An interesting art that is immediately recognizable. It does have a
few striking moves in it, but for the most part, it is based on the
principle that when an attacker strikes, he leaves some part of his
defense vulnerable. If you, the defender, do not attack him, you remain
defensively invulnerable.
Do not resist his attack. Use its momentum against him. Steven
Seagal is the most famous Aikido practitioner in the Western world. He
may be a horrible actor, but he is a genuine 7th degree black belt in
Aikido, and his signature move is absolutely essential to any
self-defense arsenal: the kote gaeshi, or “forearm return.”
The attacker steps forward and throws a straight punch. You
sidestep, snatch hold of his wrist, and twist around in time with his
punch. Do it right, and it will fling him completely off balance, using
his own momentum, while you whirl around, and twist his wrist toward
the outside. He probably will not flip over like the classic theatrics
in a Seagal film, but his wrist may well break. He’s unlikely to fight
anymore after that.
Most critics of this art point out that it is nearly impossible for
the average black belt to catch a person’s punch and turn fast enough to
perform this move, but that’s not true. It’s actually a very easy move
to learn and perfect.
Aikido thrives on joint locks, which do not require much speed to
perform, compared to the kote gaeshi, and are extremely effective in
immobilizing and incapacitating an attacker.
