Yamada sensei, in the
linked interview states:
Quote:
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As I said before, what is good about aikido is also the problem of aikido. I don't call aikido ‘budo' anymore because what makes Aikido so popular is its flexibility, lack of competition, no physical requirements. Anybody can practice. That is a good part of aikido. I'm always happy to see people who have a physical problem that would prevent them from practicing other martial arts enjoying themselves with aikido. That is the beauty of Aikido. If Aikido were pure budo, it wouldn't be so popular. But unfortunately some people use aikido's popularity in the wrong way, to build their own power.
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I tend to agree. Much of the aikido I've encountered and seen shared on youtube does not quality as a 'budo', at least according to my slightly more scholarly approach to budo (compared to when I started on my path).
I feel that way to the extent that, even though I love the people I started aikido with and feel that for a number of them they are seeking a budo practice, I left mainline aikido and switched to an aikibudo training curriculum and approach that I felt more closely modeled my growing understanding of budo.
It seems that Yamada (and a few other shihan I've both read and had private conversations with over the years) perceive the same, that aikido, for the most part, is NOT budo any longer, even though it came from budo. I personally feel that this is perfectly fine (even if not for me), but only if practitioners and teachers understand and communicate that about their practice.
But what do you think/feel? Is aikido a budo?