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Old 06-03-2009, 02:04 PM   #69
pilgrim3970
Dojo: Windsong Dojo
Location: Oklahoma City
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2
United_States
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Re: How effective is aikido in self defense?

Quote:
Tom Hill wrote: View Post
as you know im new to aikido. as a martial art im lookin for it not for competitions or to show of just purely self defense as the youths generation is gettin filled with killing and crime and im 16 and want to protect myself . how effective is aikido in self defense?
This is my first post and there is much I could say about this so I'll try to keep it brief.

Because my family moved around through my childhood and all the way up into my teens (including the last year I was in school) I was always the new guy. This meant that I was able to provide the local bullies with a diversion from the boredom of beating up the usual people.

So I talked my parents into letting me take Goju Ryu Karate lessons. As an adult I would eventually go on to study Kempo, Jujutsu, Aikido, Wing Chun Kung Fu, as well as various seminars on different systems.

However along the way to learning how to fight, I discovered I did not have to. This is because I had gained the self-esteem and confidence to avoid confrontation altogether.

In Aikido, dealing with an attack happens before the first punch is thrown. It means being aware of your surroundings - if you know there is a situation where violence is likely to occur, avoid it. If it does flair up don't let fear and pride keep you from being humble enough to walk away.

But sometimes you will not be unable to walk away because the other person is determined to do you harm. In that case Aikido can be effective - provided your training deals with things in a realistic manner. I have faced only one actual surprise attack from a mugger in a dark parking lot and Aikido served me well.

In case you are wondering what cool techniques I used, it was tenkan. The guy walked up behind me as I was walking between two cars, I spun around to face him (caught his movement out of the corer of my eye as I was turning towards my car.) and it startled him enough that he flinched and dropped the pipe in his hand. I guess he didn't know what else to do from there so he took off running. That was the best Aikido I've ever done.

My $.02.
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