Quote:
David Santana wrote:
I know that aikido should be effective, not just looks pretty. I'm afraid that if I train in another MA, my not-so-good aikido would get messed up.. but do you think I should take up another martial art that would allow me to test my real self-defense ability?
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In a word, no. Another martial art isn't going to allow you to test your "real self-defense ability", because it isn't going to present you with real self-defense situations, any more than aikido does. There are good and valid reasons for training in another style, but that isn't one of them.
The only approaches to self-defense that make sense to me are:
1) Make a reasoned judgment of the specific self-defense situations that you are most likely to encounter, and train for those scenarios. Be realistic. Don't train for scenes out of your favorite martial arts movie. If the most likely "self-defense" situation you're likely to run into is a belligerent drunk sports fan in a bar, or an angry co-worker, don't train for fantasy scenarios of multiple attackers with exotic weapons in a dark alley.
2) Alternately, train in the general skills that help keep people safe in many situations. That's things like situational awareness, de-escalating confrontations, conditioning, running, staying out of trouble, and knowing where to go for help. And, of course, martial arts techniques help, as well as good body movement and so on, but you can get that from many styles. There's really nothing magic about kotegaeshi vs. a Muay Thai shin kick, or vice versa.
Using the analogy of tools in the tool box, there's a saying, "If your only tool is a hammer, you'll see every problem as a nail." Well, if you know your problem IS a nail, you might as well get the most awesome hammer out there (that's #1 above). But, if you're getting worried that you might run into other problems, I'd advise against buying a dozen different tools, each of which is sort of flimsy and not good quality.