just sparring
Great history of OSensei.I don't practice Aikido but I do Kung Fu and have a great appreciation of Japanese arts in general and have a great regard for OSensei's story.
I used to practice Aikido a long time ago but not anymore. I do Wing Chun and BJJ but, like you, I love all martial arts!!! I really like researching about all different styles of martial arts. Thanks so much for watching my video and for your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 That's ok it's good to find a positive commentary site.So many trolls who are martial artists but have no love in their hearts.
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
The two parts you have done on Rokas and Aikido are, in my opinion, absolutely spot on. And that is from someone who has done Aikido for 23 years and bjj since 2007. I got trapped in the whole Steven seagal mania in the late 80s and thought he was just the ultimate fighter on the planet.
There’s also the issue that modern aikido lacks aiki in the original form developed to a high level by Takeda, Ueshiba, Sagawa, Horikawa, Okuyama, and other notable Daito-ryu practitioners. Aiki, as a Taoist internal body skill, was the difference-maker that allowed relatively small men like Takeda and Ueshiba to prove themselves against a number of formidable judoka and other jujutsuka and earn their respect to the point that these tough men took up the practice of Daito-ryu. Developing aiki as a body skill has little to do with the modern syllabus of aikido waza and everything to do with the Taoist solo training traditionally considered inner-door teachings in the aiki arts and other Asian internal martial arts. Some of Ueshiba’s preferred exercises are shown in this video - however, over time, sadly the vast majority of aikidoka only understand them as warm-up exercises, if they place any value on them at all.
You're exactly right. 99% of martial arts is like what you learn in high school. How many times have you had to know who the 4th president was in your adult life? Unless it is required for your job, how many times have you used Algebra in your adult life? It's useless stuff, unless you're in a profession that utilizes it. You know when martial arts are actually useful? When you want to be a martial arts instructor. The UFC is a showcase for what works and does not work. Back when the Gracie family owned it, there were no rules, and it was called the Ultimate Fighting Challenge because that is what it was. Two men go into the octagon, and they fought until one of them won. There were no time limits, rules or weight classes. (Actually, they had one rule, my bad, no eye gouging) They ended up selling the business when it started getting banned and rules were having to be added to make it acceptable to places so they could book the events, and that's not what they wanted. So, that being said, go back and watch UFC1 up until they sold it (I'd have to go look to see when that was) and you wll see ZERO martial arts moves that were used during the actual combat. No wrist locks, no flipping people, not even blocked punches - they cover up, they don't block anything. Brazilian ju Jitsu is the only art that they actually use that is effective. I watched one fight that was a 180lb guy fighting a 600lb Samoan. Did you use some ancient martial art that uses an opponents weight against him? Nope. He made sure the dude never got a grip on him and used his speed to punch him in the head every chance he got until he dazed him then went to town kicking him in the head when he fell down. Strikes - kicking, punching, palming and wrestling/Ju-Jitsu - that's what works in a real fight. The rest is useless in a fight. As one trainer in the UFC said - "We have the ability to make millions of dollars and every fighter is a competitor that wants to win - if something worked, we'd be using it" and that comes from men who all have black belts in different forms of the martial arts. But, they all focus on striking and wrestling in their careers when it comes to fighting. You'll never see a UFC fighter training for a fight by brushing up on his Aikido skills.
Yeah, that's completely true. A huge percentage of the techniques that you learn in Aikido are not suited to an actual freestyle fight. It's a martial art that relies on the attacker being compliant and allowing the Aikidoka to perform the techniques. As soon as you as resistance into the mix, it'll very quickly end in close grappling - similar to Judo, BJJ or Wrestling. Like you pointed out, no one's going to brush up on their Aikido to improve their chances of winning an MMA fight. I made a video about the early UFC Days. It's about the time a well known Wing Tsun fighter was invited to take part. Please check it out 🙏🏾
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
Thank you. It's so ridiculous and irritating when folks just buy into the idea that Ueshiba, a life long martial arts practitioner, simply didn't understand the basic truths of training that they, with their impressive 5 and a half months of boxing at a local fitness gym, already do know. Just use your common sense, people: if he specifically excluded sparring and competition from his system, he obviously did it on purpose! "Effectiveness" at kicking someone's back side was never a priority.
Thanks for sharing this video. My view about Rokas is that: 1. He did not understand Aikido for what it is and what it offers. 2. Rokas was not a very skilled Instructor teaching Aikido. His techniques were not strong and lacked Martial edge to them. 3. Aikido is a complicated Martial Art, due to many styles there are and to truly understand what the Founder was doing, one needs to understand the history of it. The Founder was still changing Aikido from pre-war and Post-war, so the early styles were not the final version of Aikido that the Founder created. His last years of his life were spent in Iwama and he changed more things and added Aiki Ken and Aiki Jo, that Morihiro Saito Sensei put together (with the permission of O'Sensei). O'Sensei was not teaching them in the syllabus that Morihiro Saito put together, as Founder was doing Aikido like he was breathing it. Morihiro Saito created the 'Alphabet' so to speak and thanks to his genius plan, many have studied Iwama Ryu Aikido and got a deeper understanding of this Art as the Bukiwasa goes hand in hand with Taijutsu and helps Taijutsu tremendously and vice versa. Aikikai has not had this deep level of understanding. in Iwama Aikido, there is study of Kihon (and Kino negara) but the former is allowing Uke to deliver a strong attack so Tori begins with the worst possible start, so to subdue Uke, Tori must work with the hips, which is taught in the Bukiwasa, so Tori will have a stronger hips stability, a better understanding with distance, stronger Zanchin with the feeling of being surrounded. In a nut shell, one (like Rokas) can learn Aikido and lacks strong Martial skills sets and develop an Aikido that will not be effective. I think it is important to find the right teacher who has got this Martial Edge. In my view (and feel free to check my RUclips channel), one should practice a strong Aikido, using techniques correctly and in the context of being surrounded. If the technique did not work, don't blame Aikido but it was simply not done correctly. Many teach Aikido that will never work in the street, because they are not interested in teaching effective and practical Aikido. To me, it has to be the first priority. I used to work as Bouncer for many years and I have used Aikido many times and I had my struggles with it but understood that it was not Aikido that it was not effective but the technique not applied correctly. My study with Iwama has changed all of that but also thanks to finding the right instructor! You could still do Iwama and learn the techniques wrong! So this makes things more complex. So for Rokas, his Aikido was weak for a start and he did not study long enough with a good instructor to make it powerful.
That's really interesting! That's true, Morihei Ueshiba was going through changes during the development of Aikido and he most probably would have kept it evolving. I'm definitely going to look into the points you've raised and I'll also check your channel out. Thanks so much for watching my video and commenting 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 You are welcome. It is actually a hot topic as many don't like to see that they have studied Aikido that isn't what O'sensei was visioning. The later years of his life is a big transformation. I studied Aikikai Aikido (back in France) and then did Yoshinkan Aikido and then Iwama Ryu, which is the Art I have been practicing since 1995 onward to this day. My journey has helped me see this and also working in the Security industry. Had I only practiced Aikikai, then I would not have had the same view that I have discovered. When you don't know, then you don't know but when the Bukiwasa is revealed to you and see that the footwork, body positioning, hips positioning, posture, one against many, applying Kokyu with the weapons, it really is striking. You can see the huge difference and why Bukiwasa is not taught as a separate Art. O'Sensei did say what is Kenjutsu is or Iaido is, they are not Aikido or they do not use principles of Aiki Ken or Aiki Jo. The relationship is so strong that M. Saito Sensei used to say: when you practice Bukiwasa, think Taijutsu and vice versa. Meaning that there is a technique with the weapons because of your hips placement, you will find Irimi Nage, Kote Gaeshi, Shiho Nage and the list is endless. It is truly fascinating and another strong element is that the Bukiwasa works with Awase (blending) so Uke and Tori are matching the movements in harmony, so to speak one lives (Tori) and one dies (Uke) by moving at the right time, so that Uke thinks he has a chance to win over but Tori has the edge factor... Awase is not taught in Aikikai because of the lack of weapons study. You may find some instructors within Aikikai teaching weapons but they would be from Kenjutsu or Iaido so they do not have the Aiki Ken principle...
@@nickregnier1 Ahhh! That's actually making sense to me. I have always noticed that Iwama Ryu Aikido seems to apply the use of weapons during training, more so than other styles. Now that you've mentioned it, I've never noticed that type of training in Aikikai. When I was training in Shodokan Aikido, a couple of the higher grades were training with Bokken. When I asked them about it, they did tell me that they are not learning to fight using the Bokken but that it was being used to improve footwork. Thanks for the insight! Nice one!!!
@@martialartsaddict9966 you are welcome. You can see bukiwasa videos I have been making alone during the pandemic on my RUclips channel. You will see the footwork, hips moving, relaxed shoulders and arms but using the Kokyu. I have done lots of videos to help our Aikido community stay positive.
Ueshiba started in other arts, but he switched to Aiki Jujitsu because of its effectiveness. He then trained only in that art and was able to defeat all those who wanted to test him. If co-operative training methods were so bad, his fighting ability would have degenerated, but it didn't.
Dude you're spot on. I like Rokas but it seems like he never even read the art of peace. Ueshiba wanted aikido to be a safe and non violent way to preserve and experience samurai fighting techniques, a way to get the mental benefits of martial practice without the dangerous part of it. Aikido was always meant to be impractical, but it was probably easier to sell it as a self defence system. I'm saying this as a former karateka and kickboxer who's getting into aikido now. I miss the training, but I'm not willing to put myself through all those full contact strikes again, after a while combat sports don't work for self defence cause they bloody destroy your body, and aikido is relaxing alternative to that
In my opinion and I always thought that, Aikido is efficient against untrained opponents, not against fighters. That's why it's very used by bouncers and police. Also, it gives them the choice to immobilize without harming them.
Not everyone is good for aikido, you need a lot of flexibility to practice aikido. I think what makes an art effective in general is finding the right art for you, not everybody functions the same way.
That's a very valid point. In regards to Aikido, I have been to clubs where they take into account these factors, especially for their older students. However, you're correct that everyone needs to find an art that is right for them. Great point.
@@martialartsaddict9966 I can relate to it because where I come from I always grew up watching martial arts all the way from Kung fu tai chi up to judo and Jiu-Jitsu and one thing I always learned was that it is not the art but rather the person behind it. Ring fight is one thing, danger, street and survivor is another.
Hold on... Rokas' main point is that Aikido IS PRESENTED as being an effective method of self defense while it clearly isn't! So... you're wrong about him being wrong?
Yeah, but when he started Aikido, he thought it was an effective martial art - which is where, like a lot of people, he was wrong. Now that he's realised that, he's right and he's doing the 'right' thing, for what he wants, anyway, out of martial arts. So, he's 'right' but was 'wrong' in the first place. Which made him 'wrong' but now 'right'. You know what, I'm confusing myself with this. Whatever the case, Rokas is 'right' now.....but was 'wrong' before.... when he thought that he was 'right' to think that the 'Aikido' that he was practicing was effective.... which was 'wrong'....and he's now 'right' about that. Anyway, cheers for the comment.
Only Steven Seagal whos a black belt in teshin aikido knows aikido works + lenny sly whos made positive videos on the dynamics of aikido search it 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🤍🤍🤍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Excellent video well done good job and spot on. Aikido is very dangerous and can kill, i know. As O'Sensei said aikido is 99% atemi waza which basically means smack them in the face first. Rokus had a very, very weak aikido background (crap to be perfectly blunt) and to be fair he would have been battered by most strong aikido schools and may have quit early. Instead of getting a black belt (he was worth a 2nd kyu at best) and going on and on ridiculing aikido every chance he got from this weak perspective ... his very weak perspective. However, he got taken up with the trend of showing aikido in a bad light and so went with that trend because it brought attention and fame for himself and this attention and fame he capitalized on and propagated much to the annoyance to old school aikido practitioners. Rokus may want to go back to aikido later on but he should come back as a white belt in a strong school or better yet, piss off forever from aikido because he has already sold his soul.
Good video, it is common for Aikido practitioners to cross train in other styles, like judo, jujitsu or striking arts, like boxing or Muay Thai...I've always been baffled by Rokas approach to learn Aikido about that... after a very looooooong time ... better late than never...he got stuck with that kotegaeshi...good for him, in the end, he managed to get better...but I never like him when he blames the art ... because everyone is entitled to do whatever they like to do...
The funny thing is that I just watched a clip with Khabib's coach, Mendez, and he is in hanmi...the basic Aikido guard... Rokas...Come on Dude...Are you blind 🤣?
Kito Ryu actually also had the concept of Aiki. A lot of battlefield Jujutsu styles did. But it had little, if anything, to do with love. I don't think we ever talk about love in my style (decency, mercy, perhaps) and I actually train one of the two Ki Aikido styles (the offshoot one, that is more focused on combat application than the original Ki Aikido style is) We also do resist the throws in my style; if we can embarrass a black belt by not being thrown, we should.
