Hey everyone, I just want to share an article by Rik Ellis, an MMA fighter, his father is a renowned UK aikido pioneer, Henry Ellis Sensei. I have shared this article with other members of IOAA, but I think this could be a provocative conversation starter for our crew. This article appeared in Blitz Magazine a few years ago, its titled - Aikido vs MMA: (blitzmag.net/training/aikido/356-aikido-vs-mma) From the outside looking in, or indeed to those training in one or the other, most would say aikido and MMA are at opposite ends of the martial arts spectrum. Aikido is known as a subtle art concerned with the appropriation of an opponent’s force to end conflict with as little injury as possible; Mixed Martial Arts, which has become a discipline all its own, is a modern, eclectic training method designed to produce strong, fast and roundly skilled athletes for almost-anything-goes full-contact combat sport. English fighter Rik Ellis is thus somewhat of an oddity — he fights, and trains, in MMA but he’s also a Black-belt in aikido under his father, Sensei Henry Ellis, one of the UK’s aikido pioneers. Here, he offers a somewhat controversial view on the differences, similarities and current states of both martial arts. Aikido vs MMA During the last 30 years or so, most aikido has gradually diminished from a martial art into little more than an art. The aikido introduced to the UK in 1955 by Kenshiro Abbe Sensei was traditional aikido that consisted of hard physical training, with kicking and punching as an integral part of its core syllabus. Strength work and running were also included, with classes involving between 10 and 200 push-ups on the backs of the hands, depending on ones grade. In many modern aikido styles there is little sign of that fighting spirit, as the martial aspect has given way to ‘aiki love, with little exercise required other than jumping up and down and flapping the arms. Much to the irritation of many in the aikido community, I am the only person in the UK with a serious background in traditional aikido who is also a professional cage fighter. I hold a Dan grade with the Ellis School of Traditional Aikido but I also train in MMA with Suleman Raja of the Prize Fighters Gym in Farnborough and do fight conditioning at the Fight Science gym in Aldershot with Nick ‘Headhunter Chapman. Yet, while I have been vilified by some in the aikido community for my involvement in MMA, modern aikido also receives a great deal of criticism from the public, and more so from fellow martial artists. In my opinion, it is most often totally justified. Lately there has been a great deal of interest in the transference of aikido technique and movement into MMA, since action movie actor Steven Seagal began sharing his knowledge with UFC greats Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. I admire Steven Seagals ‘positive style of traditional aikido, as seen in his early training videos. On and off screen, Seagal has a strong, dynamic style of aikido that is very similar to that taught to me by my father, Henry Ellis, 6th Dan Aikikai, the last of the original UK aikido pioneers from the 1950s. Like my father, who is a direct student of the legendary budo master Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, Seagal Sensei is a man who shows aikido to be a martial art. Because of this, many in the aikido community do not approve of his powerful, tight technique - as opposed to the greatly exaggerated, flowing dance-like movement we see today. Many students of modern aikido have a pseudo-religious approach to their half-hearted training and they claim that Seagal portrays aikido in a violent light, while they portray an art of peace. What is real aikido? I began my aikido training at five years of age with my father, both at home and in the junior section of my fathers dojo. My father taught me the art of traditional aikido as taught to him by Kenshiro Abbe Sensei in the 1950s and 60s. From an early age, kicking and punching was an integral part of my aikido training, as it still is today. Modern, misguided aikidoka say, ‘There is no kicking or punching in aikido! But believe me, there is in my fathers aikido. These same people bleat on my MMA video comments, ‘I dont see aikido. The reason they dont see aikido is because they are looking for their own stylised, choreographed, dojo-style aikido, where two people are harmonising with each other. Many aikidoka work together so softly and caringly they could qualify for a spot on the popular TV show Come Dancing. In MMA, my opponent has no intention of harmonising with me. Anyone who has had to use aikido in a truly hostile situation will tell you that it looked nothing like the aikido training in the dojo - one must be able to adapt oneself and ones technique to any situation that arises. For me, my aikido is in my mind and my body. I make no pretence of offering myself on a plate to my opponent/assailant with a normal, stylised aikido defence posture. The biggest mistake one can make in the cage or street is to offer your opponent your leading leg or arm - you will be down before you know what happened and all your aiki love will be pounded out of you. Most students of aikido have their favourite uke (opponent or ‘receiver) to practise with, and this goes a step further for many senior teachers who always take their personal uke with them when travelling across country or even abroad. My father told me that when the Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba came to Britain many years ago, he insisted that he must have his assistant with him; this was at some great additional expense to the organisers and