Expert: Marc MacYoung - 10/26/2009

Question
i have dabbled in a few martial arts and recently spent about four years doing aikido which seemed to work for me because i am not a large person.
My schedule and some injuries have not allowed me to continue to attend class so I try to practice what i learnt at home. I am trying to focus on only the simplest and most effective techniques which I think are the kotegaeshi (reversed wrist throw) as well as the ones that use the elbow for throwing subduing (can't remember the name). I also focus on movement a lot, which from reading your writings is a fundamental part of defense.

Is this a reasonable strategy. are there other techniques (aikido related) that I should be looking at?

I also find the aikido striking techniquiqe called shomen ate where you use your palm to strike the person's chin as they are coming in looks impressive. But this takes a lot of practice. do you think this is effective in real life? Should i bother practicing this at all since I will be doing my practice on my own?

I also spent a lot of years doing karate, but I have a bit more confidence in the (avoidance) movements of aikido to get me out of trouble. All the same any suggestions of what I may want to salvage from karate eg, kicks and blocks?

I look forward to your advice.

Answer
If the Aikido you were learning still retained the physics to take control of someone's balance it's good enough. Unfortunately a lot of Aikido out there talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk. If you were taught Aikido that relies on a cooperative opponent then you might have some problems. I've seen Aikido that when they got a hold of you, it doesn't matter who you are, you're going. On the other hand, I've also seen versions that rely on your attacker politely throwing himself for you.

Having said this, realistically the karate handwork you learned long ago ... well, let me put it this way. They should have been teaching you footwork. Not kicking, but mobility not unlike Aikido. The combination of the handwork and evasive footwork should serve you very well.

Try playing with combining them and see what you get. In fact, if you have access to a heavy, suspended bag, you can start it swinging and then practice moving out of the way and either blocking the bag or striking as you dodge.