That's really interesting! Was the term 'Aiki' being used for sure before Ueshiba? Or did he actually coin the term? I always thought Daito-Ryu was a form of Aiki Jiu-jitsu. However, I read somewhere that Ueshiba gave it that name. Before that it was just Daito-Ryu Jiu-Jitsu. If you could clarify that for me, it would be great 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 Takeda Sokaku has definitely been reported to use the concept. It's actually on the Wikipedia page for Daito Ryu (Takeda Sokaku's interpretation of "Aiki") The "Ki" in "Kito" Ryu is the same "Ki" as in "Aiki". Kito Ryu also appears to have the concept of "Aiki" Ki roughly means energy, spirit. "Aiki" means to join energy (actually very similar to "ju" (softness or yielding) in judo and Jujutsu) Joining energy, harmonizing are basically just advanced or abstract Ju concepts... Ju is much more like, pull when they push, push when they pull. Don't fight force with force Aiki is supposed to be next level. Same way you can bait the opponent with an opening, for a shoot, or a punch, or whatever, Aiki aims to choose the opponents attacks for them by making only one attack feel viable, and then the throw would be effortless... No force, just harmony, since they are already doing exactly what you wanted Easier said than done. But that's how Aiki is supposed to manifest itself in combat
@@asteriskcolon I'll take a look into that. I wasn't aware of Takeda ever using the term 'Aiki'. I knew that the 'Ki' in Kito Ryu represented the concept of 'energy'. I think the 'To' is supposed to have the same meaning as in 'Do' or 'Tao'. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. I kind of saw 'Ju' using the push and pull actions against two different points. So, for example, I pull my opponent by his lapel (Pull) and my foot sweeps his foot (causing the Push). I understood 'Aiki' as focussing the push and pull concept onto a single point - wrist or elbow, for example. I like the baiting idea you've talked about - causing the opponent to attack in a particular way. That's something cool for me to check out. Nice one!
@@martialartsaddict9966 I always understood, coming originally from a Goju Ryu Karate background, "go" means hard, like meet force with force. Punch when they punch, push when they push. Try to break their arm when you block their strikes "Ju" in Goju meant to yield. The opposite of push when they push... It means pull when they push. Intercept, and move to a better position for leverage as you do Jujutsu is sometimes translated as the art of yielding (to force)
@@asteriskcolon Yeah, that's true. 'Ju' does refer to the concept of yielding. That's why Yoshin Ryu means 'Willow Heart' or 'Willow Truth' or something along those lines. The flexibility of the Willow tree allows it to give way or yield to strong winds or heavy snow. The likelihood of such a tree breaking in these circumstances is much less in comparison to a firmer type of tree.
Tomorrow live: Remy Martial art 101 VS Rokas from Martial Art Journey debating about the effectiveness of Aikido! Grab your chips your coffee. Let's goooo!!! : ruclips.net/video/Xayp2D7OCHU/видео.html
Because of the nature of Aikido training many uke don't look for the chance to take over and reverse or stop a technique. In beginner levels you usually don't try . This is the problem people like Rokas never get past beginner traing form.. Once you have reached a level you should explore taking over a technique. The thing is with good Aikido the uke 's balance is broken making it hard to resist.. Hard to fight back when your fighting gravity. Translation of Japanese ideas also has presented probably the major problem giving rise to the fluffy aikido many do. Ueshiba was talking about Karma, and natural order not never being forceful. In a real situation you guided the energy of the attack back to the attacker, preventing the creation of more disharmony of karma. UESHIBA "Aikido is to kill with one blow" Aikido was developed as a training system to allow training against powerful attacks without hurting the practioners in training actual applications could be different .
You've raised some interesting points. I was under the impression that Rokas was involved in Aikido for over 10 years. I'm shocked that he never got past the beginner level. I get what you mean, once your balance is broken, it is extremely difficult to stop a throw. Thanks for watching the video. Also, thank you for your comment - it's given me some interesting things to look into 🙏🏾!!!
@@martialartsaddict9966 was reading comments and see where one person says he only had about 3 years training. I have no idea if this is correct but don't doubt it. I have said I have seen kyu ranks with better techniques and understanding. 3 or 15 doesn't matter, he was still practicing forms style.This is not just him you have a large number that have fallen into the fluffy harmony crowd. Harmony is blending with the energy of the attack not being chummy with the attacker, Bruce Lee's be like water.To grow spiritually you have to be able to make a choice. Always heard the levels of learning in any martial art was, break or kill, then hurt, then control without hurting then stopping without physical encounter. Ueshiba was about raising people to the top levels but didn't discard the other. You did the best you could. You had to know how to damage in order to cho8not to. To choose not to hurt someone that you can makes you a pacifist, not to hurt someone just because you can't makes you a whimp. Back to Rokas, don't know how many years he actually trained but he is not a good practioner or teacher. Third degree is by many martial artists considered where you are just starting to break out in understanding. Would recommend you look into Shihab Mitsubishi Saotome and some of his top students: Hiroshi Ikeda ,John Messores, George Ledyard, William Gleason there are others. Gleason has out a couple of books dealing with the esoteric shinto elements but also just the levels and structure or learning, think it's the words of power book this is in. Ueshiba formed a training system that set the goal of being good enough that you could turn the energy of an attacker, in training fast speed with low injury, real attacks the results depended on the attackers force and intent ,he injuring himself . Thus you create minimal violence disruption of universal harmony preserved,attacker pay his karma immediately and appropriate to his violence. Sorry for that long side line. Anyway system to over time took people to the point they could deal with attacks without add unnecessary violence .life time training development. Ueshiba spoke os one teaching as a life time technique another as 20 year. This wasn't the basic application but understanding of all the principles that were in these techniques
@@michealpuckett8856 Yeah, I saw that somewhere as well. However, I'm not to sure if that's correct, as I'm pretty sure Rokas has said that he was involved in Aikido for 15 years. Maybe, he started his own dojo after 3 years of training. I'm not sure about that though. However, I do believe that he's trained in Aikido for over 10 years, and I do believe that he's a legit Aikidoka. I do think you could be right though - maybe, things would've changed in his training after he received his 3rd Dan. It's a good point to consider.
Modern aikido is just jujitsu with peaceful slogans. Honbu dojo never taught the aiki part, the son never had what O Sensei had. Check out Goldberg Sensei of daitoryu, the precursor to aikido.
I think that the main problem with people who try to use Aikido for the purpose of self defense and fighting is that they end up putting the cart before the horse.
This makes me curious as to whether or not do Aikido.....I did it backwards I wrestled for 10 years competing from 13 to 23.....perhaps it would be a good transition
Why dont you give it a try? Most will offer a first free lesson. I still occasionally train aikido but mostly its muay thai and BJJ now. I like the breathing exercises and stretching helps with recovery
many people wanna learn martial art just to become strong , but not many thinking how they will use the arts on daily life. except their job is police / miltary / bodyguards
Those are fair comments. I'm personally of the view that anyone who wishes to learn a self defence should look around until they find a style to form their self defence roots, then once they start to reach competence(say, past mid level between beginner & instructor), they should branch start to branch out to learn from other styles so they learn what works best for them. I think that it is beneficial to learn from both hard and soft styles as they compliment each other and each their use in their own situations. Soft styles can be best practice in avoiding a fight. I know it's worked for myself way back when. And stopping an attack without getting into hard fight can cause people to pause.
Nice one! That's true, the soft styles can be good for avoiding an attack - or conflict altogether, for that matter. Thanks so much for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏾
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
@@TheNakedWombat I respect your "opinion" . I just want to point out whether or not akido is useless or an effective self defense system should be discussed with real experts who know real stuffs, not with an impostor like Rokas. If an English literature major discusses quantum mechanics, everyone will simply laugh at him..That is my point. Good luck on your training.
@@changsublee1385 I no longer train. I haven't for years due to medical reasons but I was a freestyle practictioner with roots in TKD. I believe I understand where you are coming from. I once had a friendly exchange with someone I knew who was supposed be a qualified instructor in ninjutsu but he was way below par. It was beyond disappointing.
Yeah, I have seen the no touch videos. You're right in that at this point, Aikido had become as far removed from the martial side as possible. Thank you for watching my video and for commenting!!!
13 seconds into your video I'm pretty sure that I remember seeing Rokas trying to learn from Lenny Sly Sensei via video link. Okay, I was a lowly 3rd Kyu in Tenshin style Aikido 30yrs ago(admittedly, I don't feel that I was that great even back then) and I'm going to say something that I've been holding back for a while now. And you may say the same thing in your video. That's the risk I Take'. (Inside joke) Unless he changed his training and application, he wasn't doing, practicing or teaching good Aikido. Simply compare his Irimi Nage to anyone that's been taught by Seagal Sensei, his top students/instructors or even go another generation away to their black belts. His timing, distance, arm position, foot work and a million other nuances are miles apart from any one of them and appear practically useless even against his students. At least in the videos that I've seen here. I commend him on getting over 100 students and I've watched a few of his videos and he seems intelligent and well spoken. I don't know if he ever went to any other Tenshin associated Sensei's to get hands on correction. I do know that Sly Sensei mentioned Aikidoka not being able to apply their techniques and instead of looking at what they could change, jumping ship to other arts like BJJ, which is an amazing art. lol. Just opened your initial caption. Oh well. have a great day.
Originally, Martial art was not designed for fighting, but to understand Buddhism. Even O Sensei in his late stage of development said Aikido is for the understanding the working of the Universe. Aiki means to join, as in Yoga. The best way to join is to absorb the attacker's aggression which requires a lot of flexibility which almost non of the Aikidoist could achieved, the closest person that has that ability whom I saw was Sensei Yamaguchi. Unless one could yield 100% to an attacker with out losing balance, Aikido will not work against a professional fighter. However, self defense against a criminal is a different matter. They attacker without intelligent or fake. People should realizes that self defense is very difference that fighting a MMA match.
I'll see if I can find some videos on Sensei Yamaguchi. You're right - self-defence is very different to fighting in MMA. You're not choosing or agreeing to have a a fight in a self-defence situation - you're being attacked. Thanks for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏾
I was fortunate to attended a few classes of Sensei Yamaguchi. It brought me a new view on Aikido. In real person, he seemed boneless. There is a lot of videos on him in youtube, but none showed how flexible he was. But do check it out. Japanese has misdirected the intention of Martial art. Prior to MMA, I had said that Karate was not designed for fighting and it would not work in sport fighting. People were upset at me. I am glad that MMA became popular even it was not true martial art. It is same thing for Judo which turned into a wrestling, nothing soft about it. Now the Brazil Ju jitsu has came out so many new ground techniques, In my opinion, it is good for progress of Martial art.
I don't agree with what you said. Love in the universe is all well and good but people in real life can and may try to kill you. What use is a ritualistic excercise in that setting? I would think, Ueshiba, being an ex soldier, would understand that. Feeling love can't help you when you're dead. If Aikido is NOT about self defense then teachers need to state that. Make that clear so that people who want to know how to preserve their own lives can go elsewhere. If it IS about preserving your own life then make that clear too and then say how the touchy feely love business fits in within the primal desire to not be murdered. I personally don't think it can fit. In my view, you're either going to train to face danger in a practical way or you're not. Well, that's the reason I'd never practice Aikido. I think it isn't practical enough. Or at least, most of its instructors are amazingly impractical.
You've made a good point. You're basically saying that if Aikido is a philosophical art and not practically effective, the instructors should say that. I agree with that point. I'm not sure whether a lot of instructors realise that though. If they've been told that they are practicing something effective for self-defence, they'll believe that - if they enjoy what they are practicing. They won't know any better until they are put in a position whereby they have to defend themselves. If they're lucky enough for that not to happen, then they don't question it, and go on to teach. Saying that, I would practice Aikido...if I had the time. Right now, all my time is taken up with BJJ Gi and No-Gi, and some Wing Chun, if I can get that in. I'm not really practicing either of these for self-defence. I'm just training because I enjoy training. It's really all about a mindset - I could train in the most practical art but, if it came down to having to defend myself, I might still be overwhelmed by the adrenaline dump of an actual situation that could potentially mean life or death. If the person has a gun, what good is BJJ or Wing Chun? I know, that you'd be thinking that BJJ, Judo, MMA etc, would give you a fighting chance, better than Aikido, if you went into fight mode. So, saying that, I do get your point. Cheers for watching the video and commenting. Nice one
@@martialartsaddict9966 You're welcome. I love martial arts too but I live in a very violent society. I'm Jamaican. I've no use for martial arts or martial art training methods that cannot be used for fighting. Sure, a gun would be useful. Though, in Jamaica people have been killed by other people who want to steal their firearms. Basically something I can fight with that I've been trained to fight with is useful. A martial art is a tool for me. I don't think I'd ever have any interest in a discipline like Aikido. I think it would never become popular here because of the nature of our society. We need stuff that works for fighting. Because there is no Aiki around here.
All martial arts have something to offer, maybe it won’t be great on its own but it can be great in combination with other arts Even BJJ, judo, musty Thai, boxing, should be combined with other arts
I have contacted Rokas, and he was very open to my response...my response was in a few months I will start replying...I have some serious shit to deal with in the next little while. But what I will say here is similar to what I said to Rokas and what I will say in my RUclips videos. ( Sendokan Dojo) One of my sensei who I respect immensely encouraged me to respond with RUclips videos to Rokas, and I will. What I want to say about this video....I think the narrator gets everything pretty much...but if you are going to do a you tube video about a Japanes martial art, learn to pronounce names and styles correctly! Also there were a number of students who trained with O'sensei in the "Hell dojo" Different students too different things away with them depending on when they trained and what O'sensei what focused on at the time. My proposition/ theory is....and I stand to be corrected by lots of Martial Artists is that it seems to me that aikido has a far more wide range of "styles" than other Martual arts. My problem with Rokas and to some extent with this video is that ni one seems to recognize that different styles of Aikido have very different and a very wide range of fouci. Lenny Sly ( I watch his stuff all the time) has a martial sense to it. I don't agree with everything he says. But he is out there showing what works....in AIKIDO...and when you watch him he is doing g aikido not some original jujitsu as this video suggests. I study Yoshinkan, and our focus is the martial effectiveness of Aikido. I am a spiritual guy, but that part of me is a very very small part of my aikido training. The range of what is aikido is huge, fro. Almost a Dai to Ryu aikido jujitsu to a religious sect / cult ( sorry my bias is showing there. O think all styles are great for what they are teaching / good at. Rokas's style of aikidonis not martially focused at all. But he takes his spiritual yoga zen aikido that he has been learning for 14 years ( talk to me when you have 25 to 30 years of real training) oops sorry my bias again and states this is aikido and I can't do anything against anyone I other martial arts...Rokas is right, but he and his training would not alow him to take my grandmother and she died in 1988! What I would like to see is people state their affiliation prior to posting
Thanks for your comment! Yeah, I do need to work on my Japanese pronunciation. In regards to Yoshinkan Aikido, I do understand that it is a style that does attempt to bring back the focus of self-defence. However, I still think that the art concentrates so much on form, it makes applying the techniques extremely difficult. However, I'd be really interested to see your take on this! Thanks again and thanks for watching my video 🙏🏾
The last point on learning Aikido at a later age or season because of accumulative injuries from other combative martial arts I think is totally wrong. You don’t see many older Aikidoka being the uke to do dynamic break falls. Most are younger practitioners making the older ones look good ;). And many veteran aikido senseis have problems doing techniques on their knees too. You can get as much injuries doing Aikido as a martial art.
