If you want to see my whole exchange with Oliver, watch it here: ua-cam.com/video/iYW0fxxA-D0/v-deo.html To learn more about Oliver Enkamp and his pro MMA career check out his social media here: www.oliverenkamp.com @oliverenkamp on Instagram and facebook.com/oliverenkampMMA for Facebook
@@GhostWriter_369 on your point about your opponents "maintaining a grab on you in aikido" i recall that one discussion you had with that BJJ coach, and you guys wondered "why would he maintain a grab of your arm? he could just let go?" I tried thinking of scenarios that would facilitate that, and the obvious one that came to mine was what if it was the aikido practitioner that was armed. in this case, say a knife. of course the opponent would want to keep two hands on your knife arm, right? a lot of these jujutsu techniques came from the battlefield and war, right? maybe that's the missing history.
excellent video, you should do a sparring or randori with a serious practitioner of tomiki aikido or shodokan aikido so that you can give us your explanation of the difference, congratulations.
i think you didnt buy the philosophy of Aikido. that's why you're looking for other complementary ways of fighting. I bought Aikido's philosophy, i don't need anything else. If some guy wants to fight me, i'm out. If we are IN THE MIDDLE of a discussion that MAY LEAD to an aggression, then here i might use Aikido.
To a degree. Wrestling often relies a lot on speed and power. Which as we age, well, I know as a 50+ year old Aikido/BJJ guy that I don't have it as much anymore. Wrestling principles however, last forever.
My dear friend these are the missing links probably of your training in Aikido and not Aikido itself. Distance manipulation and how to close it are essential principles of Japanese martial arts, especially when it involves weapons training. Furthermore, the forefather of Taijutsu, Jujutsu, Judo and Aikido are indigenous Japanese ancient methods of wrestling... Sumo and Kogu Soku! :-) But I think that you are in the right path...
Jesse finds roots of Karate. Rokas finds missing links to Aikido. I like and appreciate, where this is journeys is going, adding elements to martial arts to bring, find and understand full practically potential of them. I'm wish you success in that goal. Also respect to Oliver for sharing his time, experience and knowledge.
Actually in Japanese jujutsu there are strikes used also to bridge the gap for takedowns and throws. Rokas could have just learned Aikijujutsu instead of doing BJJ if he was going to be an MMA fighter anyway.
1. Yoshinkan Aikido Shodan here ... wrestling makes everything better ... full stop. 2. Remember, the very first students of aikido were all judoka. 3. The easiest thing the Akikai could do: incorporate the Kodokan curriculum into it's own. 4. Train gi, and no gi. 5. Love watching this journey. Thank you !
3 seems really nice,i think they could also benefit from sumo,maybe done more occasionaly,but if Judo has takedowns and groundfighting,Aikido has joint manipulation,and Sumo has wrestling, mixing them together is bound to make the ultimate japanese grappling art,since they flow so well together.
@@junichiroyamashitathe mix you describe are the Sengoku Jidai roots, called kogusoku or taijutsu which developed to Edo era Jujutsu, to Meiji era Judo, to 20th century Aikido.
I wrestled back in my junior high school days. I started Aikido when I was 32, and now have 9 years of training in. My wrestling experience may have made me a bit of an unusual aikido student in that I've never been afraid to get in close. At the same time, I am fortunate enough to have an aikido instructor who does teach these "missing links" you talk about in this video. Also, I'm not sure of the testing standards you had, but the shōdan test for my dojo's affliation does include linking techniques, while the nidan exam include reversals. So far, the best training session I've ever had for linking, reversals, and connection was a seminar taught by ENDO Seishiro-shihan (the limited video footage you can find on him really doesn't do him justice). The man is in his late-70s now and he makes an effort to go around and train with EVERYONE in the class and he ends the class as drenched in sweat as any of the students.
I can't resist the martial artists urge to call out that these principles are present in my martial art too, which is judo. Heck, these things you discussed with Oliver are basic grappling things. (Or stand-up grappling for all the confused bjj dudes and dudettes)
This is true. Even in some Aikido schools, these principles are taught. I'm currently just a fourth kyu, and these are most of the corrections that are made to my techniques by my instructors.
That’s cause Judo and aikido share a common link. Both Kano(founder of judo) and Ueshiba (founder of aikido) both studied Kito-ryu jujutsu. So it makes sense that there is some similarity. I think a wresting two on one combined with judo skills would go a long way towards making aikido effective.
@@eclipsewrecker this is a big problem. I LOVE Judo and truly believe that, in its purest form, it is by far the most superior all round art from a self defence and martial point of view. The problem is the way its taught now. I really wish there were more schools that did not focus on IJF rules. I want a school that does more work on the ground (50/50 standing and ground work), incorporated the leg attacks (tach-waza and ne-waza) and the striking elements that were all part of Kano's JiuJitsu.
Loved love LOVED this! "What's the point of improving tma when more effective martial arts exist?" While folks ask these questions, you got doers like you who, instead of sitting on their hands, work to evolve concepts. I think some folks get lost in the sauce and forget that many effective systems came from the concepts they trash. I love how you show that wrestling applications and techniques beautifully compliment and enhance Aikido by bringing more effective mechanics to make existing techniques more viable in an every changing world. 💯💯💯 I love this new journey you're taking to make your investment make sense. Yours truly, A dude who strongly encourages pressure testing in Kung Fu
I’m pretty sure entering with the hips, chaining techniques, closing the distance, push-pull reaction, are all very much a part of actual aikido. I just think there’ are so many aikido schools that are not combative and don’t discuss the application of the material and fall into these bad/non combative practices. Wrestling is just so damn good though. It provides so many tools and usually conditions people well too.
"I’m pretty sure entering with the hips, chaining techniques, closing the distance, push-pull reaction, are all very much a part of actual aikido. " Yup it is supposed to be, it was taught to me like that at various clubs, as was good striking and some groundwork. Unfortunately there are far too many Aikido clubs that only teach the very basics, succeed in even doing that poorly and then award black belts in that poor quality Aikido, I've visited several like it. I looks to me as if Rokas's teacher was one of those. Yes I love wrestling too, learned a little CACC 'Catch' when I was younger.
I completely agree. I was surprised when he said that. At my school my sensei taught how to enter the opponents space and go for the shoulders or chin to control the body. The chin and jaw was frequently taught as places to manipulate with the palm, and we were told to stay as close as possible, and if need be, choke the opponent out with a headlock. Even in the book Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, essentially the aikido bible, it goes over these techniques. It even goes over specific strikes to use when entering, primarily used as feints or mild damage to distract from the oncoming grapple. I firmly believe the biggest hurdle for aikido is the lack of practical sparring against other fighters. There is also nothing wrong with taking aikido and combining it with other styles. Take for instance the best jujitsu practitioner in the world and tell him to fight the best muay tai fighter in thailand, and they can only use the "official" moves within their discipline. That jujistu guy would get his jaw broken in 5 secs. Combining martial arts so they they are more effective overall is a good thing.
This hip that u used to facilitate the throw is just like the kusuchi for the hip throws in judo... U can't throw without unbalancing the opponent with your hips. That's a part of the tecnich.
Super happy you're finding those core aspects of Aikido that have been lost. I did Hapkido for years, and one day my Master finally explained to me how I was leaving way too much distance. I started noticing that when he did a kote gaeshi, elbow lock, or any of the other joint manipulations he was using his should, chest, or stomach to add pressure and support to the lock. It blew my mind and kept me thinking in terms of taking incremental steps to increase control. Keep doing what you're doing!
I know its your marketing strategy for your channel but I hate to put labels like 'wretling throw, judo throw bjj lock etc. I am a Judoka and we also learned those things you explained there. Like acrion reaction, misdirection and chaining attacks. putting a Judo brownbelt especially chadi (nothing personally against chadi, i like his really cognitive content, but he doesnt have the instincts and mentality of a fighter like olliver). What I wante to say: a GOOD martial art is only a vehicle which we use to journey into the world of physical confrontation. It doesnt matter what you do as long you keep training, keep learning more and getting stronger and the MArtial Art you choose should enable ou to do this. For further explanation ask RAMSEY DEWEY aabout his sparring with that old Taichi Quan guy. He got smashed and Ramsey is a big athletic and combat hardened guy
Perhaps you've heard the saying that the first Aikido students ALREADY understood fighting so they were ready for Aikido? Ie..Tomiki was a highly skilled Judoka. Now you have a hint of what this actually means. Basically, if you haven't studied Wrestling and Judo and some striking, you won't be able to make use of Aikido because Aikido integrates and extends these arts. If you don't understand how a wrestling arm-drag works by using action reaction, that is by pushing and then sidestepping and pivoting, you won't understand Irimi Nage. The core principle of Irimi Nage is EXACTLY the same as an arm-drag. In both, you have to get the middle of your chest onto the back of Tori's shoulder blade. This position is called Shikaku in Aikido. In Wrestling, it's called Rear Control or in ground fighting, the Seat Belt. The places your arms go, aren't the key, it's a body position. As I've pointed out previously, if you don't have the right background, you cannot make use of the techniques of Aikido. You have to build up your wrestling and judo skills BEFORE you try using Aikido or you'll do it all wrong. Walk before you run.. Once you can walk, running becomes not only possible, but easy.
