Friday Recommendation #11
Okay, okay, okay (in Joe Pesci voice), I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a podcast or video recommendation. The readers of this blog are familiar with what I’ve gone through in the last year or so. Anyway, it’s time to post my favourite video or podcast each week.
For this week’s “Friday recommendation,” check out Sensei Jesse’s video with Leo Tamaki.
If you are not able to view the video, go to here.
Concerning the video above, let me first say that I tried Aikido on two separate occasions (in the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s), which never resonated with me. I have a few friends who have practiced Aikido for over 25 years and love it. The reason is that I felt it would not work in a street self-defence situation on the two occasions I practiced Aikido. As many of you know, that is a common criticism of Aikido.
This is not the first time Sensei Jesse Enkamp touched hands with an Aikidoist.
Some of you may recall a two-part series that he did with Steven Seagal a couple of years ago. See the first video below.
If you are not able to view the video, go to here.
The tenor of these videos is that Aikido can be practical, depending on the instructor. Fair or not, Aikido has long had the reputation of being impractical and difficult to apply to street self-defence situations. In the above video, Leo Tamaki alludes to this perception when he states, “The crowd that Aikido attracts are flower-loving people. People who don’t want to get punched. Don’t want to punch.” I had to chuckle at that quote.
Tamaki contends that Aikido was developed for those facing stronger opponents. In his view, dealing with a bigger opponent requires asymmetric tactics.
I agree with him on the need for asymmetric means to defend yourself (within the law).
Anyway, can you spot some FMA-like techniques? I spotted a couple.
Here’s one technique that looks like sinawali boxing.
Can you see any others?
Speaking for myself, I enjoyed Tamaki’s description of self-protection as rooted in an asymmetric approach. After all, the odds are that an attacker will be bigger, younger, faster and stronger than you.
What do you think of this video? Let me know!
Additional Reading
[…] terrific. A little background on the interviewer. His name is Rokas, and he lives in Lithuania. He taught Aikido for several years and became disenchanted with the art. Long story short, he felt that Aikido was ineffective and tended toward the utopian side. He quit […]
[…] I think that every martial artist, if truly interested in self-defence, should engage in live traini…. That said, it is not necessarily everybody’s cup of tea. Do you expect a 70-year-old grandmother with osteoporosis to spar? No. Might she be better served by practicing home security, verbal de-escalation, and basic self-defence and non-physical skills? Yes. If she desires to spar, that’s a different story. It’s up to the student, and instructors should not pressure students to engage in live training. […]