I just moved to Edinburgh about 6 months ago and I started training in Shodokan Aikido. It was quite a suprise to find out that they took part in competitions as I always believed that there was no competition in Aikido. Now I have no problem with people competing for points and trophies, its just never really been my seen, but I've been talked into entering a competition this weekend (if my dodgy backs ok by then). So c'mon all you AikidoKa. Does competition dilute the form and techniques? Or does it allow for more realisim in training? Yours (Now ducking and looking for cover) Freeform
An interesting topic my friend!! Lets have a look at this: My personal opinion is that there is nothing wrong with competing. It helps you to develop your speed and your reactions. If you do not try and apply at least semi-real situations to your training then you will have great form but no application. While the founder did not compete himself, he was known to have had a fair few fights in his youth before embracing the idea of being harmonious all the time.
Ah, another AikidoKa on the forum. I like the idea of competition, so long as the people doing it are aware that it isn't 'real'. I've seen good competition players (and I'm not just taking Aikido now) crumple in a real situation. As to the weekends competition, couldn't compete because of me back :cry: however we did do quite well, especially in the womens randori However, doesn't training for competition train you to do 'nice' legal techniques, therefore creating a 'negative reaction' in a real mugging/fight?
No I don't think that competition trains you to do nice 'legal' techniques. The main benefit is that you will be able to speed up your reactions a bit - even the 'nice' techniques that are legal in competition are quite painful when done in real world situations.
Pure Aikido Ladies and Gentlman, Let's not get carried away, every martial art battles for notoriety and thud builds a network. In Aikido there should be no contact with the attacker. If he grabs or punches or kicks the only contact is that which he initiates, you as the aikidoist take him to the destiny he seeks. Oure Aikido and real Aikido cannot be put into a competition mode and it is this aspect that makes this art appealing to the police and other government agencies that have explored other means of intervention in a physical conflict. If you want pure competion than go to the ultimate fighting championships where there is no doubt that two people will be fighting. In my world I have no idea but if you cross my family or jeopardize their safety I promise you are done even if I die. If your attack is on me and I can walk away i will more definiately do so.
Analyze, No such thing as Shotokan Aikido unless it is a mixture between the two. If you like to strike with your Aikido I suggest you try Tomiki Aikido it is one of the few pure Aikido arts that employ striking in a major way.
Shodokan Actually the style of Aikido (Shodokan with a 'D') is for all intents and purposes tomiki. Tomiki didn't want his system known by his own name, as apart from being an ego trip, doing so would instantly limit its potential for developement. Striking as far as I am aware appears in all forms of Aikido (apologies if I am wrong on this). The main point of the atemi though is merely as a distraction to set the person up for something else. As for competition, I have to disagree with you. It depends on the focus of the individual style/club. If you never compete, how can you know the effectivness of your technique, although granted it is still a million miles away from simulating a real life situation. All that said, I still have total respect for all those Aikidoka that don't compete for whatever reason, so long as they accept those who do.
If you check out the rules for the UFC (yes theres rules) avoidances are illegal, this would immediatly disqualifiy an aikidoka as taisabaki is an integral part of the system. Whereas I'm not a competitive martial artist (or martial athlete would be a more correct term) I have begun to compete, because I enjoy the atmosphere (well, of friendly competition) and the social aspect.
And there was me thinking that it was because you wanted to maim and kill people and rule the world!!!
I stand corrected and I apologize. I still do not agree with competition Aikido, it must look like a judo match alot of pushing, pulling and that kind of stuff. Unless ofcourse they allow a quick slap to the face every now and then to distract them then that would be fun! Thomas
You're pretty much spot on.There is a lot of pushing and pulling, with a slap in the face often doing the trick. That said, when you do pull off a technique that works, and you realise that it works, it's a damn fine feeling. Oh why can't it all be like it is in the films - clean, quick and spectacular!?!
Any other competitioning Aikidoka out there? It would be nice to know that we aren't the only competitors North of York. Thanx
Me too, i did competition to Aikido. man i Lost. In kendo tournaments I won.. man i want to get better in my Aikido skills, i failed in Aikido.....
i must admit i have never competed in aikido.. we descend from yoshinkan so there is none.. i have trained with ex tomiki boys though and i have to admit they were a bit twitchy and i had to be careful not to hurt them.. the problem was that their ukemi was also competetive. so even though i had their balance they stiffened up and fell like a tree.. and when i applied nikkyo they squealed before they tapped.. im not against competition training as long as you recognize the difference between that and training in the application of technique in full. especially at higher grades.. the aikidoka i speak of were dan grades and 3rd kyu at the time.. i was 3rd kyu i think.. It is something that will vary from dojo to dojo i know.. in the shudokan we have a simliar situation, poeple who concentrate on one thing rather than remember the whole with an open mind. hope i did'nt annoy anybody these were just my experiences. it sounds like you shodokan boys(and girls) really have your **** together so please dont think that im trying to slag down the tomiki because thats the last thing on my mind. peace out
Interesting to hear about your experience with competitive players, and quite surprising too. I would have thought that because you have to be able to take some powerful falls in Randori that they would have allowed themselves to go with the technique rather than against it. By that I don't neccessarily mean allowing themselves to be thrown, more that by stiffening up they limit their options for moving into what their opponent is doing and countering. Easier said than done though. As for the squeeling before tapping, I suppose you'll always get some tough guys with a point to prove. They'll realise their mistake when they have to sit out for weeks with a knackered wrist. Competition for us (Shodokan) isn't the 'be all and end all' of our training, rather it is just another learning tool. Some people tend to forget this though, which can be a bit of a problem and may be why many Aikido purists look down on competion. Anyway, keep it coming med, this is what we need here, Aikidoka with other perspectives and training methods to question each other, which will hopefully increase understanding/acceptance of the many branches of Aikido, and allow individuals to better understand their own style as well.
The whole ukemi in competition thing is something I talked about over in the Judo forum. Competition Judo players tend to, IMHO, have crap ukemi. Because they'll lose if they land on their back (an Ippon throw) they turn out onto their sides, bye bye ribcage! