Why Aikido has lost popularity? A look into the decline of Aikido

It’s fair to say that Aikido has lost popularity. To address why we first need to look at its history. Aikido was founded in 1942 by Morihei Ueshiba and like many martial arts its birthplace was formed in Japan. To understand why Aikido declined in popularity, you must first understand that this is rooted deep into its initial philosophy that was created by Ueshiba. In short, Aikido became lost in modern-day martial arts and still has the reputation of being a dated, traditional martial art. Whilst Aikido is still popular in some circles, it simply didn’t keep up or appeal as much to modern practitioners who became especially infatuated with the growth of MMA.

Put another way, there was a direct correlation between the growth of MMA whilst Aikido began to decline. There are several reasons for this and other factors that will also be looked at and analyzed. With this said, it’s safe to say that overall, the martial art of Aikido is less popular than its peak during the 1980s.

The 1980s golden era of Aikido

If the 1980s was the golden era for traditional martial arts such as Aikido, then you could also make the claim that from the later 2000s, the decline in Aikido truly began. This isn’t just opinion either, the exact year of 2004 is significant in marking the decline of Aikido. Since then, its Google searches have dropped over 90% compared to 2020 which shows a drastic drop in popularity.

At the same time, we will also address the real decline of Aikido. For instance, whilst it’s fair to say that Aikido has become less popular over the years, Aikido is still stable for the time being and isn’t a completely redundant martial art either. Put differently, Aikido may not be at its peak but it certainly has a lot of life left in it and isn’t completely dead either which is contrary to what some people may argue.

Understanding Aikido in the modern world and why this is important

Looking towards MMA and the UFC, the cliched fan is someone who has a lust for violence and blood. Whilst this is a stereotype, generally speaking, these fans enjoy carnage and mayhem. It’s fair to say that MMA is brutal in its nature and it’s common to see MMA fighters bloodied up, concussed, or choked unconscious. Whether you agree with it or not, MMA is popular and this is the world we live in.

Now, comparing this to Aikido is very difficult. If the philosophy of MMA is based around brute force, then Aikido is more of a spiritual path. Originally, Aikido was designed for Japanese hand-to-hand combat when swords weren’t available during a conflict. This can be seen with the Hakama uniform which is designed to hide your foot movement. However, as Ueshiba grew older he became more spiritual and religious.

Because of this, his art reflected his mental state and so Aikido became a softer, more gentle art as a result. Although throws and wrist locks remain to this day, the idea of Aikido became a spiritual journey as much as one based on combat. With this said, it’s unfair to compare Aikido to MMA. It’s like comparing art to a science, with Aikido being the art. You can break things down with science and understand things, whereas art is more inwards looking.

Aikido has a passive philosophy

This matches the philosophy of Ueshiba who believed the idea of Aikido was what you would control and improve, as opposed to the opponent. For instance, in MMA the idea is to physically dominate your opponent. This isn’t the aim of Aikido which is instead designed to avoid conflict if possible. Here, force is seen as a last resort and ideally, you shouldn’t hurt someone unless defending yourself. This is why Aikido isn’t comparable to MMA which is a combat sport, whereas Aikido is more of a spiritual philosophy based on continuous self-improvement.

Regarding these differences, it seems that the modern-day audience craves MMA. Looking at the UFC’s popularity, it is a slick promotion that thrives off drama, excitement, and aggression. Perhaps you could argue that as society has become less violent in a historical sense, men in particular have flocked towards MMA, as a result, to get their bloodlust catered for. As a result, Aikido has now been rendered obsolete by many. Whilst Aikido’s philosophy hasn’t changed since its peak during the ’80s, its audience and society definitely has done.

Aikido is seen as garbage and ineffective by some people

As has already been established, Aikido is somewhat misunderstood by today’s society. There’s an argument that as society has become less morally righteous, that righteous acts such as Aikido have declined as a result. Nonetheless, the current situation is that Aikido is seen as nonsense by some people who deem it ineffective. However, is this the case? Perhaps the biggest culprit for the dent in Aikido’s image is Steven Seagal.

