It happened to me personally, once, but it was weird. Definitely NOT what I would have pictured, but maybe that was my ... situation.
This guy, seems normal -- no "I'm Going Postal" look or anything -- came into my school, sat down and waited for class to start. Didn't know I was the "Sensei" he was there to... whatever. Have no idea why he didn't know me on sight, the pic is on the website.
We chatted for about a half-hour as he observed the BJJ Class which was ending, and got along great. I asked about his history, past, instructors, etc., and he never did ask about mine. No big deal. I asked if he was interested in the fre week special the school owner has (that's not me, I just run my class there in a sort of partnership thing and my guys/gals & I pay dues like everyone else), and he said, sure, I guess, but I may be here only for one class. I asked why was that, more niave I, and he said he was here to see "what we were all about," which is a standard, non-challenging thing to say, right... This guy was maybe 26, 28 years old, in good shape, and he said he'd been in jujitsu (unknown brand) for about 5 years, was in goju-ryu karate during high school before that, and had "some taekwondo."
I, in my personable manner, asked him what he was interested in aikido for, and he said, "I really am not sure it works, so I am here to see for myself." I asked him why he thought it didn't work, and he said, "Well, it all looks so fake. It can't possibly work the way that it's done." I laughed, which It hink surprised him, and said *no censor here* ," "No ****. Nah... we don't do it the way we do it outside, we want people to be able to come back and train with us. If we break our training partners, we don't HAVe any training partners!" He thought that was funny, too. So, I asked him, "You've got jujitsu, so you've got kotegaeshi in there somewhere somehow, right?" He agreed, so I asked, "and you've probably got shihonage too, right?" Again, agreement.
(Picture two dudes sitting on a bench, in front of the mat where training is going on, talking with their hands...)
I say, OK, what do you think of the shiho, as an effective fight technique?"
He says, "I don't think it would work on someone trained."
"I agree, if you do it just like the kata. But... didn't anyone ever tell you... kata doesn't train technique... it trains principles?"
[Look of non-understanding]]
"Kata teaches your body things, but it's not teaching you to kick butt. You, in yoru head, use those tools to kick butt when and if you have to, the kata is just a toolkit to reach into in order to get that job done."
** BJJ class ended **
So, I take him out onto the mat to show him this little, nasty variation to shighnage we call, in slang Japanese, kotekojiki. All it is is a short cut to the end-game which, rather than throwing the uke backward and down easily (kata expression), it goes out at a 90-degree off-target to the waveform, finds the weakest joint in the wrist/elbow/shoulder complex and shears it off by tearing the weakest ligament of the structures involved. On me, I know it'be my wrist. On my own instructor, definitely elbow dislocation. My senior student (bodybuilder) shoulder dislocation almost certainly. I have no idea why this guy did not know that was there, but he did not. Hole in his training, where I always make a point to illustrate where "the bad stuff lives." Anyway, we did this full-speed for a couple minutes so he really go to feel it happening, and how fast it takes effect and no I didn't hurt him. We did it back and forth a few times so he could get it for himself. He was grinning like an iidiot (like I do, so I can recognize it) before we were done.
Then I show him how easy it is to get into a shihonage off a standard hand strike (say a cross or big swing, not a jab - you ought to be moving away from a jab IMO) *assuming you find the wrist, I get it * and we sit back down. He's like, Whoa, that's really cool and I had no idea that was there and so on and so forth.
He was impressed, I guess. He was more impressed when someone made a chance remark and let him know that I don't see well at ll, and am almost blind. He got a bit quiet then.
Then the rest of the students show up, and I pull my gi out of my bag while we're still talking. He goes quiet for a bit and I'm speaking to everyone else, grab my belt and hit the mat. I turn around and the guy is gone.
No clue what he was doing there, other than to test me , or the waters... but he never came back. As "challenges" go, I'm totally cool with that type.
