If you’d like to get a little perspective on where Aikido fits in among other martial arts, you’ve landed in the right place. Can’t tell Sumo from Sambo? Karate from Krav Maga? No worries. We’ll point out some differences you can observe among different martial arts, and let you know where Aikido fits in.
People select which martial arts to practice for a number of different reasons. Probably the best and most common reasons to start training in an art are that it looks like fun, it’s exciting and / or inspiring, there’s a good vibe among the community of people training and instructor(s), and the cost, schedule and location are workable. That said, it may also be useful to be aware of some of the differences among martial arts in order to inform a selection.
One of the most straightforward ways to differentiate between martial arts is based on the physical activities they include. Some are based more or less entirely on the use of a weapon (Kyudo, Kendo, Iaido, Escrima, Fencing, various kinds of target shooting, etc.). Some have mostly strikes and blocks (Tae Kwon Do, Boxing, some types of Karate, Savate, etc.) while others are more known for some form of grappling, including take-downs, pins, joint locks and submissions (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling, Sumo, Judo, etc.) and some do a combination of many of the above. Some will teach you to fall / roll gracefully. Some will teach you to live through a fall, if not particularly gracefully. In some you’ll stay (or at least intend to stay) on your feet and in others you may only rarely get up to your feet from the ground. Some will be fairly “full contact” while others might be light or no contact. Some will encourage a fair bit of physical conditioning. Others may intend to be well-suited for people of all shapes, sizes, strength and levels of fitness. This is all just to point out that people are often drawn to different martial arts because of the type of physicality in training. Because there’s a wide range, if you’re looking for a martial art to train, you might want to hunt around for one that looks like it would feel good in your body.
One defining characteristic of Aikido that differentiates it from other martial arts is that it is (most often) neither combative nor competitive. Some arts are combative and come from a context of preparing people to do battle of some kind. Few of these arts still aim to send people into battle. Instead, most have shifted toward maintaining a traditional practice that honors their history, without actually intending to ready people for true combat. In any case, it is reasonable to expect that the training style, the techniques employed and the mindset that’s promoted will all reflect a history stemming from combat. Other martial arts are trained predominantly as competitive sports. Again the training style, techniques and mindset of the practice will reflect this context. Aikido, generally, is neither combative nor competitive. Rather than fighting in conflicts or winning tournaments, Aikido’s aim is to resolve challenging situations constructively. Its training style, techniques and mindset are built around how you might want to resolve a conflict with a friend or neighbor, for example, where hurting them might be an undesirable outcome. Whereas the ideal of combative arts may be to train warriors, and competitive arts might aim to create champions, Aikido is intended for more typical people who see themselves as members of communities, where winning often necessitates winning together.
On the continuum of martial arts, Aikido is far toward the end where the practice strongly reflects its philosophical foundation, which includes nonviolence. Practitioners take turns playing the defined roles of the attacker and the defender so that practice between partners is always cooperative. In the role of the attacker, practitioners learn some basic attacks, such as holds, punches, kicks and other strikes, including some kinds of handheld weapons attacks. Learning meaningful attacks isn’t so that they can be used in a conflict. It is so that the attacker’s partner can learn meaningful defenses. Also in the role of the attacker, we learn how to safely be on the receiving end of self defense techniques, including an emphasis on falling and rolling from throws. In the role of the defender, we learn how to deflect attacks, allowing for escapes, or opening opportunities to take control via joint locks or throws, sometimes followed by pins. Again though, it is really the intentions and mindset behind these physical movements that distinguishes Aikido from other martial arts.