Budo isn't about killing the other guy, Budo is about being courageous enough to allow your notions of your own petty self to pass away, which is very much harder. So every class, every technique is indeed a battle which you are fighting. Not many folks really train that way and especially many folks who see themselves as serious about the spiritual side of the art. Marcs comments about the martial aside are apropo, even though the aspect of self defense isn't the central point of Aikido training. One must train as if ones life depends on it. At some point you realize that everyone's life depends on it.