Looking to join an Aikido club, what should I expect?

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bmassey

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I posted a few weeks ago that I was looking to start taking martial arts lessions. I am 29 and have no plans to compete but just want to learn some self defense and get a decent workout. So, I started looking around my area (Louisville, KY) recently and have found three different gyms close by my house:

- Jiu Jitsu/Kemp
- tai kwon do
- Aikido

I was able to try-out each of these for free. I really liked the Jiu Jitsu/Kemp gym, but it was $110 a month which was a little more than I was wanting to pay. The Tai Kwon Do gym was $65 a month but was mostly a bunch of younger kids and teenagers. Then, I found a little hole-in-the-wall Aikido dojo that is basically in a large garage with no heat or air (which should make for a better workout) and it is just $45 a month. I have been to two free lessons so far and have really enjoyed it. The classes have been pretty small (9 at the first class and 4 at the second) and are mostly men ranging from 20-40. The dojo is a non-profit organization and even the instructors pay monthly fees.

Anyway, I am thinking about joining the Aikido gym and was looking to get some feedback from those that have taken Aikido before.
 
I've been teaching Aikido for close to 5 years now, and have been practicing it for 13 years. It's good if you keep the reality in the training. Also, Aikido means "the way of harmony". The only principle of Aikido is that you blend with whatever energy is coming your way. It is not about a certain technique or a wrist lock or anything like that. If you remember to not get sucked into the bullshit tradition and mystical aspect of it, the principle is the best.

Remember (I just really can't say this enough), BLENDING WITH THE ENERGY THAT COMES TOWARD YOU IS THE ONLY TRUE PRINCIPLE OF AIKIDO!!!! Not certain moves or techniques, but blending with energy. When a boxer rolls with the punch to take power away from that punch, that is the principle of Aikido, even though that it's not a "Aikido technique". People will tell you about the founder and all of his KI energy and his spectacle of having 4 people push him at once to no avail; DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN THAT SHIT. Take the principle of Aikido that you will learn by observing your movement through the usual techniques and apply that knowledge of harmony with every movement that you do.

That's my advice. Use it if you wish.
 
BlackBeltNow said:
sigh
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LOL. Its funny how this thread got this far. You were too late to save this one Black Belt, but maybe next time...maybe next time.
 
BlackBeltNow said:
sigh
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Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand how people can let discussion on an Internet forum get to them. I guess it's really important to some people.
 
Hey, bmassey, just so you know, the grappling forum or one of the other forums may have been a better place to start this thread, if only because the MMA Forum crowd is a little rough and cage fighterish if you get my drift.

That said, I did Aikido for about 3 years, and I was REALLY into it when I did it. I lived in an apartment above the dojo. I never missed a class. I did seminars with the likes of John Stevens. My options at the time were a lot like yours: TKD, Tai Chi, Kung Fu.
HBushido pretty much nails it on the head. Do not buy into the mysticism bull crap about Ki energy and the flowing power of spiritual Shinto priests, etc.
I disagree with HBushido a bit though. I agree that Aikido is about blending with your opponents energy, but I also feel very strongly about the joint manipulations of Aikido. Sure they're Traditional Jujitsu at heart, but coupled with the strong circular movements of Aikido, they're kind of taken to that next level. Traditional Japanese Jujitsu joint manipulations are generally very static. Aikido joint manipulations are very broad, flowing, and dynamic. A lot of torque is built up.

Remember that Aikido is very limited. Law enforcement, security people, bouncers, and the such are trained in it to control people who are NOT VIOLENT, but are resisting arrest. Example: escorting the overly drunk, non-violent, but resistive individual out of a bar.

Oh. Your question. Given the choices, take Aikido.:)
 
Well there ya go, it got moved.

Welcome to the cool forum bro.
 
HBushido said:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand how people can let discussion on an Internet forum get to them. I guess it's really important to some people.
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aikido is very bad. it's worse than instinct. i can't believe a) one person asked about it b) the first person to post it supported it. in case you're wondering, that's why the guy below my first post said "i can't believe it got so far."
 
Oh, and it also incorporates some philosophical stuff that's kindof useless.
 
HBushido and Bubble Boy gave some of the best advice about aikido I have heard on this board for a long time.

Saying aikido is useless isn't really fair. I will agree that when I meet an aikidoka, he is more often than not a pretty crappy martial artist. However, I think this has to do more with the fact that aikido attracts some pretty flaky spiritual types who don't really care about the martial arts aspect. True aikido works well for what it is designed for.

I have personally sparred with an aikijujutsu (close enough to aikido in my book) sensei who was the real deal. His standup striking and throwing techniques were realistic and worked. Obvious the stuff wasn't nearly as pretty or perfect as it might seem in practice but it got the job done. His art is pretty sparse on groundwork so he trained in judo to learn the newaza part.

