The Technique in the Dojo
Effective in a street fight. How many times have those words been asked about various martial arts? For as long as man has trained this has been a hot topic for those that train. The Sport of Mixed Martial Arts was formed to prove what is the most effective Fighting Art.
Aikido is one of the prettiest martial arts – lots of flips and acrobatic throws, and those flowy britches accented every move. One of the questions often asked about Aikido is, “What happens if you are attacked by a guy that isn’t wearing those baggie pants?”
There’s plenty of fight footage on the internet, but not much Aikido being used in the real world. Aikido practitioners argue that one of the principles of Aikido is that you use it to NOT be in fights – critics say it just doesn’t work.
But then a rare jewel surfaces. This particular one was on surveillance footage of what looks like a fight outside a bar.
First, we must understand the principles of wrist control and it’s importance in Aikido, Jujitsu, Judo and Wrestling.
In short, if you control where the hand goes, you can move the arm. If you control an arm, you have leverage over the body.
Grapplers are taught about controlling the wrist both to escape holds and to move an opponent, but only Aikido has those magic flips and twirls.
But do they work? If they do, Why aren’t Aikidoka throwing guys around the octagon? For one, the defense of the basic wristlock throw, the Kotegaeshi, is simply not to let someone grab your wrist with your arm extended.
The White Whale Emerges...
So this tiny little clip from a surveillance camera caught our eye not for it’s spectacular action but for one of five men who did something we rarely see. He used Aikido.
Don’t leave your arm extended and let someone grab your wrist. Simple.
But as we see in the video, fights rarely involve two guys moving slowly in skirtpants. Real world confrontations are dynamic and dangerous. The video is very short but involves at least 5 men and what appears to be two sets of 2 and one lone guy in the middle. There are kicks, punches, taunts and more. The big guy in the suit tried to keep distance but when Blue Jeans and Gray Tshirt lays hands on him he reacts in a reflex Kotogaeshi wrist twist that fixes that situation.