despite there being many high-grade teachers on the seminar who were quite capable of taking ukemi from the Doshu. Why? Make no mistake, I respect aikido and its principles. I do not respect the people who, with their inflated egos and grades, have tried to change what was once a martial art into some quasi-religion to suit their own inadequacy or other purposes. Such people cite the so-called principles or ideology of aikido and use trumped-up rules of dojo etiquette (such as selecting ones own uke) to avoid any situation where they may need to apply their ‘harmonising aikido against an uncooperative opponent - let alone a real attacker. In some aikido schools, if a student has a strong spirit, they are often condemned as having ‘a fighting mind. I believe it was Confucius who said, to paraphrase, ‘If you build your house (or dojo) with bullshit, it will eventually all fall in on you. Aikido for MMA The key to applying aiki principles to MMA is in effective, transferable technique. Your opponent in the cage is for real. He is no uke; he is a professional fighter who has no intention of trying to harmonise with you. You will not see me turn my back on my opponent. I will, and do, apply wrist-locks and arm-bars, but you will not see any large, circular movements. If those aikidoka with closed minds care to open them to some reality, they may just see a fighter who is very relaxed before and during each fight. Look a little closer and you might see some very condensed body-contact techniques - irimi nage (an entering throw) or irimi tenkan (entering and turning) or a successfully applied reverse - or other techniques that turn my opponent either into or off the cage fence. In groundwork training, too, I have often submitted opponents with aikido techniques kote-gaeshi (supinating wrist-lock), ikkyo (a kneeling arm-bar)and sankyo (twisting wrist-lock) very effectively. My father, who came from judo to aikido, says that the best of the early aikido masters came from judo, such as K. Abbe, T. Abe, M. Nakazono, and TK Chiba. The first British student of aikido was Ken Williams Sensei, who was a 3rd Dan judoka! These teachers knew how to apply their bodies to maximum effect in close contact with tight techniques. Judo is one of the basic foundations for MMA. Street smarts & plastic Samurai I often read of aikido students who actually believe that their pure mind and body will help them in a real street situation. They are going to be sadly disappointed. If you are a student of ‘ki aikido, dont wait around for your assailants to fall down before you touch them; they dont know theyre supposed to do that! Sadly, weve seen aikido in some instances devolve into a ludicrous dance, including bizarre examples of aikido to music with multi-coloured ribbons and strobe lights; and ‘ki aikido students being taught to ‘breathe through their toes or trying to knock apples off each others heads with the power of their ki. They believe their fantasy technique is real, claiming, ‘The first duty of an aikidoka is to protect their attacker. Your first duty is to protect yourself, so make sure your opponent does not get up and attack you again! Are these people really so deluded as to believe they can totally control any hostile situation? I find it embarrassing to watch the ‘no touch throws some instructors teach, which of course are only effective on their own students. In the early days we simply had aikido, until Koichi Tohei broke away from OSensei Ueshiba to form ‘ki aikido. I find this strange, as ki has always been an integral part of aikido (hence the name). This statement from Gozo Shioda Sensei [the founder of Japans Yoshinkan school, which is renowned for its tough riot-police training - Ed] sums up my earlier point about the lack of spirited training: Todays aikido is so dimensionless. Its hollow, empty on the inside. People try to reach the highest levels without even paying their dues. Thats why it seems so much like a dance these days. You have to master the very basics solidly, with your body, and then proceed to develop to the higher levels... Now we see nothing but copying or imitation without any grasp of the real thing… My father has said he would never have studied the aikido commonly on offer today. Of his own aikido, he used to say, Dont come to me looking for spirituality - get that from your local church. Dont come here expecting me to make you a better person - that was the chore of your parents and schoolteachers. If its the mystical you are after, see Houdini. I am here to teach you the martial art of aikido. I have added the following message with my fathers permission; it is an extract from an email from my fathers friend Jiro Nakazono Sensei, the son of Masahilo Nakazono Shihan: I am 60; though I was too young to be a part of the ‘pioneer generation of European aikido, I lived right next to the warriors who at each demonstration invited any challenger on the mat from the public. When my father was invited to the Foreign Legion in Marseilles with Tadashi Abe Sensei, they were met by two big soldiers hiding behind both sides of the door with baseball bats... They were true martial artists, and their students were aspiring to follow in their footsteps. Some did, and some chose a more ‘civilised way, which is todays aikido. I met Henry Ellis Sensei on the mat for the first time in 2007. I believe he was over 70, and he gave me a nikyo [a pinning move effected by wrist-twisting] I felt for four months afterwards. It was a completely different generation.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 08:23:28 +0000
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