each style has an emphasis on different things, but hey, all i'm saying is wat i've seen, Iwama is the real deal LOL i think Yoshinkan and everything is great for self defense, but Aikido is not JUST self defense

ITs a Martial art, but when ppl say Aikido sucks and start to hate it, Its because the real and original Aikido has been changing into different styles and stuff. Honbu and Yoshinkan and others r great but to be honest with u ppl, Iwama is better LOL

but wats better also depends on the person, maybe he has faster reflexes and stuff so yea, it depends.

And also alot of people find other martial arts better like Karate and Taekwondo, personally, i do not think they r real martial arts, the philosophy and action is totally not martial.