But then how do you know that aikido actually make them better fighters? If they were already good fighters before starting aikido, why think aikido added anything to their skillsets? I'm skeptical.
@@JeanMichelAbrassart Good. We need skeptics and lots of ways to test things to keep practice real and honest. I am speaking from my experience, not hypothetically. Before I understood how to setup the arm drag in wrestling with a push pull setup and leg fakes, I used to try working the basic Irimi Nage move (from wrist control and then in the Gi) in both Judo and Wrestling practice. My partner would grab my wrist or my sleeve in a regular practice and I would try to use Irimi as an entry to an arm drag/go behind. I could grab his wrist but couldn't get behind my opponent for control and couldn't keep control without a very tight grip. Then I learned to setup the move with a push-pull and got behind easily using the exact outside step and pivot taught in Aikido. Soon after that, I figured out how to use body positioning, instead of a tight grip to keep control of my opponent from behind, another key principle in Aikido. This opened the door to several other related techniques. This is one of several examples I could give of how my Wrestling and Aikido (& Judo) work together.
So, we moved from principle to "how do we dojo gooder" in this side thread, I think? My two cents says, "work the basics of everything and let the layers weave together around the stuff the student loves." One needn't master every facet to be able to relate the facets of one's mastery to the whole. Pro fighters seem to demo this by drawing the fight/conversation to the places of their strength, e.g. someone who can dance while destroying your guard will want to do that while a bjj whiz will want to get you both to the floor. Real self-defense or live combat trainers might focus more on making use of environmental advantage. Teaching and practicing fundamentals of these as they intersect with the student's own interests can enhance the practices of primary focus while making a first understanding of the intersecting practices clear and usable, the way dojos may teach calisthenics and qi exercises without being a bodybuilding or acupuncture class. What I think will shape the journey and rulesets of practice is ultimately who each student wants to be. But I do feel it is disservice to, say, teach people a ringfighting art while letting them feel that is also how to survive a mob with torches and pitchforks, or teach someone alchemical wrestling (read: "Aikido") like it is all you need to practice to be the world's best hurly player or MMA champ.
Aikido is essentially grappling and the most effective way to grapple is to control the space between you and your opponent like how it’s done in wrestling and jiujitsu. During a grappling exchange, You take away your opponent’s space you’re on the offense and you create space when you’re on the defense. When you are controlling the space you can execute your aikido techniques.
Like nearly every Martial Art. I've done Taekwondo, Kickboxing a bit of Boxing, Kendo until I settled with Judo and in EVERY competitive oriented sport the control of the space is the first and foremost important thing
its just gonna become wrestling or wrestling with a gi. Wrestling is very refined and an ancient art that always had contact sparring that stress tested and refined it to what it is today.
Incredible !! It took you 4 years, but you kept at it ! You are so close ! I followed your journey and so happy for you to finally discover the missing link !
Your journey of making Aikido effective is incredibly inspiring! I'm a judoka and I had been struggling with motivation for a while during covid, but your amazing content has been a big part of reigniting my passion!
In high school, our 103-pounder was an incredible Judoka. He made my wrestling takedown defense so much better. It didn't take long to stop tying up with him as I hated getting thrown on my ass by someone 2 weight classes lighter. I think wrestlers who want to step up their game should try cross-training in Judo.
This is great! I also love Oliver, he is just so humble despite being such a great fighter. Though I am confused what you learned in Judo when Action-Reaction principle seems that new to you - I thought it's kinda the foundation of Judo(?)
I actually didn't experience that much of Judo or got as in depth of an explanation as I did with Oliver from wrestling. Still I did get to pick up some things which I will share soon
Rokas, hate to tell you, but my Aikido teachers always emphasized closing up space to make technique work! Only when I traveled to other dojos like AAA or USAF affiliated places did they do that dancing stuff. I was taught that Aiki starts with that real physical connection. Rule of thumb: If an Aikido syllabus doesn’t have Koshinage in its Gokyu or Yonkyu test, RUN!!! 😆. I’m glad that you continue to explore. Don’t be afraid to start to put a syllabus of techniques together yourself. There’s speculation that some Daito Ryu masters incorporated Sumo techniques into their syllabi (or vice versa).
I find it really interesting how your journey took you from "this farse doesn't work" to "wait, there is something in his style that was lost to time, can we find a way to make it effective once again?"
Good video. I feel like the principles you discussed were constantly taught by my 6th and 5th Dan Aikido instructors however were always challenging to implement well. This may be why most people revert to the “slack” versions of the techniques
There is a reason why an aikidoka is having a distance from the opponent. Aikido was created with a katana holding opponent in mind. Controlling and disarming the hand or arm that holds a katana was a higher priority than unarmed grappling. The samurai era was still going on when aikido was created.
Dude... I see you creating your own, functional Aikido variation in the next couple of years. Suggestion - go through each basic Akido technique with different martial arts experts and try to make it work. Create new "vocabulary" of techniques, chain them in the way BJJ doesv it (what can go from where with success rate estimation) and we may get some cool new techniques or "standing BJJ" ;)
I notice that in every example of trying to apply traditional (i.e. not wrestling-modified) Aikido technique, you consistently tried to go into the throw without first taking the uke's balance. This necessarily means that in attempting to enter the throw, you were going against his force/strength instead of with it. Secondly, in my 20+ years of Aikido training and teaching we most definitely DID train in "chaining" techniques. (Forgive me, but I cannot remember the Japanese term, but there is a term for it.) Admittedly it was rarely taught and seemed to be reserved for more advanced training. But we did train these techniques. One example is moving from shiho-nage into irimi-nage, by moving outside nage's arm and to his rear as he resists and using his forward-moving strength to steer him into irimi-nage. One could also switch to kote-gaishi at that point.
Something is both gained and lost in the use of distant connection by which aikido is typically taught. What is lost has been discussed to death: the lack of pressure testing. However, what is gained is the ability to understand the balancing aspects of the connection. Take a throw from a katate dori grab. Unbalancing someone at distance through the grab is very hard, and very impractical, but nage learns a lot about body mechanic in unbalancing uke. If aikido was taught to have nage unbalance uke closer in, then the temptation to use muscle over body mechanic would make aikido’s lessons harder to learn. If nage can unbalance uke through a distant connection, then nage can understand how to unbalance uke through a closer connection.
Love the hips part! I've seen it done before in aikido, but rarely (I think Toyoda Sensei), and it's far from mainstream. The linking of techniques though is part of our practice in my old dojo. I think that's because it's the training class for university students - always new students with no background in aikido comming in, not knowing you can't 'resist'. :D So us seniors have learned to adapt to resisting students by linking techniques. Low key preasure testing? :D Loved the vid!
Great video! Your journey is going pretty well i think 🥋🏅 By the way, before you get to tomiki aikido, wich will no doubts have more answers for you too... You should take a look at sumo... More specifically the striking in sumo amd the armlock techniques, wich include kotenage, tottari, amiuchi and a few others... They are basically aikido looking techniques done full contact by smaller wrestlers against bigger wrestlers and working... When i was in bjj i would land one of them once in a while and the blue belts would look at me like i was some kind of wizard, a whitebelt that manages to do "armdrags" so strong that the oponent simply falls to the ground? The main instructor wasnt impressed at all, he knew how it worked, but it was still alot of fun...
Man you are on to something bigger than what you realize. This search of truth and journey you are on will be looked at in the future as an important chapter in martial arts. Wreskido! 🥋 Continue, you are inspiring lots of people!
Happy to comment again! Always glad to see your work. I wanted to point out about the action/reaction principal and some other missing links you mentioned it made me think right away of henka waza and kaeshi waza. Henka waza, for example, you turn shihonage into sankyo. Okaeshi waza, uke becomes nage. So, nage does ikkyo imperfectly and creates the opportunity for a reversal, say another ikkyo or kaiten nage. So, fluidly flowing from one technique to another, and flowing between uke and nage are definitely things like the missing links you mentioned. Glad you got the channel back and looking forward to what comes next! :)
I have bad news for you: everything what you’ve realised and mentioned in this video is currently taught in aikido. I think you were unfortunate with finding a Sensei who teach you the proper ways.
The entire idea of Aikido, as Tomiki described it, was "Judo at a distance". What you discovered in this video is that you can't really grapple from far away, thus actually disproving the entire foundation of Aikido.
What you are discribing are some of the most basic principles that we practise in our traditional Jujutsu Dojo. The difficulty in making a technique work is most of the time getting the positioning right. Problems usually are speed, reaction time and transition timing. Kutsushi needs control, distance is a key part in this. Fix a weight on a stick and try to move it in a circle. Holding it steady will become harder proportional to the distance between your Hand and the weight.
