Seemingly Aikido

In the last year I started training again in Aikido after a long break which involved one year of some very relaxed Cheng Hsin sessions. After that I just could not practice Aikido anymore or anything else.
I find Aikido very very limiting (and limited) in comparison to Cheng Hsin but there is no teacher around me and I have no partner to practice. I am keeping on with my Aikido but realise its many many weaknesses.

Many people have written about the issues with Aikido and I believe that in general if one does not have a couple of dans, they are really not effective.

I am interested in learning how to become more effective in a martial art / self development sense by using only Aikido, if this is possible, but also considering the option of learning another system to complement Aikido's holes.

Hello

Hi Arno, I replied to your other thread, but wanted to say hello anyway!

Just as an aside, check out the use of Aikido in this Krav Maga clip, its a good example of how Atemi and Aikido can work together. - http://youtu.be/5hXjr_7bSdg

Hi Ben, thank you for your reply. I wasn't subscribed to this post and missed it.

Great link! I admire this combination in Krav Maga as I do Systema's way of integrating strikes and flow. It just feels so much more realistic. I mean, I understand why almost everyone is being so defensive around here since it is an Aikido forum, but to my understanding this is a much more effective interaction with an opponent.

Do you know if Krav Maga uses sparing, or is it just static techniques?

Arno Hist wrote: In the last year I started training again in Aikido after a long break which involved one year of some very relaxed Cheng Hsin sessions. After that I just could not practice Aikido anymore or anything else. I find Aikido very very limiting (and limited) in comparison to Cheng Hsin but there is no teacher around me and I have no partner to practice. I am keeping on with my Aikido but realise its many many weaknesses. Many people have written about the issues with Aikido and I believe that in general if one does not have a couple of dans, they are really not effective. I am interested in learning how to become more effective in a martial art / self development sense by using only Aikido, if this is possible, but also considering the option of learning another system to complement Aikido's holes. Hello

Dear Arno,
Dead simple answer to your question on how to be more effective in Aikido.Get a good teacher , train diligently, use common sense [a rare commodity] and just practice.Pray tell me why you believe Aikido has holes.Its not Aikido that has the holes, its more a case of the person having holes in their waza. I have never seen holes as you put it in the aikido of the senseis/shihan I have encountered.
Even if you take up Judo/karate or some other stuff you will not be proficient unless you get a good few years of intense training under your belt.Too many people want to be mean lean fighting machines in two weeks without sweat and blood.Plastic samurai I call them. Remember no pain no gain,cheers, Joe.
Cheers, Joe

To avoid the "aikido doesn't work" thing, I would echo what has previously been said and maybe reinforce the recommendation not to project the fallibility of people onto the art, in general.

To help frame my perspective, I try to remember that all martial arts have strengths and weaknesses. Our personal decision to undertake a martial education lies partly in aligning our goals with the strengths of the art we decide upon. Success in training is related to the expectations, commitment, perseverance and fidelity in the training.

Aikido is a Japanese gendai art. I would advocate that it is a sophisticated art, but not all would. I think ultimately, you need to first evaluate if aikido is the right art for you. I think part of the frustration I hear from your posts is that you want it to be a fit for you, but it seems that your contact with aikido may not be representing the art in a light that resonates with you.

First, it is entirely possible that your contact with aikido has been of poor stuff. There is bad aikido out there and maybe you've just got bad luck.
Second, it may be that your expectations are not consistent with the art. Honestly, I find that most people (even those who practice aikido) hold expectations that are inconsistent with the art.
These are real problems and should not be dismissed or demeaned. We (as an art) wrestle with these issues all the time.

You have some ability to adjust your expectations and continue to seek a steward of aikido that can competently demonstrate it. It sounds like you maybe already have that attitude. Don't let it eat you. In reading through some of your other posts, I would say that you set a high bar of expectations - it should not surprise you that you have not yet met someone that can meet your expectations. I am not advocating to lower your bar, only to state the obvious that it may be a while.

In the meantime, enjoy the good training around you, even if its not aikido.

There are some people around applying Cheng Hsin principles to their aikido - it is certainly possible - though not perhaps common.