Why Aikidoka Can't Fight

Author: Bret Gordon

Few arts suffer from an identity crisis like Aikido. With the rise of MMA, Aikido has become synonymous with "fake" martial arts, with countless videos being ridiculed by steroid-laden comment sections. There are those who come to its defense by pointing out the ignorance, that the masses would feel differently if they understood what they were looking at. There are some who try to justify Aikido's perceived ineffectiveness with the belief that it was never meant for fighting in the first place. And here's the thing no one wants to admit. All three groups are right.
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As an Aiki Jujutsu instructor, one that openly shares some of the more esoteric techniques of our art, I'm often met with the same resistance and misunderstanding about what's being demonstrated in some of my videos. And I get it! Unless you've experienced true internal martial arts, what's often demonstrated seems to defy to conventional understanding of biomechanics and physics. Most martial artists assume any partner exercise being shown is a demonstration of fighting technique, when in the case of internal arts these are often attribute-building exercises. Certainly no legitimate instructor has ever said "If someone grabs you in the street, flick your wrist to throw them across the room." These exercises are not about throwing your partner but rather measuring the effects of when that partner tries to exert force on your structure. But let's come back to Aikido...​

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On a physical level, not much distinguishes Aikido from its Daito Ryu origins. For the better part of his teaching career, Ueshiba Morihei was a Daito Ryu instructor. There was no significant modification of his techniques from pre-WWII to post-WWII. Saito Morihito of the Iwama Dojo would often carry around a copy of Ueshiba's Budo, a 1938 manual on Aiki Jujutsu, to demonstrate that what he was taught is exactly what Ueshiba was doing decades prior. The video below is a great comparison of Ueshiba and other Aikidoka demonstrating various techniques, and then their Daito Ryu counterpart. Clearly, they are two branches of the same tree. 

And the truth is that aside from many of the Aiki no Jutsu techniques of Daito Ryu, which not all branches even teach, the core syllabus of Daito Ryu is not unlike any other Japanese Jujutsu ryuha of the time period. It must be concluded, then, that Aikido also is not unlike other Jujutsu systems on a physical level. Many techniques found in Aikido are found in Kodokan Judo's self-defense curriculum (which is a story for another day), and even in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (gasp!).

Many of the techniques in this video are more akin to Aikido than what most picture when they think of Judo (because there's more to the art than Olympic-style randori). Few people dispute the effectiveness of joint manipulation and throwing techniques in close-quarters fighting situations, so why all the hate on Aikido? It has all the physical potential to be a competent, self-defense or combative system, so why does Aikido seem to occupy a unique position as an art whose practitioners almost universally can't fight? 

The answer lies in Ueshiba himself. What defines any system of martial arts as being unique from its counterparts is not the physical syllabus, but the principles, philosophies, and training methods of its founder. Therefore, the very essence of what defines Aikido as a unique style of martial arts and not merely another Japanese Jujutsu style are the principles and philosophies of the man they call O'Sensei. ​

Ueshiba was a member of the Omoto-Kyo religious cult founded by Onisaburo Deguchi. It was through the Omoto-Kyo that Ueshiba would gain prominence among Japan's elite and powerful. Onisaburo was a highly connected individual with far-reaching influence in both mainstream politics and paramilitary, ultra-nationalistic secret societies, and his affiliation with Ueshiba would shape Aikido history forever. I detail many of these connections to Japan's underworld in my article "Shadows Behind Tradition," so I won't go too deep down that rabbit hole now. 

Ultimately, Ueshiba's spiritual beliefs did change the way he taught Daito Ryu, but not in the way many people think, where he simply became a passivist and disdained violence. His transformation was much deeper, intertwining the physical techniques and conditioning exercises of Daito Ryu with teachings of supernatural power and divine mysteries. He hid the deeper secrets of internal Aiki in flowery metaphors about the kami (gods) and imposed his spiritual journey on every student that stepped on his floor. 

Solo exercises are a fundamental aspect of any physical activity, let alone internal martial arts. From standing isometrics designed to strengthen the tendons and fascia, to Aiki Taiso which are dynamic exercises meant to create motor memory for expressing Aiki techniques, to Kiko (Qigong) which are specific breathing exercises that strengthen the mind-body connection, the physical conditioning needed to develop the Aiki body and express true internal power is extensive (more in the article "The Secrets Guard Themselves"). 

