Re: Aikido: Striking all along?
I'm not convinced Aikido was intended to be primarily a striking art. This isn't to imply, though, that striking plays no role at all in Aikido. I believe striking is vital to the effective application of Aikido technique. Especially against any skilled martial artist, it is a fantasy to believe one could apply Aikido technique without the distracting, confusing and corrupting effect of a well-placed blow (or cut, if one is fussy about the relationship between Aikido and sword-work). But the Aikido I was taught revolved around blending, entering, spiraling and locks, pins and throws, not striking. We learned the three basic cutting strikes derived from sword-work, but no hooks, jabs, crosses, straights, or combinations thereof. And as I have been exposed over the years to a broader spectrum of Aikido, I have observed that my early training in Aikido is quite common. Very few dojo place any more than the most cursory emphasis on striking. You can see the atrocious results in thousands of Aikido videos where the attack that is given to nage by uke is clumsy, weak, ill-focused and insincere. Regardless, I still do not think Aikido is fundamentally a striking art.
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