My issue is the training methods, if we are talking self defence. That’s not the only reason to train a martial art. Aikido is a beautiful martial art. I simply believe if you do not do resistant training, you do not have a combat effective or self defence effective martial art. It doesn’t matter the teacher. I know this sounds trite but combat effective Aikido is called Judo.
I started with TKD. When I trained it was pre-Olympics. Was much more like the old American kickboxing with Superfoot Wallace. Lots of punches. Kept hands up. Now there is one on every corner playing foot tag.
I agree what you say about teachers. That’s why I train where I do now. At my MMA gym I have several coaches. There’s a Muy Thai coach. A couple BJJ coaches. A strength and conditioning coach. Boxing coach. Nutrition class. I’m just a 43 hobbyist paying $150 CAD / month for unlimited classes. I paid that for karate, to learn a questionably effective art, depending on where you train, from one guy who mostly had his senior students teaching classes. There’s no comparison in my mind unless you enjoy the traditional aesthetic.
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Like I said, you’ve never met a real Aikido practitioner, I have, and I can tell you that you know not the slightest whereof you speak. 
@CadenceBreak has a good point above though, it’s pretty useless for at least 10 years or so.
(Huh, maybe that’s why back in the old days it used to take 20 years to earn a black-belt in any style?)
And if you have multiple teachers I’d recommend Bruce Lee’s Tao of Jeet Kune Do, not for learning JKD, but if you read between the lines you get a sense of how he incorporated the teachings of different masters of different styles. Eventually you’ll see, as he did, that all styles are just different interpretations of the same physics and potentials, and you’ll start seeing/feeling the gaps in what you already know and seeking teachers who are more knowledgeable in those areas. (This is also about the time when you start going for a few years between teachers because it gets harder and harder to find one who has what you need next.)
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With 10 years of study I think I could even make this martial art work.
Although I like Aikido, I remain unconvinced that it has much place as a practical defensive martial art except under pretty mild conditions unless mixed with other disciplines.
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That’s what everyone who trains this nonsense says. I don’t buy it. Show me a single video of what you’d consider effective Aikido. One without compliant uke. Again, if you have trouble finding any, look under Judo.
Get in a ring with a boxer, mma practitioner, wrestler, karateka, proficient street fighter using Aikido and you will get beaten almost if not every time.
My friend, I studied the woo. I’ve been doing this a long time. Everyone reads Bruce Lee’s book whose done traditional martial arts. I’m sure you’ve read the Book of Five Rings and the Art of War as well. They’re great books. They don’t make Aikido worth anything as a self defence or fighting system.
I’m sure you’re a nice person and train sincerely but I think you drank the kool-aid. Best of luck in your training.
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I remember taking karate as a youngster. One day the teacher took a detour and had a class on how to actually defend yourself in a street situation. It was the stuff they teach in model mugging courses: kick him in the groin, kneecap him, learn how to use the weak points of holds to escape. Completely different from the martial arts stuff.
Btw I know a woman who went through one of those courses who is now hardwired to get down on the ground and kick in scary situations. It can be entertaining while watching violent movies. If you are not in front of her.
and here it is in microcosm … an nonmartial art form where your partner is your cohort, not your opponent. Sorry old timers, I posted this once before. It’s my current religion.
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I thought there’d be something on YouTube, but not even close, just a bunch of clueless wankers. However, in all my moving and changing teachers I’d say that the ratio of real masters to local population is around 1 in a million. (Ie. if you live in a metropolitan area with 10M population there’s maybe 10 real masters across all the arts.)
So yeah, I would scratch Aikido as a real option for the average person simply because the odds of finding a real master are virtually zero.
I’ll just count myself lucky to have met a couple! 
And yes, if I were dropped into an unfamiliar city with a short period of time to acquire useful skills MMA in a large school (many teachers) would be the way I’d choose.
As regards the books, well, let’s just say you should probably have tried at least three or four styles for a few years before TJKD will begin to be useful, and the other two, probably 20+ years of experience before they start to become interesting for direct application.
The learning never ends my friend! 
Aikido is beautiful, and watching my sensei (who was about 5 feet tall and pushing 60 at the time) suggests that someone who is really a master is really quite capable of defending themselves with it. But, yes, I would agree that anyone starting out probably would not be ready to use it to defend themselves in a unexpected combat situation.
Perhaps recognizing this, my Sensei occasionally did little drills with us on how to break the fingers of someone grabbing you – which wasn’t Aikido, but he thought might be useful for us in nasty situations.
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