However, Ueshiba took these exercises and gave them new meaning. He called them Chinkon Kishin 鎮魂帰神, literally "calming the soul." Saotome Mitsugi referred to Chinkon Kishin as "A practice intended to aid one in joining with the universal spirit and to help one understand the divine mission that is one's life goal to fulfill."

Historically, Chinkon Kishin is a Shinto practice of meditation and spirit possession. Yes, possession where a mediator questions the deity in the possessed person. Chinkon Kishin was widely practiced among Omoto-Kyo followers under the guidance of Onisaburo Deguchi from 1916 until 1921, when the Japanese government suppressed the practice during the First Omoto Incident. In response, Onisaburo formally prohibited Chinkon Kishin in 1923 and modified it into other forms of ritual practice. Several forms of Chinkon Kishin were incorporated by Ueshiba into the warm-up routines of Aikido practice. Although their deeper meanings are often misunderstood, even by some of his most trusted students, these exercises continue to be performed in Aikido around the world. They are regarded as an essential and inseparable part of Aikido itself.

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Over time, Ueshiba seemingly began to view Aikido as a religion in and of itself. He referred to it often as a form of misogi (purification), which involved both literal practice of purification rituals and the metaphorical purification of the mind and body through Aikido training. His focus shifted away from the martial training that once made him a formidable fighter of widespread acclaim, instead devoting himself to a deeper purpose in search of divinity. 

Long gone were the days when sumo matches took place after hours among Ueshiba's students and when challenge fights were a regular occurrence. His pre-war students, which earned a reputation for their training ferocity, came to him as hungry fighters that recognized one of their own. But over time, Aikido had evolved into a spiritual endeavor which embodied Ueshiba's religious beliefs, and the martial gave way to the philosophical. All forms of competition were shunned for being against the spirit of Aikido, a sentiment echoed by the Aikikai even today. To put it simply, most Aikidoka can't fight because Ueshiba no longer taught how to fight.

So now, the question remains of how, if at all, can Aikido return to its martial roots as a legitimate system of self-defense and combatives. Previously, I would've said it's simple. Any art that wishes to be effective against real violence merely needs to incorporate pressure testing, drills and exercises that force you to apply your techniques against non-compliant opponents trying to do the same. You need to study what real violence and chaos looks like and model your training to address it. There are certainly a fair number of Aikidoka doing exactly that, demonstrating how the techniques of their art can stack up in the landscape of practical martial arts. But in the case of Aikido, I don't think the answer to making the art effective is that simple anymore. 

If you strip away Ueshiba's spiritual influence and practice the physical techniques of Aikido in a combative format, going in the opposite direction from what the founder set in motion, are you still doing Aikido or does it now become just another form of Japanese Jujutsu? Is it disrespectful to still call it Aikido when you remove the very essence of what separates it from every other art? I guess that comes down to how you define Aikido...

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P.S. - Some of my readers are devout Christians, and I am sure the question running through their minds after reading this article is if a Christian should even practice Aikido with all of its spiritual undertones, lest they risk opening themselves up to the demonic. When described in these terms, it's not unreasonable to compare Aikido to yoga as being a physical activity whose origins lie in the religious beliefs of another culture that did not know Christ.
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​My personal belief on the matter is simple: it all comes down to intent. Just because an elderly Japanese instructor tells you swinging your arms in a certain manner is a way to open the portal for ancient deities to possess your body doesn't make it true. Likewise, flowing through the isometric postures that make up the yoga "sun salutation" doesn't mean you are automatically worshipping the sun deity, Surya. Some times, a stretching routine is just a stretching routine.

While Leviticus 4 does talk about the possibility of breaking God's laws unintentionally, there are sins that lead to death and sins that do not (1 John 5:16-17) and as a Catholic, we define mortal sin (that which separates us from God) as something of grave matter committed with full consent and knowledge that it is indeed a sin (CCC 1857). And worshipping any deity, including Christ Himself, requires the intent to do so. 

Like yoga, modern Aikido practice (at least in the West) is often devoid of the blatant spirituality in favor of the physical aspects of the art, and I don't think anyone is in spiritual danger from engaging in joint locks, throws, ukemi, or seeking to develop a connected Aiki body. ​That being said, if you are personally convicted against engaging in any activity, it's best to follow your gut. And if you're in doubt about Aikido, study American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu instead ​😉

"I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean." Romans 14:14​

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