[stcredzero]

Aikido in particular seems to be very subtle

Which aids in the analogy.

If you restrict yourself to aikido techniques and your attacker has no such reservations, you have to be extremely good.

Good for the analogy.

I think it would be a mistake to give up on self-defense in general because of that. In any case, you have to go into it knowing it's not a guarantee, it just increases your odds.

Good points for the analogy.