Seagal and Randori

I'm on a bit of a Seagal kick of late.  I'll get back to my knife survival series soon.

This is a great video of Steven Seagal in his earlier years and of his teaching style.  Seagal Sensei believes that randori (free, or spontaneous practice) is an essential part of truly testing your skills.  I agree and have posted on the lessons and the importance of randori here.

Of particular note is the absence of a mimicked sword in the attacker's hands. It's there occasionally, which references the style's time, history, and concepts of movement, but more realistic forms of attack are more prevalent, which I think is important.  Aikido can be used effectively in real world attacks, as if often evidenced here.

Enjoy.

UFC and Steven Seagal

A while back, I wrote a post on Steven Seagal.  Read it here.  I've always been a fan of his skill and his impact on the martial arts.

Now, after some less than fantastic films, to many, he has become a bit of a joke.  People criticize him for a variety of reasons.  Most people who have spent time with him, however, believe in this skill and ability.

(UFC 129 spoiler alert)

Interestingly, two of the best UFC fighters have enlisted the help of Seagal in their fight preparation.  Both Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida are training with him.  And each fighter has now successfully used a 'never seen before' technique in the UFC to score knock out wins.  Granted, we've seen the Karate Kid use a variation, but that's another story.  The point is, some of the most elite MMA athletes in the world are turning to Seagal to improve their game.  What does that tell you?

Here's a video to Lyoto training with Seagal:



And here's the knockout kick:


And here's a post fight interview given by Seagal:

Is Aikido too pretty to work?

I like Aikido.  Always have. Readers may remember what a significant part Aikido played in my journey (even though I've never taken it.)  Many techniques are shared between Jiu Jitsu and Aikido. In many ways, Aikido was born from Jiu Jitsu.

One criticism I often hear from people watching Aikido videos is that it's too pretty.  They say it's not real since the receiver of the technique (the uke) 'throws' him/herself into the technique.  They point out that a resisting opponent wouldn't go with the technique, being thrown or rolling out of it etc.  And they're right.

What some viewers may fail to realize is that the uke throws themselves into the technique to avoid injury.  Real fighting is ugly.  If the uke resisted being thrown, more often than not one of their bones would break and they would sort of just crumple to the ground.  It is this throwing of oneself into the technique that prevents this injury.  In order to practice Aikido techniques realistically, it is absolutely necessary for practitioners to learn how to break fall and go with them.  If not, you'd only get to practice a technique once.  

In Aikido, as with any art, there are fakers out there, but it is important to separate those people who are acting from those who are trying to avoid serious injury.  There's often more than meets the eye.

It's always important to keep an open mind and to research things that are questionable before discarding them.

Steven Seagal is the Sh__!!!

I've always thought the Steven Seagal is the real deal.  I'm the first to admit that his movies have gotten worse and worse over the years and yes, he's gained weight and aged.  It's easy to forget that 'Above the Law' came out in 1988.

I encourage people to research Seagal.  Like him or hate him, I think you'll find that a whole bunch of people agree that he is an incredibly talented martial artist.

This has been on the Internet and YouTube for a while now, but check out this clip of Seagal training Anderson Silva from the UFC.