 So it's a very common question if Aikido works in the street. And there are many different answers, many different layers to that, but this time to share my perspective, I'm going to simply share a few stories. So myself, I started Aikido in a very dangerous city where people would get attacked all the time, especially young people such as then, back then myself. And my friends would get attacked, I would get attacked at least once per week. So self-defense was a common question. And although I started Aikido not for that reason, when I did it, I did it very passionately. I trained a lot, I spent many hours in the dojo, I really tried to perfect the techniques. But now looking back at those days, I realized that I trained for maybe four years back there with my first instructor. But now I realized that my first instructor, he was very picky, he was very precise. And for him, as far as I see it right now, when I remember, for him there was a right technique and a wrong technique. And the right technique was done only in one way. So you're supposed to grab this way and not that way. You're supposed to be here, not here. So it was very, very specific and in a sense quite limited. But I was still trusting in my instructor very foolheartedly, and I trained it and trained it and tried and polished my technique as much as I can. But then the problem was that when I would face conflict, when somebody would want to attack me, I didn't know what to do. So a precise story, I was walking alongside a certain street and it was dark and five guys came at me and they told me they were going to mug me. Obviously I didn't want that. And when one of them grabbed me, my first reflex was not to do a technique because the grab, I wasn't taught what to do from that specific grab. So I punched him, he went down and the other four guys started panicking. They didn't know what to do, I guess they didn't expect that. And I stood in a stance and I was waiting for them to attack me, because again, you know, I could have techniques, I was used that somebody attacks me, I didn't know how to initiate. And at the same time I was looking at their hands to see if they have a knife, but this guy was waiting for them to attack me. At that time, eventually when they got their sense, one of them pulled out a pepper spray and sprayed into my eyes. So I had to run and thankfully I ran away and it was all good. But the fact is I realized I didn't know what to do in that specific moment. And looking at the example of my instructor that he presented, then I came to the conclusion, okay, I don't know enough techniques so I need more techniques. And so I thought, okay, I need to know a technique from here, from here, but then that made me very, in a sense, a bit paranoid and very tense because when I would walk around the streets, every time I would see a potential threat, a potential group of guys who might attack me, I would start imagining, okay, if he's going to do that, I'm going to do that. If he's going to do that, I'm going to do that. But it didn't work. And the next time, for example, I had this idea, when somebody is going to attack me, I'm going to punch them in the eye and I was hoping that I'm going to knock them out. But when that attack again happened, when somebody told me they're going to mug me, I punched, he didn't get knocked down, eventually he ran away. So I realized that, I didn't realize it completely back then, but I saw that it's not getting me anywhere. And the more I went into this path, the more paranoid, the more stressed, the more afraid I was of conflict. Eventually, though, I met my current instructor, since he's Patrick Cassidy. And when I trained with him, he's doing a lot of free movement, a lot of G-Waza, Randoi. He's not limiting himself to techniques. There are techniques too, but there's so much more there. Learning that liberated a lot in my system. Realizing that you can do anything and the response itself is what matters. And techniques come up in that moment, but you don't have to do a specific technique. You don't have to know what to do. And when I learned that, I was learning in Switzerland, when I came to Lithuania to visit my parents from some time to time, when I came back to my hometown, I wasn't afraid anymore. Because as I walked the streets, I knew that if somebody attacks me, I know that I will know how to respond. I don't need to know what I'm going to do. And then it was very, I felt free, I felt very good. I felt at ease and that was still coming from Aikido. Yet what's interesting enough that there's another layer to that and some Aikidokas do speak about that. Then there's the level of perspective or spirituality or philosophy and that makes sense too. So in that first period in those first four years that I trained, I read a lot about Aikido. And one phrase that stuck to me, it said, Oh, Sensei was walking with one of his Uchidaishis and he said, train with me, stay with me and train with me for three months and you will have no enemies under the heaven. Back then, obviously with my immature mind and the perspective that I got in my first tojo, I thought, OK, that means training for three months with him and you will become so amazing, so good that no one is going to be equal to you and you're going to have no enemies under the heaven. Later when I met Sensei Patrikaste, I realized that's not what it means. Actually what I do sincerely feel what Sensei meant is that he will help to change the perspective in such a way that you will have no enemies and when I understood what that means, it changed a lot in me too. So when I was walking in the streets and when I