That's a good point. However, I would imagine that the Aikido curriculum is slightly different for older people. Plus, if you're coming in from a more combat orientated martial art, like judo or BJJ for example, Aikido will not be as much of a stress on the body. However, it's hard to imagine a 50 year old being the Uke in Aikido. They probably wouldn't take on that aspect of Aikido. I'm not sure about this, so it would be great to find out. Thanks for your comment🙏🏾
All those people criticizing Aikido are training so hard in combative arts to fight who exactly? When? If ever... I would very much prefer training for life, rather than for a hypothetical 2 min fight that might never happen in your life.
It still baffles me that Rokas didn't understand the principles of his art at his level of training. Even though we should do what is necessary to make techniques effective, the essence of aikido is that of reconciliation and peace.
When martial artists of the time of O-Sensei talk about not injuring people they’re talking about serious, life threatening injuries. This doesn’t include broken bones or concussions. An American who trained with the founder in Japan during the 50s once told me that he “doesn’t get where O-Sensei being an avatar of peace comes from, he used to beat the shit out of us.” Many of O-Sensei’s students fought martial artists from other arts in bars on a regular basis. Aikido is a combat art, not a sport. I don’t know where you’re getting the idea that it’s not supposed to work, but it’s simply not true.
Many of the original students of Morihei Ueshiba were already well versed in other martial arts, such as Judo. They had experience in actual combat. Morihei Ueshiba had a lot of experience in actual combat. The Aikido of today does not reflect that whatsoever. It's more of a theoretical and philosophical art than a method of combat. Morihei Ueshiba has even described it as an art of peace himself. Are you saying that he's wrong in the description of his own art?
@@martialartsaddict9966 I could tell before he made a fool of himself in an MMA ring that Rokas was poorly trained by his position he ended the techniques in. I’ve got over a decade more experience in “his art” than he does. So yeah, I’m saying he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
@@kingash71 I think you've misunderstood what I said. I actually said that Morihei Ueshiba described Aikido as an art of peace, rather than combat. He even said in an interview that there is no room for 'warlike' behaviour. So, I was asking you if you're saying that Morihei Ueshiba is wrong in his description of his own art? In addition, when did Rokas make a fool of himself in an MMA fight? Have you ever done an MMA fight? Give him some respect for going out of his comfort zone and trying to test what he's learned.
@@martialartsaddict9966 if an MMA fighter lost a fight and said “MMA is no good! It made me lose my fight!” would you have any respect for them? And when did O-Sensei say any of that?
@@kingash71 I've never heard an MMA fighter say that. In regards to what Morihei Ueshiba said, here's the link to an interview that he did: aikidojournal.com/2016/09/24/interview-with-morihei-ueshiba-and-kisshomaru-ueshiba/
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
Changsub Lee like I said I agree with you. Rokas is a fake. If you pay attention to his earlier video he is a fake. I just started aikido for 4 months now and I love it.
THE PRESSURE TESTING MYTH: Experience, actual experience makes a teacher. Yet what does it teach? One steps into Octagon,,, after all this 'realistic' sparring,,, all this wresting 'rolling,' and then get smashed around for 15-25 minutes. What did you learn? That you don't know how to fight. That you don't know how to handle a MARGINALLY better opponent. Dude, you are fan of MMA... and we see commercial MMA competitors with all this 'evolved' training... get their clocks absolutely cleaned on the one hand,,, on the other... stumble & struggle for 15-25 minutes going nowhere... taking a beat down of one sort or another. Getting into a physical altercation is not a substitute for actually understanding what's behind what one is doing. Feedback can be invaluable. Preparation is what's essential. What preparation does Rokas, your prospective sparring partner have in martial arts? Martially speaking, there's your starting point, bro.... CHEERS.
That's true. A lot of Aikido schools don't promote themselves in this way. It could be that a lot of Aikido schools are trying to move away from the founder's original intention and move towards a more practical emphasis. I'm going to have a look into this. Thanks for your comment 🙏🏾
First correction they never studied jiu jitsu, the name of ryu means something. Calling a japanese system jiu Jitsu is like a person John doe it mean you have a legite lineage
You’d nearly train aikido for breakfalls, in a ton of the videos on screen these lads are just doing flips and throwing themselves to the ground like it’s nothing
Aikido DOESN'T work for self defense. And it's kind of laughable that your video refuting him shows exclusively footage of people using aikido in controlled, cooperative demonstrations and not a single frame of footage showing it being used in actual self defense and/or against a resisting subject. Starting with the founder doing the exact same thing we see in modern aikido; compliant demonstrations against cooperative subjects who happily throw themselves around to make the technique look effective. It says a lot that you show footage of judo and jujutsu practitioners stress testing their skills and using them against resisting subjects, but you couldn't scrounge up a SINGLE shot of aikido being used practically? If aikido practitioners want to advertise it as a form of soft exercise like taichi, then that's fine. But they need to be upfront about that and state outright that it is not effective for self defense and will not teach a person how to protect themselves form an attacker. Which is the entire point that Rokas has made. A martial art is, by definition, a style of combat; and if your style is useless for combat then it's not a martial art. It's a performance art. The argument you're putting forward is essentially moving the goal posts: "Oh well, it'll work provided you learn to fight by studying a style that works first!" That barely even rises to the level of being an argument in aikido's favour.
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
Yeah, I think that is a good way to go. Although, I'm trying to push the BJJ to 60 years old!!! I'm 47 years at the moment, so that gives me 13 years...if I can last😂
Yeah, I did watch the Part 2. Here's the issue. See my broad comment on Part 1: Point (1). Which Kind of Martial Art? So what general type of martial art does Aikido fall under? (2) Competence of Practitioner. Next, you and viewers bring up the issue of practitioner vs. art. So how credible is the practitioner,,, making some video after his 15 years of FAILURE? Point (3) ART Defined. Which then leads one to ask, what the heck is a martial art, here Aikido? Point (4) The 'Coequal Wisdom.' We then see all these videos, all these protestations, about how a certain martial art... didn't work, doesn't work. Okay... so WHY? Like, I went to an MMA gym and my Aikido Butt butt got kicked. The answer isn't... OH BOY, MMA IS GREAT. I just posted a video link of the arguably Top MMA Camp's Flagship female competitor not even making it through one round... against a good MMA competitor, but from a relatively unknown Boxing camp & trainer. So, what is the answer? Skill and understanding in a martial art style. Which leads us back to an examination of the arts of Muay Thai utilized for MMA vs. Boxing utilized for MMA. And of those base arts. This is an intensive undertaking... and necessarily one must ask, "How hard is it to do the martial art in question? How complicated is it? Do people even understand it? Are people just trying to beat the opponent standing across from them by expedient means... or are they invested in understanding? CHEERS.
This sounds like a Chadi copy of his theory. I don't agree with this theory though even if it's interesting, because why would aikido have tai sabaki, ma-ai, irimi, atemi and bone breaking locks if the case that's it's only a flower power hippie dance?
I don't think it's a 'flower power hippie Dance'. It's more of a philosophical study that uses certain practices to explain the principles it follows - such as balance breaking, centering, distraction and the focus of power on a single point etc. It's an interesting study on the philosophical principles of Jiu-Jitsu - specifically Daito Ryu - without the worry of having to study on how to apply this in real combat terms. You've got Judo, BJJ, Sambo, Wrestling, MMA etc, for that.
@@martialartsaddict9966 balance breaking also known as kuzushi you find in all the sumo derivative arts (judo, jujutsu and so on). I agree with you on that aikido is more or less a derivative from daito ryu but your conclusion of without the worry of apply in "real" combat and then you refer to martial arts and fighting systems turned into sports is where I disagree. So are you arguing that aikido can't be used then in combat or self defense scenarios? and it's just a philosophical ballet of movements? I see it more of a mindset of defeat than tp actually try to understand the system of this derivative of daito-ryu. What's your understanding of what kata is?
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yh You've got some good questions. I'm going to look into them. In regards to Kata, I see them as 1) a tool box and 2) a method of applying movement to principles and concepts. The Kata's can also give you an insight into the techniques that the predecessor art was practising. In regards to Aikido, the predecessor art, as you already know, is Daito-Ryu. So, Aikido practitioners can see Kata as also a recording of techniques from Daito-Ryu. Technically, the Aikido techniques are Jiu-Jitsu. However, the concept that the practitioners are striving for is harmonisation of the techniques with the Uke. I'll get back to you on your questions about whether Aikido techniques can work at all, or whether it's just a 'philosphical ballet'. Good questions. Nice one
@@martialartsaddict9966 Don't take my critique the wrong way it's only that I'm not aikidoka (mainly know striking arts and pugilism all from boxing to okinawan karate), however I been researching aikido for some years back and forth, and I've used aikido techniques in altercations. I like your answer to kata I would also include muscle memory, but I see many inexperienced martial artists thinks kata (not restricted to aikido) is technique, where as I believe aikido technique should always be used on what technique presents itself rather than chasing after it and trying to force it in like a square in a circle. Ai-ki means to go with flow, which you can see very effective when a small sumo tosses sumos double their weight across the ring. Yes, I agree also that kata is some what preservation 'tablets' of technique but the form is never fully applied rather small segments depending on what presents itself in situation. Yes but aren't you equating technique demonstration of harmony with it's practicality? Compare uke and nage in judo when they demonstrate technique and then compare it how sloppy it looks when they apply it, the beauty of aikido technique demonstration is far from it's bonebreaking reality. There's a video here on youtube I would like to share with you showing the similarities between sumo daito ryu, you might already seen it but still. Take your time, I hope you didn't take offense from the critique and opposition, it's just that I'm currently researching how aikido is intended to be used, even against an mma practitioner (I'm still not aikidoka), and things like ma-ai, atemi, tai sabaki and irimi and kuzushi and aiki are the vital points to make aikido work. Take care, I will check out your channel, I'm also a bit of an martial arts addict so it will be interesting to see what else your channel covers.
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yhdon't worry! I don't take offence at all! I like the questions you've been putting forward! I'm not an Aikido practitioner either. I used to do Tomiki Aikido, a while back, for around 4 years. However, I enjoy researching about all different martial arts. For the past 8 years I've been training in BJJ. I've also been training in Wing Chun since 1992. The BJJ club that I train at used to run MMA sessions, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and I used to attend those. I would love to add Aikido in there as well but, I don't think I'll have any time for anything else!!! I set my channel up for people who love martial arts - regardless of style, system etc. Back in the 70s, 80s and 90s there used to be martial arts magazines that covered all types of martial arts. My channel is kind of trying to replicate that, where each video is like another page or article from a magazine. I hope you enjoy my other videos 🙏🏾. Cheers for your comments and don't stop questioning!!!
If you cross train BJJ with aikido, be careful of that sneaky wrist locks that will open up to a better positions. HAHAH. I believe that aikido is an art that would work, however it must be back up with another discipline.
I dont think he is wrong, he simply use aikido as it should be, a marketing scheme, ha ha ha. Ueshiba create a MLM cult of martial art because he cant cut it in judo
Aikido simply sucks. Everybody who really fought as a bouncer, full contact martial artist or hooligan knows it. The internet community was already at a point to finally realize this fact, thanks to MMA. Than this Nerd comes along and due to his ego this nonsense discussion starts again.
WWE is more real than this shit. This is a dance and is exercise at best. Some of us really want to know how to defend ourselves, others want to dance and wear costumes. Cosplay isn't fighting.
@@martialartsaddict9966 mostly right. I found aikido doesn't teach the basics of fighting. And was told we don't teach that cause you should know the basics beforehand. And Rokas lacks in confidence manly.
This person's aikido technique is insufficient. He doesn't even know how to act like a girl and divus! Just because a person cannot do an art well, it is not decided about that art.
Dude, you have this presumption about ALL martial arts... because you train & believe in BBJ, MMA, etc. Your assumption is that the training you have experienced sets the training standards for other arts, here aikido. How do you know that? You make a video / history lesson,,, then profess to have the wisdom of the ancient masters of the traditional Japanese martial arts. Social media-wise,,, that's fine... but you know nothing other than reporting some journalistic type research. Just admit it's an impression, not truth of any kind.
Thanks for your comment. I did a part 2 to this video to talk about some of the things I'd learned from the comments. So, I've never said that my opinion is the truth. I'm merely doing research and expressing how I have understand it. If someone disagrees with me and can justify why, I welcome that... it's a way for me to learn as well.
@@martialartsaddict9966 PART A. Hi MAA. Okay,, I haven't watched "Part 2" yet. Oh boy, there's plenty to research on the topic of what makes martial arts effective... or not. Truth is, they are all effective. What people believe is effective or not,,, there all the material you need to keep your YT Channel going in perpetuity.
@@martialartsaddict9966 PART B: Hi MMA. Here's a video cap which I might suggest narrows these issues about effectiveness... getting away from the trite & overworked dissing of TMA & Wing chun, We look at boxing vs. Muay Thai, in the MMA setting. Both of the women in the video are hailed as great MMA competitors... I think there the agreement is broad. ||| ruclips.net/video/S_-B5TOt-Ns/видео.html ||| The loser is a hallmark member of American Top Team,, one of the highly regarded MMA camps. MMA in general points to how effective their training is,,, evolved and all that jazz. Competitive track record, how many competitors train there,,, full contact, whatever. Then their Flagship fighter can't make it through 1 round,,, against good boxing. Moral. Skill matters, talk is talk is talk. And to gauge skill, one must examine the underpinnings of the art... not how it didn't work for so & so. Yeah, so & so can't do the art... that's why it doesn't work. I'll make a final comment on the video page,,, then to to your Part 2. CHEERS.