Since I started teaching, I've been focused on connection - in part thanks to your SBG session, so thanks for that! =D I teach it as the main principle in our intro to jiujitsu class now, and it's made me into a different martial artist. If someone doesn't understand it, I can immediately tell, and I can usually control the situation. It's CRAZY. Thanks again man! - Jared
Yes. You need to understand wrestling to make Aikido work. I was taught chaining techniques in Aikido, I was taught that the body goes where the head goes and I was taught the action-reaction principle. What I wasn't taught was closing the distance. Ma-ai is important in Aikido and most techniques in Aikido aren't done from such a close ma-ai. There are two reasons for this. One is that, if someone is coming at you with a knife and you get in real close, you're going to be stabbed a lot worse than if you keep some distance. You'll still be stabbed either way, but you'll have a harder time defending vital structures, especially in your back and sides. The other reason is that if you're grappling over a weapon that you yourself have drawn or are attempting to draw, you'll want to create distance in order to "clear" your weapon. You may choose to close the space again to utilize said weapon, especially if it's a blade, but that's when you've gained control over it. However, all this talk about weapons, survival and retention are advanced concepts and learning them without first knowing how to wrestle is setting yourself up for failure in a dire emergency. You need to learn to crawl before you learn to ride a motorcycle, as my Aikido teacher (ironically enough) told me. I wish I knew that Aikido itself was the motorcycle and I couldn't even crawl.
I've gotten really excited about sumo as an initial influence on Osensei for very similar reasons. If you watch sumo bouts, they often go through two or three different techniques to resolve a bout. It looks like chaining. I can also see similarities between the teppo exercise of sumo (kind of an open-hand jab one frames up and presses through by walking) and the kind of technique-initiating strike you'd see in an early manual composed by Osensei (specifically, a seated nage performs a shomen against a seated uke, and knee-walks that into seated ikkyo). It's all got me thinking that Osensei was working ways to bridge the distance between various ranges so that they could all be held in much the same way. I'm curious if it could be done by working the attention. And/or a framing open-hand jab.
IMO, wrestling is the answer to EVERYTHING! When I started wrestling in 2018, I used to record myself during solo practice. While evaluating one of my chaining combos, I slowed my movements down and what I saw blew my mind. I was essentially performing a Kung Fu form! My hands were waving in front of me like I was doing tai chi while I was pretending to be grip fighting. All those weird 'scooping' hand movements that are in Kung Fu, I was doing while going into the over-under. Once I saw that, I started to look at all my kung fu training and applying grappling concepts to them and saw that 80% of my forms could easily be interpreted as grappling techniques!
I have watched some of your videos before, but this series about direct interchange of knowledge, experiences and comparing techniques are super interesting, even if I have not practiced any martial art in ages.
In Aikido , though you come off the direct line of force, deflections are also utilized; atemi, etc, etc are also employed; an advanced Aikido Practitioner, can also successfully use the option of using the attacker's/attackers' incoming strikes (straight punches, hook punches etc; straight kicks, round kicks, etc) as a " ramp ' for the Aikido Practitioner's strikes, atemi against uke.. In Aikido, you can also stop/ jam your opponent's strike before it starts, and,/or, just at that initial point of its commencement. In Aikido, sometimes what looks like a block , is / are really the hand/ hands feeling the direction of the flow .Aikido is more than just wrist locks, pins, and immobilization. In Aikido, there are also body drops, throws, chokes, weaponry training.
All grappling arts can learn so much from wrestling. The reason is simple: both training and competition time that wrestling has been going through trial and error is so much longer than any other grappling art. I myself have been sophronized by Jiujitsu for more than ten years but every time i cross train wrestling i realize how simple and more effective i can do things in Bjj by applying battle tested principles wrestlers being doing for ages
I like the analogy that aikido is "judo at a distance." It's less competitive to see it that way, if the idea is just to train normal grappling and wrestling close range first, then as you get better you can see if you can apply the same throws at a distance. Wrestling close range is always going to be more effective, but understanding how to throw/grapple at range is more tactical if there is more than one attacker. The founder of aikido had sumo experience, and there are also some sumo throws in daito ryu. In my view practicing in the traditional form provides access to a lineage of deep study of the principles of motion. Practicing with aliveness is what makes that knowledge practical in the here and now. I learned the idea of applying gyakun to someone's ulnar nerve slightly above their ankle (thanks to exposure to Hakko Ryu techniques). Very effective, but not when they resist. However, wrestling has a tried and true takedown against resistance, just a standard low single leg. Combine that proven takedown with the application of gyakun and you get something really unique.
As I mentioned in the last video, I believe the missing link depends on some lost teachings. I remember the late Tamura Shihan explaining shihonage, always mentioning "rub your butt" against your attacker and lean forward rather than back just as you do in this clip. Same for entering Irimi nage with the hips... Irimi literally means "entering/striking with the body" so you must enter with your hips either to throw (nage) or headlock (as in its Daito version). I am thrilled as I feel you are now filling some holes you had in your learning path. I would entirely blame your teachers for not showing you those details, but this might not be their fault either. Aikido kata have been diluted and stripped from what made possible to its first iterations and Daito to develop functional applications. Please keep doing this, Rokas! And I am looking forward to you reopening an Aikido dojo ;-)
Sorry to hear about the hack - here's a condensed version of my original comment: Love that you're trying out wrestling and I'll be interested to see all that you and Oliver come up with. Our judo training group cross trains in aikido and the ideas mesh very well. One thing that I've noticed, though, is that certain combinations can lead to very difficult or sometimes even harsh break falls for the uke.
What you finally seem to have discovered are actually the basics of aikido. If you enter any aikido dojo the most common phrase that you will continuously hear is "use your hips!". Also when Kisshomaru Ueshiba says in that little gem of a book The spirit of Aikido "be one with your uke" he means you have to keep a very close body contact. This is the only way to keep control of your uke and the whole situation.
I do hospital security. I have had hundreds of real life fights. My background as a fighter is in Jujutsu and Karate. There is no martial art that actually prepares one for a real life fight. The sheer aggression and and malice of a person willing to fight can throw even a black belt off in real life. Aikido has some really great ideas in it. I use the idea of opposite force all the time. If I want my opponent to push me, I push him first, then wait for the counter push and then move in to bring them down. Here's my top advice for real life fights. You are not in a hurry, you might feel like you are, but you're not. Get rid of that feeling and just take some sort of control of the situation. Any sort of a grab is good, that means that the opponent can't hit you in the face. Most of the techniques that we learn in the Dojo do not work as they are taught. Real life is way more chaotic and random than fighting with friends in the Dojo. Learning them is good, because it gives one idea of what kind of a hold hurts and what doesn't. If you ever have to fight in real life, you will experience a massive adrenaline spike. You will forget pretty much everything you ever learned on the tatami. The enemy has no rules, they will bite your neck out and make you bleed to death. Tunnel vision is a thing that happens and you cannot completely avoid it. Looking around helps a bit, so do that.
Yes! Finally, a good shihonage! This is something that has been bothering me about your technique for a long time and it a joy to see this extension in your technique! It's also a shame about your training never having chaining. That has always been a shear joy in my training. This is one of your best aikido videos so far! Keep it up!
I am a professional wrestler in Japan, practice catch as catch wrestling and also train at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo (4th dan)... Catch Wrestling (submission wrestling) was the game changer for my Aikido 100% and I have several videos mixing them together
Aye up Rionne mate, how are you doing? Not entering with the hips, not chaining techniques, not closing the distance, no push-pull reaction....makes you wonder about his instructor doesn't it?
@@ianwright963 Yes mate but not his fault. This is modern day Aikido. Everything is about how good you look, and how far you can throw your 100% compliant uke! Unfortunately due to the watered down art that we have left, you have to go outside the box and to other martial arts to find all the real martial arts principles and techniques that were stripped out. Unfortunately I think Rokas is only doing that for UA-cam likes and subscribers. If I am not mistaken, Rokas does not practice Aikido at all, hence making this video a complete number of views only matter video. If Rokas was practicing 3-4 days a week and legit trying to make his Aikido better through legit cross training, I would give him the benefit of the doubt. If I am wrong and he is practicing, then great for him. But I think it's clear he scoots over once a month to make a random Aikido video knowing the peanut gallery will fall for it. That's all very well, but I have something more real - legit cross training and legit, constant Aikido training. As you do too I know!
If you find these principles 🤯🤯🤯 you should definitely must try practice in Iwama Japan With Saito Sensei, see the birthplace of aikido and make a comparison between modern aikido (your style) and traditional aikido. You can start by reading Stan Prannin (greatest aikido journalist ever) about both of them! That would be just great to watch. Pretty sure that would answer you lot of questions. Keep it up! I like what you are doing
The balance breaking has much to do with stepping and pivoting between natural stance (shizentai) and Shikkodachi (sumo stance or horse stance). Most Aikidoka don't have good footwork. Also controlling the hips are mentioned in Aikibudo book by Ueshiba. Another book to read is Tomiki Ryu Aikido.