would see a person who would seem to be impossible person who would have a conflict with me, I would just remember myself, you know what? I don't have any enemies under the heaven. I don't see him as a threat. I don't see him as an enemy and that would just not bring me into a conflict. Even if he would try to conflict me, I would have no conflicting energy and he just wouldn't have anything to pick up on me. And that happened again and again and when I analyzed those two stories, I realized that the first four years when I was tense, every time I would see a potential threat, the person who might attack me, my body language, you know, I would tense up and I would go into this fighting mode and they would pick it up and then they would approach me and then we would start fighting. But when I realized, you know, I have no enemies under the heaven that when Aikido gave me the perspective understanding that I don't need to fight anyone, I don't need to prove anything and even more, I could talk more depth into that but I hope you understand what I mean with this direction. Then, you know, the body language would be relaxed, there would be no sense of danger to others and conflict just wouldn't pick up. So that perspective, that working of perspective that Aikido emphasizes actually that helped me out a lot much more than any technique did in the past. Of course, knowing that I could do, I would know what to do and that's not even the best way to say it, knowing that my body will know how to respond when I'm attacked and training in that way does liberate a lot but the perspective liberated so much more and to give you a precise example I was after the second period so it's called the third period where when I opened my dojo in Inshale in the city of Lithuania so I was much more developed, I had much more skills and I was walking next to my home I was walking back and it was dark and out of the bar, two guys came out they were drunk, they were wobbling around and they seemed to be looking for trouble but I thought I didn't think they're going to attack me but they did see me and they came to me and they started talking to me and I realized they're sizing me up to attack me or not and I was talking, talking to them and eventually they decided you know what, they're going to kick my ass and they announced it one of the guys said you know what, now we're going to kick your ass I was a bit surprised I didn't expect they're going to decide to size up, they're going to size me up as attackable but then what I did I took a step back I went into command, I opened up I've been ready to go for a response but then at that moment asked you're serious? are you sure? and that wasn't you know you're serious, I'm going to kick your ass but I sincerely asked are you serious? did you really want this? that was the intention behind the words and I waited for an answer authentically and they were standing thinking about it they started thinking about it although they were drunk and after a few moments one of the guys just took out his hand gave me to shake it I shook it and we went away to different sides and that was it and when I analyzed that obviously you know you never know what might happen if what but when I look at it if I would be learning martial arts in an aggressive way if I would be preparing for a specific action at a specific moment as soon as they would have said they're going to kick my ass I would have punched them in the face or did a technique or whatever but the fact that I was learning and developing the perspective of non-conflict of no enemies I had that ability I had that space to stand and say and ask are you sure? do you want that? Aikido gave me that solution Aikido gave me that opportunity and when I used it the conflict never happened and there's so much more we could talk about here but I hope you start to understand and see what I mean kind of to summarize it up you can see that there's many sides to Aikido and I do agree that not all Aikido is street-proof but that's not the main point obviously if you limit yourself to just techniques you might come to a conclusion that Aikido doesn't work but if you open up yourself more if you start to see that Aikido so much more than just techniques that it can be a way of self-expression a way of developing a certain attitude and able to defend yourself and others through a healthy and right perspective it can it works in that sense much more than many other ways could work so as I said there's so many levels many layers we could talk about and if you're interested to talk about more about this topic to analyze it let me know in the comments I'll be happy to continue and to discuss with you we can either discuss in the comments or we can ask a question I'll be happy to share it through a video in a communal way but I hope those stories that I shared they might open up something to you of how Aikido works you imagine it to be not in the Bruce Lee Steven C. Galloway so I hope you found something that you were looking for in this video my name is Rokas and it's my second channel if you want to check the first channel tutorials, Aikido tutorials and other interesting videos click here as always interested to hear your comments and if you have any questions let me know and looking forward to see you in another video so one thing we often times like to forget is a very simple fact that we are all connected and as you know I'm an Aikido instructor and as most of you know and sometimes when people look into Aikido and people think about Aikido they have a hard time to understand the whole essence of I could say the life protecting sword