What are you looking for?
Every martial art is different as every student and their requirements is different. The easiest way to determine which art is best for you is to ask yourself ‘what do you want from such study’.
No single art can claim to be ‘the best’ until the criteria for making that claim is established. So by deciding what skills you need the art to provide, you can determine which one is more suited and practical.
The best way to determine the ideal martial art for you is to try as many as you can. Some martial arts are surprisingly similar yet others radically different.
Which martial art is the best?
It’s a subject of great debate, however, in reality, no single art is better than another if you haven’t decided how to judge it.
Would you compare a Porsche to a Combine Harvester?
It’s best to look at the martial arts in two distinct forms. Waring arts and peacetime arts. In other words, arts that are developed for specific battle conditions and those which develop people mentally and physically between wars.
Martial arts for war requires a balance of likely threat and appropriate response. This is equally important for, say, nightclub security, as it is on the battlefield. In other words becoming proficient in using what is to hand, appropriate and lawful.
No point learning the bow and arrow if your openents have tanks.
Martial arts for the purpose of peacetime are developed to refine the waring arts and develop a soldier’s, mind, body and spirit. Aikido is a peacetime art that develops you mentally and physically but also benefits other parts of your life. For example, it teaches you to be calm and to use an attackers force against them. This is as relevant to the dojo as it is the workplace.
The way of harmony
Is Aikido Practical?
Yes, and many of our students apply its principles in their day-to-day jobs. Aikido uses many of the same techniques found in practically all martial arts. Arm and wrist locks, throws, are universal across most arts – after all, human anatomy is broadly constant. However, Aikido’s focus is on movement and flow and isn’t designed as a combative, sparing art.
If you want to feel confident about defending yourself in everyday conditions then Aikido is absolutely practical and effective.
If you want to put yourself in an arena competing with other martial artists then you need to find an art that suits your size and speed – that plays to your strenghts.
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