Aikki Jiu Jutsu, Aikido and Real Aikido

[The BB of C]

Got back into checking out Aikido videos lately. It's one of my favorite styles. A couple of times I've seen people arguing about Aikki Jiu Jutsu (which is the form that Sensei Mushiba learned and turned into Aikido- if I spelled his name correctly). Then there's the typical Aikido that we see in Steven Segal movies. Than there's Real Aikido. So far the only difference I've noticed between the three is that Real Aikido is Serbian and is more likely to practice against things like knives, guns, and rear ended attacks. Are there any other differences that I'm not seeing? I'm just curious.

Edited June 11, 2009 by The BB of C

[ps1]

Just to clarify...are you saying that "Real Aikido" is the full name of the system... And you're not using the word "real" as an adjective?

[bushido_man96]

I think that I have heard of "Real Aikido," and I think it is an organization that has a bit of a different focus than derivatives of Ueshiba's Aikido.

[The BB of C]

Just to clarify...are you saying that "Real Aikido" is the full name of the system... And you're not using the word "real" as an adjective?

Indeed. If you were to Wikipedia search "List of martial arts" and scroll to Serbian you would find it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Aikido

[Throwdown0850]

imo, its pretty much all the same thing to me. Ueshiba's Aikido has knife and rear ended attacks just like the rest. The only different thing that I have noticed is that Aiki-jujutsu is exactly what it says it is. part aikido and part traditional Jujutsu. i guess it falls into one of the "harder" styles of Aikido.

[tallgeese]

There are similarities for sure, speaking to Aikido and AJJ. I've never seen nor been exposed to this Real Aiki system although I would like to see some vids on it to see what they are doing.

My understanding is that AJJ is the precursor to Aikido, much the same way that Kenjutsu is the forerunner to modern kendo. Bear in mind, I'm not a direct student of either, but one of my instructors spent a great deal of time in AJJ and many of the small joint movements that the system I study come from there.

What you will notice from the two is a heavier emphasis on striking in AJJ. Most movements, while flowing, incorporate hitting movements as or before joint manipulations are applied. The locks tend to be shorter, although not always, just as a general rule, and focus on destroying joints. Certain sects of AJJ also deal extensively in body conditioning and taking strikes and such.

[NightOwl]

From my limited exposure and what I have gleaned from other martial artists:

Aikido techniques pretty much all come from aikijujutsu; Morihei Ueshiba took the techniques from the curriculum that he liked, tweaked them, added in his own religious philosophy, and ended up with aikido. As such the philosophies of the two arts are very different, as is the 'style' in which they carry things out.

Aikijujutsu is a lot more direct, aggressive, and doesn't mind using some strikes to hurt the opponent. From what I have seen techniques tend to be fairly tight when compared to the more flowing movements of aikido, and there is more of a martial/combat oriented mindset to it..

Aikido on the other hand is much more passive/responsive when applying its techniques, and the movement range tends to be wider and more '\flowing. Meanwhile as opposed to aikijujutsu combative philosophy, more or less your goal is to harmonize with your opponent's energy to incapacitate them as opposed to 'fighting'.

Here are some examples of aikijujutsu and aikido that I think give a pretty good comparison:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Y3WZuUtVo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_wFJDbaJyw

[The BB of C]

It would appear the main difference between AJJ And Aikido would be AJJ going straight from standing to the ground with joint locks and Aikido being joint lock-to-throw oriented.

[NightOwl]

Not entirely. I've seen a lot of aikidoka go into a pin after a throw as well.

The biggest differences I have seen is philosophy and movement. I don't have a youtube clip of it, but I've gotten to see aikido and classical jujutsu versions of moves such as shiho nage etc demoed by someone who has extensive experience in both. In a direct comparison the aikido entries to techniques definitely have a larger range of movement in general- for instance one example is that a lot of aikidoka spin/turn the uki multiple times before applying something which aikijujutsu doesn't seem to do as much.

[bushido_man96]

The AJJ practitioners didn't have any qualms about actually blocking an incoming technique, and the takedowns were much more direct.

From my limited experience in Aikido, there is less blocking, and more of the circular and spherical type of body movement to avoid the attack, and use or create the momentum of the opponent to make the throw happen.