Aikido Vs. MMA: The Unflinching Comparison
By Sensei Guy Hagen March 21, 2017 Recently, a fellow Aikido teacher shared a video with me of a YouTube commentator evaluating Aikido videos. In general, this commentator expressed incredulity and disdain regarding what he saw of Aikido as a fighting art. As this was about the 300th video, article, and forum thread I have seen […]
Martial Arts, Martial Sports, and Martial Journeys
By Sensei Guy Hagen November 20, 2016 “Martial arts” is a generic tern, which in most peoples’ minds includes any kind of physical activity with elements of self-defense or prepares against some kind of physical violence. However, I think it causes a lot of confusion to lump all systems, styles, and activities together, and in the […]
Sensei Bruce Bookman: Why Aikido Is The Hardest Martial Art
This article was written with Bookman Sensei, and based upon an interview with him during his visit to Tampa in February 2016. Every martial art I have trained in besides Aikido has some common mindsets. In particular, there is the assumption that we can always control our partner and the situation, and if we don’t […]