If you are new to aikido, there are no shortcuts to mastery. But the path is made easier by recognising key body movements and how they connect to more advanced technique.
Aikido techniques are a response to an attack. Disregard everything you've heard about no attacks in aikido*. All basic and advanced technique has an attack! By learning to attack, we learn to defend. Aikido attacks are a very simplified attack so we can learn timing and distance to create a repertoire of responsive defence when needed.
Grabs or holds also teach direction, timing, and correct shapes which prepare you for strikes that are more advanced.
*Attack and defence gets complex with deeper analysis. It could be said that because we attack honestly, that is, we aim to truly strike our partner - that we understand the folly of attacking in real life (because we get thrown). So the ability to receive (taking ukemi/rolling) is as much aikido as performing the defence.