First off, I'm not trying to denigrate anyone's martial art or TMA in general but they seem to have severe limitations. I've seen the aikido demonstrations where 7 guys (200lbs+) charge one person usually someone who weighs 120. They always charge with thier arms ****ed back telegraphign a punch. The aikido practioneer redirects their energy with ease throwing aside. But I never see them attack with leg kicks or go for shoots without charging. Sure flying kicks and dive tackles are easy to divert, but who really attacks in this manner. Any competant fighter isn't going to close distance in a manner like that, and they aren't going to telegraph their strikes like that. Also it seems like aikido practioneers keep a wide base so they can redirect their opponent's energy easier. But this limits their mobility and leaves they susceptible to a shoot.
I also find it hard to believe you can block or redirect punches so easily. It's not so easy to discern where a punch is going to land as you can change its angle mid punch with relative ease, much less a barrage of strikes, at least from my experience. Granted I've never seen an aikido practioneer initiate strikes so it might be easier to block when you don't have to worry about throwing strikes.
There's no Aikido dojos around here and I've never gotten to spar with anyone with adequate Aikido training so I may have gross misconceptions about this art. And perhaps my skepticism is due to my own limitations. Given all my training I still find it hard to deflect strikes or avoid or initiate takedowns or throws.