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Old 11-21-2008, 06:10 PM   #83
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Re: YouTube: Aikido in a real street fight.

Trying to tie this back into Aikido in uncontrolled environments in a bit more general way...

Kevin's point about being in a position where a tactical decision has to be made at the speed of life is key here. While it's true peace officers are part social worker, etc., they still have to make these kinds of tactical decisions daily - hourly in some cities. These decisions, the speed of life capacity to think and act on the go, to possess awareness and martial intelligence enough to not only see what most do not see, but to see that early (if not first) and to also be able to follow tactical chains of possible outcomes (like a chess master does) without being attached to any of them (should things change/when things do change), are what is needed. This is the martial skill that bring Aikido, and any art for that matter, into a realm of street viability.

This lack of interest in gaining and maintaining initiative, perhaps even a disdain and dismissal for initiative, is a luxury one in uncontrolled environments cannot afford to either keep and/or be chained by. Additionally, in our understanding of Aikido at our dojo, it's not even supposed to be present in Kihon Waza. There, as on the street, one is supposed to gain a subtle enough sensitivity to uke's intention, such that it is addressed long before it manifests itself fully in the body.

Here's one incident with even less cues than in the Vegas video - it's from the book, "Blood Lessons," chapter "Danger Cues." Again, this kind of stuff happens all of the time.

(Traffic Stop)
Lombardo cautiously returned to the 4Runner and confronted the man waiting in the passenger seat.

"Do you have an ID?" Lombardo asked.
"No."
"What is your last name?"
Stone Silence.
"What's your last name?"
No response.
"Look, before we get into your identity crisis, why don't you step out of your car."
As the passenger exited, Lombardo pinned him in the apex of the open door. "Do you have anything on your person that can hurt me?" he asked.
"This guy gave me the coldest, eeriest stare I'd ever seen," Lombardo said. "He opened his mouth as if to speak, but didn't say a word. It was the scariest response I've ever gotten to that question."
Making a split-second decision, Lombardo grabbed the passenger, forced him against the 4Runner, and handcuffed him. Within seconds, he found the guns tucked in the suspect's waistband. Moments later, the third gun was recovered from under the driver's seat.
"Those were the first firearms I'd ever pulled off someone in a vehicle. It just reinforced to me that you can't call any motor vehicle stop routine," Lombardo reported.

What I think one has to realize is that there is martial arts, martial sport, and guys fighting in the street, and then there's a whole other realm of violence. The difference between the two realms is the stakes. In the latter world, the stakes are more often permanent and irreversible than not. In this latter world, because the stakes are so potent as far as their capacity to influence several to many lives, the so-called fight happens way earlier than anyone that does not partake in this world could probably imagine. In my opinion, if you want your Aikido to be able to function in the street, this is what is most needed. Technical matters will not solve this issue at all. In the end, this is a mental/spiritual issue and nothing else.

Last edited by senshincenter : 11-21-2008 at 06:15 PM.

David M. Valadez
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