Thank you for sharing! I practiced aikido from 1992 to 1995. Then a big gap. Then kyokushin in Japan in 2003 an 2004. Then (back in France) French boxing from 2005 to 2009. Then kids .... so nothing and I started again aikido this year. I relate a lot with your analysis. Good luck and happy you got your channel back.
while times seem kind of crazy today, I m so glad to have found your channel and witness an evolution. not by evolving and mix something just effective, but bringing an art back to its roots by finding all the important parts on a journey. By watching you, I understand so much better the mind of ancient students, traveling through their country to find the best teachers they can find and link all the knowledge in one art.
This is a fascinating discovery Rokas, look forward to see this coal polished into a diamond, I really think you are onto something here, best wishes for your continued martial studies! ^___^
Dear Rokas. As always, another excellent view. I really love what you show here. By the way, after an interview he had with you, I started following Chris Hein and became a huge fan of his approach. He considers the ikkyo and another pinning techniques to be less effective as pinning, taking into account the eventual presence of weapons. So he sacrifices control to gain more independence. Thank you again, I love Aikido and I really appreciate your sincere search of answers.
I think you're on the right path. Ueshiba was known to have fought a lot of people in his youth and his Daito Ryu sensei Takeda Sokaku was also fond of entering sumo matches during his youth. Some famous aikidoka actually came from other martial arts such as Karate, Judo or some jujutsu style. This probably means Aikido worked better as a way of refining existing skills. Just a hypothesis based on what I've read on the subject and your videos. You're doing an amazing journey.
I always loved the idea of aikido and I'm sure these missing links existed in people who used to practice it but for some reason stopped being taught and became forgotten. I'm excited for you that you are finding ways of adding these things back in to make aikido useful again! This is the value of cross training styles, training live, and seeking to evolve and improve your art rather than treating it as dogmatic and static. :)
Daito ryu exists and is exactly what youre looking for. It is where aikido and jujitsu comes from and still has all of the stuff that “makes aikido work”, that aikido took out.
Looking at early Akido, it's development from Aiki-Jutsu and some of the feats both attributed to and performed by O-Sensei and it is likely the Ki element, by which I don't mean mystical energy but the internal strength similar to what is found in thr Chinese arts which these days are called soft or internal One of the most accessible insights into this kind of 'internal strength' is the work of Mike Sigman
I like trying to translate the term "ki" to "tension" or "attention to what one wants" lately. For example, change "direct uke's movements by leading their ki" to "direct uke's movements by leading their attention to what they want" or "by leading their tensions." The first one reads more like a mystic and the second one reads more like Machiavelli, but they both amount to about the same thing.
Thank You for this life changing video. I started practicing Silat and Escrima in 1993 and Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi in 2008. I have been studying grappling arts for about a decade but can't take classes because I went to a BJJ class and ended up teaching the class how to step around people, which is what comes from double double edge sword. It is so difficult to learn these things I just quit going to BJJ class.
Hey, regarding what you're talking about at 5:13~ Henka waza and okaeshi waza are exactly what you're talking about. henka waza = changing technique, so turning a sankyo into kaiten nage, or shihonage into kote gaeshi. okaeshi waza = returning technique, for example nage does an ikkyo with too much slack (stealing that terminology now) and uke reverses position and finishes with their own ikkyo. Honest question, were these things never brought up in your Aikido training? They seem like huge glaring omissions if that is the case. Keep up the great work and thank you for the content! :)
It would make sense, cause I remember reading that Aikijujutsu ( the origin of Aikido ) was partly based on Sumo wrestling techniques. Thank you for sharing ☺️.
Good confirmation! My thought is that Aikido is missing much of its prerequisite training. I made a video called 'why Aikido doesn't work' to say that it actually has worked, but students miss out on much of the training that the founder went through. In other systems, like kungfu a similar problem exists. These arts should be able to defeat wrestling, because they are evolutionary. However, if we leave off wrestling, we're building on no foundation. Good thing w the BJJ community is they are adding it in. Thanks for the video!
First off, I 100% agree that aikido as a practical self defense would benefit from wrestling or a similar art. In fact, my journey has been the reverse of yours in some sense. I wrestled in high school, trained in kickboxing, then moved on to judo and later continued with judo but cross train in aikido. Our training group spends about 70% of our time on judo ideas and about 30% on aikido. Adding judo elements to aikido techniques feels like a cheat code and makes everything easy although the resulting break falls for the uke are harder than either judo or aikido are on their own. I imagine the situation would be similar for wrestling and aikido. It was interesting that you brought up the idea of taking up slack and adapting to the movement of your opponent. In our conceptualization of aikido taking up the slack in your opponent’s body lines is the primary measure that determines the specifics of the throw. For us the focus is on drawing the targeted joint and supporting tissues to the limit of their natural, non-breaking extent while maintaining a continuous off balancing movement of the opponent. The way the opponent fights back changes the type of technique. A straight arm becomes a bent arm becomes a twisted arm that may or may not unwind to a straight arm. Is this similar to how you think of aikido? I don’t have any experience with aikido outside of our group of friends and I don’t know how typical my experience is. Anyways, I very much appreciate the work that you’ve been doing and am excited to see more of what you and the Enkamps can explore in the practical application of martial arts.
Hey Rokas. I responded to this video last week, pre-hack. So trying to help out by responding again. I can't exactly remember what I said, but it was something along the lines of how I saw the usage of hips like this in aikido before (I believe Toyoda Sensei), but rarely. Also: the chaining of techniques is something that happens in our dojo a lot, due to the big influx of new people who don't know they 'shouldn't' resist in aikido. Low-key pressure testing. :) Hope this response helps out with the alogritm. Take care, and watch out for hackers! (Always be suspicious of send files from an unknown receiver!)
My highschool coach was a 2nd degree black belt in Aikido and would teach us a lot of wrist manipulation/locks to control are opponents when and if we get in the position. It helps a lot during the initial hand fight.
I attend combat academy, Oliver is a great guy and good coach. Shame I missed you there, I like your channel (after having done 10 years of aikido as a kid and ended up going on a similar journey as you've had). Keep up the great work!
If you want to see my whole exchange with Oliver, watch it here: ua-cam.com/video/iYW0fxxA-D0/v-deo.html
To learn more about Oliver Enkamp and his pro MMA career check out his social media here: www.oliverenkamp.com
@oliverenkamp on Instagram and facebook.com/oliverenkampMMA for Facebook
Thanks a lot for the beautiful videos 🧢💜🕊
@@GhostWriter_369 on your point about your opponents "maintaining a grab on you in aikido" i recall that one discussion you had with that BJJ coach, and you guys wondered "why would he maintain a grab of your arm? he could just let go?" I tried thinking of scenarios that would facilitate that, and the obvious one that came to mine was what if it was the aikido practitioner that was armed. in this case, say a knife. of course the opponent would want to keep two hands on your knife arm, right? a lot of these jujutsu techniques came from the battlefield and war, right? maybe that's the missing history.
excellent video, you should do a sparring or randori with a serious practitioner of tomiki aikido or shodokan aikido so that you can give us your explanation of the difference, congratulations.
Drop the aikido and aikido with wrestling works even better
i think you didnt buy the philosophy of Aikido. that's why you're looking for other complementary ways of fighting. I bought Aikido's philosophy, i don't need anything else. If some guy wants to fight me, i'm out. If we are IN THE MIDDLE of a discussion that MAY LEAD to an aggression, then here i might use Aikido.
Wrestling makes everything better.
To a degree. Wrestling often relies a lot on speed and power. Which as we age, well, I know as a 50+ year old Aikido/BJJ guy that I don't have it as much anymore. Wrestling principles however, last forever.
1000% agreed 😎 It's like ketchup but better!
@@MartialArtsJourney wrestling is like garlic aioli?
My dear friend these are the missing links probably of your training in Aikido and not Aikido itself. Distance manipulation and how to close it are essential principles of Japanese martial arts, especially when it involves weapons training. Furthermore, the forefather of Taijutsu, Jujutsu, Judo and Aikido are indigenous Japanese ancient methods of wrestling... Sumo and Kogu Soku! :-)
But I think that you are in the right path...
@@basilistsakalos9643 But where is that taught today, not in 1940 or ancient times (not that aikido or judo are at all ancient)
Jesse finds roots of Karate.
Rokas finds missing links to Aikido.
I like and appreciate, where this is journeys is going, adding elements to martial arts to bring, find and understand full practically potential of them. I'm wish you success in that goal.
Also respect to Oliver for sharing his time, experience and knowledge.
That alone to me, makes those arts very cool.
Actually in Japanese jujutsu there are strikes used also to bridge the gap for takedowns and throws. Rokas could have just learned Aikijujutsu instead of doing BJJ if he was going to be an MMA fighter anyway.
