Ok then lay this stuff out so I can see it. Show me the working Aikido.
I've linked several of this guys videos, its the best example I have of someone going step by step through practical Aikido.
https://www.youtube.com/c/AikidoflowLondon/videos
I would hesitantly endorse most of this guys channel, I say that not having seen all of his videos, but enough to say that I agree with much of his thoughts and applications of Aikido on a practical level. You ask for video of working Aikido, the stuff he is teaching here can and does work and its basically just vanilla Aikido, end of story.
I get that its easier to link videos of nonsense and poke fun at it, its way easier to be an absurdist than it is to have a serious discussion. Are there tons of Aikido videos with guys doing uke/nage with zero resistance, sure, the same thing comes up under most systems, to include BJJ when you get a bad instructor and a cult of personality. Is Aikido all nonsense? Well the same wristlocks show up in every police officers defensive tactics course and they were sure a part of the Marine Corps martial arts program, same thing with the throws, arm bars, etc.
Does practical Aikido look the same in a real fight as it does in the dojo? Nope, neither does karate, ju-jitsu or any other Japanese unarmed or armed martial art, that doesn't mean the systems are garbage, don't work or are invisible. Here's a video from UF pro showing a "martial artist" trying to defend against knife attacks, it looks the exact same as what I would expect one of my students to look like during the same kind of exercise:
Take a look at any martial art out of context such as BJJ or "MMA" for example, its common, even in the UFC, to see an MMA fighter square up on their back against a standing opponent. If you lay on your back in a real fight you are going to be kicked in the legs, groin and face until you get off your back or go unconscious. It's also very common to see fighters expose part or all of the back of their head and spine to an opponent who has at least one free arm, which would be an instant target for anyone outside of a ring to strike, but we dont see it in MMA because there are strict rules against targeting the neck/spine. There are no kicks to the knees in MMA, and when not prohibited outright they are largely not used by fighters in fear of a reprisal knee strike. Fights are stopped once one of the competitors is cut, knocked out, etc.
Comparing everything to MMA is as much wishing on practical magic as anything. Iado cutting drills look nothing like a sword fight, yet we don't have the same arguments about whether or not they work or are an example of real martial arts. BJJ sparring does not simulate a real fight, the entire martial art contains no strikes, yet we don't have the same argument. Aikido has a lot of sillyness attached to it, I get it, between the post war peace and love stuff and all of the hippy garbage that got poured into it here during the karate boom, its maybe the easiest target for mockery. This "show me the real Aikido or it doesn't exist" is a logical fallacy, I would no more expect to see a guy throwing karate chops on the street than I would someone starting a fight by kneeling down in front of them and getting on their knees like in BJJ.
I can see footage from decent schools here and in Japan and see people who at least know the technique and are applying it in uke/nage fairly well, enough to make it "work on the street" from a technical point of view. Whether those people have trained themselves to be actual "fighters" who can apply it in the real world is something else and I can notice the same issues in any other martial arts school. If I walked into any dojo in the country, regardless of style, I'd be hard pressed to find more than a tiny handful (if any) training there who could "practically apply" their skills in a real world scenario and even less who would then be captured on CCTV or camera footage who looked as if they were using good technique. Most people go their whole lives without a serious fight, even fewer people have multiple fights, so if we are talking about "combative martial arts" how is it that Aikido techniques and methods consistently show up in law enforcement and military unarmed combative systems where the actual chance of using the techniques are higher than the rest of society?
Ask a few police or security guard/bouncer types how many times they have used a "come along" pain compliance technique like a wrist, finger or arm lock or a grounding throw or a joint manipulation take down and you will likely end up hearing about an Aikido/Judo technique being used. Does this mean Aikido is the end all, be all martial art? No. Am I saying Aikido is a holistic system that does not require or benefit from blending with another style? No. I would say, like any martial art, you will need more than any one system to reach a competent level of experience and technique that will make you well rounded. I also think that to make it practical you are going to have to pair it with at least one other discipline, meaning Judo/Boxing/etc but I would say the same about Judo/Boxing or any other martial art. The Japanese martial arts, especially, were modular in nature and you were expected to learn multiple ryu to be a competent warrior as a samurai or even full time Ashigaru being retained as a man at arms.
