aikido stems from JuJutsu, as does Judo. Many top aikido practitioners moved from Judo to Aikido to train under its founder.
the flowery health BS that is so common nowerdays is not what aikido was origionally about. The Yoshinkan style is a representation on the early aikido that was very close to Daito ryu aiki jujutsu.
Aikido has most of the locks that are found in JuJutsu. In demonstrations you will often see opponents being thrown away without any locking. This is just for demonstrations. There are alot of basic ju jutsu locks in aikido. Especially in the Yoshinkan style.
Style vs style matches are not really interesting to most styles. How an aikido practioner does against a boxer etc, would have more to do with the practitioner than the style IMO. a crap boxer and a 10th dan in aikido - no competition. A proffesional boxer and a 1st Dan in aikido would be no contest. as for a proffessional boxer and a 10th Dan aikido. I know where i would place my money. The aikidoist. Just my opinion.
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My only concern is that it would take many years to be effective, whereas other arts can seem effective right away
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This really is a big thing on these boards. In some aikido schools there are intesive training courses, japanese riot police (equivelent of swat) become very effective indeed in just 1 year. I have trained in many styles and have trained with exponents of many styles and have found that most people have not got a clue how long it would take to become proficient. Most teachers in the west are not proficient, let alone the students they produce. This is not down to the art but down to the teacher and the false impression they have of their own abilities.
The fact is that if i applied kickboxing, MT, BJJ or western boxing on the door, i dont think i would be here now. every man and his dog does these arts so i need something that i trust to defeat them.
I have used the internal martial arts to great effect on the street and against other styles. Ok i have got my ass kicked before, but everyone will at some point, especially when your a doorman.
The fact is that in order to understand a style you must feel the techniques as they are done on YOU. not base your opinions on demonstrations and style vs style matches. Style vs style matches show the better fighter, not the better style.
My advice - go to the highest ranking teacher in that style in your area and ask some questions. most will be happy to show you what their style is about, and will probably show you how it is applied in reality and not in demo's.
cheers
Chris