Despite what most people choose to believe, Aikido works. However, it takes a long time to develop (hence the ‘art’ part) to something useful in real situations. My Dad and Brother are C.O.s and are trained in a ’boiled down’ version of easy to learn, effective basic Aikido, as they do not carry a weapon inside the prisons. Hapkido may not be a bad alternative. As others have mentioned, Krav Maga is both quickly learned and effective. And as mentioned, without practical sparring, nothing is likely to be effective in a real-life scenario. …Then there are online courses… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo10xdN2Rds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfIkMXw_YM4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2u1GKJ3csE