Although you may think it’s great to have a global celebrity endorse a martial art, there is a claim that Seagal’s involvement has done more harm than good. Segal has been training Aikido for most of his life and is a 7th dan in the art, so it’s fair to say that he’s experienced and knowledgeable. That is not up for debate. The issue with Seagal is how he conducts himself which is typically not in line with Aikido and its spiritual teachings. For example, Seagal has been known to speak about his fighting skills in a cocky manner and has supposedly abused stuntmen whilst filming.

Gene LeBell Vs. Steven Seagal

On one occasion, he was confronted by Judoka Gene LeBell on set for his behavior. He is said to have claimed he was immune to Judo due to his Aikido skills, which lead to LeBell choking Seagal unconscious where he lost control of his bowels as a result. It should be noted that Seagal denies these claims, but they still don’t help the reputation of Aikido. In brief, if you have an international representative of a martial art who comes across as arrogant and has stories such as the one above, then it’s no wonder that people will look at the art with scrutiny. Remember, the idea of Aikido isn’t to seek conflict, it’s to help improve your own mentality.

Not only this but with the growth of the internet, social media, and video platforms such as Youtube, Aikido’s popularity took yet another hit. Before the boom of the internet in popularity, less was known about all martial arts. For instance, since the internet revolution, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has taken off in popularity compared to other martial arts. Before this point, Aikido was happily continuing as it always had done. However, video and viral content changed all of this. Suddenly, you could find Aikido being ‘disproven’ on Youtube in clips showing an Aikido practitioner getting beaten up by an opponent.

For the first time in history, Aikido was being ridiculed by many. However, was this unfair? Firstly, you can’t really criticize a philosophy. As has been stated previously, the idea of Aikido isn’t to go around fighting people. Primarily it represents self defense but is also rooted in peaceful religion. Secondly, a lot of these videos featured trained fighters in other martial arts. For instance, an MMA fighter may successfully beat an Aikido student.

Does Aikido even work?

The same goes for other martial arts and sadly there are videos that prove this. However, what is often ignored is when Aikido is successful. There have also been videos documented that show the success of Aikido. For example, you may find videos based on self defense where the Aikido practitioner uses a koshi nage to defend themselves or a wrist grab. Whilst the koshi nage throw is widely acclaimed in the world of Judo, it gets less credit when done in Aikido.

This hints toward snobbery towards Aikido even when its techniques are proven under a different name. Similarly, there have also been videos showing successful wrist locks used to counter an aggressive attacker. Let’s say for a minute that Aikido doesn’t work against a trained attacker anyway (which is up for debate), it still has its place against untrained opponents who still represent over 90% of the population. This means that against most, it’s still massively effective which is ultimately what martial arts are about.

Poof of Aikido failing

With this in mind, if there is proof of Aikido failing, there’s also plenty of proof of it working. With this said, it’s unfair to judge Aikido solely on its weaknesses whilst simultaneously ignoring its successes. Similarly, BJJ and MMA legend Rickson Gracie also uses a variety of Aikido techniques to disarm attackers bearing weapons.

In his self defense videos, he can be shown controlling the wrists of opponents bearing guns and knives. This brings up a conflict for those critical of Aikido. On the one hand, you have this martial arts legend who endorses its techniques who is a successful fighter. On the other hand, people will often ignore his use of Aikido techniques and how they can be applied against an attacker.
In summary, it seems that Aikido does get its fair share of criticism which is often unjustified.

Aikido’s image is dated and off-putting to some

As previously discussed, there is an argument that part of the downfall of Aikido is down to modern martial arts getting with the times. You could make an argument that Aikido has stubbornly stayed in the past and has suffered because of it. One example of this is its physical image. For instance, Aikido is steeped in traditional, Japanese terminology.

Whilst this is the case for many other martial arts, it doesn’t particularly help the cause. For example, in BJJ you will often hear new, English terms used for old moves. Instead of saying ‘sankaku’, you may hear ‘triangle’. The modern audience may prefer this as it’s easy to remember and less pretentious sounding. Of course, Aikido isn’t trying to be pretentious, it’s trying to respect its roots. However, trying to explain this to a modern practitioner may not be easy and it isn’t exactly a normal conversation either.

