Aikido/Martial Arts

I know there have been plenty of posts on martial arts and what everyone thinks. Recently I've started taking Aikido classes and I find it rather interesting. I like the concept of self-preservation not at the expense of the attacker. I feel it aligns with the Jedi way, even while attacked we don't wish harm on the attacker. I just wanted to see if anyone else has learned some form of aikido or similar martial art form and their thoughts on it.

I've done some training in Aikido, though it was some time ago. Depending on your teacher, it can be a harrowing experience.

You might find this to be an interesting supplement to your practice.

I have trained in Aikido for quite some time now and I very much agree. The ability to protect yourself without causing massive damage is great. I also enjoy that those same techniques can be extremely devastating.

To me it's about the options it provides. I can use the same technique to keep my fiance from tickling me (not that I'm ticklish ) with zero pain and to disarm an armed attacker, possibly ending their life if absolutely needed. I can control the level of my response to the situation.

I also love how it's not about directly fighting an opponent strength for strength. If they want to go one way I'm going to let them, I'm just going to alter it slightly so that they end up where I want instead of where they want. When they push I don't push back, I shift their pressure to go a slightly different direction and then put them in a technique. Why fight them?

As my father says, the name of the game is "I win!"

Cabur Senaar wrote: I've done some training in Aikido, though it was some time ago. Depending on your teacher, it can be a harrowing experience.

Same, and I absolutely agree!

I need some aikido in my life, but no one around here teaches it.

I train in Krav Maga. It is a very emotional, challenging experience and has opened up a lot of mental wounds ... as well as breaking bones lol (I broke my collar bone in training a few years ago)

I think it is valuable to be able to defend yourself and others, but to do so in a reasonable way. In Krav, the principal is to make your attacker unwilling or unable to continue fighting, not to deal unreasonable/disproportionate damage. I would heartily recommend that everyone trains in at least one martial arts discipline.

I have recently started my children in Kendo. I have practiced several martial arts in the past, and I have to say that I absolutely love what I see in Kendo. I find that it seems to match up very well when following the Jedi path. Once I get over recovering from a recent surgery, I am planning on joining them and hope to be able to practice Kendo as a family.

Kendo, though great for developing spirit and learning to master one's self, is not really a self defense martial art. I find many martial arts, however, have only limited practical real world self defense application. Perhaps, in a way, that is what I find so appealing about Kendo - it doesn't pretend to be something that it is not.

I also really like that Kendo is often practiced as a non-profit club, and that there really is a sense of camaraderie and belonging to a 'team' as opposed to other types of martial arts that I have studied. The fact that it is one of the easiest martial arts to follow as a life long pursuit (can be realistically practiced from age 5 up and into old age) due to its lack of abuse on the body when practicing is also a really good thing.

The official ideas about what Kendo is:

The concept of kendo is:
to discipline the human character through the application
of the principles of the katana.

The purpose of practicing kendo is:
to mold the mind and body, to cultivate a vigorous spirit,
and through correct and rigid training, to strive for the improvement in the art of Kendo, to hold in esteem human courtesy and honor, to associate with others with sincerity, and to forever pursue the cultivation of ones self.

Thus one will be able:
to love his/her country and society, to contribute to the development of culture, and to promote peace and prosperity
among all peoples.

Cenrus Kuno wrote: I absolutely love what I see in Kendo. I find that it seems to match up very well when following the Jedi path.

I very much prefer Kendo over Aikido any day! I let my girls watch the Anime "Bamboo Blade" to try and get them interested during these cold winter months. We will be doing a family casual Kendo classwork this year in the backyard when it warms up (+some Rapier) and next year we hope to make it more structured.

I hear there is a Kendo class a hour away...once I get my own transportation my ultimate goal is to join it.

Trisskar wrote:
I very much prefer Kendo over Aikido any day! I let my girls watch the Anime "Bamboo Blade" to try and get them interested during these cold winter months.

You reminded me of this video I had seen from a Kendo club in NJ:

https://youtu.be/fPueEHR_C-E

Kendo is fantastic for kids!

The Bogu (armor) can be expensive, especially if you have growing kids, but the club we belong to actually has rentals. I will purchase my own set, since hopefully I won't be growing anymore. I order my Shinai and equipment from E-bogu which has pretty good stuff, good prices, and sizes for kids. I even purchased their DVD set so that the kids will have an easier time understanding in detail what they are being shown in class.

haha!! Cute!!

Yea, we tried to get our daughters into it earlier but the sparring actually scared them. I actually got way out of practice because everytime my husband and I went rounds they would start to freak out and cry it was cute but...frustrating lol

They are now reaching a age where we can re-visit it. I can't wait to get them their own Shini's. I miss my old one! my husband customized it to fit the size I prefered (Smaller than traditional)

It is most certainly a great basic for kids and even adults to start out in

if i ever have kids i'll teach them pretty much everything i've learned over the years....they would benefit from a wealth of knowledge and experience......

I have practised aikido for a couple of years, along with karate since I was 12 (my base style even now), thai boxing for 6 months and krav maga for other 6 or 8 months.

