Hello, friends!
This is a topic I hope some will enjoy discussing; here, I'd like to talk about Aikido specifically in its use as a self defence tool.
Now; Aikido practicioners tend to fight very little; a purely defensive martial art does not lend itself to aggressive behaviour on the street. Therefore many even highly-ranked aikidoka may have little or no experience at fighting. That being said; as a person progresses in a martial art; he/she develops a sense of self within the art; knows how he/she reacts and prefers to respond to situations. Also; it can be taken as axiomatic in any martial art that the attack determines the defence; however even so; people have preferred tactics; techniques or styles that they find most helpful in the execution of defence.
Therefore; my question: Keeping in mind the above points; what tactics/techniques do you prefer or find most helpful in defensive situations? How do you - or would you - respond to an attacker
once the attacker makes the decision to attack?
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Me first:
I'm a fairly large individual; (6'4", 210lbs) with good fighting skills but limited Aikido. My preferred tactics are based around these conditions. I prefer to get in close; inside my opponent's comfort range and crowd him out. Get in his face; as it were. (No-one ever said defence had to be passive.
) I prefer to go for quick elimination; to remove the threat before the fight becomes established - i.e. to pin/immobilize/subdue the attacker on his first strike. This prevents the attacker (hereafter; I'll use the Japanese Tori - it's easier to write) from discovering my means of defence until its too late; it also allows me to resolve a situation without the possibility of exhaustion or escalation. To this end; I'm willing to take a little damage (i.e. getting hit with the left while grabbing the right) if I can't avoid it altogether.
I work to frighten; not injure, definitely - if I can scare/intimidate tori out of his pants; that one attack may be the only one I have to deal with. In a situation that happened recently; I succesfully put a nikkyo onto an attacker; his Mariah Carey-like shriek gave his two buddies pause to stop and think about what was happening next; thus keeping them out of the engagement.
Technique-wise; my Aikido is limited yet; so I stick to quick; easy-to-make techniques: nikkyo; sankyo, tenshin-nage (sp?) and the like.
How 'bout yourself? I'd like to compare notes.