I think you'll find that Judo came about slightly earlier. Bare in mind that Jigoro Kano was around 20 years older than Ueshiba. It's also been noted that Ueshiba's father wrote to the Kodokan to request for a judo instructor in Tanabe. Kiyoichi Tagaki was the instructor and apparently taught Ueshiba for a short period. However, the dates that have been given for this are around 1907-1909, which suggests that Tagaki was 13-15 years old.... which seems very young to be a Judo instructor. Despite this, it does point to the possibility that Ueshiba could of had a brief period of Judo instruction. aikidojournal.com/2011/08/27/kiyoichi-takagi/
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Very interesting video! As far as I know (I am not an Aikidoka), O Sensei was taught from Takeda Aikijujutsu, a brutal style which was combat oriented. So, O Sensei took Aikijujutsu and transformed it in a way of life / philosophy , removing a piece of "martialness" of the original Aikijujutsu. Basicallly, in general, Jigoro Kano did the same, where he took Kito Ryu and Tenshin Sinyo Ryu Jujutsu and transformed them to Judo. The "Do" systems have their philosophies for the life and through their practice, someone can apply these philosophies in his/her life. For example, the practice of JU-DO (JU=flexible, DO=the way, the lifestyle) can teach us of the use of "flexibility" in life, or the "best use of energy" ("seiryoku-zenyo") and through it, all the people in society can benefit from each other ("jita-kyoei"). The "best use of energy" can be translated in using the energy for good purposes and not for bad ones (not to argue/fight with other people but to be helpful to others, or not to be sad for a failure (it is considered "bad use of energy") but try again for the best, and so on. All the combat oriented "Jutsu" systems (Aiki-jujutsu, Jujutsu, Ken-Jutsu, etc) had been transformed in "DO" systems (Aiki-DO, Ju-DO, Ken-DO etc) to be "vehicles" of physical, moral and spiritual development of the people, and less for combat. IMHO, as people get older, it is advisable to choose grappling styles (in general) over striking styles, avoiding future health side effects (CTE for example, found mostly on combat/contact sports in which head punches/kicks are allowed - MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing etc).As martial artists, I think we can gain a lot of good elements of both worlds (combat effectiveness combined with ethos - in the existence of only one of these, either it will produce dangerous practitioners without any moral values or it will produce only philosophers who cannot defend themselves). Thank you.
That's a great way to look at it! Having a balance of both the practical side with the philosophical side. Nice one! And thank you for watching the video 🙏🏾
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
@@changsublee1385 that's a good point on his age and timeline
@@billgober2 For verification, check Rokas' video "How Most Of My Aikido Students Abandoned Me" ruclips.net/video/-Dni4O4h9jU/видео.html
@@changsublee1385 I didn't know this but hope if its true this spreads . I have long been a critic of Rokas and his arrogant beginning attitude of recreating Aikido. I have often commented on his poor technique that I had seen better sankyus. His lack of giving any correction to his BJJ instructors in Portland, while trying to see if Aikido could work in BJJ was nonexistent. Either no understanding of the technique or intentionally wanting it to fail.. There are many people in Aikido that have turned it in to dance even higher level people that confuse the philosophy. Even if he has the years he claims he is far from competent. Using controversy to build his site. Thank you. Hope You spread this information.
The techniques in the art are valid. The problem is most aikido dojos and organizations don’t train with a practical combative approach. The ones that do are closer to traditional Japanese jiujitsu
I don’t see how that’s a problem if combat is not your goal. The PROBLEM is that Aikidoka/teachers sell Aikido as a combative art when its clearly not...
The demonstrations of how aikido works against boxers and other trained fighters are silly.
But in street fights, scuffles and security situations, bullying situations etc, people do leave themselves open for Aikido techniques to be applied.
If Aikidoka want to provide “proof” they should track real life applications...
It's not a problem, it's by design... aikido is meant to end fighting by developing cooperative and harmonious genuine people, not fighters...
I am Thai. practice muay thai and aikido. I start muay thai when I was twelve years old till twenty two years old. Then I train aikido hombu style for ten years, I see that there are many gap in technic. My friend advice me to change style to aikido iwama ryu. That's jackpot, I can mix muay thai with aikido iwama ryu. because bukiwaza (weapon technic) have footwork as same as boxing or muay thai. I can tell you that Rokas's aikido just imitate gestures, he knows how many technic have, but don't know when or how to use. I can only use muay thai to beat his mma. in aikido you have to train bukiwaza/open hand technic 50/50%, not only taijutsu (open hand technic). Aikido does not have only turning, it have triangular footwork too. It's variable like boxing, muay thai. you have to know that train to self defense or sport in ufc. You can't use mma in street fight. Technic should practice for survive, not win in sport rules. You can't close to opponent like in UFC. Not one by one, multiple attacters. poke eyes, pull ears, pull hair, break fingers, kick between legs, strangulation, can you close opponent? every way to survive. Rokas walk in the wrong way for sport, his aikido does baby level.
Even though I don't agree with everything, this a good video and deserves more views, you make some valid points.
Life would be boring if we agreed on everything! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! It's greatly appreciated!
It's basically an echo from Chadi's theory on aikido, I don't agree with it either
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yh what did Chadi say?
@@AlexanderGent pretty much the exact same thing, makes me wonder if the channel owner took his script. Check out his video and compare it for yourself
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yh Well, I didn't do that. I did my own research and cited where I got the information from, thank you very much.
great point! basically one has to experience duality, so physical hardship first and then back to harmony. thats the true martial arts journey. lets wait to see rokas back to aikido after he finally get this!
That'd be great! A lot of us do worry about being able to defend ourselves. I've been training in BJJ for 8 years, Wing Chun since 1992, and have competed in Kickboxing. Yet, I'm still never going to be totally convinced that I can defend myself. For me, it's a journey that I can complete something very difficult. If I ever achieve a BJJ black belt, I think that I'd definitely start looking into Aikido. I've still got a long way to go though 😂. Thanks so much for your comment!!!
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
@@changsublee1385 wow.... that's interesting....I myself have questioned his martial integrity but not in the same way as yourself. but where is the truth about what you have said?...
@@patmat7984
For verification, check Rokas' video "How Most Of My Aikido Students Abandoned Me" ruclips.net/video/-Dni4O4h9jU/видео.html
Good video. I've been following Rokas for a couple years now from before he started to publicly question his aikido. One thing to add is that he was told by his past aikido teacher that his aikido would help him in self defense. So he, as many, where drawn to error. They where sold apples and got oranges. And when he realized what that, of course he got mad about it. At least he was honest and went on a journey to improve himself as a martial artist. I think that should be the goal.
Thanks so much for your comment!!! That's greatly appreciated!!! That's very true, many people, like Rokas, are told by their instructors that Aikido is great for self-defence. When they realise that this isn't the case, it can be a bitter pill to swallow. So, I agree, at least Rokas is doing something about that and training in arts that use sparring against a resisting partner etc. Once again, thanks a lot for your input 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 I want to be more specific: it was "the aikido" he was training, and it's methodology of training, what wasn't good for self defense. There are other styles and methods that are. So it's not that aikido isn't good for self defense, but the way it's practiced. One can't give what doesn't haves.
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
Dude, do you believe everything people tell you... represent to you on social media? Social media is 'free speech,' and has no standards of competency. Each TY Channel is able to say whatever they want.
@@stanclark3992 of course! doesnt everyone?
If I remember correctly, all of the first generation Aikido guys were already well versed in other self defense/combat oriented styles. Training in Aikido, for them, would work well. They already had a solid base in a workable martial art. Aikido could almost be considered a secondary skill set, used to augment their foundational style. So they could have had the experience to make it work. Later generations would no longer have that foundational set of self defense/combat oriented skills needed for reality. As a system of self defense, it can work well as a supplemental or primary skill set....if you have the required foundational training to begin with. You can't really train to defend against strikes, if you don't really know how to strike. This applies to all forms of attack, not just striking. Atemi waza was taught early on, and at an early stage, in the beginning. Many schools seem to have gotten away from it completely, or reserve it for advanced students. There was a reason it was initially taught early, foundational training and a carry over from Daito Ryu. Learn to strike soft points early on; to learn to defend against them,to help break concentration and balance, and set up a throw or lock. This idea seems to have been lost. Like Karate, it was for self defense, not really a battle field art. It was designed for relatively untrained attackers, not world class fighters.
Yeah, that's true. The Ueshiba's first students had training in other martial arts, like Judo. So, they already had experience in applying technique through randori. Thank so much for watching my video and for your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 judo and Aikido was being developed at the same time. Interesting to look up Jigoro Kano's comments on Aikido when he and students visited Ueshiba, then sent his students to study with Ueshiba
@@michealpuckett8856 I'll look into that, as Kano did send some his students to see Ueshiba.
I trained for 25 years in Aikido. Loved it... truly ... great for learning certain skills like falling! Body awareness, etc. But it sucks as a combat art. Sucks. That's not Aikido's fault ... it is what it is: a traditional Japanese "Do" or way. No combat component... it's about training ... refining your practice, etc. But you fight the way you train. Rokas is speaking from the best kind of place ... experience. (as am I). I do BJJ now and box ... and will never look back. I might go train again in Aikido (it's a beautiful art) but not to learn how to fight or defend myself. It's just fun. I say train in all arts that interest you, but if you want to learn how to fight: Muy Thai, Judo, BJJ, MMA, boxing. You have to spar, you have to fight.... b/c you fight the way you train. Let the trolling begin... OSU...
Spot on.
Same here
Love how thought out this is, I’m surprised no one ever mentions bjj and wrestling hand fighting as it is basically functional aikido however it’s not often trained for mma as boxers don’t clinch
Finally someone has a idea of the Truth of Akido. I have been saying this for 12 years and it's like no body understands
Nice one! I'm glad you liked the video!!! Thanks for watching and thank you for your comment 🙏🏾
I feel you
True
@Jason Franklin Dude Akido does work. The guy in the video confirms it. I mean cops, military and security all use it.
No, you don't have a clue. You're correct.
A very well-made video that makes several excellent points. Another critique that doesn’t get much attention regarding the whole Rokas scenario is that even if you’re not an expert in Aikido you can see that his ability and technical proficiency are actually quite low. He has a very timid non-combative attitude which is conveyed in his lack of proper posture and physical frame which results in poor projection of power in his aikido technique. I’m not here to bash the guy but even though he claims he had 15 years of experience studying the art, he was far from proficient at executing it and that’s very easy to see.
This is an informative and excellent commentary on the subject! I've heard similar commentary from Stanley Pranin. Good stuff. Oh, you really can stretch your spine and be taller. Long-time yoga practitioners can certainly "grow" an inch or so. It's not really growing, but increasing the space between your vertebrae.
Thanks so much for watching! And thank you for commenting!!!
I also did some research on the Suffragettes and their link with Jiu-Jitsu in the UK. Quite a few of my friends were surprised of how early Jiu-Jitsu was in the UK. Please feel free to check that video out as well!
Aikido has to use Atemi when ring fighting. You can't throw anybody until you punch them in the face first. Shomenuci is a jab and Tsuki is a cross. If you don't use those how are you supposed to spar with anyone? Atemi is all you need for stand up sparring. Only an idiot would try kotegaishi against someone by grabbing their hand. Sheesh. People gotta be realistic. Put on some gloves, find a bro and start punching. You'll lose at first. Then you'll tie. Then you'll figure it out and win.
That's interesting. Atemi is a big part of Aikido, especially for the set up of throw etc. To really appreciate how difficult it is to be able to get the techniques to work, you do need to spar resisting opponents. It's a really good point. Thanks for your input 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 For sure. You can't throw somebody if you don't strike them first! At least in a stand up sparring match. And Tsuki and Shomenuchi work great if you practice doing it with gloves on. It all depends on the rule set - Chinese martial arts work best on the raised platform Lei Tai with no ropes. Boxing works great in a boxing ring. Sumo works great in a sumo ring. Karate works great in a point sparring match. Judo and BJJ work great in grappling. But try using MMA under Sumo rules or using Muay Thai in a karate point sparring match and you won't stand a chance.
Well many times the "fights" in real life doesn't start by a bell to start a round of consensual fighting, rather it escalates and many times those techniques as kotegaeshi and finger locks can be used preemptively, way before someone even pull their guard up or throw a punch
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yh That's very true.My first judo teacher reckoned your first defence is what you say.But there was a phenomenon known as the cowards punch happening in Sydney Australia for some time.It was very hard to detect coming as it came from behind and it was putting folks in comas.
The solution was a massive government campaign against it and a heafty jail sentence.That settled that.I nearly got done myself,a guy asked me for a dollar in the a crowded Sydney streat.As he was engaging me I caught another guy squaring up behind me and advancing ,his dukes up ready.I moved into a position so I was 90 degrees between both them real fast
@@grantsolomon7660 this thing is common in many countries. Your first line of defense is ma-ai distancing and being aware and alert on who you let in within arms/legs reach.
I think it's still okay doing aikido as your first martial art. It just you need to adjust your expectation about it.
That's true, you can do Aikido as your first martial art. A lot of people do that and are happy with it.
@@martialartsaddict9966 Aikido was my first martial art. I moved on to Chinese martial arts. Both helped me a lot in sparring with other average joes. Aikido works great if you test it out against fully contact opponents. If not, it won't work.
