**the misspelling is the title in embarrassing, for the record. Hello, new here. I'm looking into aikido in my area (for the very near future, current family obligations and other things however come first). Long time lurker, only recent poster. In a nut shell I'm asking any experienced Aikidoka to help me discern some local dojo, if willing to anyway. Of course I'm going to sit in on any dojo's classes first before joining though! So first introduction/explanation: I have prior experience in a MMA-Inosanto JKD gym: most of my experience there being in FMA and some very basic muy thai and bag work. Having been out of the MA's for some time I'm looking into Aikido--no small part due to reading certain posts and stickies from this site over the past few years. However 'real, traditional, martial aikido' (if that makes sense @_@) is what I'm interested in, also intending to cross train at the previously mentions MMA-JKD gym when the time and opportunity presents itself. This video I stumbled across ,connected to this Shihan's dojo, has me admittedly uncertain, yet not entirely sure in my uncertainty due to my own inexperience and also due to the fact of his 'lineage'. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5kgvGVa4cE"]Albuquerque Aikikai: Ryotedori Shihonage - YouTube[/ame] As said, I intend to sit in and visit any and all Aikido dojo in my area (Albuquerque), but I'm merely just asking for the advice of Aikidoka with experience. Thank you Sincerely ~:heart:s
Can you go explain further what your concerns about the video are? I see parts of it I disagree with but I ain't felt his tech so impossible to say if its good or not. The only way you will know is to get on the mat and feel it. Do remember though that although Aikido is a modern art in terms of its age its built of very traditional Japanese training methods. Which means you will be working from grabs for a while probably with little or no strikes until you develop the basic movements and principles.
"aliveness" in training, though obviously you have to understand the forms first before you can train 'alive'. My main concern may be moot because I know little of locks or throws, the limited experience I have being from FMA. I may be overly paranoid from the amount of 'new age, spiritual growth' (not making a judgement either way, btw, there) types that are attracted to aikido and the regrettable phenomena of so many TMA dojos teaching bunk. Good philosophy and hard training makes a good Martial Artist I've often though, and I'm always afraid of too much emphases on one or the other. I appreciate the reply, and apolgoize for how long it took for me to! ~:heart:s
why aikido? why not boxing or something 'alive'? i think it's a great martial art, and i enjoyed my short time practicing it tremendously. there is plenty of 'aliveness', it just takes practice to discern where it's at. as far as lineage goes, the head instructor trained with akira tohei and tk chiba. that's very, very good on both counts.
Gio, thanks a lot for the reply. That's a fairly personal question, so please forgive me if I give too personal of an answer. I was raised by my grandparents (good ol' grandad being first generation born in the USA, of immigrant parents from Ireland). My grandfather fought in the Korean War and found himself wounded and spending much time in Japan during his recovery, during the time MacArthur and other forces were rebuilding the nation and the army of occupation was still around, he found a lot of mutual respect and good memories from his time recovering in Japan, and a respect for Budo. My father trained in Goju-ryu karate from a very old school 'knuckle push ups and kumite til you fall' Sensei. My dad also liked a lot of Bruce Lee movies and owned a copy of the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, though his foundation was in Goju-Ryu Karate. So...what i'm basically saying is I've always had a wish to train in 'authentic/true budo' but never found any half decent school that wasn't a McDojo. Through a variety of sources I discovered Jeet Kune Do, and a JKD-MMA gym that taught FMA, around the same time this site, just lurking mind you, around 08/09. By this time the stars had burned out from the sky in terms of my thoughts of most Budo (Aikido and Karate I'd observed/investigated)...as I'd seen in in my are of the United States, but at the time I didn't realize that I was just seeing 'McDojo's' or New Agers just doing what amounted to 'flowery dance to open chakras' . I was very struck by many posts in this sub-board (particularly by the late, and respected, Koyo) that sounded, if not almost exactly, quite often, extremely similar to what Bruce Lee in the 'Tao' discusses. In short I like what some seem to get out of Budo, particularly Aikido, and find the underlying principles and philosophy compelling. I'm hoping, when I have the time and oppurtunity, to go to that JKD-MMA gym. Keeping an open mind. I'm not so much interested in being a karate-man or a judo-man, a jkd-man or kung-fu man or aikido-man or whatever but a Martial Artist, I just happen to find tradition when presented properly compelling . ~:heart:s
great reply. i think it's a good sign that tohei and chiba are in the lineage--koyo trained under chiba.
Judo is much closer to the other Budo than Aikido is. Ueshiba's beliefs and motivations were pretty esoteric and not particularly "traditional" in the context of Japanese martial arts.
I think it's fair to say that aikido's training methods are the most "traditional" among the mainstream gendai budo, and I think it's also fair to say that Kano was as much a revolutionary as Ueshiba. OP, the primary goal of aikido training is not the development of practical self-defense or fighting skills. If effectiveness is your primary goal or your only goal and you're interested in Japanese grappling, you're much better off with something like judo that is going to give you the opportunity to practice your skills against alive resistance. The only aikido style that offers anything resembling this kind of training is Shodokan, and that's generally very hard to find.
Then you have no concept of Traditional Aikido then, are you talking about a particular Style/teacher of Aikido that is less Budo? Without a doubt some styles of Aikido are for exercise only but that was some of the founders students who diluted what the art was. Even in the founders late years when he is seen DEMOING Aikido with no touch throws, Saito Sensei said this was never how he taught but was for demos only.
Lineage is good, I know (or knew) all of these teachers and basically they don't come any better. If you're looking for traditional Aikido - you've found it.
