Should i go to another dojo as well or should i start another martial art?

Hi there,
I am 14 and I have been doing the martial art Aikido since November and i love it, but its only once a week and i would like to do more than once a week.
Should i go to another dojo that does more than once a week of Aikido or should i start another martial art along the side.

If you are saying i should start another martial art which one? and should it be a completely different martial art or a similar one.
Thanks

P.S - I want to learn martial arts to be able to defend myself in a fight if that helps on which one but i would also like some sparing

:hat::star::hat:​

 

If your instructor does not mind (or if you REALLY want to) go to both.

I would also try judo..good to get some competition into your training and an excellent base art.

If you are thinking of self defence..best to get tough and fit first.

 

Wow. Ok, there are many circumstances to consider; cost, location, training quality, etc. As far as what martial arts you should take, that is completely up to you. That decision should be a combination of what you want and what type of class atmosphere you enjoy/quality of teacher. I know your a bit young, in both the martial arts and age, to determine this perfectly...but just go with your gut feeling. Going only once a week isn't going to get you proficient in a martial art..but you are young and have many years to get proficient and obtain an in-depth understanding of what you practice (if that is your goal). However, once a week is a probably a pretty inexpensive class...the more classes a place has, usually the more it costs to train there.

If you truly enjoy aikido, and can only go once a week, you can always train at home. There should be some basic tandoku (training by yourself, whether body movement drills or weapons kata) that you can work on.

I'm not sure of the options on your area...but good luck on whatever you decide.

 

What is it that interests you about the martial arts? Why do you study martial arts? Are you or have you been bullied?

 

judo/jujitsu would be a nice addition to aikido. i train in a jujitsu style and if i had time i would love to try Aikido as i think it would fit in perfectly.

 

Yeah I side with the start a new MA group and if possible I'd say judo or jujitsu or even wing chun...

 

There's nothing particularly wrong with Akido, it's a good solid style with deep roots. If you want to train more often maybe you should supplement your training at another Akido Dojo or find one that trains more than once a week. You need to really be training 2 or 3 times a week in order to become proficient in what you're doing. I don't really see the point in starting a new style especially if you're just starting out. You're just going to end up confusing things across styles and not really getting the maximum amount of benefit from either style. You really want to find a good instructor more than anything else and train well under them at least until you feel you know what you're doing with your basic fighting skills. That might be 3 or 4 belts depending on the style but generally by the time you get to blue/green belt level you should be fairly proficient. I am talking as a generalisation more than anything there though.

 

Keep doing the aikido. Sticking at it is more important than how often the class is. But if you want to crosstrain, I'd plump for judo if it was available. That will teach you other aspects of grappling which aren't often very well covered by aikido curricula. Otherwise, I'd choose karate, which should add a more full and varied striking curriculum than usually exists in aikido. My third choice would be something involving a weapon, say escrima.

 

judo is always a good choice, personally I would recommend a few years of judo before starting aikido but cross training the two should be just fine as-well.

 

I always think, in an ideal world, that one should be required to do a few years of either judo or wrestling before being allowed to do any other martial art. I certainly wish I had.

 

It depends on what style of fighter you are, I personally want the fight to be over before I have to throw or grapple with someone. It's not ideal though and I understand the need for Judo which is why I plan on doing Judo for a while and maybe getting a blue belt.

 

yea i agree that if its ok with your instructor then try out another style to get the amount of training in that you want. Its just a respect thing to ask your isntructor if he minds if you take up another style so i would ask them to see what they think. Also i think everything people have suggested like Judo, jujitsu, etc.., i think the thing to keep in mind is find a style that complements the one that your already trying to learn. I myself wouldnt want to try and learn 2 different styles that are completely different like a striking art that wants you to maintain distance and a style that aikido or judo that teacher to get close and cut the distance, i could see that just getting confusing to you. I also dont see anything wrong with sticking with aikido for a while and adding in some sort or excersice routine or something. Alot of times its good to get a good foundation in the style you started with and want to do before adding in other components. Just my .02

 

Precisely. I think it's a good idea for adult beginners as well though- grappling IMO needs more practice in the initial stage than striking.

We're going to have to talk about this at some stage, but let me invite you to consider this: what makes you assume you have a choice about whether you get to grapple or not?

 

I think he's to busy playing WoW, he only came back once for a quick thanks and hasn't given any follow up.

 

Against the majority of people who aren't trained in grappling, do I have a choice? Of course I do, from a stand up perspective if someone tries to put me in a head lock, or a choke hold, or an arm bar, or whatever else I'm going to know how to break it and then do whatever else I need to do to defuse the situation. If a football players comes up and tries to crash tackle me then of course I'm going to spread and try to stop the guy dumping me on my head. It's situational, I just prefer not to be on the ground where a bunch of the guys mates can come in and kerb stomp my head or knife me while i'm rolling around on the ground trying to put someone in a submission. If I go to ground my instincts are basically to get up off the ground as quickly as I can and get out of a potentially dangerous situation. I don't want to be held or be holding on to anyone if I don't particularly have to be and much less so on the ground.

On the issue of strike fighting vs submission in the street I think submission wrestling has it's place, but the sooner I can defuse a situation and get out of it the better. If that means palm healing someone in the face as if in the manner of pushing them away and accidentally breaking their nose if they come to attack me and then running in the opposite direction then so be it and if someone asks later down the line I'll just say I used my hand to push them away, accidents happen right? Street fights rarely work out like ring fights submission wrestling is great in MMA, but I don't want to be there in the streets.

 

If somebody who knows what they're doing has already put you into a hold, a choke or an armbar, you've already lost.

Oh god, not another one...

 

I'm going to have to diagree on both accounts. If the majority of people have grabbed my arm or put me in a hold then I'm going to be able to break it. The majority of people out there are not trained in grappling nor how to get out of it. If the majority of people grab me I laugh on multiple accounts, they've given up one or both there hands, and they've put me in a position where I can put them in an arm bar, do pressure point manipulation, or anything else for that mater I could just kick there feet out and slam their head into my knee without worrying about the fact that they've got a hold of me. There's so much you can learn if your trained in stand up fighting.

 

What is it about TMA people that makes them think you have to have been trained in a martial arts setting? Not knowing what the mount is does not prevent you from pushing somebody over and sitting on their chest, and not knowing what an armbar is does not prevent you from watching an MMA fight and then using one. Besides which, more people have formal training in grappling than you would imagine. We are not talking about people grabbing your arm, and by putting you in a hold, I am not implying some pansy-ass misunderstood version of a hold. Properly applied armbars do not restrain, they break arms. Properly applied holds cannot be escaped from except by dint of great effort and grappling skill.

 

We're on different wave lengths here. I'm talking about your average street fighter who is not trained in grappling. You seem like many submission wrestlers seem to believe that people instinctively know how to apply a hold. For the majority of untrained folks out there it really doesn't matter how hard you hold on to me I'm going to break it and then half the time I'm not going to bother about it if you grab me while your facing my front and just let you hold on while I smash your face with my head/knees or break your legs with my feet. The average knee cap needs about 2lb of pressure to pop out you think you're going to hold me front on while I'm popping your knee out so you never walk again? Anyone who grabs me while they're facing me front on is very silly.

if someone wants to grab me from behind they're just about as silly I just have slightly fewer options in order to completely destroy them initially. I have no need to take someone to ground in order to finish a fight. This isn't MMA there are no rules, if you seriously want to hurt me then I'm going to use every possible option to put an end to things and get out of the situation.