@@NeiJiaQuanBook I've heard that Ba Gua Zhang has a lot of spiralling steps and movements. Are these quite similar to Aikido - in regards to the idea or philosophy behind the techniques? It's really interesting. I agree with you, if you don't practice against resisting training partners, it will never work. Thanks so much for your comment 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 Ba Gua Zhang has all the exact same footwork and throws as Aikido. Just used in a more ruthless manner. Take a look at: ruclips.net/video/9o1-WTzR5j8/видео.html
@@NeiJiaQuanBook I'll take a look at that. Nice one!!!
You are right. As an Aikido practitioner, I have to cross training boxing and shuai jiao for self-defense. Aikido principles are good, they help you know more about human physical movements. You can learn Aikido first or after other martial arts training. Both are fine.
Unless you reached 3 dan, most of Aikido practitioners are same or a little above average Joe.
Rokas biggest problem is that he is terrible at fighting. Even in his recent videos, after several years of intense training in arts that teach fighting, he is pretty much useless. He recently sparred with a Judo black belt on youtube and got handled like a child. He couldn't apply any BJJ on the ground and just got tossed around like a rag doll by th eJudoka who was obviously trying to move very slowly so he wouldn't hurt Rokas.
Well said! Much respect from an outsider (HEMA practitioner) 🙏
Thank you!!! I really appreciate the comment 🙏🏾
I couldn't agree more. This was the main lesson I learned from Aikido. Bouncers show higher level Aikido everytime they use their verbal skills to resolve things peacefully, which they do all night long sometimes. With that being said it's good people have shown evidence of the common ancestor that Aikido has with other martial arts. I fell as often in Aikido as I did in Judo sometimes and when your tired and lack focus it can be a tough day lol. Hopefully videos like this can get more exposure to let people know. I learned aikido with people who were less built for other martial arts and those that competed in them. All of us know how to take a fall now.
Nice point about using verbal skills to resolve conflict peacefully, being an example of higher level Aikido! Thanks for watching and thank you for your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 Thank you for your contribution. Martial artists on RUclips have done a lot to reveal some terrible truths and its the perfect time to express well presented counter arguments coming from that place of experience as well. It would be a huge benefit to a lot of people outside of martial arts to adopt many of the founders teachings. "The loving reconciliation of all things" is a great way to describe Aikido.
You are neglecting the key element of Rokas' critique of aikido - when he started, he was told by an aikido sensei that it is a valid art for self defense. Which, on its own, it is not. Many, many aikido dojos make that claim, which is what Rokas is pushing back against. If Aikido senseis gave people the information you provide here, this kind of problem/misudnerstanding would not exist in the 1st place.
But styles like muay thai and BJJ arent self defence either, I cross train in both and have a black belt in aikido. Aikido has a good message about harmony and avoiding attack which is probably the best thing to do in a confrontation
Tell that to Christian Tissier or Joe Thambu their Aikido are powerful!
Gracie Jiu jitsu was for self defence only and it has proven it is the most successful fighting system on the planet.
There are training methods with resistant opponent in jujutsu but never adopted in aikido. Reason is that people that extends their aikido experience with jujutsu switched to jujutsu mostly and don't do aikido anymore.
That's very true. A lot of people have done that, in the same way that Rokas has. It's kind of like a wake up call, especially if you went into Aikido to develop your fighting ability or self-defence skills. Thanks so much for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏽
@@martialartsaddict9966 that's was my way too so I describe what I've done already. I tried both aikido and traditional jujutsu and after 4 month I stayed with jujutsu only after around 7 years with aikido. But I'm not like Rokas I don't want to criticize aikido publicly. It doesn't make any sense. Moreover aikido is the painless start in martial arts. It's quite soft so even women and children could do it without higher risk of harm.
@@vano-559 Yeah, it's a great way to get into martial arts. You can also learn some important skills, like breakfalling, that can carry through to other arts - like Judo, for example. So, it definitely has its place in the world of martial arts - and you're right to not want to criticize it.
@@martialartsaddict9966 and you need a lot of emotional strength to stop doing things take of your black belt and start over. I did that twice. Most of the people can't do that 'cause of narrow mindset proud or money just.
@@vano-559 I know how that is. I had a black belt in karate and 10 years of Wing Chun training. I started Judo and got my ass whooped. I've been training in BJJ for the last 8 years and I'm still getting my ass whooped 😂. I still train in Wing Chun though. I think the time I invested in it made me actually appreciate it.
Very well laid out. It is so important to understand the origin of the art to know the application of the art.
Kito Ryu did not involve sparring in the regular training. Sparring was actually the main thing that made Judo noteworthy. Sometimes some classical Jujutsu schools sparred some of the time (basically/usually if senior students organized it themselves, otherwise not) but I don't think any of them were known for doing it regularly. Judo was made famous in part for being the first to spar as a standard for the training
Thanks for pointing that out. They probably didn't spar on the same level that Judo does. I'm kind of still questioning all this. I used to think that they didn't do any randori and only did Kata based training. I'm not so sure now, as I've read different things about Jigoro Kano taking part in randori at different schools - this was before he developed Judo. However, I'll continue to look into it. Thank you for watching the video and for the info you've shared in your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 I believe Kano was regarded as an innovator for his work with Kumi Kata (grip fighting) Kito Ryu was historically trained in armor, grip fighting for all intents and purposes didn't exist in that context
@@asteriskcolon Nice one! Thanks for sharing that!
You've done some great research here, this stuff is gold. Keep those videos coming!
What it all boils down to is that you have limited time on the planet Earth. Limited time for family, limited time for friends, limited time to improve yourself. A few decades at most. So if your goal is self defense, what is the most efficient way to obtain combat skills that would serve your goals of self defense. If that is your journey, Aikido isn't the answer.
Excellent view of Aikido, well done. I strongly disagreed with Rokas' views a couple of years ago. Currently it seems he is finding his way.
the best explanantion ever ...this is what I have been explaining people for years now... Useshiba did not learn to fight by doing aikido!!!!...AIKI is just an expression of fundamental high understanding prinicples..not an actual martial art...the fault lies with the people who MARKET aikido as a miraculous solution for weak willed people to make them think they can actually defeeat a dangerous opponent/assailant with some cheap tricks
Thanks so much for watching and your comment!
Agree with your analysis. Many great martial artists started with other arts before learning a soft art. Chang Sang Fung, the legendary founder of Tai Chi was a former student of Shaolin, Yang Lu Chen of the “Invincible Yang” fame, the founder of Yang Style of Tai chi was a martial artist before he stole into the Yang household to secretly learn the Yang Style.
Also, as you rightly surmised, Uyeshiba’s art changed at each stage of his life. His student Gozo Shioda, created Yoshinkan Aikido which is so different from Aikikai Honbu style. Kochi Tohei, another student who had studied judo started the Ki Society which concentrated on developing Ki.
Nice one! Thank you for your comment 🙏🏾
Lots of sensible conclusions here.
I trained in a bunch of traditional systems and combat sports but found myself teaching a mix of Aikido and JJJ, with elements of FMA, and Muay Thai.
The Aiki part of the curriculum was trained both hard and soft, with the hard side being integrated into striking trapping and vertical grappling and the locks being trained for ballistic application to destroy limbs and finish a fight.
The soft training was an exploration of blending with and redirecting force to subtly overextend, unbalance or reposition an opponent and adjust joint manipulations to counter counters.
As you suggest in the video, Ueshiba's students already knew the Ju-jitsu, including all the locks and I suspect that it was this subtle enhancement of heir ability to flow into them that drew people to Ueshiba.
Certainly among the guys that trained with me, soft training improved both speed and responsiveness.
Really interesting stuff! I like how you express the hard and soft attributes of Aikido into your overall curriculum. Thanks so much for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 we do resist in locks to try if we locked uke completely. Some techniques require atemi to make uke losses balance. Sometimes we ask for more resistance in training to make sure it work well.
@@martialartsaddict9966 most aikido demonstrations in public are about soft training. In actual training some uke would resist if you don’t kuzushi or catch correctly. I don’t know about other places but in Vietnam when you reached 2nd dan you have to train hard and seriously, since Aikido founder in Vietnam learn Aikido directly from O sensei. We do atemi and counter aikido moves too.
Their headquarters are at the same place of police training. In Vietnam, Aikido is only amongst security and police officers so people don’t know about it.
@@DLTRN1369 that's really interesting! I'll see if I can find anything on Aikido in Vietnam. Thanks for your comment 🙏🏾
Just came across this video! I've come to realise since watching Rokas, is I think the founder created Aikido as a way to deal with PTSD. As well as using it as a way to bring peace. I think those of us who haven't done Aikido need to realise what the original purpose was, as well as other martial arts. I will also point out, if your goal in the martial arts is self-defense, you need to learn a lot more than just sparring
Great history of OSensei.I don't practice Aikido but I do Kung Fu and have a great appreciation of Japanese arts in general and have a great regard for OSensei's story.
I used to practice Aikido a long time ago but not anymore. I do Wing Chun and BJJ but, like you, I love all martial arts!!! I really like researching about all different styles of martial arts. Thanks so much for watching my video and for your comment!
@@martialartsaddict9966 That's ok it's good to find a positive commentary site.So many trolls who are martial artists but have no love in their hearts.
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
The two parts you have done on Rokas and Aikido are, in my opinion, absolutely spot on. And that is from someone who has done Aikido for 23 years and bjj since 2007. I got trapped in the whole Steven seagal mania in the late 80s and thought he was just the ultimate fighter on the planet.
it's by design... aikido is meant to end fighting by developing cooperative and harmonious genuine people, not fighters...
@@VenturaIT Yes but the problem with that is it actually doesn't. Ha
There’s also the issue that modern aikido lacks aiki in the original form developed to a high level by Takeda, Ueshiba, Sagawa, Horikawa, Okuyama, and other notable Daito-ryu practitioners. Aiki, as a Taoist internal body skill, was the difference-maker that allowed relatively small men like Takeda and Ueshiba to prove themselves against a number of formidable judoka and other jujutsuka and earn their respect to the point that these tough men took up the practice of Daito-ryu. Developing aiki as a body skill has little to do with the modern syllabus of aikido waza and everything to do with the Taoist solo training traditionally considered inner-door teachings in the aiki arts and other Asian internal martial arts. Some of Ueshiba’s preferred exercises are shown in this video - however, over time, sadly the vast majority of aikidoka only understand them as warm-up exercises, if they place any value on them at all.
You're exactly right. 99% of martial arts is like what you learn in high school. How many times have you had to know who the 4th president was in your adult life? Unless it is required for your job, how many times have you used Algebra in your adult life? It's useless stuff, unless you're in a profession that utilizes it. You know when martial arts are actually useful? When you want to be a martial arts instructor.
The UFC is a showcase for what works and does not work. Back when the Gracie family owned it, there were no rules, and it was called the Ultimate Fighting Challenge because that is what it was. Two men go into the octagon, and they fought until one of them won. There were no time limits, rules or weight classes. (Actually, they had one rule, my bad, no eye gouging) They ended up selling the business when it started getting banned and rules were having to be added to make it acceptable to places so they could book the events, and that's not what they wanted.
So, that being said, go back and watch UFC1 up until they sold it (I'd have to go look to see when that was) and you wll see ZERO martial arts moves that were used during the actual combat. No wrist locks, no flipping people, not even blocked punches - they cover up, they don't block anything. Brazilian ju Jitsu is the only art that they actually use that is effective. I watched one fight that was a 180lb guy fighting a 600lb Samoan. Did you use some ancient martial art that uses an opponents weight against him? Nope. He made sure the dude never got a grip on him and used his speed to punch him in the head every chance he got until he dazed him then went to town kicking him in the head when he fell down.
Strikes - kicking, punching, palming and wrestling/Ju-Jitsu - that's what works in a real fight. The rest is useless in a fight. As one trainer in the UFC said - "We have the ability to make millions of dollars and every fighter is a competitor that wants to win - if something worked, we'd be using it" and that comes from men who all have black belts in different forms of the martial arts. But, they all focus on striking and wrestling in their careers when it comes to fighting. You'll never see a UFC fighter training for a fight by brushing up on his Aikido skills.
Yeah, that's completely true. A huge percentage of the techniques that you learn in Aikido are not suited to an actual freestyle fight. It's a martial art that relies on the attacker being compliant and allowing the Aikidoka to perform the techniques. As soon as you as resistance into the mix, it'll very quickly end in close grappling - similar to Judo, BJJ or Wrestling. Like you pointed out, no one's going to brush up on their Aikido to improve their chances of winning an MMA fight. I made a video about the early UFC Days. It's about the time a well known Wing Tsun fighter was invited to take part. Please check it out 🙏🏾
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
Thank you. It's so ridiculous and irritating when folks just buy into the idea that Ueshiba, a life long martial arts practitioner, simply didn't understand the basic truths of training that they, with their impressive 5 and a half months of boxing at a local fitness gym, already do know. Just use your common sense, people: if he specifically excluded sparring and competition from his system, he obviously did it on purpose! "Effectiveness" at kicking someone's back side was never a priority.
