If I practiced Aikido, I would want to avoid direct confrontation too.
Based on what? While it does not have the following like other martial arts, being that the nature of aikido is to avoid a direct confrontation.
Lots of UFC fighters using Aikido.
Not sure if you're trolling or not, but even if you are right, comparing UFC to real fighting is a stretch. UFC prohibits all the best moves one would want to utilize in a real street fight (biting, ears, eyes, groin, etc...)
A basis in reality, for one. I thought my little book review did a pretty good job of covering that. I'm not sure I can explain this to someone who is falling for the obvious cult techniques used in Aikido. Anyone who has qualms about winning a fight or, you know, actually hurting someone trying to hurt him first, will do well to stick to Aikido. That way when you get your ass kicked and lose a fight you can tell yourself, "At least I still love him."
Like I said, it's not for everyone. For me, it's a tool in my toolbox. While I'm no expert by any means, I've trained in Aikido, Judo and MMA. All are different. Different techniques for different situations. But I agree Seagal is something else.