rezbot2000

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in taking Aikido. There are two schools near me and I'm not sure which to attend. What should I look for in a "good" Aikido school? What questions should I ask?

Also, if anyone takes Aikido, could you tell me about your experiences good and bad, on and off the mat (used it one way or another).

Thank you

Jiu-fu fighter

Hey bro,

I took some Yoshinkan style aikido.

first let me tell you a little about aikido,
it is considered a non aggressive martial art, it has no kicks or punches, instead you flow with your apponent and use many types of joint manipulations and levarges to painfully submit him.

If you want a martial art that will teach you how to scrap, I would personally not reccomend aikido , and rather boxing or wrestling,
but aikido is a beautiful art and with hard work, a good teacher, lots of practice you can learn lots of useful skills and make it work for you.

If you want a harder style type of aikido, take aiki-jutsu, it is a much more aggresive and combative style, and better for self defense

what I learned from aikido some good stances, how to flow with the opponent, and some really effective and cool joint manipulations

good luck bro!

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My strength resolves in the mind, once I have made up my mind nothing is too far from me.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands in times of trial and controversy"

Martin Luther King Jr.

Luis SalinasIII

Interesting thread. I myself am just getting back into AIKIDO as well, here is what you have to recognize.

Alot of Aikido, especially in the West has fallen into the "ki craze" sort of spiritual occultish bullshit.

You'll find practitioners who are real into ki, (ki society) train alot like they are dancing, very unrealistically. The ukemi (opponent) will try to ATTACK with a lame zombie walk and let himself down with the other guys harmonious movement.

On the other hand, stronger aikido studios often times almost go into Cheese mode, as is the criticism of many to Steven Seagal's dojos, you may find a better level of practice here. But it is still aikido, so you're also likely to find alot of verlo pussies who think they are going to learn some mystical art to subvert a real big mma brute.

This might be troubling.

It has a real high learning curve, don't expect to get anywhere with it in the time it takes for judo or other MAs.

The cheese factor is ever prevalent. But the truly strong aikidoka can do some amazing tosses with limited energy provided by the opponenet, this is where the art really shines, I'd try out a few different places and see what you like.

rezbot2000

Luis and Jiu-Fu Fighter,

Thank you for your replies. I recently attended a Tomiki(non-competition) style aikido school and another unnamed style dojo. I have a question that I was afraid to ask at the dojo. If anyone knows the answer please respond. When they practice, the uke (I think that's right) moves pretty slowly and I was wondering how that eventually gets translated into real time. Is that just a beginner's speed or do they practice that sooo much that eventually they can handle something faster? I do understand why the uke goes along with the throw. According to the instructor, if the uke was not properly trained on how to fall and go along with the throw, the uke could potentially break his/her wrist or get damaged otherwise.

Thanks

Luis SalinasIII

It's like this.

The Uke, is going to be pretty unrealistic unless you get a gung ho dude in there, even in that case, you need a good base in moves before you can start moving real tough.

Even then...

Alot of the attacks they do, resemble more ancient Japan, than modern day USA.

It will be troubling.

However, the pay off is, the better and longer you're in the game and the more you cross train, not only will you buy more respect from your Sensei, but they will see you as an added value.

It is rare for Aikido people to be interested in its application in a venue lets say like MMA.

So if you build up your base, you will be pleasantly suprised that when you get an Uke partner who will throw for real, you are essentially exploring a new science.

tranquil

i feel like aikido is practical at least the way it was tuaght to me


my favorite move is called shiho nage (four corner toss) and it is very effective defense against hooks. if u do it hard enough, u can dislocate a shoulder and i can attest to that as a personal experience from self defense at a club parking lot.

i had to really think in order to make the moves practical. a slight manipulation of the techniques makes them really effective.

and yeah every martial art starts off slow to practice the moves. even black belts practice slowly on occasion to make sure they dont overlook the basics and get sloppy. but rest assured, real aikidoka do practice fast but with control becuase u can really hurt someone bad if u r not careful.

dont worry eventually u will get to a level where you will be using speed since aikido is a martial art that trains u to deal with more than one person which makes me like it. i have taken japanese jujitsu (3 years) and some of the techniques take way too much time if u r fighting more than one person.

another why i like aikido is because it trains the mind from becoming unstable which helps you think clearly in a fight and just react. in addition, it trains restraint, meaning that it teaches you to win without giving a "death blow" since that is not always needed. nobody wants to get in trouble for excessive force.

i myself do boxing on the side to supplement my aikido.

Jiu-fu fighter

I also will think about taking aikido later again in my future,

but the taste of yoshinkan was ok.

The reason why the uke is always rolling around is because if he did not roll with the joint lock, he would most likely having his shoulder/wrist dislocated,

so dont expect if using an aikido move on the street to be throwing the guy around..lol.... a true application would dislocate his joints

so even though it looks so flashy there is a method to it.

and the beautiful thing about aikido, and yes it takes much longer to perfect than other arts like boxing, wrestling...etc... is being able to flow with the opponent, and if you get this down pat, you can take down a bigger guy even if you are considerably weaker, by using his momentum against him, his weak centre of balance points, leverage, using your body weight instead of muscle on him....etc..

If you find a good instructor, and you train hard, and willing to put in the time and effort, you will go far my friend

cheers

__________________
My strength resolves in the mind, once I have made up my mind nothing is too far from me.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands in times of trial and controversy"

Martin Luther King Jr.

Jiu-fu fighter

also an added thing , cause it gets confusing ( gets me all the time )

tori- the guy getting attacked and using the technique

uke- guy getting the technique used against him ( poor soul )

cheers

__________________
My strength resolves in the mind, once I have made up my mind nothing is too far from me.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands in times of trial and controversy"

Martin Luther King Jr.

cakegirl

Check out a book called "Angry White Pyjamas" by Robert Twigger.

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jubaji

??????????????????????????

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Hardball

If you ever forget, I like to call the Uke the guinie pig. LOL

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GranFire

Or crash test dummy?

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Hardball

LOL, good one!!!

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The Way of the Warrior is Practice. Daily practice, accumulate practice minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day. {Book of 5 Rings} Mike Brewers 2008 Sit up challenge 26,000/100,000 running balance.(Crunches) Kicks 6,000/100,000

Mr. Arieson

I find it really refreshing to hear these opinions about Aikido. For us older dudes, Aikido is an excellent martial art to practice without the risk of serious injury.

The other reason why I like these comments is because I know there are a lot of Ground and pound MMA artists who believe (rightly so) that Muay Thai and BJJ are the only arts worth studying for self-defense. I agree, but you have to be willing to train and train hard to excel at those sport type martial arts. You also have to want to and be willing to devastate your opponent. You have to be really bloodthirsty and willing to inflict a huge amount of pain on someone. This is great if you hang out at clubs, bars and try to fight with alcohol fueled tough guys.

But for someone like me, I don't run in those circles, so the time spent away from my family in serious MMA training just does not justify me personally going that route. Plus, my age is a factor.

I have no need to ground and pound someone into submission. I much rather would use a martial art for self-discipline, get in shape mentally, or for the historical or even religious elements. Therefore, Aikido is a great option. I also think that if I supplement it with some boxing, or kick boxing, that I will be fairly well-rounded and can use more Atemi while executing a technique.

I am practical, and I think it would take 20 years of training in Aikido, from youth, to be able to defend against a boxer.

But some idiot shoving or pushing me can be handled by a majority of Aikido techniques, with the added benefit that there is no way I can go to jail for assault.

I am glad to read that the usual snide "bullshido" style comments were largely absent from this nice thread!

jubaji

Usually no, but you might.

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