| Learn how to use Aikido in a combat situation to | | | | situation? Here are some of the key elements |
| improve your skills. This may make the difference | | | | involved in Aikido combat. regardless of your level |
| between surviving and escaping, or not! | | | | of skill, in order to stay safe... |
| Depending on the level of skill that you already | | | | 1 - Develop an awareness of your surrounding |
| have, you may be able to greatly improve your | | | | environment. Stop thinking about the past or the |
| performance with combat Aikido. Of course, if | | | | future and be in the present moment. |
| you have developed skills from the military, | | | | 2 - Be able to quickly move forwards, backwards, |
| security, club door work, or street fighting | | | | side-to-side, and diagonally... without losing your |
| experience, then you may already have gathered | | | | balance. |
| much of this knowledge. | | | | 3 - Avoid difficult situations, by seeing them as |
| And if not... why not? | | | | they arise, and leave the area. |
| But, if you are a beginner, have experience in | | | | 4 - Learn how to verbally calm down an |
| martial arts, or are being trained by someone who | | | | aggressor, or create the fear in them to back off. |
| has never had a fight, then this will be far more | | | | 5 - Know when the right time to act arrives and |
| useful to you. | | | | use a pre-emptive strike to take control. |
| Often, martial arts instructors have no experience | | | | 6 - Use Aikido atemi - pressure point strikes to |
| of real combat. Also their own instructor may not | | | | cause pain without injury and affect your |
| have had any experience of it either etc. This is | | | | attacker fast. |
| good in many ways... obviously they know how to | | | | 7 - Using the minimum amount of force to get |
| avoid trouble, and this is one of the main reasons | | | | the job done. |
| for learning martial arts. | | | | 8 - Get out of a difficult situation fast. |
| But often, instructors teach their students street | | | | 9 - Dealing with the authorities if you get it wrong |
| defense, in a way that is unlikely to work in a real | | | | and overdo it. |
| street fight situation. This probably means that | | | | 10 - The main thing is to survive, don't be there, |
| there are thousands of martial arts students | | | | walk away, run away, talk them down, use a |
| believing that they have the tools necessary to | | | | pre-emptive strike to control it quickly, or an all |
| really protect themselves in a violent attack, | | | | out war... the choice may often be yours, so |
| when they probably don't. | | | | prepare for every scenario. |
| How sure are you? | | | | Of course, it may take you many years to |
| By slightly adapting the knowledge that you | | | | develop the right skills from a typical martial arts |
| already have, you can boost your chances of | | | | dojo. But there are many instructors who teach |
| success to a completely new level. The main thing | | | | these in self defense courses, workshops, private |
| is to be realistic, and practise the skills that will | | | | lessons. |
| really protect you in an all out attack. | | | | Do your research, find the right teacher and you |
| So, what are the main points, that you will need | | | | can be prepared in a relatively short space of |
| to know in order to protect yourself in a fight | | | | time. |