I have also had almost fully free sparring with some friends using helmet, gloves (not boxing, but MMA gloves) and shin guards and at thai boxing and krav maga my teachers taught us some grappling and ground fighting so I have some basis in that and in fighting with and without rules.

Finally, I have gone to a couple of courses of bujinkan taijutsu (misscalled ninjutsu here) and xanda, and I practice self-taught kenjutsu with the base learned at aikido, along with bojutsu.

I can tell you aikido is a very good choice if you find a good teacher that show you all the fields of aikido, mind and body, real self-defense and personal, inner grow, so if that's the case just go for it and learn all you can. If not, keep searching for what you really want.

RyuJin wrote: if i ever have kids i'll teach them pretty much everything i've learned over the years....they would benefit from a wealth of knowledge and experience......

heh, gotta start somewhere The problem with "Teach my kids everything I know" is that, your kid probably doesn't give a Sh** about what you know I've actually had more success having others teach my oldest more than I have trying to teach her myself. But she is also only five years old. Got to remember....it took you all your life to learn what you know. You won't pass that down to a five year old in a year or two....it will take them their whole life as well and at the end of it...Their Journey will be completely different from your own. All we can do is ply interest and hope it sticks.

At least from my experience.

I like Kendo for it's sports factor. I think the ability to go into competitions with a team and get rewards will be a great motivator.

As for Hand to Hand. The very first Martial Art they will learn will be.....Rough Housing. No specific style...just how to rough house, take hits, be thrown and tossed about.

When they reach 8 years....we will see then

The biggest barrier for me is the cost of classes. I certainly can't afford to drop $100 a month for classes a couple times a week, which is what most of the Martial Arts Schools in the area charge. Many local dojo's are also black belt factories, and produce low quality students as a result.

Kohadre wrote: The biggest barrier for me is the cost of classes. I certainly can't afford to drop $100 a month for classes a couple times a week, which is what most of the Martial Arts Schools in the area charge. Many local dojo's are also black belt factories, and produce low quality students as a result.

Self Train Plenty of Instructional Video's out there. Pretty sure your adult enough to know how to avoid injury and harm Take it easy, take it in steps, and be motivated Its what I do, I can't afford class's either

you really only need to learn the basics from a good instructor, once you've mastered them learning other styles on your own becomes easier....but yeah the basics should be learned from a good instructor because if the basics are wrong everything else will be wrong...

RyuJin wrote: you really only need to learn the basics from a good instructor

That's the Trick though. Not many of those around Id rather have bad technique that works for me then bad technique due to Mac Dojo Idiots who can't tie their own belts and uses their dojo floor as an ash tray

Trisskar wrote:

Kohadre wrote: The biggest barrier for me is the cost of classes. I certainly can't afford to drop $100 a month for classes a couple times a week, which is what most of the Martial Arts Schools in the area charge. Many local dojo's are also black belt factories, and produce low quality students as a result.

Self Train Plenty of Instructional Video's out there. Pretty sure your adult enough to know how to avoid injury and harm Take it easy, take it in steps, and be motivated Its what I do, I can't afford class's either

While a sound option, thats also an easy way to become stagnant in your training, as group structure allows for constructive critisism, camaraderie, and there is also the opportunity for sparring which solo practitioners miss out on.

I attended a trial class last night and the workout there was much more intense than my regular training schedule, because the class pushed each other and encouraged me as a newcomer.

Each way has its own benifits and diaadvantages.

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I agree A group or team is always nice to have. But if you don't have it, make due until you do Or self train and join in on local competitions or, like you did, visit dojo's and take their first free class for a night of perspective. There are ways around it just gotta look for it and until then....Self Train is better than no train

i have some definite criticisms of aikido, or of aikidoka, as it is one of the styles that is know for NOT producing capable fighters, and i think that the majority of aikidoka (at least that I have seen) would get beat up by an aggressive high school football player if it ever came down to it

that being said, i love the style (though i spent less than 2 years training in it) i think it has elements which are very much effective and very brutal, and imo it represents the pinnacle of what a MA'st can achieve: the ability to use whatever the other does as the medium for ones defense, and to inflict as little or as much harm on the other person as is appropriate to the situation

i see aikido as the system that a person should take after a lifetime of training in other systems, like boxing, kickboxing, jiu jitsu and judo ect

also, I personally dont think that people should look to martial arts for "spiritual enlightenment"

i think that if you train in martial arts you should be training to prepare yourself for violence, and that if there is any enlightenment to be found in the endeavor, it is missed if one does not experience actual violence, and does not achieve the goal of being at least minimally capable in that arena, i do understand that not everyone feels that way, and we all have a right to our views

all this being said, i dont see how one could self train in aikido, or any other grappling or submission style

striking at least you can teach yourself how to move and perform the techniques, which can give you a fairly capable offense,

but learning to DEFEND requires partners

what you CAN do is recruit others via craigslist, and your roster of friends and associates who also want to train

there are plenty of people on the world who want to train for its own sake, and who are willing to do it without you paying them

really it makes a difference to have someone who knows what theyre doing to teach directly, but if all youve got is some inexperienced but genuinely sincere people to work with, it is possible to use instructional dvd's to develop some fundamentals in striking and in submissions

best wishes