Steven Seagal – Aikido’s Messenger?

When people hear the name Steven Seagal, thoughts of cheesy, awful,  and “straight to video movies” no doubt come to mind.  While not every Seagal flick is bad, I admit that my mind too tends to focus on today’s Steven Seagal as opposed to the once popular action star from the 80’s and early 90’s.  In fact, if you personally know me, I have no doubt told you my funny Steven Seagal/Taco Bell analogy.

I recently decided to return to my Aikido training after a near four year hiatus I took at the time my son was born.  This has led to numerous conversations with friends and family who know very little, if anything about Aikido.  The easiest way to explain this martial art used to be mentioning that it was the style Steven Seagal used in his movies.  Unfortunately, saying that today almost guarantees receiving questionable looks and/or snide remarks.

And that’s very unfortunate indeed.  You see, back before Steven Seagal starred in his own films, had an album, or his energy drink, his complete focus was on the practice and instruction of Aikido.  Very few  realize that Steven Seagal IS a master Aikido practioner.  Thanks to sites like YouTube, previously unseen footage of Seagal, complete with a wild curly head of hair, practicing Aikido can now be viewed.  His technique is hypnotic, extremely fast and very effective.

It was his proficiency in this art that grabbed Hollywood’s attention in the early 80’s and made him an action star.  Thanks to movies like Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Out for Justice, Marked for Death, and Under Siege, Aikido was introduced to mainstream audiences.  In my opinion, the adoption of Aikido by many westerners was largely based on the influence of Seagal’s early films. Or at least, that’s what perked my interest in the art.

Unfortunately, it appears that his movie career may have been his undoing.   Today, the once prominent Aikido master is nothing more than a punch line for most.  Very Sad.

Here are some videos of “Aikido” Steven Seagal