First of all let me say that this is a matter of one's own point of view. I believe it all comes down to how you see Aikido and why you train in it. I myself train in Ki Aikido which seems to have a lot of philosophy attached to it (though my sensei strongly arfues that Ki Aikido is NOT a philosophy since philosophies are theoretical and Ki Aikido is above all practical).
In our dojo we do not train in order to be able to fight on the street, we do not train for self-defense (which does not mean we're not able to defend ourselves, but rather that self-defense is not our primary goal).
About fitness in Aikido I would like to say that after 2 years of training I am definitely more fit, my muscles more toned and my stamina improved. All that practically without the strains and fatigue I used to get after training in any other sport. It is true that in a fitness studio I could probably get results like this in a month or two, but then again I'm not training Aikido to develop muscles.
In adition to that, I do not believe Ki Aikido focuses on developing muscle strenght, but rather developing Ki.
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Khaled Abdullah wrote:
"Aikido doesn't require fitness so most aikido players are old, fat and not strong enough"
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I wonder what is "strong enough"... I suspect your friends ment physical strenght. However, if someone attacks you who is also stronger than you, then you will probably lose the fight. Depending solely on physical strenght is exactly what we are trying to un-learn in Ki Aikido.
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Khaled Abdullah wrote:
" you can not attack in aikido you just receiving and waiting what the attackers will do"
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I never wanted to attack anyone, I don't want to attack anyone and I suspect I won't want to attack anyone in the future. That is exactly why I stick to Ki Aikido.
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Khaled Abdullah wrote:
" many aikido techniques depend on grabbing which is rarely happen in real fights"
" aikido focuses on hands to applying its techniques and ignores the rest of the body, no kicks no punches no jumping"
" aikido is too traditional, no body use sword in our world today"
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Again, IMHO training in Ki Aikido is not ment as a path towards gaining the ability to knock people down on the street. I never think about real-life situations and how Aikido would help me if I found myself being mugged for instance. Muggers today usually come equipped with guns and other kinds of firearms. If I ever find myself in a situation of being on the wrong side of a gunbarrel held by a mugger, you may rest asured, I will not attempt any Aikido moves whatsoever except those within me with which I will try to remain calm and focused.
On a more funny side I could comment that I'm glad there are no jumps, kicks etc. in Aikido. The use of arms themselves give enough for me to think about not to mention moving around and maitaining the centre.
The tradition in Aikido is something I like very much. I do not train with swords yet (in our dojo that happens after 6 or 7 years of training) but I'm looking forward to that. I'm sure there are plenty of pro arguments for use of swords just like for any other thing in Aikido.
I hope I've managed to explain my view and let me make an emphasis on the words "my view." It's just that.
Lots of joy in training and peace of mind to all of you.