Thanks for sharing this video. My view about Rokas is that: 1. He did not understand Aikido for what it is and what it offers. 2. Rokas was not a very skilled Instructor teaching Aikido. His techniques were not strong and lacked Martial edge to them. 3. Aikido is a complicated Martial Art, due to many styles there are and to truly understand what the Founder was doing, one needs to understand the history of it. The Founder was still changing Aikido from pre-war and Post-war, so the early styles were not the final version of Aikido that the Founder created. His last years of his life were spent in Iwama and he changed more things and added Aiki Ken and Aiki Jo, that Morihiro Saito Sensei put together (with the permission of O'Sensei). O'Sensei was not teaching them in the syllabus that Morihiro Saito put together, as Founder was doing Aikido like he was breathing it. Morihiro Saito created the 'Alphabet' so to speak and thanks to his genius plan, many have studied Iwama Ryu Aikido and got a deeper understanding of this Art as the Bukiwasa goes hand in hand with Taijutsu and helps Taijutsu tremendously and vice versa. Aikikai has not had this deep level of understanding. in Iwama Aikido, there is study of Kihon (and Kino negara) but the former is allowing Uke to deliver a strong attack so Tori begins with the worst possible start, so to subdue Uke, Tori must work with the hips, which is taught in the Bukiwasa, so Tori will have a stronger hips stability, a better understanding with distance, stronger Zanchin with the feeling of being surrounded. In a nut shell, one (like Rokas) can learn Aikido and lacks strong Martial skills sets and develop an Aikido that will not be effective. I think it is important to find the right teacher who has got this Martial Edge. In my view (and feel free to check my RUclips channel), one should practice a strong Aikido, using techniques correctly and in the context of being surrounded. If the technique did not work, don't blame Aikido but it was simply not done correctly. Many teach Aikido that will never work in the street, because they are not interested in teaching effective and practical Aikido. To me, it has to be the first priority. I used to work as Bouncer for many years and I have used Aikido many times and I had my struggles with it but understood that it was not Aikido that it was not effective but the technique not applied correctly. My study with Iwama has changed all of that but also thanks to finding the right instructor! You could still do Iwama and learn the techniques wrong! So this makes things more complex. So for Rokas, his Aikido was weak for a start and he did not study long enough with a good instructor to make it powerful.
That's really interesting! That's true, Morihei Ueshiba was going through changes during the development of Aikido and he most probably would have kept it evolving. I'm definitely going to look into the points you've raised and I'll also check your channel out. Thanks so much for watching my video and commenting 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 You are welcome. It is actually a hot topic as many don't like to see that they have studied Aikido that isn't what O'sensei was visioning. The later years of his life is a big transformation. I studied Aikikai Aikido (back in France) and then did Yoshinkan Aikido and then Iwama Ryu, which is the Art I have been practicing since 1995 onward to this day. My journey has helped me see this and also working in the Security industry. Had I only practiced Aikikai, then I would not have had the same view that I have discovered. When you don't know, then you don't know but when the Bukiwasa is revealed to you and see that the footwork, body positioning, hips positioning, posture, one against many, applying Kokyu with the weapons, it really is striking. You can see the huge difference and why Bukiwasa is not taught as a separate Art. O'Sensei did say what is Kenjutsu is or Iaido is, they are not Aikido or they do not use principles of Aiki Ken or Aiki Jo. The relationship is so strong that M. Saito Sensei used to say: when you practice Bukiwasa, think Taijutsu and vice versa. Meaning that there is a technique with the weapons because of your hips placement, you will find Irimi Nage, Kote Gaeshi, Shiho Nage and the list is endless. It is truly fascinating and another strong element is that the Bukiwasa works with Awase (blending) so Uke and Tori are matching the movements in harmony, so to speak one lives (Tori) and one dies (Uke) by moving at the right time, so that Uke thinks he has a chance to win over but Tori has the edge factor... Awase is not taught in Aikikai because of the lack of weapons study. You may find some instructors within Aikikai teaching weapons but they would be from Kenjutsu or Iaido so they do not have the Aiki Ken principle...
@@nickregnier1 Ahhh! That's actually making sense to me. I have always noticed that Iwama Ryu Aikido seems to apply the use of weapons during training, more so than other styles. Now that you've mentioned it, I've never noticed that type of training in Aikikai. When I was training in Shodokan Aikido, a couple of the higher grades were training with Bokken. When I asked them about it, they did tell me that they are not learning to fight using the Bokken but that it was being used to improve footwork. Thanks for the insight! Nice one!!!
@@martialartsaddict9966 you are welcome. You can see bukiwasa videos I have been making alone during the pandemic on my RUclips channel. You will see the footwork, hips moving, relaxed shoulders and arms but using the Kokyu. I have done lots of videos to help our Aikido community stay positive.
@@nickregnier1 I just checked out your club website! I can see that you know what you're talking about!
Ueshiba started in other arts, but he switched to Aiki Jujitsu because of its effectiveness. He then trained only in that art and was able to defeat all those who wanted to test him. If co-operative training methods were so bad, his fighting ability would have degenerated, but it didn't.
Dude you're spot on. I like Rokas but it seems like he never even read the art of peace. Ueshiba wanted aikido to be a safe and non violent way to preserve and experience samurai fighting techniques, a way to get the mental benefits of martial practice without the dangerous part of it. Aikido was always meant to be impractical, but it was probably easier to sell it as a self defence system.
I'm saying this as a former karateka and kickboxer who's getting into aikido now. I miss the training, but I'm not willing to put myself through all those full contact strikes again, after a while combat sports don't work for self defence cause they bloody destroy your body, and aikido is relaxing alternative to that
In my opinion and I always thought that, Aikido is efficient against untrained opponents, not against fighters. That's why it's very used by bouncers and police. Also, it gives them the choice to immobilize without harming them.
Not everyone is good for aikido, you need a lot of flexibility to practice aikido. I think what makes an art effective in general is finding the right art for you, not everybody functions the same way.
That's a very valid point. In regards to Aikido, I have been to clubs where they take into account these factors, especially for their older students. However, you're correct that everyone needs to find an art that is right for them. Great point.
@@martialartsaddict9966 I can relate to it because where I come from I always grew up watching martial arts all the way from Kung fu tai chi up to judo and Jiu-Jitsu and one thing I always learned was that it is not the art but rather the person behind it. Ring fight is one thing, danger, street and survivor is another.
@@alanarroyo7139 Yeah, that's also true.
Hold on... Rokas' main point is that Aikido IS PRESENTED as being an effective method of self defense while it clearly isn't!
So... you're wrong about him being wrong?
Yeah, but when he started Aikido, he thought it was an effective martial art - which is where, like a lot of people, he was wrong. Now that he's realised that, he's right and he's doing the 'right' thing, for what he wants, anyway, out of martial arts. So, he's 'right' but was 'wrong' in the first place. Which made him 'wrong' but now 'right'. You know what, I'm confusing myself with this. Whatever the case, Rokas is 'right' now.....but was 'wrong' before.... when he thought that he was 'right' to think that the 'Aikido' that he was practicing was effective.... which was 'wrong'....and he's now 'right' about that. Anyway, cheers for the comment.
Only Steven Seagal whos a black belt in teshin aikido knows aikido works + lenny sly whos made positive videos on the dynamics of aikido search it 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🤍🤍🤍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Excellent video well done good job and spot on. Aikido is very dangerous and can kill, i know. As O'Sensei said aikido is 99% atemi waza which basically means smack them in the face first. Rokus had a very, very weak aikido background (crap to be perfectly blunt) and to be fair he would have been battered by most strong aikido schools and may have quit early. Instead of getting a black belt (he was worth a 2nd kyu at best) and going on and on ridiculing aikido every chance he got from this weak perspective ... his very weak perspective. However, he got taken up with the trend of showing aikido in a bad light and so went with that trend because it brought attention and fame for himself and this attention and fame he capitalized on and propagated much to the annoyance to old school aikido practitioners. Rokus may want to go back to aikido later on but he should come back as a white belt in a strong school or better yet, piss off forever from aikido because he has already sold his soul.
Good video, it is common for Aikido practitioners to cross train in other styles, like judo, jujitsu or striking arts, like boxing or Muay Thai...I've always been baffled by Rokas approach to learn Aikido about that... after a very looooooong time ... better late than never...he got stuck with that kotegaeshi...good for him, in the end, he managed to get better...but I never like him when he blames the art ... because everyone is entitled to do whatever they like to do...
The funny thing is that I just watched a clip with Khabib's coach, Mendez, and he is in hanmi...the basic Aikido guard... Rokas...Come on Dude...Are you blind 🤣?
Kito Ryu actually also had the concept of Aiki. A lot of battlefield Jujutsu styles did.
But it had little, if anything, to do with love. I don't think we ever talk about love in my style (decency, mercy, perhaps) and I actually train one of the two Ki Aikido styles (the offshoot one, that is more focused on combat application than the original Ki Aikido style is)
We also do resist the throws in my style; if we can embarrass a black belt by not being thrown, we should.
That's really interesting! Was the term 'Aiki' being used for sure before Ueshiba? Or did he actually coin the term? I always thought Daito-Ryu was a form of Aiki Jiu-jitsu. However, I read somewhere that Ueshiba gave it that name. Before that it was just Daito-Ryu Jiu-Jitsu. If you could clarify that for me, it would be great 🙏🏾
@@martialartsaddict9966 Takeda Sokaku has definitely been reported to use the concept. It's actually on the Wikipedia page for Daito Ryu (Takeda Sokaku's interpretation of "Aiki")
The "Ki" in "Kito" Ryu is the same "Ki" as in "Aiki". Kito Ryu also appears to have the concept of "Aiki"
Ki roughly means energy, spirit.
"Aiki" means to join energy (actually very similar to "ju" (softness or yielding) in judo and Jujutsu)
Joining energy, harmonizing are basically just advanced or abstract Ju concepts... Ju is much more like, pull when they push, push when they pull. Don't fight force with force
Aiki is supposed to be next level. Same way you can bait the opponent with an opening, for a shoot, or a punch, or whatever, Aiki aims to choose the opponents attacks for them by making only one attack feel viable, and then the throw would be effortless... No force, just harmony, since they are already doing exactly what you wanted
Easier said than done. But that's how Aiki is supposed to manifest itself in combat
@@asteriskcolon I'll take a look into that. I wasn't aware of Takeda ever using the term 'Aiki'. I knew that the 'Ki' in Kito Ryu represented the concept of 'energy'. I think the 'To' is supposed to have the same meaning as in 'Do' or 'Tao'. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. I kind of saw 'Ju' using the push and pull actions against two different points. So, for example, I pull my opponent by his lapel (Pull) and my foot sweeps his foot (causing the Push). I understood 'Aiki' as focussing the push and pull concept onto a single point - wrist or elbow, for example. I like the baiting idea you've talked about - causing the opponent to attack in a particular way. That's something cool for me to check out. Nice one!
@@martialartsaddict9966 I always understood, coming originally from a Goju Ryu Karate background, "go" means hard, like meet force with force. Punch when they punch, push when they push. Try to break their arm when you block their strikes
"Ju" in Goju meant to yield. The opposite of push when they push... It means pull when they push. Intercept, and move to a better position for leverage as you do
Jujutsu is sometimes translated as the art of yielding (to force)
@@asteriskcolon Yeah, that's true. 'Ju' does refer to the concept of yielding. That's why Yoshin Ryu means 'Willow Heart' or 'Willow Truth' or something along those lines. The flexibility of the Willow tree allows it to give way or yield to strong winds or heavy snow. The likelihood of such a tree breaking in these circumstances is much less in comparison to a firmer type of tree.
Tomorrow live: Remy Martial art 101 VS Rokas from Martial Art Journey debating about the effectiveness of Aikido! Grab your chips your coffee. Let's goooo!!! : ruclips.net/video/Xayp2D7OCHU/видео.html
Lol!!! Yeah!!! I'm gonna be checking that out!!!
@@martialartsaddict9966 yes me too. I'm curious to see how it will turn out!
Because of the nature of Aikido training many uke don't look for the chance to take over and reverse or stop a technique. In beginner levels you usually don't try . This is the problem people like Rokas never get past beginner traing form.. Once you have reached a level you should explore taking over a technique. The thing is with good Aikido the uke 's balance is broken making it hard to resist.. Hard to fight back when your fighting gravity. Translation of Japanese ideas also has presented probably the major problem giving rise to the fluffy aikido many do. Ueshiba was talking about Karma, and natural order not never being forceful. In a real situation you guided the energy of the attack back to the attacker, preventing the creation of more disharmony of karma. UESHIBA "Aikido is to kill with one blow" Aikido was developed as a training system to allow training against powerful attacks without hurting the practioners in training actual applications could be different .
You've raised some interesting points. I was under the impression that Rokas was involved in Aikido for over 10 years. I'm shocked that he never got past the beginner level. I get what you mean, once your balance is broken, it is extremely difficult to stop a throw. Thanks for watching the video. Also, thank you for your comment - it's given me some interesting things to look into 🙏🏾!!!
@@martialartsaddict9966 was reading comments and see where one person says he only had about 3 years training. I have no idea if this is correct but don't doubt it. I have said I have seen kyu ranks with better techniques and understanding. 3 or 15 doesn't matter, he was still practicing forms style.This is not just him you have a large number that have fallen into the fluffy harmony crowd. Harmony is blending with the energy of the attack not being chummy with the attacker, Bruce Lee's be like water.To grow spiritually you have to be able to make a choice. Always heard the levels of learning in any martial art was, break or kill, then hurt, then control without hurting then stopping without physical encounter. Ueshiba was about raising people to the top levels but didn't discard the other. You did the best you could. You had to know how to damage in order to cho8not to. To choose not to hurt someone that you can makes you a pacifist, not to hurt someone just because you can't makes you a whimp. Back to Rokas, don't know how many years he actually trained but he is not a good practioner or teacher. Third degree is by many martial artists considered where you are just starting to break out in understanding. Would recommend you look into Shihab Mitsubishi Saotome and some of his top students: Hiroshi Ikeda ,John Messores, George Ledyard, William Gleason there are others. Gleason has out a couple of books dealing with the esoteric shinto elements but also just the levels and structure or learning, think it's the words of power book this is in. Ueshiba formed a training system that set the goal of being good enough that you could turn the energy of an attacker, in training fast speed with low injury, real attacks the results depended on the attackers force and intent ,he injuring himself . Thus you create minimal violence disruption of universal harmony preserved,attacker pay his karma immediately and appropriate to his violence. Sorry for that long side line. Anyway system to over time took people to the point they could deal with attacks without add unnecessary violence .life time training development. Ueshiba spoke os one teaching as a life time technique another as 20 year. This wasn't the basic application but understanding of all the principles that were in these techniques
@@michealpuckett8856 Yeah, I saw that somewhere as well. However, I'm not to sure if that's correct, as I'm pretty sure Rokas has said that he was involved in Aikido for 15 years. Maybe, he started his own dojo after 3 years of training. I'm not sure about that though. However, I do believe that he's trained in Aikido for over 10 years, and I do believe that he's a legit Aikidoka. I do think you could be right though - maybe, things would've changed in his training after he received his 3rd Dan. It's a good point to consider.
