The Beer Talks

Over a beer the other day, the subject of martial arts came up, and I found myself describing what Aikido is about. This is what a came up with:

• The idea is not to be violent, but to control and diffuse an attack
• Most times, there is some kind of move off the line of attack, i.e. to avoid the power of a blow and the momentum of the attacker
• Most times, the next step is to make the attacker lose balance, while yourself remaining in balance and in control
• Sometimes evasion is possible (although it takes a true master to do this, in my view)
• We also use atemi (strikes), but this is not so much an attack, but rather to take the mind of the opponent, and help in pushing them off balance for the technique to follow
• There are joint locks and projections (throws) that we learn as techniques to use on opponents
• There are also immobilzations that we can use to finish techniques, and keep the attacker on the floor
• In the context of multiple attackers, we can use the body of an opponent as a barrier or shield to protect us from further attackers
• A true master can keep putting down an opponent until they lose the will the fight on
• This does not mean that the opponent should be humiliated or seriously injured

Of course there is much, much more to say, but I think this gives a flavour. I do not yet claim to be an expert.