Cleverly, in the earlier days of UFC – they had small clips between fights explaining moves and how they worked to win over the audience. Because of the old language, you could argue that Aikido is not as accessible to the masses. Again, compared to MMA everything is outlined and simplistic whereas you may need to stick around a while to fully understand the culture behind AIkido.

Dated terminology

Not only are words and linguistics one way of winning over fans, so is the physical image of the dojo. If you enter an Aikido dojo, it will typically have wooden walls and look similar to an older dojo from Japan. Whilst some people may find this nostalgic and attractive, others may not. Further expanding on this point, some may feel self-conscious in the age of social media wearing an Aikido gi.

As the Hakama physically looks like a skirt, some men with masculinity issues may find this intimidating. Compared to training shirtless with fighting gloves on, the image of Aikido can be seen as quite strange and different. Combined with old traditions such as bowing, this may be too much for some who reject the idea of Aikido without even giving it a chance. Whilst this is sad, it’s also true and first impressions are often lasting. We’re not condoning for Aikido to modernize and become something that it’s not, but this does help explain why Aikido isn’t as popular as it once was.

Aikido is still popular, it’s just less spoken about

There is an argument to be made that Aikido is still popular, albeit its userbase aren’t as bragging or open compared to other martial artists. A good way to see the popularity of Aikido is by searching on Google for local gyms. You may be surprised but often there are a number of Aikido dojo’s open and running in the same city. Often hidden away, these dojos have a core group of members who practice the art in modern times.

If you compare this to searching MMA gyms in your city, there may be less compared to the number of Aikido dojo’s about. This has a number of implications. Firstly, there’s more of an Aikido community than you may be led to believe. Secondly, the Aikido community simply isn’t as vocal compared to other martial arts.

As touched upon earlier, Aikido teaches respect and genuine humility. Because of this, you may not see or hear about it as much. Generally, the social media presence of Aikido is far smaller compared to other martial arts. If you look at MMA for example, social media is flooded with people posing after training and vocally complimenting the benefits of the sport. This simply isn’t found as much in Aikido. Culturally Aikido is quite different compared to other martial arts but is very different compared to the more modern stuff. Because of this, Aikido may not be as dead as you once thought.

Again, because of the respectful, spiritual culture deeply rooted in Aikido – the online marketing for dojo’s is probably not as aggressive when compared to other martial arts. Your typical sensei is usually a middle-aged person who isn’t interested in money earned from owning the dojo as a business.

Sadly, the same can’t be said for other martial arts which may be more cut-throat with their marketing. You may have put it together by now, but part of the decline in Aikido is that in a way, it’s too innocent and traditional when placed in modern society. In short, whilst Aikido has definitely declined in recent years, its decline may not be as sharp as is expected.

Aikido entered other martial arts which lead to a slight exodus

Whilst there may be snobbery from other martial arts against Aikido, there’s still an argument that it is still effective which can be seen by those same martial arts using the very Aikido techniques that they critique. As mentioned above, there is crossover from Aikido found in BJJ and Judo. In Judo, there are a number of throws that come from the same origins. Elsewhere in BJJ, you can also find a number of wrist locks that originally come from Aikido. Even in MMA, you may see breakfalls to avoid injury which can also be found in Aikido. In brief, it could be argued that these martial arts took the best bits from Aikido and used them for themselves.

There’s nothing wrong with this and it’s not really fair to say Aikido’s ideas were stolen either. Instead, this can be seen as a compliment towards Aikido as it actually has techniques of substance worth borrowing from. The issue with this is that potentially, people may avoid training Aikido because of this. For instance, if someone is interested in throws, then Judo offers Aikido throws as well as submissions.

Similarly, if someone is interested in wrist locks and sweeps, then they may opt for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In this sense, you could claim that Aikido was a victim of its own success as other martial arts adapted various moves and used them to promote their own ideas whilst attracting people away from Aikido as a result.