Yeah and I agree with you I do okinawan karate and shindo jitsu which is karate and jj mixed together
Hey, I know that dude!!! 👀
1. Yoshinkan Aikido Shodan here ... wrestling makes everything better ... full stop.
2. Remember, the very first students of aikido were all judoka.
3. The easiest thing the Akikai could do: incorporate the Kodokan curriculum into it's own.
4. Train gi, and no gi.
5. Love watching this journey. Thank you !
3 seems really nice,i think they could also benefit from sumo,maybe done more occasionaly,but if Judo has takedowns and groundfighting,Aikido has joint manipulation,and Sumo has wrestling, mixing them together is bound to make the ultimate japanese grappling art,since they flow so well together.
What about live sparring? Wrestleing, bjj, and krav all have regular sparring but i havent seen these in aikido or other types like that?
@@junichiroyamashitathe mix you describe are the Sengoku Jidai roots, called kogusoku or taijutsu which developed to Edo era Jujutsu, to Meiji era Judo, to 20th century Aikido.
Yoshinkan Aikido is closer to Daito Ryu i was told,what is your opinion on Shodokan?
I wrestled back in my junior high school days. I started Aikido when I was 32, and now have 9 years of training in. My wrestling experience may have made me a bit of an unusual aikido student in that I've never been afraid to get in close. At the same time, I am fortunate enough to have an aikido instructor who does teach these "missing links" you talk about in this video. Also, I'm not sure of the testing standards you had, but the shōdan test for my dojo's affliation does include linking techniques, while the nidan exam include reversals. So far, the best training session I've ever had for linking, reversals, and connection was a seminar taught by ENDO Seishiro-shihan (the limited video footage you can find on him really doesn't do him justice). The man is in his late-70s now and he makes an effort to go around and train with EVERYONE in the class and he ends the class as drenched in sweat as any of the students.
Yes, getting in close--and linking techniques--are important parts of many dojos.
Akido is a lethal art of fighting, it was all about passive aggression.
I can't resist the martial artists urge to call out that these principles are present in my martial art too, which is judo. Heck, these things you discussed with Oliver are basic grappling things. (Or stand-up grappling for all the confused bjj dudes and dudettes)
How often do y’all practice non-sport techniques? Honest inquiry.
Right on. Seionage from a metre away by just pulling the arm, good luck with that
This is true. Even in some Aikido schools, these principles are taught. I'm currently just a fourth kyu, and these are most of the corrections that are made to my techniques by my instructors.
That’s cause Judo and aikido share a common link. Both Kano(founder of judo) and Ueshiba (founder of aikido) both studied Kito-ryu jujutsu. So it makes sense that there is some similarity. I think a wresting two on one combined with judo skills would go a long way towards making aikido effective.
@@eclipsewrecker this is a big problem. I LOVE Judo and truly believe that, in its purest form, it is by far the most superior all round art from a self defence and martial point of view. The problem is the way its taught now. I really wish there were more schools that did not focus on IJF rules. I want a school that does more work on the ground (50/50 standing and ground work), incorporated the leg attacks (tach-waza and ne-waza) and the striking elements that were all part of Kano's JiuJitsu.
Loved love LOVED this!
"What's the point of improving tma when more effective martial arts exist?"
While folks ask these questions, you got doers like you who, instead of sitting on their hands, work to evolve concepts. I think some folks get lost in the sauce and forget that many effective systems came from the concepts they trash.
I love how you show that wrestling applications and techniques beautifully compliment and enhance Aikido by bringing more effective mechanics to make existing techniques more viable in an every changing world. 💯💯💯
I love this new journey you're taking to make your investment make sense.
Yours truly,
A dude who strongly encourages pressure testing in Kung Fu
Thanks Brian!
Actually that is very true
I’m pretty sure entering with the hips, chaining techniques, closing the distance, push-pull reaction, are all very much a part of actual aikido. I just think there’ are so many aikido schools that are not combative and don’t discuss the application of the material and fall into these bad/non combative practices.
Wrestling is just so damn good though. It provides so many tools and usually conditions people well too.
"I’m pretty sure entering with the hips, chaining techniques, closing the distance, push-pull reaction, are all very much a part of actual aikido. "
Yup it is supposed to be, it was taught to me like that at various clubs, as was good striking and some groundwork.
Unfortunately there are far too many Aikido clubs that only teach the very basics, succeed in even doing that poorly and then award black belts in that poor quality Aikido, I've visited several like it. I looks to me as if Rokas's teacher was one of those.
Yes I love wrestling too, learned a little CACC 'Catch' when I was younger.
I completely agree. I was surprised when he said that. At my school my sensei taught how to enter the opponents space and go for the shoulders or chin to control the body. The chin and jaw was frequently taught as places to manipulate with the palm, and we were told to stay as close as possible, and if need be, choke the opponent out with a headlock. Even in the book Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, essentially the aikido bible, it goes over these techniques. It even goes over specific strikes to use when entering, primarily used as feints or mild damage to distract from the oncoming grapple. I firmly believe the biggest hurdle for aikido is the lack of practical sparring against other fighters. There is also nothing wrong with taking aikido and combining it with other styles. Take for instance the best jujitsu practitioner in the world and tell him to fight the best muay tai fighter in thailand, and they can only use the "official" moves within their discipline. That jujistu guy would get his jaw broken in 5 secs. Combining martial arts so they they are more effective overall is a good thing.
No matter if comments are deleted, I will say it again and again: Oliver Enkamp kicks ass. Much respect to his personality.
This hip that u used to facilitate the throw is just like the kusuchi for the hip throws in judo... U can't throw without unbalancing the opponent with your hips. That's a part of the tecnich.
Exactly. I stress this to our junior Aikido students ALL THE TIME. If you don't capture their kuzushi, nothing in Aikido will work.
💪✌️ more analysis of the Aikido topic! Let's go!
Super happy you're finding those core aspects of Aikido that have been lost. I did Hapkido for years, and one day my Master finally explained to me how I was leaving way too much distance. I started noticing that when he did a kote gaeshi, elbow lock, or any of the other joint manipulations he was using his should, chest, or stomach to add pressure and support to the lock. It blew my mind and kept me thinking in terms of taking incremental steps to increase control. Keep doing what you're doing!
I know its your marketing strategy for your channel but I hate to put labels like 'wretling throw, judo throw bjj lock etc. I am a Judoka and we also learned those things you explained there. Like acrion reaction, misdirection and chaining attacks. putting a Judo brownbelt especially chadi (nothing personally against chadi, i like his really cognitive content, but he doesnt have the instincts and mentality of a fighter like olliver).
What I wante to say: a GOOD martial art is only a vehicle which we use to journey into the world of physical confrontation. It doesnt matter what you do as long you keep training, keep learning more and getting stronger and the MArtial Art you choose should enable ou to do this. For further explanation ask RAMSEY DEWEY aabout his sparring with that old Taichi Quan guy. He got smashed and Ramsey is a big athletic and combat hardened guy
Perhaps you've heard the saying that the first Aikido students ALREADY understood fighting so they were ready for Aikido? Ie..Tomiki was a highly skilled Judoka. Now you have a hint of what this actually means. Basically, if you haven't studied Wrestling and Judo and some striking, you won't be able to make use of Aikido because Aikido integrates and extends these arts. If you don't understand how a wrestling arm-drag works by using action reaction, that is by pushing and then sidestepping and pivoting, you won't understand Irimi Nage.
The core principle of Irimi Nage is EXACTLY the same as an arm-drag. In both, you have to get the middle of your chest onto the back of Tori's shoulder blade. This position is called Shikaku in Aikido. In Wrestling, it's called Rear Control or in ground fighting, the Seat Belt. The places your arms go, aren't the key, it's a body position. As I've pointed out previously, if you don't have the right background, you cannot make use of the techniques of Aikido. You have to build up your wrestling and judo skills BEFORE you try using Aikido or you'll do it all wrong. Walk before you run.. Once you can walk, running becomes not only possible, but easy.
But then how do you know that aikido actually make them better fighters? If they were already good fighters before starting aikido, why think aikido added anything to their skillsets? I'm skeptical.
@@JeanMichelAbrassart Good. We need skeptics and lots of ways to test things to keep practice real and honest. I am speaking from my experience, not hypothetically. Before I understood how to setup the arm drag in wrestling with a push pull setup and leg fakes, I used to try working the basic Irimi Nage move (from wrist control and then in the Gi) in both Judo and Wrestling practice. My partner would grab my wrist or my sleeve in a regular practice and I would try to use Irimi as an entry to an arm drag/go behind. I could grab his wrist but couldn't get behind my opponent for control and couldn't keep control without a very tight grip. Then I learned to setup the move with a push-pull and got behind easily using the exact outside step and pivot taught in Aikido.
Soon after that, I figured out how to use body positioning, instead of a tight grip to keep control of my opponent from behind, another key principle in Aikido. This opened the door to several other related techniques. This is one of several examples I could give of how my Wrestling and Aikido (& Judo) work together.
So, we moved from principle to "how do we dojo gooder" in this side thread, I think?
My two cents says, "work the basics of everything and let the layers weave together around the stuff the student loves." One needn't master every facet to be able to relate the facets of one's mastery to the whole. Pro fighters seem to demo this by drawing the fight/conversation to the places of their strength, e.g. someone who can dance while destroying your guard will want to do that while a bjj whiz will want to get you both to the floor. Real self-defense or live combat trainers might focus more on making use of environmental advantage. Teaching and practicing fundamentals of these as they intersect with the student's own interests can enhance the practices of primary focus while making a first understanding of the intersecting practices clear and usable, the way dojos may teach calisthenics and qi exercises without being a bodybuilding or acupuncture class.
What I think will shape the journey and rulesets of practice is ultimately who each student wants to be. But I do feel it is disservice to, say, teach people a ringfighting art while letting them feel that is also how to survive a mob with torches and pitchforks, or teach someone alchemical wrestling (read: "Aikido") like it is all you need to practice to be the world's best hurly player or MMA champ.
Was going to write exactly the same, and then saw your comment. Glad to see people with this line of thought.
Thats cool but I cant imagine why you would need aikido if you’re already a highly skilled grappler
Aikido is essentially grappling and the most effective way to grapple is to control the space between you and your opponent like how it’s done in wrestling and jiujitsu.
During a grappling exchange, You take away your opponent’s space you’re on the offense and you create space when you’re on the defense. When you are controlling the space you can execute your aikido techniques.
Like nearly every Martial Art. I've done Taekwondo, Kickboxing a bit of Boxing, Kendo until I settled with Judo and in EVERY competitive oriented sport the control of the space is the first and foremost important thing
I plan to do BJJ but I think it will be the same experience.
... and time, space and timing. It is called ma-ai!
If you study, you'll find that Aikido is essentially striking.
@@DennisTheDane honestly I don’t study aikido but I don’t see any striking when observing as an outsider.
I'm interested in seeing how you're able to evolve Akido through wrestling. Make a series for us!
I'm definitely interested in this as well. I'd love that series.
its just gonna become wrestling or wrestling with a gi. Wrestling is very refined and an ancient art that always had contact sparring that stress tested and refined it to what it is today.
Incredible !! It took you 4 years, but you kept at it ! You are so close ! I followed your journey and so happy for you to finally discover the missing link !
Your journey of making Aikido effective is incredibly inspiring! I'm a judoka and I had been struggling with motivation for a while during covid, but your amazing content has been a big part of reigniting my passion!
That's awesome to hear!
In high school, our 103-pounder was an incredible Judoka. He made my wrestling takedown defense so much better. It didn't take long to stop tying up with him as I hated getting thrown on my ass by someone 2 weight classes lighter. I think wrestlers who want to step up their game should try cross-training in Judo.
This is great! I also love Oliver, he is just so humble despite being such a great fighter. Though I am confused what you learned in Judo when Action-Reaction principle seems that new to you - I thought it's kinda the foundation of Judo(?)
I actually didn't experience that much of Judo or got as in depth of an explanation as I did with Oliver from wrestling. Still I did get to pick up some things which I will share soon
It is a basic thing in Aikido, too!
This is exactly what I was thinking too
Rokas, hate to tell you, but my Aikido teachers always emphasized closing up space to make technique work! Only when I traveled to other dojos like AAA or USAF affiliated places did they do that dancing stuff. I was taught that Aiki starts with that real physical connection. Rule of thumb: If an Aikido syllabus doesn’t have Koshinage in its Gokyu or Yonkyu test, RUN!!! 😆. I’m glad that you continue to explore. Don’t be afraid to start to put a syllabus of techniques together yourself. There’s speculation that some Daito Ryu masters incorporated Sumo techniques into their syllabi (or vice versa).
ua-cam.com/video/eQ4YWwupwiA/v-deo.html
I find it really interesting how your journey took you from "this farse doesn't work" to "wait, there is something in his style that was lost to time, can we find a way to make it effective once again?"
Lots of great insight and info. The spacing/control topic alone has value for just about any discipline! Great video Rokas!
Glad to see your completing the circle! Enjoy your journey and thanks for sharing 💮🙏
Loving these collaboration videos. 👍👍 Watched it twice.
Keep in mind, that the space between you( in aikido) has it's foundation from the sword; that was the space the sword occupied.
Yes I think it's the reason too and that makes senses.
Good video. I feel like the principles you discussed were constantly taught by my 6th and 5th Dan Aikido instructors however were always challenging to implement well. This may be why most people revert to the “slack” versions of the techniques
There is a reason why an aikidoka is having a distance from the opponent.
Aikido was created with a katana holding opponent in mind.
Controlling and disarming the hand or arm that holds a katana was a higher priority than unarmed grappling.
The samurai era was still going on when aikido was created.
I'm happy for you, man. I feel like I'm witnessing the next evolutionary step in aikido. Keep up your journey!
Dude... I see you creating your own, functional Aikido variation in the next couple of years.
Suggestion - go through each basic Akido technique with different martial arts experts and try to make it work. Create new "vocabulary" of techniques, chain them in the way BJJ doesv it (what can go from where with success rate estimation) and we may get some cool new techniques or "standing BJJ" ;)
I notice that in every example of trying to apply traditional (i.e. not wrestling-modified) Aikido technique, you consistently tried to go into the throw without first taking the uke's balance. This necessarily means that in attempting to enter the throw, you were going against his force/strength instead of with it. Secondly, in my 20+ years of Aikido training and teaching we most definitely DID train in "chaining" techniques. (Forgive me, but I cannot remember the Japanese term, but there is a term for it.) Admittedly it was rarely taught and seemed to be reserved for more advanced training. But we did train these techniques. One example is moving from shiho-nage into irimi-nage, by moving outside nage's arm and to his rear as he resists and using his forward-moving strength to steer him into irimi-nage. One could also switch to kote-gaishi at that point.
Something is both gained and lost in the use of distant connection by which aikido is typically taught. What is lost has been discussed to death: the lack of pressure testing. However, what is gained is the ability to understand the balancing aspects of the connection.
Take a throw from a katate dori grab. Unbalancing someone at distance through the grab is very hard, and very impractical, but nage learns a lot about body mechanic in unbalancing uke. If aikido was taught to have nage unbalance uke closer in, then the temptation to use muscle over body mechanic would make aikido’s lessons harder to learn.
If nage can unbalance uke through a distant connection, then nage can understand how to unbalance uke through a closer connection.
Love the hips part! I've seen it done before in aikido, but rarely (I think Toyoda Sensei), and it's far from mainstream.
The linking of techniques though is part of our practice in my old dojo.
I think that's because it's the training class for university students - always new students with no background in aikido comming in, not knowing you can't 'resist'. :D
So us seniors have learned to adapt to resisting students by linking techniques. Low key preasure testing? :D
Loved the vid!
Nice! That sounds great
The Enkamp Brothers make awesome guests for your channel. Glad to see them lend their expertise to your insights, sir! 👍
Excellent video. The more we explore and learn from other styles, the better understanding we will have of our own.
Great video! Your journey is going pretty well i think 🥋🏅
By the way, before you get to tomiki aikido, wich will no doubts have more answers for you too... You should take a look at sumo... More specifically the striking in sumo amd the armlock techniques, wich include kotenage, tottari, amiuchi and a few others... They are basically aikido looking techniques done full contact by smaller wrestlers against bigger wrestlers and working...
When i was in bjj i would land one of them once in a while and the blue belts would look at me like i was some kind of wizard, a whitebelt that manages to do "armdrags" so strong that the oponent simply falls to the ground? The main instructor wasnt impressed at all, he knew how it worked, but it was still alot of fun...
Man you are on to something bigger than what you realize. This search of truth and journey you are on will be looked at in the future as an important chapter in martial arts. Wreskido! 🥋 Continue, you are inspiring lots of people!
Happy to comment again! Always glad to see your work.
I wanted to point out about the action/reaction principal and some other missing links you mentioned it made me think right away of henka waza and kaeshi waza.
Henka waza, for example, you turn shihonage into sankyo.
Okaeshi waza, uke becomes nage. So, nage does ikkyo imperfectly and creates the opportunity for a reversal, say another ikkyo or kaiten nage.
So, fluidly flowing from one technique to another, and flowing between uke and nage are definitely things like the missing links you mentioned.
Glad you got the channel back and looking forward to what comes next! :)
I am so glad you found wrestling. It will elevate your Aikido skill to a new level.
I have bad news for you: everything what you’ve realised and mentioned in this video is currently taught in aikido. I think you were unfortunate with finding a Sensei who teach you the proper ways.
I'll second that...
The entire idea of Aikido, as Tomiki described it, was "Judo at a distance". What you discovered in this video is that you can't really grapple from far away, thus actually disproving the entire foundation of Aikido.
Another great exploration video, keep them coming Rokas.
Thank you!
What you are discribing are some of the most basic principles that we practise in our traditional Jujutsu Dojo. The difficulty in making a technique work is most of the time getting the positioning right. Problems usually are speed, reaction time and transition timing.
Kutsushi needs control, distance is a key part in this. Fix a weight on a stick and try to move it in a circle. Holding it steady will become harder proportional to the distance between your Hand and the weight.
Since I started teaching, I've been focused on connection - in part thanks to your SBG session, so thanks for that! =D I teach it as the main principle in our intro to jiujitsu class now, and it's made me into a different martial artist. If someone doesn't understand it, I can immediately tell, and I can usually control the situation. It's CRAZY.
Thanks again man!
- Jared
I tried to tell you this yearsssssssss ago. I wish I had a couple hours with you. This was great!
Hi Robert! I believe I watched your talk with Matt Thornton. It was a good one!
Good video as always Rokas! And yeah, wrestling is fun and makes everything better (as Ramsey Dewey said)!
Yes. You need to understand wrestling to make Aikido work. I was taught chaining techniques in Aikido, I was taught that the body goes where the head goes and I was taught the action-reaction principle. What I wasn't taught was closing the distance. Ma-ai is important in Aikido and most techniques in Aikido aren't done from such a close ma-ai. There are two reasons for this. One is that, if someone is coming at you with a knife and you get in real close, you're going to be stabbed a lot worse than if you keep some distance. You'll still be stabbed either way, but you'll have a harder time defending vital structures, especially in your back and sides. The other reason is that if you're grappling over a weapon that you yourself have drawn or are attempting to draw, you'll want to create distance in order to "clear" your weapon. You may choose to close the space again to utilize said weapon, especially if it's a blade, but that's when you've gained control over it. However, all this talk about weapons, survival and retention are advanced concepts and learning them without first knowing how to wrestle is setting yourself up for failure in a dire emergency. You need to learn to crawl before you learn to ride a motorcycle, as my Aikido teacher (ironically enough) told me. I wish I knew that Aikido itself was the motorcycle and I couldn't even crawl.
I actually really like this video. Really good insight. Probably one of my favorite videos.
Nice! I am planning to release a whole series of these, how other martial arts could improve Aikido. Next up is Judo :)
@@MartialArtsJourney I can't even express how much I want to see that! Keep it up!
I've gotten really excited about sumo as an initial influence on Osensei for very similar reasons. If you watch sumo bouts, they often go through two or three different techniques to resolve a bout. It looks like chaining. I can also see similarities between the teppo exercise of sumo (kind of an open-hand jab one frames up and presses through by walking) and the kind of technique-initiating strike you'd see in an early manual composed by Osensei (specifically, a seated nage performs a shomen against a seated uke, and knee-walks that into seated ikkyo).
It's all got me thinking that Osensei was working ways to bridge the distance between various ranges so that they could all be held in much the same way. I'm curious if it could be done by working the attention. And/or a framing open-hand jab.
Great info. Great that your working on techniques to enhance your Aikido skills.
I really respect what you're doing with your skills, friend. You are a testament to the martial arts persona, homie.
IMO, wrestling is the answer to EVERYTHING! When I started wrestling in 2018, I used to record myself during solo practice. While evaluating one of my chaining combos, I slowed my movements down and what I saw blew my mind. I was essentially performing a Kung Fu form! My hands were waving in front of me like I was doing tai chi while I was pretending to be grip fighting. All those weird 'scooping' hand movements that are in Kung Fu, I was doing while going into the over-under. Once I saw that, I started to look at all my kung fu training and applying grappling concepts to them and saw that 80% of my forms could easily be interpreted as grappling techniques!
I have watched some of your videos before, but this series about direct interchange of knowledge, experiences and comparing techniques are super interesting, even if I have not practiced any martial art in ages.
In Aikido , though you come off the direct line of force, deflections are also utilized; atemi, etc, etc are also employed; an advanced Aikido Practitioner, can also successfully use the option of using the attacker's/attackers' incoming strikes (straight punches, hook punches etc; straight kicks, round kicks, etc) as a " ramp ' for the Aikido Practitioner's strikes, atemi against uke.. In Aikido, you can also stop/ jam your opponent's strike before it starts, and,/or, just at that initial point of its commencement. In Aikido, sometimes what looks like a block , is / are really the hand/ hands feeling the direction of the flow .Aikido is more than just wrist locks, pins, and immobilization. In Aikido, there are also body drops, throws, chokes, weaponry training.
All grappling arts can learn so much from wrestling. The reason is simple: both training and competition time that wrestling has been going through trial and error is so much longer than any other grappling art. I myself have been sophronized by Jiujitsu for more than ten years but every time i cross train wrestling i realize how simple and more effective i can do things in Bjj by applying battle tested principles wrestlers being doing for ages
I like the analogy that aikido is "judo at a distance." It's less competitive to see it that way, if the idea is just to train normal grappling and wrestling close range first, then as you get better you can see if you can apply the same throws at a distance. Wrestling close range is always going to be more effective, but understanding how to throw/grapple at range is more tactical if there is more than one attacker.
The founder of aikido had sumo experience, and there are also some sumo throws in daito ryu. In my view practicing in the traditional form provides access to a lineage of deep study of the principles of motion. Practicing with aliveness is what makes that knowledge practical in the here and now.
I learned the idea of applying gyakun to someone's ulnar nerve slightly above their ankle (thanks to exposure to Hakko Ryu techniques). Very effective, but not when they resist. However, wrestling has a tried and true takedown against resistance, just a standard low single leg. Combine that proven takedown with the application of gyakun and you get something really unique.
As I mentioned in the last video, I believe the missing link depends on some lost teachings. I remember the late Tamura Shihan explaining shihonage, always mentioning "rub your butt" against your attacker and lean forward rather than back just as you do in this clip. Same for entering Irimi nage with the hips... Irimi literally means "entering/striking with the body" so you must enter with your hips either to throw (nage) or headlock (as in its Daito version). I am thrilled as I feel you are now filling some holes you had in your learning path. I would entirely blame your teachers for not showing you those details, but this might not be their fault either. Aikido kata have been diluted and stripped from what made possible to its first iterations and Daito to develop functional applications. Please keep doing this, Rokas! And I am looking forward to you reopening an Aikido dojo ;-)
Sorry to hear about the hack - here's a condensed version of my original comment:
Love that you're trying out wrestling and I'll be interested to see all that you and Oliver come up with. Our judo training group cross trains in aikido and the ideas mesh very well. One thing that I've noticed, though, is that certain combinations can lead to very difficult or sometimes even harsh break falls for the uke.
This is the content I'm looking for.
What you finally seem to have discovered are actually the basics of aikido. If you enter any aikido dojo the most common phrase that you will continuously hear is "use your hips!". Also when Kisshomaru Ueshiba says in that little gem of a book The spirit of Aikido "be one with your uke" he means you have to keep a very close body contact. This is the only way to keep control of your uke and the whole situation.
Totally agree, except with the enter 'any aikido dojo' many have lost their way. Cross training is great though for improvement.
I do hospital security. I have had hundreds of real life fights. My background as a fighter is in Jujutsu and Karate. There is no martial art that actually prepares one for a real life fight. The sheer aggression and and malice of a person willing to fight can throw even a black belt off in real life. Aikido has some really great ideas in it. I use the idea of opposite force all the time. If I want my opponent to push me, I push him first, then wait for the counter push and then move in to bring them down.
Here's my top advice for real life fights.
You are not in a hurry, you might feel like you are, but you're not. Get rid of that feeling and just take some sort of control of the situation. Any sort of a grab is good, that means that the opponent can't hit you in the face. Most of the techniques that we learn in the Dojo do not work as they are taught. Real life is way more chaotic and random than fighting with friends in the Dojo. Learning them is good, because it gives one idea of what kind of a hold hurts and what doesn't. If you ever have to fight in real life, you will experience a massive adrenaline spike. You will forget pretty much everything you ever learned on the tatami. The enemy has no rules, they will bite your neck out and make you bleed to death.
Tunnel vision is a thing that happens and you cannot completely avoid it. Looking around helps a bit, so do that.
Yes! Finally, a good shihonage! This is something that has been bothering me about your technique for a long time and it a joy to see this extension in your technique! It's also a shame about your training never having chaining. That has always been a shear joy in my training. This is one of your best aikido videos so far! Keep it up!
I am a professional wrestler in Japan, practice catch as catch wrestling and also train at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo (4th dan)... Catch Wrestling (submission wrestling) was the game changer for my Aikido 100% and I have several videos mixing them together
Aye up Rionne mate, how are you doing?
Not entering with the hips, not chaining techniques, not closing the distance, no push-pull reaction....makes you wonder about his instructor doesn't it?
@@ianwright963 Yes mate but not his fault. This is modern day Aikido. Everything is about how good you look, and how far you can throw your 100% compliant uke! Unfortunately due to the watered down art that we have left, you have to go outside the box and to other martial arts to find all the real martial arts principles and techniques that were stripped out. Unfortunately I think Rokas is only doing that for UA-cam likes and subscribers. If I am not mistaken, Rokas does not practice Aikido at all, hence making this video a complete number of views only matter video. If Rokas was practicing 3-4 days a week and legit trying to make his Aikido better through legit cross training, I would give him the benefit of the doubt. If I am wrong and he is practicing, then great for him. But I think it's clear he scoots over once a month to make a random Aikido video knowing the peanut gallery will fall for it. That's all very well, but I have something more real - legit cross training and legit, constant Aikido training. As you do too I know!
