Peter Ralls

I think the big question here is, what really is realistic training? I have been a cop for twenty three years, and have been in some good fights, and have responded to and investigated hundreds more. When I read martial arts forums, it seems to me that a lot of martial artists' perceptions of what happens in a fight are based more on watching professional ring fighting matches like Ultimate Fighting Challenge or Pride, than they are with what my experiences have been with fights on the street.

Aikido as a method of self defense is pretty much based on defending against a fully committed attack. As a result, it really isn't designed for sparring, or for a ring fighting venue. I know very few aikido practitioners that can use their art very effectively in sparring.

But in my experience, attackers in real life do attack with big, fully committed attacks. Generally, in real life, whoever "gets in firstest with the mostest" is going to win, and this is what aikido is designed to defend against. People in real life don't dance around each other throwing jabs and thigh kicks. So my own opinion, for what it is worth, is that some aikido training is not realistic not because aikido practitioners don't spar, or have a competitive format, but because in the dojo, the attacks they give each other aren't intense enough to be realistic. I don't think that giving one person a marker pen, and having him try to mark nage, knowing full well what nage is going to try and do in response, is necessarily very realistic.

What I do think is realistic training is,

Using a high degree of intensity in attacking, so that each person can only go for a few minutes before becoming tired.

Using non traditional attacks, such as hard shoves, punches to the face, and tackles.

After drilling techniques using the above methods, go to jiyu waza using the same methods.

As far as atemi goes, I think there is also some misconceptions about using atemi to set up techniques like sankyo or nikyo. In law enforcement, a control hold like sankyo is going to be used at a pretty low level of force, before someone is coming at you to knock your head off. If the other person is really going for it, his adrenaline level is going to render him pretty impervious to pain, both from a control hold or an atemi. At that level of force, I think you are going to want to either throw your attacker or knock him down. I think that atemi are pretty much for knocking people down. As other persons have mentioned, people aren't going to feel a lot of pain in a real fighting situation, so just hitting someone, without knocking them down, is probably not going to help you much.

In terms of knife attacks, as other persons have mentioned, you probably aren't going to realize the attacker has a knife in the beginning. People don't wave knives around like they are Zorro before attacking you with them, That's why I don't think the magic marker style training method is particularly realistic. Maybe training to avoid getting stabbed while you are grappling with your partner would be better.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth.