ChrisHein

Honestly I feel that Aikido is not a very strong empty handed system. I don't think it was ever meant to be used as an effective means of combat bare handed. Tohei, and all those guys did allot more then Aikido, they had a large syllabus of techniques and empty handed knowledge to fall back on. I believe that if swords were still a prevalent means of making war, then we would see more Aikidoka in a combative roll. I fought with the dog brothers (full contact stick fighting), and found that as long as I was holding a jo, Aikido held up very nicely. However when the fight went to closer range, I was very happy that I knew how to strike and fight on the ground.

-Chris Hein