The Gracies for me are just the next generation of great 'masters' of thier trade. I love Aikido, I know its not greatly respected with the more sport fighting styles like BJJ, Judo, Boxing, Shoot fighting and MT. But I practice it because I enjoy it. I also do grappling and its against the wishes of my Aikido teachers, but I believe its right for me and in no way intended to be disrespectful to them. Personally, there is NO art on the planet that compares with Aikido's fluidity and economy of movement. HOWEVER, this doesnt mean that I have any bright ideas about taking on the Gracies or any sport fighter. I do spar in my Aikido classes but again, its restricted. Look at Boxing, its restricted to its particular range, but look how amazing they are at that range, same for Judo and BJJ. Being well rounded is very important. Being able to train realistically and powerfully means the use of rules, to stop you killing eachother. My philosophy is that if you can win with rules, you'll never win without them. I dont practice one of so called 'self-defence' style. Non of my teachers, from my 73 year old Aikido Sensei to the younger Grappling instructors tell of age old techniques that are 'too' deadly. You can never know a technique is deadly until you can practice it at full power. I personally would rather techniques that I have tried against people that arent just giving me the technique, hence why the style of Aikido I do is so good, and why I just look in awe at sport fighters that put their bodies on the line to prove they are the best. If you cant beat a skilled person in the safety of the dojo, then you cant beat them for real.