Fixing Aikido

Critics of "Traditional Martial Arts" often forget that martial arts weren't originally for fighting in a ring. They were typically preparing people for life and death conflicts using weapons. Many say this side of the martial arts has always been codified in kata and never sparred with, but historical research time and again reveals weapon sparring practices among warriors using safety gear, in almost every culture.

But isn't this what Aikido is trying to avoid, violent conflict? Violence is on a continuum. We can all agree that it is less lethal to slice someone's face with a knife than it is to shoot them in the head. Both will probably end the fight, but one is clearly less violent than the other.

But aren't weapon fighting techniques too deadly to spar with? In 2018 it is more than possible to find adequate safety equipment for weapon sparring. In fact at least one major branch of Aikido, popularly referred to as Tomiki Aikido, is highly focused on multiple types of sparring, the most famous of which is their knife-vs-unarmed sparring:

Aikido pacifist ideology justifies a lack of sparring when taken to a religious extreme.  But let me be clear, many Aikido techniques have practical application in fighting... consider this first 90 second round I fought in at the 2018 North West Warrior Tipon Tipon (first 90 seconds of this video):

There was lots of non-stop foot footwork, a knife disarm applied to me while I was resisting 100%, and I used shoulder roll (I originally learned in Aikido back in high school) to pick up a lost weapon. Why can't most Aikido guys brawl like that? Simply put it is because of a lack of sparring. Tomiki and Hatenkai Aikido practitioners probably would bring a lot of executable technique into a fight like mine above. But what can the average Aikido sensei who has not been lucky enough to have access to Tomiki or Hatenkai do to inject a healthy does of practical application to his school?

1. Get head and face protection and sparring swords, and start sparring with your Aikido sword technique. Spar as if they were bokens, continuously like a boxing round (NOT stop and go like fencing.) Practice using your Aikido footwork, entering and blending as you spar, and tons of circular footwork as well. Start at half speed, and work your way up in speed and contact level, and wear cups. 
   
2. Do Randori with two people attacking, while one person protects themselves with a sparring sword (the two attackers will need the face and head protection.) 
   
   
   
3. Then do the same with sparring knives.
   
   
4. Once you get to this point, then start exploring how to use the most basic and simple Aikido throws in your weapon sparring. 
5. Next let take this contact sparring into your randori. Have have one person protect themselves against an opponent with a sparring weapon. Have them practice against two people with sparring weapons. Get creative and mix it up in some full contact randori. 
6. Once you are comfortable with this full contact randori...  add in Aikido atemi... whatever strikes is you defend against in your kata, front kick, punch to the body etc. Work this atemi into your one on one weapon sparring and randori.  
7. Once you are used to sparring and doing randori using these techniques full contact, your last step is to train for a compete in Traditional full contact Jujitsu, also known as "Sport Jujitsu", and not to be confused with Brazilian Jujitsu. Sport Jujitsu is not from Brazil, it includes stand up striking, and stand up throws are just as important as the ground fighting. Aikido must take its place along side other forms of traditional Japanese Jujitsu in full contact competition if it is to be considered an authentic martial art with real history and technique.

You may need to train with like-minded martial arts (such as Enshin Karate or Brazilian Jui Jitsu) in order to adequately prepare for Sport Jujitsu.

But once you are full contact weapon sparring in randori and competing in Sport Jujitsu, you have saved your Aikido school and preserved your art for the next generation.