Can aikido work in mma ? Can an aikidoka fight in the cage ? These are some questions that many are asking now . You can google for martial arts forums and see people arguing over this topic . Along with this , there are many idiots on youtube who spend their whole life trolling aikido videos and dissing aikido . With the popularity of mma and cage fighting , its leaves one to question how an aikidoka can handle a cage fighter . I myself had the doubts and was confused at one point . To understand this better , we have to look at the context of aikido .
Aikido was formed from the life long martial experience of Morihei Ueshiba . Since young , he had trained in many traditional japanese arts , both armed and unarmed , like Tenshin Shinyo Ryu Jujutsu and Daito Ryu Aikibujutsu . It has to be noted that at that era , things like MMA and UFC did not exist . From Donn Draeger's " Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts " , he states that " The Bugei ( martial arts ) of Japan are the so-called jutsu forms . The bugei were developed by the warrior as fighting arts designed to protect the group cause . The bugei are combatively practical and vigorous , designed for battlefield use " . Hence , these arts that Morihei Ueshiba trained in were actual combative arts . These arts were not meant for sports or the ring .
Moreover , Ueshiba had the opportunity to join the Japanese Imperial Army and test his skills in real life combat . This can be a reason by he opposed competition . Along with this , he may have wanted to preserve the tradition of the samurai fighting arts . Looking at Judo as an example , some may say that it has totally gone astray from the teachings of its founder , Jigoro Kano . Furthermore , there was no reason for Ueshiba to turn what he was teaching into a sport as he was teaching actual combat skills to be used in war to different military and spy schools .
The samurais had to mainly deal with swords and weapon attacks on the battlefield . They did not square of one on one in a ring and fought . They had to be constantly be alert at all times and be ready to draw his sword . It wouldn't make sense for a samurai to go to the ground on a battlefield and do an armbar , where an enemy can easily stomp on his face . With this context , this was how many old school japanese arts were taught . Same as aikido . Someone attacks you with a weapon , do you throw a jab or do a takedown ? Or control and disarm him as quick as possible ? That is what aikido is based on . Either you or your attacker has a weapon and also multiple attackers. One can say that it is strictly self defense , which can be true to an extend . Aikido's context , same as its older arts , is not based on a sport situation , like judo , karate and muay thai . It is based on a war like context . It still makes sense if you are working as a bouncer , security guard or a cop .
This was what Ueshiba was training in and teaching in his earlier days . However , as he got older , he got more religious and placed less emphasis on combat in his teachings . Because of this , the way most people practice aikido now are not practical . It is just for self perfection . To improve ones health , forge friendships etc. However , there are people out there that still preserve the old traditional teachings .
With that being said , one must have a goal of what he wants to achieve . Going back to the main topic , aikido and mma . If one wants to learn more about 1 vs 1 fighting , he can learn arts like muay thai , wing chun , karate etc . Even take up mma . Henry Ellis told me this once . He said " look at aikido like a cup of coffee . Depending on how you want your coffee to be , you have to add in things . " If you are training in aikido and want to make it " work " for you , you can take up mma or a fighting art to enhance your skills . If you want to focus on self defense , you can go towards that path by taking Krav Maga and working with security guys , bouncers etc.
I took up mma for a while and enjoyed it . Of course there were principles that i have learn't from aikido that i could use there . The footwork , keeping a good maai and many more . Just don't except yourself to do a shihonage while sparring . As i have said , the things in aikido are meant for a different context . However , there are specific principles and techniques that one can take after training in the art . I am sure that is the same for every art .
While keeping the traditional teachings , i think one must constantly evolve in his training to keep up with his surroundings . There are people that i know who teach aikido with the traditional teachings , but have also gone outside the box . Thus i have come to the end of this article . Thank you . And a special thanks to Chris Hein from Aikido of Frenso .