Aikido happens to focus on the weapon disarming techniques. I view Aikido as just another form of Jujutsu. People need to take note that there was not any Aikido around when Morihei Ueshiba was training. His “Aikido” came from years of training in various arts. Same with Judo. When Jigoro Kano was training, Judo did not exist. He trained in various arts such as Tenjin Shinyo Ryu and Kito Ryu Jujutsu. It was through his lifelong training and experimentation from which Judo was born. Judo was once called as Kano Jujutsu. Similarly, Aikido was once referred to as Ueshiba Ryu Jujutsu. These were the terms that people used to distinguish what those 2 individuals were teaching.
Hence, to really understand Aikido, one must be well trained in the other forms of Jujutsu. One system is Judo, in which the grappling techniques of Jujutsu is preserved. Along with that, it is vital to also focus on the striking techniques. There are plenty of striking based arts to train in, such as Muay Thai, Boxing, Karate and many more. Not to mention Kenjutsu, from which Aikido is based off. Ultimately by doing so, you will be bringing Aikido back to its roots, to a pure form of Jujutsu which was meant to be an all-round fighting system.
That is exactly how I would teach someone “Aikido”. I would start off with the very basics, which is endurance training and conditioning. This includes doing lots of running and full body workouts. As a martial artist, I feel that it is necessary to keep yourself mentally and physically fit and ready for combat (self-defence) at any given moment. This was what the late Bruce Tegner believed in as well. He held a view that “… martial artists were warriors by occupation, fought as professionals and therefore had to remained athletically fit and prepared for battle.”
From there, I would teach the individual striking (punching and kicking) and grappling. Progressively, I would include lots of sparring as well. This is to ensure that the individual knows how to be defensive. It also teaches him to be offensive. Most importantly, it allows him to accept being hit and build a tolerance for pain. Through sufficient recovery, the body will be able to endure more overtime. Finally, some weapon-based techniques such as sword work and knife disarm. This would make my “Aikido” a full mixed martial arts system.
I am not looking to invent anything new. This is just my own personal approach. However, this has already been done by others, such as Minoru Mochizuki. He formed his own school, Yoseikan Budo, where he taught Aikido, Karate, Jujutsu and Katori Shinto-Ryu. Another Martial Artist, Kenshiro Abbe combined Judo and Karate along with his Aikido. A Judoka, Kenji Tomiki, blended his Judo and Aikido knowledge as well. Along with them, I got inspired by the late Jon Bluming as well, who once said that “What I teach is neither Kodokan Judo nor Kyokushin-Kai Karate, but rather a mixture of one third Karate and Thai boxing, one third throwing techniques – I teach seven different throws – and one third basics. All in all, this completes the circle of unarmed combat”.