???? Aikido ????
I like the question but it is impossible for me to answer
I have taken about half a dozen different forms. I love, love, love Aikido but it is more than the self defense aspect of it. I think that this is important. I almost fell back into Kung Fu here locally but decided that they teacher was charging too much. I am in small town Texas and he wanted to charge me almost two-thirds more than a more professional school in a more metropolitan area. So many experts from Kung Fu to Cardiology but no real competition to prove their quality or value.
I like the idea behind the introspective thought.
My awareness pulls me towards Aikido because it is specifically defensive, centered on immediate threat versus other offensive centered forms.
My dozen or so years in Tae Kwon Do are in direct opposition to this.
Winning in TKD depends upon how well you, eventually, land a blow. As many cops understand, this is horsesh** when the attacker is in a rage, insane, or under the influence of drugs. If a man can close on you 21 feet in 1.5 seconds and still grab your throat with his heart shot out, punching, kicking, and screaming are not much good.
Sweeps, and takedowns are all that will save your life. Interestingly, sweeps and takedowns don't have to immediately be damaging.
But...if any grown man is willing to get into a physical fight these days considering that whoever he chooses as a victim might:
1. be a gun toter
2. possess a six-inch knife
or
3. go completely nuts
then...
such a man is not psychologically stable for one reason or another. This is why God gave us concealed weapons.
"God forbid," that a man ever have to beat another senseless in front of his family. That is a horrific thought.
One last thought:
When I was considering Kung Fu, the local tried to sell me on the idea that if I wanted, I could bring my daughter ever so often. Well that is all fine and "sweet" but as an ex-Marine, I understand that a half-ass commitment to training will end you. I felt like asking him what self-defense would a child learn if they didn't actively pursue it and master it. Mastery is a must. A half-ass training schedule will boost your ego and get you licked, quickly.
Any form can save your life but you have to be commited. Otherwise, you have wasted your time.