Aikido has itself to blame? Some Rokudan don’t give Shodan the chance to teach

So far, a lot has been written about the external factors that have affected the decline. However, there is also an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. That is the number of Rokudan who don’t give their Shodan the chance to teach and spread the use of techniques and skill. Sadly, this is fairly exclusive to Aikido. Other martial arts gyms will often have various teachers, old and young. Aikido is culturally different to this and it may be hurting the martial art. For example, it’s often a common sight for the Rokudan to be middle-aged or older.

Whilst there’s nothing wrong with this, it’s also rare to see a Shodan being allowed to teach. Whilst you still want the best, most experienced teacher possible, in the long run this may be harming the martial art. If the Shodan is accomplished but can’t teach, then they may end up quitting out of frustration. Often in Aikido the students are an older demographic compared to those found in other martial arts gyms.

With this in mind, it may be beneficial for dojos to start letting younger Shodan teach and show how their techniques have successfully been passed down. Instead, if there are only older practitioners teaching then this may be off-putting to a younger generation and may even be intimidating.

Whilst most Rokodan won’t do this purposely, it may be having an adverse effect on the martial art. If we can be reasonable to accept that Aikido has lost practitioners elsewhere, we should also be reasonable enough to understand that Aikido itself is partly to blame, at least to some extent.

The future of Aikido is with the kids

This concept is vitally important going forward. This may sound obvious but if you can’t get youngsters into the dojo, then eventually you will lose students and eventually die out. Looking at the likes of Karate and BJJ, these arts often have popular, buzzing kids classes that are full of future generations of practitioners in their respected arts. One way in getting kids into Aikido dojos is by offering classes taught by willing, enthusiastic Shodan. Whilst you may be a great teacher as a Rokodan for older practitioners, there’s a point to be made that a younger Shodan may also be more in touch with younger generations.

The importance of this can’t be understated enough as it can literally be the difference between a thriving gym and one that fails. In short, a new teacher and outlook on things for certain classes can really breathe life into a previously struggling dojo.

As well as this, whilst it’s good to embrace the spiritual nature and learnings of Aikido, it’s equally important that Aikido doesn’t become too wrapped up in itself and become pretentious. For instance, it’s a good practice to teach humility. However, if you have to go around reminding others about how pious you are, then this may harm you in the long run and hints at your own feelings of insecurity. As said, most Rokodan are genuinely nice people. However, there are also some who are actively pushing others away from the art by clinging to their power and status within the dojo.

Aikido in the post-modern world

Arguably, Aikido just isn’t very well suited to the post-modern world. In times where TikTok is vastly popular, where information is quick and flamboyant, Aikido is the complete opposite. As mentioned earlier, Aikido is pretty slow. This isn’t just based on the moves taught, but also the culture in general and it’s not very appealing to the youth.

As a result, you could argue that Aikido is not a great fit with the younger generation and struggles to have the same appeal that certain other martial arts have. Due to this, it’s not too surprising that Aikido just doesn’t have much in terms of mass appeal and has lost some of its shine.

Summary

Ultimately, the decline of popularity in Aikido can be put down to several factors, both internally and externally. Perhaps the most destructive blow for Aikido came at the same time with the growth of the UFC and the internet. This pushed Aikido to the side which got left behind as modern martial arts started to attract a younger generation of martial arts who focused less on the philosophical side of things, and more on the sports side of combat.

Secondly, Aikido began to grow more outdated and stale as society advanced. Aesthetically, Aikido may appear too dated for most younger people to consider training and internal politics such as dominant Rokudan who are too stubborn to allow change. However, if you are into Aikido then fear not. Although the art has certainly declined over the past 20-40 years, it’s still relatively popular and as looked at, its decline may be vastly over-exaggerated by those who aren’t paying close attention to the local Aikido scene in their city.

In conclusion, Aikido has certainly had a tough time over the past few years and it may even continue to decline going towards the future. However, the chances are that Aikido will continue to survive for a long-while yet and that its problems may not be as extreme as first thought.