Kevin Leavitt

Why do people question it? lots of reasons. and their perspectives will vary. There is much in aikido that is very relevant and effective. The problem lay not in the core of what is taught, but how it is taught and the conditions in which it is taught.

So, depending on the teacher and the student...YMMV. it comes down to an individual or smaller subset of practice.

The larger problem is that most people that teach aikido and study it...really don't get what fighting is all about and the things that you have to do to become proficient developing the skills to fight.

Aikido, by it's nature, while grounded at its foundation in decent and correct jiu jitsu, tends to focus on a very specific practice that tries to enhance and encourage the development of some very specific things...that well, while maybe beneficial, are maybe not the highest priority skills you would need to study in order to actually become proficient in fighting skills.

Many see that concentrating on the "priorities" of fighting to be counterproductive to the development of the mind, body, and spirit connection in aikido.

So, it is not so much that WHAT is studied in aikido is not effective...it is more about the HOW it is studied. You have to put the emphasis on the HOW...not the WHAT. that is the big thing that many fail to realize...and hence the THOUSANDS of post of debate and the dissonance that is experienced by many.