09/03/2026
Aikido as a defensive martial art. Below is part of a Newsletter from Ken McLean Sensei from Shin Sen Sydney Hombu Dojo.
I was recently thinking to myself, that of all the years I’ve been writing this newsletter, I’ve never written about the self defence aspect of Aikido. I’ve written about Shiatsu and healing and daily life aspects of Aikido and many other topics.
However a number of students have had interesting interactions where they’ve been attacked outside the Dojo and have been pleasantly surprised how well their Aikido training has worked.
Story 1
I used to travel to Wollongong and teach. One of the students used to accompany me to assist. On the way home on the train he suddenly said to me “Sensei, I’d like to thank you for the training because it really works!” He then proceeded to tell me the story of what had happened.
He’d been in George Street, Sydney, near the cinemas there, when an elderly couple were parking their car in a space that had popped up. Just as they were about to reverse into the space, another car suddenly tried to enter the space. Some of the occupants got out of their car and started harassing the elderly couple. The student, who I’ll call John, jumped in the middle and stood up for the couple.
Suddenly the three men rushed at John and attacked him. John managed to evade their movements and blows and redirected them and tangled them all up together on the hood of the car. He pinned them there until the security arrived to restrain them. Naturally the elderly couple were grateful.
John said to me he wasn’t sure Aikido worked but now he was sure. John was a Blackbelt in Taekwondo but he wasn’t yet a Blackbelt in Aikido. What was interesting was that for John, instead of reverting to his Taekwondo, which uses kicks and punches, under pressure and in the heat of the moment his Aikido came out.
Aikido trains our higher reflex action, which is completely different to our lower reflex of fight/flight response. Most people will never find themselves in a self defence situation. So then this benefit flows into other areas of our life, such as relationships and work, to have greater effectiveness in a harmonious way.
For his action in protecting the community John received an award from the Police.
Story 2
I’ll call this person Sean. Sean was training in the Dojo for a while and was working part time in a Bar. It was the end of the shift and he was cleaning up the bar but one of the patrons wouldn’t leave and he was under the influence of the drug ICE. ICE is a type of m**h amphetamine and often gives the user much more strength they would normally express.
Long story short, this man wouldn’t leave and attacked Sean strongly. Sean’s Aikido kicked in and he managed to flip him onto the floor (using Kotegashi) then the man jumped up. Sean moving with the man’s energy as he stood up, applied a Sankyo (immobilising technique) and restrained him (without harm) until the security guard took him away.
Aikido expresses the principle of protect the attacker and it works effectively when we have the spirit of do no harm, and is one of the reasons it is called the “Way of Peace”.
The next day the man came back no longer under the influence and apologised to Sean for his action. Sean also expressed his surprise to me of how well Aikido worked and how it came out instinctively. Aikido imparts a positive feeling to the attacker and dissolves resistance and creates surprise. This quality allowed the man to take responsibility and apologise for his action.
These are two of many other stories. One of the practitioners from the Dojo was walking along Oxford Street and was attacked by three men with knives and he successfully disarmed them.
Most practitioners will never need to see if their Aikido works because they won’t attract situations like these. The cultivation of reserved power, that true Aikido training produces will naturally come out in other ways to make life more fulfilled, successful and peaceful.
One ancient story about sword making. In old Japan there was two highly valued sword makers. Lets say one’s name was Matsumoto and the other Matsumura. They would test the blade by placing it vertical in a stream.
Matsumoto blade would, as a leaf floated down stream would be sliced perfectly in half. The Matsumura blade, as the leaf came, would go around the blade and not be cut at all. The later was the higher sword. So too as we cultivate our self in true Aikido, drama and violence avoid us as we attract more centred interactions.
Centred and grounded presence dissolves tension and aggression.
‘The best defence is to make yourself the kind of person that nature wants to protect.” Koichi Tohei