To me, aikido is essentially a dance form.
Rokas didn’t even use the basics of aikido when he tried. He abandoned the footwork right off the bat
Modern aikido is just jujitsu with peaceful slogans. Honbu dojo never taught the aiki part, the son never had what O Sensei had. Check out Goldberg Sensei of daitoryu, the precursor to aikido.
Nice one! I'll have a look at some videos of Goldberg Sensei. Thanks!
I think that the main problem with people who try to use Aikido for the purpose of self defense and fighting is that they end up putting the cart before the horse.
It would be great if you could elaborate on this.
This makes me curious as to whether or not do Aikido.....I did it backwards I wrestled for 10 years competing from 13 to 23.....perhaps it would be a good transition
Why dont you give it a try? Most will offer a first free lesson. I still occasionally train aikido but mostly its muay thai and BJJ now. I like the breathing exercises and stretching helps with recovery
many people wanna learn martial art just to become strong , but not many thinking how they will use the arts on daily life. except their job is police / miltary / bodyguards
Those are fair comments. I'm personally of the view that anyone who wishes to learn a self defence should look around until they find a style to form their self defence roots, then once they start to reach competence(say, past mid level between beginner & instructor), they should branch start to branch out to learn from other styles so they learn what works best for them. I think that it is beneficial to learn from both hard and soft styles as they compliment each other and each their use in their own situations. Soft styles can be best practice in avoiding a fight. I know it's worked for myself way back when. And stopping an attack without getting into hard fight can cause people to pause.
Nice one! That's true, the soft styles can be good for avoiding an attack - or conflict altogether, for that matter. Thanks so much for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏾
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
@@changsublee1385 My interest into Rokas isn't martial arts enlightenment just as I don't view Aikido an effective self defence system.
@@TheNakedWombat I respect your "opinion" . I just want to point out whether or not akido is useless or an effective self defense system should be
discussed with real experts who know real stuffs, not with an impostor like Rokas. If an English literature major discusses quantum mechanics, everyone will simply laugh at him..That is my point. Good luck on your training.
@@changsublee1385 I no longer train. I haven't for years due to medical reasons but I was a freestyle practictioner with roots in TKD.
I believe I understand where you are coming from. I once had a friendly exchange with someone I knew who was supposed be a qualified instructor in ninjutsu but he was way below par. It was beyond disappointing.
Have you seen the no touch videos of aikido's founder? That was the point where it went from not so martial art to cult in my mind.
Yeah, I have seen the no touch videos. You're right in that at this point, Aikido had become as far removed from the martial side as possible. Thank you for watching my video and for commenting!!!
Yup that's when his spirituality and religion became his focus and the Daito Ryu and the combativeness was gone
The grandmaster and Nikola Tesla have the same birthday as me
13 seconds into your video I'm pretty sure that I remember seeing Rokas trying to learn from Lenny Sly Sensei via video link. Okay, I was a lowly 3rd Kyu in Tenshin style Aikido 30yrs ago(admittedly, I don't feel that I was that great even back then) and I'm going to say something that I've been holding back for a while now. And you may say the same thing in your video. That's the risk I Take'. (Inside joke) Unless he changed his training and application, he wasn't doing, practicing or teaching good Aikido. Simply compare his Irimi Nage to anyone that's been taught by Seagal Sensei, his top students/instructors or even go another generation away to their black belts. His timing, distance, arm position, foot work and a million other nuances are miles apart from any one of them and appear practically useless even against his students. At least in the videos that I've seen here. I commend him on getting over 100 students and I've watched a few of his videos and he seems intelligent and well spoken. I don't know if he ever went to any other Tenshin associated Sensei's to get hands on correction. I do know that Sly Sensei mentioned Aikidoka not being able to apply their techniques and instead of looking at what they could change, jumping ship to other arts like BJJ, which is an amazing art. lol. Just opened your initial caption. Oh well. have a great day.
Thanks for watching the video and for your comment 🙏🏾
Originally, Martial art was not designed for fighting, but to understand Buddhism. Even O Sensei in his late stage of development said Aikido is for the understanding the working of the Universe. Aiki means to join, as in Yoga. The best way to join is to absorb the attacker's aggression which requires a lot of flexibility which almost non of the Aikidoist could achieved, the closest person that has that ability whom I saw was Sensei Yamaguchi. Unless one could yield 100% to an attacker with out losing balance, Aikido will not work against a professional fighter. However, self defense against a criminal is a different matter. They attacker without intelligent or fake. People should realizes that self defense is very difference that fighting a MMA match.
I'll see if I can find some videos on Sensei Yamaguchi. You're right - self-defence is very different to fighting in MMA. You're not choosing or agreeing to have a a fight in a self-defence situation - you're being attacked. Thanks for watching my video and for commenting 🙏🏾
I was fortunate to attended a few classes of Sensei Yamaguchi. It brought me a new view on Aikido. In real person, he seemed boneless. There is a lot of videos on him in youtube, but none showed how flexible he was. But do check it out. Japanese has misdirected the intention of Martial art. Prior to MMA, I had said that Karate was not designed for fighting and it would not work in sport fighting. People were upset at me. I am glad that MMA became popular even it was not true martial art. It is same thing for Judo which turned into a wrestling, nothing soft about it. Now the Brazil Ju jitsu has came out so many new ground techniques, In my opinion, it is good for progress of Martial art.
I don't agree with what you said. Love in the universe is all well and good but people in real life can and may try to kill you. What use is a ritualistic excercise in that setting? I would think, Ueshiba, being an ex soldier, would understand that. Feeling love can't help you when you're dead. If Aikido is NOT about self defense then teachers need to state that. Make that clear so that people who want to know how to preserve their own lives can go elsewhere. If it IS about preserving your own life then make that clear too and then say how the touchy feely love business fits in within the primal desire to not be murdered.
I personally don't think it can fit. In my view, you're either going to train to face danger in a practical way or you're not. Well, that's the reason I'd never practice Aikido. I think it isn't practical enough. Or at least, most of its instructors are amazingly impractical.
You've made a good point. You're basically saying that if Aikido is a philosophical art and not practically effective, the instructors should say that. I agree with that point. I'm not sure whether a lot of instructors realise that though. If they've been told that they are practicing something effective for self-defence, they'll believe that - if they enjoy what they are practicing. They won't know any better until they are put in a position whereby they have to defend themselves. If they're lucky enough for that not to happen, then they don't question it, and go on to teach. Saying that, I would practice Aikido...if I had the time. Right now, all my time is taken up with BJJ Gi and No-Gi, and some Wing Chun, if I can get that in. I'm not really practicing either of these for self-defence. I'm just training because I enjoy training. It's really all about a mindset - I could train in the most practical art but, if it came down to having to defend myself, I might still be overwhelmed by the adrenaline dump of an actual situation that could potentially mean life or death. If the person has a gun, what good is BJJ or Wing Chun? I know, that you'd be thinking that BJJ, Judo, MMA etc, would give you a fighting chance, better than Aikido, if you went into fight mode. So, saying that, I do get your point. Cheers for watching the video and commenting. Nice one
@@martialartsaddict9966 You're welcome. I love martial arts too but I live in a very violent society. I'm Jamaican. I've no use for martial arts or martial art training methods that cannot be used for fighting. Sure, a gun would be useful. Though, in Jamaica people have been killed by other people who want to steal their firearms. Basically something I can fight with that I've been trained to fight with is useful. A martial art is a tool for me. I don't think I'd ever have any interest in a discipline like Aikido. I think it would never become popular here because of the nature of our society. We need stuff that works for fighting. Because there is no Aiki around here.
slt c est pas mal dit !! dommage que la traduction YT et mauvaise mais , j ai compris ce que vous vouliez dire .
Désolé pour la traduction YT. Merci d'avoir regardé!
All martial arts have something to offer, maybe it won’t be great on its own but it can be great in combination with other arts
Even BJJ, judo, musty Thai, boxing, should be combined with other arts
Yeah, I think it is a good idea to cross train.
I have contacted Rokas, and he was very open to my response...my response was in a few months I will start replying...I have some serious shit to deal with in the next little while.
But what I will say here is similar to what I said to Rokas and what I will say in my RUclips videos. ( Sendokan Dojo)
One of my sensei who I respect immensely encouraged me to respond with RUclips videos to Rokas, and I will.
What I want to say about this video....I think the narrator gets everything pretty much...but if you are going to do a you tube video about a Japanes martial art, learn to pronounce names and styles correctly!
Also there were a number of students who trained with O'sensei in the "Hell dojo"
Different students too different things away with them depending on when they trained and what O'sensei what focused on at the time.
My proposition/ theory is....and I stand to be corrected by lots of Martial Artists is that it seems to me that aikido has a far more wide range of "styles" than other Martual arts. My problem with Rokas and to some extent with this video is that ni one seems to recognize that different styles of Aikido have very different and a very wide range of fouci.
Lenny Sly ( I watch his stuff all the time) has a martial sense to it. I don't agree with everything he says. But he is out there showing what works....in AIKIDO...and when you watch him he is doing g aikido not some original jujitsu as this video suggests. I study Yoshinkan, and our focus is the martial effectiveness of Aikido. I am a spiritual guy, but that part of me is a very very small part of my aikido training.
The range of what is aikido is huge, fro. Almost a Dai to Ryu aikido jujitsu to a religious sect / cult ( sorry my bias is showing there. O think all styles are great for what they are teaching / good at. Rokas's style of aikidonis not martially focused at all. But he takes his spiritual yoga zen aikido that he has been learning for 14 years ( talk to me when you have 25 to 30 years of real training) oops sorry my bias again and states this is aikido and I can't do anything against anyone I other martial arts...Rokas is right, but he and his training would not alow him to take my grandmother and she died in 1988!
What I would like to see is people state their affiliation prior to posting
Thanks for your comment! Yeah, I do need to work on my Japanese pronunciation. In regards to Yoshinkan Aikido, I do understand that it is a style that does attempt to bring back the focus of self-defence. However, I still think that the art concentrates so much on form, it makes applying the techniques extremely difficult. However, I'd be really interested to see your take on this! Thanks again and thanks for watching my video 🙏🏾
The last point on learning Aikido at a later age or season because of accumulative injuries from other combative martial arts I think is totally wrong. You don’t see many older Aikidoka being the uke to do dynamic break falls. Most are younger practitioners making the older ones look good ;). And many veteran aikido senseis have problems doing techniques on their knees too. You can get as much injuries doing Aikido as a martial art.
That's a good point. However, I would imagine that the Aikido curriculum is slightly different for older people. Plus, if you're coming in from a more combat orientated martial art, like judo or BJJ for example, Aikido will not be as much of a stress on the body. However, it's hard to imagine a 50 year old being the Uke in Aikido. They probably wouldn't take on that aspect of Aikido. I'm not sure about this, so it would be great to find out. Thanks for your comment🙏🏾
All those people criticizing Aikido are training so hard in combative arts to fight who exactly? When? If ever...
I would very much prefer training for life, rather than for a hypothetical 2 min fight that might never happen in your life.
It still baffles me that Rokas didn't understand the principles of his art at his level of training. Even though we should do what is necessary to make techniques effective, the essence of aikido is that of reconciliation and peace.
That definitely is the essence of Aikido. Thanks for your comment 🙏🏾
he should do jujutsu or judo if he wants to make a8kido work
I absolutely agree.
That's great!!! Thanks so much for watching the video and for your comment!!!
It's all about love. Aikido isn't realistic or combat oriented to begin with
see my comments
This clip show only hombu style, it's for exercise. For self defense must see iwama ryu.
Great video, and right to the point.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video!!! Thanks for watching and thank you for your comment 🙏🏾.
Aikido is not meant to defeat MMA guys! How many MMA guys are attacking people on the street? For them use a gun
When martial artists of the time of O-Sensei talk about not injuring people they’re talking about serious, life threatening injuries. This doesn’t include broken bones or concussions. An American who trained with the founder in Japan during the 50s once told me that he “doesn’t get where O-Sensei being an avatar of peace comes from, he used to beat the shit out of us.” Many of O-Sensei’s students fought martial artists from other arts in bars on a regular basis. Aikido is a combat art, not a sport. I don’t know where you’re getting the idea that it’s not supposed to work, but it’s simply not true.
Many of the original students of Morihei Ueshiba were already well versed in other martial arts, such as Judo. They had experience in actual combat. Morihei Ueshiba had a lot of experience in actual combat. The Aikido of today does not reflect that whatsoever. It's more of a theoretical and philosophical art than a method of combat. Morihei Ueshiba has even described it as an art of peace himself. Are you saying that he's wrong in the description of his own art?
@@martialartsaddict9966 I could tell before he made a fool of himself in an MMA ring that Rokas was poorly trained by his position he ended the techniques in. I’ve got over a decade more experience in “his art” than he does. So yeah, I’m saying he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
@@kingash71 I think you've misunderstood what I said. I actually said that Morihei Ueshiba described Aikido as an art of peace, rather than combat. He even said in an interview that there is no room for 'warlike' behaviour. So, I was asking you if you're saying that Morihei Ueshiba is wrong in his description of his own art? In addition, when did Rokas make a fool of himself in an MMA fight? Have you ever done an MMA fight? Give him some respect for going out of his comfort zone and trying to test what he's learned.
@@martialartsaddict9966 if an MMA fighter lost a fight and said “MMA is no good! It made me lose my fight!” would you have any respect for them? And when did O-Sensei say any of that?