Aikido doesn't work in every situation, but the underlying blending principle is very useful. In fact, a lot of people say that BJJ is just aikido on the ground. Rickson's "flow with the go" is just the aikido principle restated.
 
Balto said:
HBushido and Bubble Boy gave some of the best advice about aikido I have heard on this board for a long time.

Saying aikido is useless isn't really fair. I will agree that when I meet an aikidoka, he is more often than not a pretty crappy martial artist. However, I think this has to do more with the fact that aikido attracts some pretty flaky spiritual types who don't really care about the martial arts aspect. True aikido works well for what it is designed for.

I have personally sparred with an aikijujutsu (close enough to aikido in my book) sensei who was the real deal. His standup striking and throwing techniques were realistic and worked. Obvious the stuff wasn't nearly as pretty or perfect as it might seem in practice but it got the job done. His art is pretty sparse on groundwork so he trained in judo to learn the newaza part.

Aikido doesn't work in every situation, but the underlying blending principle is very useful. In fact, a lot of people say that BJJ is just aikido on the ground. Rickson's "flow with the go" is just the aikido principle restated.
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it is fair. not only do they not spar, their philosphy violates physics. Turning someone's entire body by twisting something as small as a wrist is not energetically efficient, yet a lot of aikido's movements advocate this type of motion. aikido can't work even in theory b/c it's like saying through their philosophy, you would have an easier time unwrenching a bolt if you grab the end CLOSEST to the bolt.

Bmonk said:
Aikido is really watered down Judo for Really Old People.
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mainly cuz the guy getting thrown does 99% of the work. with aikido, an old man can throw a big guy, but a big guy cannot throw an old man no matter how hard the bigger man tries.
 
look for a judo dojo, it's a way better workout and it'll actually be helpful for self defence

btw i've done aikido for a month and found it pretty useless cause there isnt any live sparring
 
BlackBeltNow said:
it is fair. not only do they not spar, their philosphy violates physics. Turning someone's entire body by twisting something as small as a wrist is not energetically efficient, yet a lot of aikido's movements advocate this type of motion. aikido can't work even in theory b/c it's like saying through their philosophy, you would have an easier time unwrenching a bolt if you grab the end CLOSEST to the bolt.



mainly cuz the guy getting thrown does 99% of the work. with aikido, an old man can throw a big guy, but a big guy cannot throw an old man no matter how hard the bigger man tries.
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I think you are misinterpreting aikido joint locks.

You are correct when you say that the guy getting thrown does most of the work. All of the aikido wrist lock throws involve throwing yourself. That is why they look so sweet. The guy getting thrown is literally hurling himself into the air willingly. Against someone who is not trained to do this, you certainly cannot throw them.

Instead you will get a better result. You will break their wrist or joint. When doing a wristlock throw or any other type of joint throw, you really aren't trying to throw the opponent. In fact, you are hoping that he will not throw himself in the real situation so that you can break his joint. The reason the opponent throws himself is because he would rather throw himself and escape than remain standing and suffer damage to his limb.

In judo you can do ippon seoi-nage like an armbar. You just turn his thumb up when you put the arm over your shoulder. I am pretty sure that is illegal in competition but most places will show you that variation for serious confrontations. It's the same idea as above. The guy will probably throw himself for you, more or less, just to avoid getting his arm broken. Of course you'd rather he didn't so you can snap the arm, but getting the throw is an okay result.

A BJJ example would be the omoplata sweep. Many people use the omoplata almost exclusively for sweeping from the guard because it can be fairly hard to finish. Before you can get your arm around your opponent to force him on his belly, a good opponent will just sacrifice roll onto his back. This gets him out of the omoplata. But it also gives you an excellent top position. There is nothing about the omoplata that sweeps the opponent; he sweeps himself to avoid the lock.

So the aikido locks that torque the wrist aren't intended to throw. They are intended to generate a ton of force that breaks the wrist. The opponent throws himself on purpose to avoid the wrist break.
 
What should you expect? Start with a waste of 65 a month...
 
there is no sparring in akido so competition is out of the question
 
Thanks for everyone's feedback! I appreciate the good and bad reviews that have been posted.
 
guy at our school is a black belt in akido and a brown in bjj. He says some of the priciples in aikido are useful. plus it helped him adapt to bJJ.. however... he says nothing can touch bjj when it comes to submission fighting.

Guy also did, Sambo, Judo, Vale Tudo. All for prolonged periods of time... He is damn good on the mat.. Pulls off technqiues no one else has seen, Because of his experience and the above mentioned martial arts...

But he really doesnt used it all that much, in bjj if he gets ahold of a hand he will take advantage of it.. but nothing to bad.
 
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