I’ve written a great deal about my experiences with aikido, the martial “way” developed by Morihei Ueshiba. Modern jujutsu and MMA exponents who trash aikido at every opportunity may not realize that the art was once considered a higher form of jujutsu, aka, aikijutsu or aikijujutsu. But many of today’s “fighters” are more concerned about ego-driven, pugilistic conquests rather than a path of growth through mental and physical discipline. When I stepped into an aikido dojo for the first time in 1992, I definitely felt that I was beginning a journey on a martial path that I had never encountered before. A lot has changed since then.
Consistent and dedicated martial arts training is a lot like a marriage; there are highs and lows, the good, the bad and the ugly. The first year is the most exciting and the most challenging because you have to change certain aspects about your behavior, beliefs, etc. Time goes on and you find a rhythm that works until kids come along, (very true in martial arts), and you have to figure out a new rhythm. And despite frustration, exhaustion, depression, and occasional boredom, you see your way through to the next phase of the relationship until you finally come to a mutual understanding of each other. Or, you quit and move on. Sadly, more than half of all marriages end this way. So it is for martial arts, unless the environment becomes a bit more inclusive.
You see, whether or not a dojo is non-profit, the majority of martial arts schools and academies out there exists on the sheer volume of students in a world that becomes increasingly bent on comfortable, safe spaces. It’s very difficult for a dojo to survive without a plethora of kids, (trust me on that one) and an abundance of all kinds of students. You also have to worry about liability which ultimately decides how you teach classes and run the business. One lawsuit can close the doors. So, if you want to have a school because that’s your passion, make a living or both, you either have be selective on what you teach or on the students you allow onto the mat. Furthermore, if you want to have a style flourish, it has to be appealing to a lot of people. Why do you think arts like tai chi, taekwondo and karate have been around so long? Because just about anybody can practice kicks and punches in the air. You can do it online, at home without ever stepping foot in a school. Not so with aikido.
Grappling arts like jujutsu, judo, sambo and aikido require training partners. And good training partners are hard to come by when you have to account for so many variables. When I started training in Misawa, Japan, my teachers and training partners were all military men, members of the American and Japanese forces. We all worked at the same base and we all had clearly defined missions. And while Japan’s constitution forbids its military to deploy (a throwback to General Douglas MacArthur), the sense of duty and commitment was the same as ours, perhaps even more so. Samurai history and all. One of my aikido teachers came from a long line of samurai and proudly displayed his family’s swords and crest in his tiny home. In any event, the training environment was spartan and harsh. There was no laughing, no talking except for instruction. You went to the dojo, you kept your mouth shut, did what you were told and got used to making lots of mistakes. Nobody patted you on the back for getting something right; it was simply the expectation.
When I returned to the United States, I opened an aikido class on Malmstrom AFB in Montana. Because I had a background in karate and kickboxing, I taught my students basic kicks and punches. Along with direct and simple aikido principles I studied in Japan, we also sparred with and without gloves and grappled. The class was not huge; a couple of pilots, some guys from the flight line, a couple of Air Force cops, etc. But we trained hard and I believe the aikido we were doing was effective. I stuck to that model for the remainder of my career as well as in the dojos I’ve had in civilian life.
But these days, the word “aikido” brings up much different images than it did a decade or so ago. This once exclusive form of budo has morphed into a collage of different philosophies, principles and people with disappointing results. For example, most of the original teachers I had came from other disciplines like judo, kendo or karate. They had been hit, kicked and thrown by people who did not hold back. This gives you a much different understanding of how aikido is supposed to work. Try doing that in any number of aikido schools today and you will be ridiculed, scolded and shamed for your misinterpretation of the “art of peace” by people who are generally more interested in dancing rather than fighting. At its core, aikido was and in some places still is, a devastating, fighting art.
I haven’t advertised aikido training lately; a lot of people have no idea what it is, especially young men and women looking for a challenge. If you are a prior athlete, say football or wresting and you’re looking for a way to get back it, a basic YouTube search of aikido would probably quell that real quick. There goes another potential student to BJJ. In order to convince people that aikido works, you have to produce a lot video content to prove it. And I don’t want to spend all my time trying to overcome the majority of fluffy, fancy-dancy, and otherwise unrealistic aikido out there. So, yeah, we still teach it along with other stuff. We just don’t advertise it.
Aikido works; it teaches distance, footwork, timing, entering, evasion, centering and calm. But, it’s not for everybody and it doesn’t work for everybody. However, bring back some of the martial principles, attitudes and expectations and you have a very practical fighting art.
Dave Magliano
Tatsu Dojo
Jissenkan Budo
Dojo Cho