@@kingash71 I've never heard an MMA fighter say that. In regards to what Morihei Ueshiba said, here's the link to an interview that he did:
aikidojournal.com/2016/09/24/interview-with-morihei-ueshiba-and-kisshomaru-ueshiba/
Well done!
SAN SOO and Aikido works together.
Love your insight thank you. You are a genius
Thanks so much!!! I really didn't expect to ever receive such a compliment!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video!!!
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
Changsub Lee like I said I agree with you. Rokas is a fake. If you pay attention to his earlier video he is a fake. I just started aikido for 4 months now and I love it.
THE PRESSURE TESTING MYTH: Experience, actual experience makes a teacher. Yet what does it teach? One steps into Octagon,,, after all this 'realistic' sparring,,, all this wresting 'rolling,' and then get smashed around for 15-25 minutes. What did you learn? That you don't know how to fight. That you don't know how to handle a MARGINALLY better opponent. Dude, you are fan of MMA... and we see commercial MMA competitors with all this 'evolved' training... get their clocks absolutely cleaned on the one hand,,, on the other... stumble & struggle for 15-25 minutes going nowhere... taking a beat down of one sort or another. Getting into a physical altercation is not a substitute for actually understanding what's behind what one is doing. Feedback can be invaluable. Preparation is what's essential. What preparation does Rokas, your prospective sparring partner have in martial arts? Martially speaking, there's your starting point, bro.... CHEERS.
This is not how Aikido schools promote themselves. There in lies the problem.
That's true. A lot of Aikido schools don't promote themselves in this way. It could be that a lot of Aikido schools are trying to move away from the founder's original intention and move towards a more practical emphasis. I'm going to have a look into this. Thanks for your comment 🙏🏾
First correction they never studied jiu jitsu, the name of ryu means something. Calling a japanese system jiu Jitsu is like a person John doe it mean you have a legite lineage
Don't ever insult Aikido Rokas you should no better you want to challenge Seagal kid
excellent video !
Nice one!!! Thanks for watching and commenting 🙏🏾!!!
You’d nearly train aikido for breakfalls, in a ton of the videos on screen these lads are just doing flips and throwing themselves to the ground like it’s nothing
Judo is more practical for break falls, as you're actually been thrown and not throwing yourself. I've trained both
Aikido DOESN'T work for self defense. And it's kind of laughable that your video refuting him shows exclusively footage of people using aikido in controlled, cooperative demonstrations and not a single frame of footage showing it being used in actual self defense and/or against a resisting subject. Starting with the founder doing the exact same thing we see in modern aikido; compliant demonstrations against cooperative subjects who happily throw themselves around to make the technique look effective.
It says a lot that you show footage of judo and jujutsu practitioners stress testing their skills and using them against resisting subjects, but you couldn't scrounge up a SINGLE shot of aikido being used practically?
If aikido practitioners want to advertise it as a form of soft exercise like taichi, then that's fine. But they need to be upfront about that and state outright that it is not effective for self defense and will not teach a person how to protect themselves form an attacker. Which is the entire point that Rokas has made. A martial art is, by definition, a style of combat; and if your style is useless for combat then it's not a martial art. It's a performance art.
The argument you're putting forward is essentially moving the goal posts: "Oh well, it'll work provided you learn to fight by studying a style that works first!" That barely even rises to the level of being an argument in aikido's favour.
You are spot on.
What is seemingly a personal growth in martial arts journey is all fakes. Rokas' only formal training in akido is 3 years training in Switzerland. Then, he opened his MC dojo in Lutheran and named himself a sensei. Later, he was accused as a fake akido sensei by his own students obviously because of frequent mistakes he made in demonstrating of akido techniques in front of students and now claims all akido is a fake and useless self defense. Rokas misrepresented himself as an akido expert with reliable background and drew attention from naive youtubers by saying that an akido expert like "himself" was soundly beaten by an MMA novice and all Akido is ussless in real self defense situations. Do not subscribe or watch his videos. There are plenty of teenagers with 3 years of akido training with some MMA experience in the world, who also happen to have college degrees. Yes, Rokas is a high school graduate with 3 year of akido training and a few years of MMA training. He is no expert in anything.. just a pretender. If you still find Rokas useful in enlightening yourselves in martial arts, go for it.. that will be your personal decisions. I am simply poinint out this fact for some good people who are falsely intrigued by this fake martial artist. His claim of 14 years of akido experience does not add up unless he had started akido at the age of 6 in Lithuania because he opened his MC dojo at the age of 22.
do Kickboxing, Muay thai,.Jujitsu, karate, MMA,,till you're 35/45yr" ish"., then when your body's knackered,,,then do Tai Chi... yes.?.
Yeah, I think that is a good way to go. Although, I'm trying to push the BJJ to 60 years old!!! I'm 47 years at the moment, so that gives me 13 years...if I can last😂
Yeah, I did watch the Part 2. Here's the issue. See my broad comment on Part 1: Point (1). Which Kind of Martial Art? So what general type of martial art does Aikido fall under? (2) Competence of Practitioner. Next, you and viewers bring up the issue of practitioner vs. art. So how credible is the practitioner,,, making some video after his 15 years of FAILURE? Point (3) ART Defined. Which then leads one to ask, what the heck is a martial art, here Aikido? Point (4) The 'Coequal Wisdom.' We then see all these videos, all these protestations, about how a certain martial art... didn't work, doesn't work. Okay... so WHY? Like, I went to an MMA gym and my Aikido Butt butt got kicked. The answer isn't... OH BOY, MMA IS GREAT. I just posted a video link of the arguably Top MMA Camp's Flagship female competitor not even making it through one round... against a good MMA competitor, but from a relatively unknown Boxing camp & trainer. So, what is the answer? Skill and understanding in a martial art style. Which leads us back to an examination of the arts of Muay Thai utilized for MMA vs. Boxing utilized for MMA. And of those base arts. This is an intensive undertaking... and necessarily one must ask, "How hard is it to do the martial art in question? How complicated is it? Do people even understand it? Are people just trying to beat the opponent standing across from them by expedient means... or are they invested in understanding? CHEERS.
This sounds like a Chadi copy of his theory. I don't agree with this theory though even if it's interesting, because why would aikido have tai sabaki, ma-ai, irimi, atemi and bone breaking locks if the case that's it's only a flower power hippie dance?
I don't think it's a 'flower power hippie Dance'. It's more of a philosophical study that uses certain practices to explain the principles it follows - such as balance breaking, centering, distraction and the focus of power on a single point etc. It's an interesting study on the philosophical principles of Jiu-Jitsu - specifically Daito Ryu - without the worry of having to study on how to apply this in real combat terms. You've got Judo, BJJ, Sambo, Wrestling, MMA etc, for that.
@@martialartsaddict9966 balance breaking also known as kuzushi you find in all the sumo derivative arts (judo, jujutsu and so on). I agree with you on that aikido is more or less a derivative from daito ryu but your conclusion of without the worry of apply in "real" combat and then you refer to martial arts and fighting systems turned into sports is where I disagree. So are you arguing that aikido can't be used then in combat or self defense scenarios? and it's just a philosophical ballet of movements? I see it more of a mindset of defeat than tp actually try to understand the system of this derivative of daito-ryu.
What's your understanding of what kata is?
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yh You've got some good questions. I'm going to look into them. In regards to Kata, I see them as 1) a tool box and 2) a method of applying movement to principles and concepts. The Kata's can also give you an insight into the techniques that the predecessor art was practising. In regards to Aikido, the predecessor art, as you already know, is Daito-Ryu. So, Aikido practitioners can see Kata as also a recording of techniques from Daito-Ryu. Technically, the Aikido techniques are Jiu-Jitsu. However, the concept that the practitioners are striving for is harmonisation of the techniques with the Uke. I'll get back to you on your questions about whether Aikido techniques can work at all, or whether it's just a 'philosphical ballet'. Good questions. Nice one
@@martialartsaddict9966 Don't take my critique the wrong way it's only that I'm not aikidoka (mainly know striking arts and pugilism all from boxing to okinawan karate), however I been researching aikido for some years back and forth, and I've used aikido techniques in altercations.
I like your answer to kata I would also include muscle memory, but I see many inexperienced martial artists thinks kata (not restricted to aikido) is technique, where as I believe aikido technique should always be used on what technique presents itself rather than chasing after it and trying to force it in like a square in a circle. Ai-ki means to go with flow, which you can see very effective when a small sumo tosses sumos double their weight across the ring.
Yes, I agree also that kata is some what preservation 'tablets' of technique but the form is never fully applied rather small segments depending on what presents itself in situation. Yes but aren't you equating technique demonstration of harmony with it's practicality? Compare uke and nage in judo when they demonstrate technique and then compare it how sloppy it looks when they apply it, the beauty of aikido technique demonstration is far from it's bonebreaking reality.
There's a video here on youtube I would like to share with you showing the similarities between sumo daito ryu, you might already seen it but still.
Take your time, I hope you didn't take offense from the critique and opposition, it's just that I'm currently researching how aikido is intended to be used, even against an mma practitioner (I'm still not aikidoka), and things like ma-ai, atemi, tai sabaki and irimi and kuzushi and aiki are the vital points to make aikido work.
Take care, I will check out your channel, I'm also a bit of an martial arts addict so it will be interesting to see what else your channel covers.
@@IbrahimKhalil-bt9yhdon't worry! I don't take offence at all! I like the questions you've been putting forward! I'm not an Aikido practitioner either. I used to do Tomiki Aikido, a while back, for around 4 years. However, I enjoy researching about all different martial arts. For the past 8 years I've been training in BJJ. I've also been training in Wing Chun since 1992. The BJJ club that I train at used to run MMA sessions, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and I used to attend those. I would love to add Aikido in there as well but, I don't think I'll have any time for anything else!!!
I set my channel up for people who love martial arts - regardless of style, system etc. Back in the 70s, 80s and 90s there used to be martial arts magazines that covered all types of martial arts. My channel is kind of trying to replicate that, where each video is like another page or article from a magazine. I hope you enjoy my other videos 🙏🏾. Cheers for your comments and don't stop questioning!!!
Rokas is right. Period.
If you cross train BJJ with aikido, be careful of that sneaky wrist locks that will open up to a better positions. HAHAH. I believe that aikido is an art that would work, however it must be back up with another discipline.
Yeah, I completely agree with you on this. Thanks for watching my video and for your comment! I hope you liked the video 🙏🏾
I dont think he is wrong, he simply use aikido as it should be, a marketing scheme, ha ha ha. Ueshiba create a MLM cult of martial art because he cant cut it in judo
No such thing az aikido technique. Like it is no Canadian geometry.
Rokas sucked at Aikido! Period!
Aikido isn't real.
Aikido simply sucks. Everybody who really fought as a bouncer, full contact martial artist or hooligan knows it. The internet community was already at a point to finally realize this fact, thanks to MMA. Than this Nerd comes along and due to his ego this nonsense discussion starts again.
WWE is more real than this shit. This is a dance and is exercise at best. Some of us really want to know how to defend ourselves, others want to dance and wear costumes. Cosplay isn't fighting.
You're right and wrong
I like that!
@@martialartsaddict9966 mostly right. I found aikido doesn't teach the basics of fighting. And was told we don't teach that cause you should know the basics beforehand. And Rokas lacks in confidence manly.
This person's aikido technique is insufficient. He doesn't even know how to act like a girl and divus! Just because a person cannot do an art well, it is not decided about that art.
Dude, you have this presumption about ALL martial arts... because you train & believe in BBJ, MMA, etc. Your assumption is that the training you have experienced sets the training standards for other arts, here aikido. How do you know that? You make a video / history lesson,,, then profess to have the wisdom of the ancient masters of the traditional Japanese martial arts. Social media-wise,,, that's fine... but you know nothing other than reporting some journalistic type research. Just admit it's an impression, not truth of any kind.
Thanks for your comment. I did a part 2 to this video to talk about some of the things I'd learned from the comments. So, I've never said that my opinion is the truth. I'm merely doing research and expressing how I have understand it. If someone disagrees with me and can justify why, I welcome that... it's a way for me to learn as well.
@@martialartsaddict9966 PART A. Hi MAA. Okay,, I haven't watched "Part 2" yet. Oh boy, there's plenty to research on the topic of what makes martial arts effective... or not. Truth is, they are all effective. What people believe is effective or not,,, there all the material you need to keep your YT Channel going in perpetuity.
@@martialartsaddict9966 PART B: Hi MMA. Here's a video cap which I might suggest narrows these issues about effectiveness... getting away from the trite & overworked dissing of TMA & Wing chun, We look at boxing vs. Muay Thai, in the MMA setting. Both of the women in the video are hailed as great MMA competitors... I think there the agreement is broad. ||| ruclips.net/video/S_-B5TOt-Ns/видео.html ||| The loser is a hallmark member of American Top Team,, one of the highly regarded MMA camps. MMA in general points to how effective their training is,,, evolved and all that jazz. Competitive track record, how many competitors train there,,, full contact, whatever. Then their Flagship fighter can't make it through 1 round,,, against good boxing. Moral. Skill matters, talk is talk is talk. And to gauge skill, one must examine the underpinnings of the art... not how it didn't work for so & so. Yeah, so & so can't do the art... that's why it doesn't work. I'll make a final comment on the video page,,, then to to your Part 2. CHEERS.
Waste of time!
Ueshiba DID NOT train Judo. Judo and Aikido came about more or less the same time
I think you'll find that Judo came about slightly earlier. Bare in mind that Jigoro Kano was around 20 years older than Ueshiba. It's also been noted that Ueshiba's father wrote to the Kodokan to request for a judo instructor in Tanabe. Kiyoichi Tagaki was the instructor and apparently taught Ueshiba for a short period. However, the dates that have been given for this are around 1907-1909, which suggests that Tagaki was 13-15 years old.... which seems very young to be a Judo instructor. Despite this, it does point to the possibility that Ueshiba could of had a brief period of Judo instruction.
aikidojournal.com/2011/08/27/kiyoichi-takagi/