@@RionneTV I think you're right there mate.
@@ianwright963 Wow, how are ya man? Haven't heard from you in a bit!
@@michaelhalasy9225 Doing alright mate. Lucky to have been able to keep training all through lockdown, as the lodger is a club member.
If you find these principles 🤯🤯🤯 you should definitely must try practice in Iwama Japan With Saito Sensei, see the birthplace of aikido and make a comparison between modern aikido (your style) and traditional aikido. You can start by reading Stan Prannin (greatest aikido journalist ever) about both of them! That would be just great to watch. Pretty sure that would answer you lot of questions. Keep it up! I like what you are doing
Amazing video, one of the best on improving Aikido technique out there!
The balance breaking has much to do with stepping and pivoting between natural stance (shizentai) and Shikkodachi (sumo stance or horse stance). Most Aikidoka don't have good footwork. Also controlling the hips are mentioned in Aikibudo book by Ueshiba. Another book to read is Tomiki Ryu Aikido.
Thank you for sharing! I practiced aikido from 1992 to 1995. Then a big gap. Then kyokushin in Japan in 2003 an 2004. Then (back in France) French boxing from 2005 to 2009. Then kids .... so nothing and I started again aikido this year. I relate a lot with your analysis.
Good luck and happy you got your channel back.
This is actually closer to how I trained aikido in sweden. I dunno if it was specific to my club or the swedish aikido style.
while times seem kind of crazy today, I
m so glad to have found your channel and witness an evolution. not by evolving and mix something just effective, but bringing an art back to its roots by finding all the important parts on a journey. By watching you, I understand so much better the mind of ancient students, traveling through their country to find the best teachers they can find and link all the knowledge in one art.
This is a fascinating discovery Rokas, look forward to see this coal polished into a diamond, I really think you are onto something here, best wishes for your continued martial studies! ^___^
Wrestling & BJJ = dominant grappling skills. Mix in some Muay Thai or kickboxing or just boxing and you have a complete MMA fighter.
Dear Rokas. As always, another excellent view. I really love what you show here. By the way, after an interview he had with you, I started following Chris Hein and became a huge fan of his approach. He considers the ikkyo and another pinning techniques to be less effective as pinning, taking into account the eventual presence of weapons. So he sacrifices control to gain more independence.
Thank you again, I love Aikido and I really appreciate your sincere search of answers.
To quote some random UA-cam comment, "it's funny that whenever you pressure test your martial art, it just becomes wrestling"
Or boxing :)
@@MartialArtsJourney Thought it was Muy Thai?
Great Video, need more videos like this
I'm actually planning to release a whole series of these! The next one will be about Judo and Aikido
@@MartialArtsJourney awesome can't wait for it to come out. Sorry that your account got hacked.
I think you're on the right path. Ueshiba was known to have fought a lot of people in his youth and his Daito Ryu sensei Takeda Sokaku was also fond of entering sumo matches during his youth. Some famous aikidoka actually came from other martial arts such as Karate, Judo or some jujutsu style. This probably means Aikido worked better as a way of refining existing skills. Just a hypothesis based on what I've read on the subject and your videos. You're doing an amazing journey.
Cool to see the evolution of the channel 👊👊👊
I always loved the idea of aikido and I'm sure these missing links existed in people who used to practice it but for some reason stopped being taught and became forgotten. I'm excited for you that you are finding ways of adding these things back in to make aikido useful again! This is the value of cross training styles, training live, and seeking to evolve and improve your art rather than treating it as dogmatic and static. :)
Daito ryu exists and is exactly what youre looking for. It is where aikido and jujitsu comes from and still has all of the stuff that “makes aikido work”, that aikido took out.
Looking at early Akido, it's development from Aiki-Jutsu and some of the feats both attributed to and performed by O-Sensei and it is likely the Ki element, by which I don't mean mystical energy but the internal strength similar to what is found in thr Chinese arts which these days are called soft or internal
One of the most accessible insights into this kind of 'internal strength' is the work of Mike Sigman
I like trying to translate the term "ki" to "tension" or "attention to what one wants" lately. For example, change "direct uke's movements by leading their ki" to "direct uke's movements by leading their attention to what they want" or "by leading their tensions." The first one reads more like a mystic and the second one reads more like Machiavelli, but they both amount to about the same thing.
Thank You for this life changing video. I started practicing Silat and Escrima in 1993 and Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi in 2008. I have been studying grappling arts for about a decade but can't take classes because I went to a BJJ class and ended up teaching the class how to step around people, which is what comes from double double edge sword. It is so difficult to learn these things I just quit going to BJJ class.
This man is really giving aikido a system update
Just waiting for you to reopen your aikido school again with all these awesome hacks you've made to it!
This Is really interesting! I Hope you can work on old aikido tecniques and you can make Them funcional thanks to this! 💪
Thanks! Working on it one step at a time 😊🙏
Hey, regarding what you're talking about at 5:13~
Henka waza and okaeshi waza are exactly what you're talking about.
henka waza = changing technique, so turning a sankyo into kaiten nage, or shihonage into kote gaeshi.
okaeshi waza = returning technique, for example nage does an ikkyo with too much slack (stealing that terminology now) and uke reverses position and finishes with their own ikkyo.
Honest question, were these things never brought up in your Aikido training? They seem like huge glaring omissions if that is the case.
Keep up the great work and thank you for the content! :)
It would make sense, cause I remember reading that Aikijujutsu ( the origin of Aikido ) was partly based on Sumo wrestling techniques.
Thank you for sharing ☺️.
This also shows the difference in maia between Shorin Ryu and Shotokan… great conceptual breakdown for practical application .
Good confirmation! My thought is that Aikido is missing much of its prerequisite training. I made a video called 'why Aikido doesn't work' to say that it actually has worked, but students miss out on much of the training that the founder went through. In other systems, like kungfu a similar problem exists. These arts should be able to defeat wrestling, because they are evolutionary. However, if we leave off wrestling, we're building on no foundation. Good thing w the BJJ community is they are adding it in. Thanks for the video!
Bro we need a video of you training 1 whole day at Penn state.
I've often said I'd rather learn wrestling than BJJ. It's pretty cool to see how well it meshes with Aikido.
Roki you're doing God's work man, keep it up
First off, I 100% agree that aikido as a practical self defense would benefit from wrestling or a similar art. In fact, my journey has been the reverse of yours in some sense. I wrestled in high school, trained in kickboxing, then moved on to judo and later continued with judo but cross train in aikido.
Our training group spends about 70% of our time on judo ideas and about 30% on aikido. Adding judo elements to aikido techniques feels like a cheat code and makes everything easy although the resulting break falls for the uke are harder than either judo or aikido are on their own. I imagine the situation would be similar for wrestling and aikido.
It was interesting that you brought up the idea of taking up slack and adapting to the movement of your opponent. In our conceptualization of aikido taking up the slack in your opponent’s body lines is the primary measure that determines the specifics of the throw. For us the focus is on drawing the targeted joint and supporting tissues to the limit of their natural, non-breaking extent while maintaining a continuous off balancing movement of the opponent. The way the opponent fights back changes the type of technique. A straight arm becomes a bent arm becomes a twisted arm that may or may not unwind to a straight arm. Is this similar to how you think of aikido? I don’t have any experience with aikido outside of our group of friends and I don’t know how typical my experience is.
Anyways, I very much appreciate the work that you’ve been doing and am excited to see more of what you and the Enkamps can explore in the practical application of martial arts.
I love your co-ops with with Jesse and Oliver. It's like avengers infinity war all over again
i've said it before but i'll say it again you're gonna go down in history as one of the founding masters of modern aikido
for the rest of history people will look back on this
Hey Rokas. I responded to this video last week, pre-hack. So trying to help out by responding again.
I can't exactly remember what I said, but it was something along the lines of how I saw the usage of hips like this in aikido before (I believe Toyoda Sensei), but rarely.
Also: the chaining of techniques is something that happens in our dojo a lot, due to the big influx of new people who don't know they 'shouldn't' resist in aikido. Low-key pressure testing. :)
Hope this response helps out with the alogritm. Take care, and watch out for hackers! (Always be suspicious of send files from an unknown receiver!)
If you think about it, the martial art aikido stems from was basically wrestling someone armed with a sword.
You're slowly creating Combat Aikido without realizing it.
closing the distance..oliver is brilliant
My highschool coach was a 2nd degree black belt in Aikido and would teach us a lot of wrist manipulation/locks to control are opponents when and if we get in the position. It helps a lot during the initial hand fight.
I attend combat academy, Oliver is a great guy and good coach. Shame I missed you there, I like your channel (after having done 10 years of aikido as a kid and ended up going on a similar journey as you've had). Keep up the great work!
Bravo. Great use of humility. Keep up the good work.