Cliff Judge

I think your striking/grappling dichotomy only applies to sports martial arts. Unless there are rules that stipulate how you are allowed to deliver force, there is no sense in limiting your options. Whether you are looking at civilian self-defense systems (Tai Chi, Karate, or jujutsu in the late Edo period) or warrior traditions, the conceptual vocabulary dealing with delivery and reception of force is way more complex than "you can punch and kick, or you can pick 'em up and throw 'em!"

The physical techniques that are trained in a particular martial art are not a really important defining characteristic, either.

I think Aikido aligns better with the older warrior traditions of Japan than with modern sport fighting arts. it makes more sense if you look at it as a distant cousin of a sogo bujutsu school than as a pugilistic or wrestling type system.