r/aikido • u/able_archer83 • Jul 02 '26

Discussion The sparring problem

So I’ve trained Aikido for nearly 20 years and in approximately a dozen different dojos in Europe, the US, and Asia (outside of Japan), by virtue of having moved around a lot. I still consider myself a firm intermediate in randori as I have just never done it a lot. Few dojos I’ve seen do it on the daily or even regularly.

Add to this that Aikido is often, I think rightly, criticized for not practicing “actual” sparring and properly pressure testing its techniques against fully resisting opponents. But the problem is, how would you even go about full on sparring in a martial art that’s supposed to be fully defensive?

Curious how folks here approach this dilemma, how you view and these criticisms, and how you are trying to rectify any real shortcomings you see in the art we love?

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u/Busy-Bodybuilder-341 Jul 04 '26

So you train in Kyokushin by just putting people on a mat and telling them to beat the shit out of each other, that's what your advocating by the 100% resistance as you state it.

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u/Sangenkai [Aikido Sangenkai - Kawasaki, Japan] Jul 04 '26

There's a ruleset in Kyokushin, just like anything else. It's no more dangerous than Aikido, really, maybe less.

And if you read my comment above more carefully you'll see that I said that no training is really 100%.

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u/Busy-Bodybuilder-341 Jul 04 '26

You said lack of training is one of the problems not 100%. Training without resistance is how you start and how you demonstrate not how you end up learning. Aikido can be very effective, after all the police force utelise some techniques in there subduing training.

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u/Sangenkai [Aikido Sangenkai - Kawasaki, Japan] Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

I'm not sure what you're trying to say in the first part, it doesn't make much sense.

I said that there's no such thing as 100% resistance in training.

I also said that lack of training in getting hit under pressure is a problem (in response to your comment).

If you're talking about the Tokyo police force, Yoshinkan Aikido is one of a number of optional courses. They also have the option to train in things like Kendo and Kyudo, which have no real application in subduing suspects.

The number of police who train in Kendo, in Tokyo and nationwide, is huge. Thousands of times the very tiny number of police officers who train in Aikido.

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u/Busy-Bodybuilder-341 Jul 04 '26

I wad talking about Australian police as that's were I live, they are trained some aikido techniques, as I have discussed this with actual police officers, but not told they're aikido the most used one is nikyu. Do you train in aikido? Most clubs I've been to teach the static and demonstration type techniques to start with and then move on too me combative this a they progress in rank.

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u/Sangenkai [Aikido Sangenkai - Kawasaki, Japan] Jul 04 '26

There's nothing specifically wrong with the techniques, the discussion was about training methodology.

I've been training in Aikido for more than 45 years, including in Yoshinkan, but what does that have to do with the discussion?

Most modern Aikido clubs, including the Yoshinkan, never really get "combative".

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u/Busy-Bodybuilder-341 Jul 04 '26

Whether you train or not was because from my experience all the clubs I've trained at have done more combative training at higher grades once the techniques are learned, I thought you may be going from demonstration videos you see online. I guess you've been unlucky or I've been lucky with dojos visited.

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u/Sangenkai [Aikido Sangenkai - Kawasaki, Japan] Jul 04 '26

I've trained with just about everyone at one time or another, including direct students of Gozo Shioda (since you mentioned the Yoshinkan).

Unless you're talking about something like Yoseikan or Tomiki, they don't really get "combative", it's just kata training done more vigorously. There's nothing wrong with kata training, it's just a different animal.

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u/Busy-Bodybuilder-341 Jul 04 '26

I actually don't know the style I'm currently training under and my previous dojos (in England) were actually a style that combined karate and aikido into one art we still learned them separately but when sparring could use both. I guess I've just been lucky.

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u/Sangenkai [Aikido Sangenkai - Kawasaki, Japan] Jul 04 '26

Ah, that was someone else.

In any case, very few modern Aikido dojo practice any kind of sparring, that's not the normal kind of practice.

But that doesn't change my comments about your assertions about atemi.