I need some help determining if Aikido is right for me?

Currently I am practicing Kung-Fu. I said to myself this stuff is great but we do not do enough ground work. As such I was drawn to Aikido through recommendations and research. Now I have been to a couple of classes and am not sure if it is the art for me.

See I basically started from the premise: "I need a complete system"- that works on striking, footwork, grappling etc. Aikido looks groovy, but does not do any striking based on my observations and questions to one of the instructors- relative to effective concious practicing of strikes like kung-fu or karate. Now I I like its peaceful epithets but question how practical it is in the event of an attack.

I am concious that I said more than enough in this thread, but I guess I am wondering if anyone could share any necessary information with me or fill in any blanks if I missed anything.

Aikido is good in its own right, but far from a 'complete system'. Striking or atemi waza is not usually included in the Aiki arts, but in fact O'Sensei did include not only hand strikes but kicks as well in his Aikido. Today though they are mostly left out. Ground fighting, ne waza what have you can mean a couple of things. Attacker on the ground and you standing or both on the ground. Aikido does the former, a technique and some kind of pin, but does not address both principles on the gound. Not saying an Aikido lock wouldn't work on the ground, it would if practiced but must be amended. When standing Aikido uses the body to facillitate the technique. This is hard to accomplish on the ground and takes some practice. Typical Aikido practice doesn't address this and most Aikido schools tend to be more traditional in their approach to training. If you want a good art to study on the ground there are several. Judo though more competiton oriented works as a great ground art and can help your Aikido throwing. It also has some very good takedowns. Brazillian Jujutsu is another good ground art, though some of these are geared more toward sport as well. The Gracies are known for their Brazillian Jujutsu but I like the Machado brothers a bit better. For me, I study Sambo-Russian wrestling on the ground and I have found this a bit more technical and efficient than the Brazillian Jujutsu, but thats just me. Also if you are in California, there is an Aikido Sensei who has combined his Aikido with Brazillian Jujutsu, but that is all I know. You could get in touch with Aiki schools in Ca. if you are interested.

thanks for the insight

Sensei lou,

Who or at least where in California is the Aikido combined with BJJ? I'm in Southern California and would be interested in visiting...

As for adding Aikido to Kung Fu, I think Aikido is a great second art that becomes your first. I had about four years of TKD prior to starting Aikido ten years ago. The background in a striking art allowed me to uinderstand the attacks I was working against and I always had a dimension that others in the dojo may not have had. Now I'm adding a few other things to the mix and having a blast!

Probably more important than picking the style is picking the instructor...find one that knows (or can do) something you want and then learn it from them...

which style of aikido? there are several(to say the least)different styles. Some of the styles of aikido are closer to the original jujitsu aikido is derived from, and include more atemi or "softening techniques".
Do some research on different styles,see if any schools for these styles are available in your area, such a tomiki ryu(i think),aikido taught more in the vein of judo where the uki resists.

I am currently looking into an aikijutsu school to compliment my karate training? Any thoughts about aiki jutsu vs akido?

aiki jutsu is jujitsu movement with the "aiki"(harmony) philophosy thrown in. Aiki jutsu movements are still more about breaking,crippling than submission.Striking is usualy still included.

Aikido(hombu) is softened jujitsu movement,where the object is to control the attacker without hurting him.No strikes.

Mike, A bit of a bland answer mate, but it depends on which style of aiki jutsu you intend to train in, and which style of aikido you compare it to. Early styles of aikido are very similar to daito ryu aiki jutsu and do use a fair amount of atemi. Later styles tend to be "softer" with less emphasis on atemi. As a general guide, aiki jutsu is more concerned with the end result than technical competence, and places greater emphasis on practical application, whereas aikido is a more technically demanding and aesthetically pleasing MA. Both are very effective for self defence.

I'm not sure how far I would agree with the statement that aiki jutsu is ju jutsu with aiki philosophy though. Both ju and Aiki are principles and whilst not completely mutually exclusive, there is a definite difference between the two. Aiki arts will take a while to get the hang of so be prepared for the long slog rather than any quick fix.

Ju jutsu is probably (in my experience) an easier art to learn, again depending on which style you go for, which would compliment karate just as well and it may be easier to find a decent ju jutsu class than an aiki jutsu one. If you go for a style of kempo ju jutsu you will probably find your karate training is of more benefit than it would be in a more traditional ju jutsu style.

Hope that helps

Budo

Cato I totally agree with you. I generally use the concept that Aiki Jujutsu, you use 100% of the attackers energy. In Jujutsu, you usually add some of your own energy, as sometimes you reduce the flow or restrict the flow of energy in Jujutsu. I too have a problem that Aiki-Jujutsu is the like Jujutsu with Aiki in mind. There are many Rhu-ha of Jujutsu in Japan and other places, though most think of Daito, there are indeed Kempo Jutsu, one of which has one of Ueshiba's grandsons as the head. Also Aiki-Jujutsu doesn't have as many ground techniques as Jujutsu does. Some big names, Roy Goldberg, Miquel Ibarra, and Bernie Lau all do Aiki-Jujutsu with varying degress of Aikkido in it. Ibarra Sensei is more Jujutsu than Aiki-Jujutsu and you can tell by the intensity and frequency of his strikes. Also a good source for different Jujutsu's is Tameora Sensei who has 5 different kinds of early Jujutsu. Many that play off of sword work.

Greetings all,

I have just started wrestling and someone suggested I get into either judo or JuiJitsu.

I am not sure which style would be best and would appreciate any info and help regarding this.

Basically I want to learn the best ways in which I can put someone in a submission hold as soon as possible, which style would be best for that then??

Thanks in advance.

Ms Indiana.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MsIndiana:

Greetings all,

I have just started wrestling and someone suggested I get into either judo or JuiJitsu.

I am not sure which style would be best and would appreciate any info and help regarding this.

Basically I want to learn the best ways in which I can put someone in a submission hold as soon as possible, which style would be best for that then??

Thanks in advance.

Ms Indiana.[/QUOTE]


Ms Indiana, I'm assuming your a woman,
Juijitsu has loads of submission holds. Visit a school and take a few free leasons to see if it what you really like. I'm not going to deter you from Juijitsu but most women that I have known and tought prefer the stand up style MA. There is a lot of ground work and close wrestling style work outs in juijitsu...very physical. Most of the arts have submission hold, some more than others. If Juijitsu does not interest you after a class or two take a look at Aikido and Hapkido. Aikido is a beautiful art with lots of throws and locks using your opponents energy. Hapkido has many of the same but it is a Korean art and in turn you will learn to kick as well. Anyway those are the two arts that I would recommend to you if there is a dojo in your area. Good luck. [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif[/IMG]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by senseilou:
Aikido is good in its own right, but far from a 'complete system'. Striking or atemi waza is not usually included in the Aiki arts, but in fact O'Sensei did include not only hand strikes but kicks as well in his Aikido..[/QUOTE]
Greetings Senseilou.
I was just wandering if the strikes (atemi waza) are effective.
I spoke to an aikido sensie last night and I asked about striking and he mentioned atemi.He explained to me that he only teaches that to students who have gained black belt status.
I was wondering how effective these strikes are and if possible explain what types of strikes they resemble.

Thankyou.



[This message has been edited by Karl (edited 12-02-2004).]

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