{"id":1265,"date":"2022-09-10T20:11:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T19:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remoteaikidodojo.com\/?p=1265"},"modified":"2022-10-04T07:42:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T06:42:38","slug":"one-thing-youve-never-seen-in-an-aikido-dojo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/remoteaikidodojo.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/10\/one-thing-youve-never-seen-in-an-aikido-dojo\/","title":{"rendered":"One Thing You’ve Never Seen In An Aikido Dojo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are many things that you can expect to see in an aikido dojo depending on its focus. You might have training in meditation, break falls, joint locks, weapon classes, and so on. There is one thing though, that is strangely absent from an aikido dojo. You just don\u2019t see it anywhere, not even in the thousands of hours of video footage available online. While many people will tell you aikido is missing several key elements, very few notice this missing aspect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is missing then? Somewhat surprisingly, it\u2019s aikido. Arguably, you have never seen aikido. Not in your dojo, not at a seminar, or on a video, or anywhere else you can think of. An actual display of aikido does not exist, and this is a direct result of our training method. It\u2019s not that we can\u2019t do it, it\u2019s simply that nobody has taken the required steps to be able to do it. Aikidoka have all the tools, but no idea how to deploy them. Despite what you think, you\u2019ve never seen aikido.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is, of course, the simple truth that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. However, the scale of the absence means that if it does occur, it\u2019s so rare it\u2019s proving impossible to find.<\/p>\n\n\n

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First Define It<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s worth pointing out that this is definition dependant. Here we are taking the very simple definition of aikido as, \u2018a martial art that can be used for self-defence\u2019. This is a very simplistic definition that has a very broad scope, but it is valid. (Some shameless self-promotion – I wrote an entire book<\/a> to help myself define aikido). While you may disagree that aikido is a martial art, it\u2019s worth considering that you cannot have aikido without the functional martial aspect<\/a>. The philosophical\/ spiritual aspects mean nothing without the inherent violence, and<\/strong> vice versa. Both aspects exist together, and you need both to become a complete aikidoka<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re Arguing WHAT?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

An incredibly outlandish claim has been made here, that you\u2019ve never seen aikido. Seems strange because let\u2019s be honest, the one place you\u2019re going to see aikido is an aikido dojo. Right? It has to be, because where else would you find it? Good question, glad you asked. The answer is nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not In Competition<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s consider the first and simplest thing that most aikidoka can agree on. Aikido is not a competitive art. There are standard responses to, \u201cIf it\u2019s so great, why don\u2019t we see it in MMA?\u201d One of these is that, \u201cIt\u2019s not designed to be used in that environment, and context counts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of this can be difficult to see. This isn\u2019t about competition in itself, it\u2019s about the art lacking elements that competition provides. Namely, free-flowing attacks and responses. We\u2019re not going into the detail of aikido competitions here. (More shameless self-promotion – I wrote a series of blog posts<\/a> and a different book<\/a> to cover that one). Those details aren\u2019t relevant to this discussion, what we want to consider is what a lack of competition does to aikido as a martial art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lack of Competition<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t the huge problem to developing aikido that some would have you believe. It does present at least one issue though that is hard to overcome in regular training. Quite simply, competition provides more realistic aggression. The attacks provided in competition are harder to deal with. That\u2019s just a simple truth. That lack of realism prevents aikidoka from noticing something very specific about their techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is possible to perform aikido techniques on a fully resisting opponent. They do work. It\u2019s not easy though, actually landing them is very difficult. This is mostly due to lack of training against resistance. More importantly though, it\u2019s because they take too long. A lot of time is required to pull off shiho nage compared to, say, a hook punch. This gets mitigated by correct positioning<\/a> during the technique, but the time factor is still there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This raises a serious question, if the techniques take so long, why do we do them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Techniques of Aikido<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It can be argued, and there are quotes from O Sensei alluding to this, that aikido has no techniques. That\u2019s a problem. If that is true, then what are we practicing in a dojo every week? That\u2019s easy to answer, we\u2019re learning and practicing aikido, just not the way you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the heart of the matter, and along with a couple of observations, will lead you to the logical conclusion that you\u2019ve never seen aikido. Consider what a normal training session looks like. Got a clear picture in your head? Excellent. Now watch this randori video and, very carefully, count and name the techniques that you see in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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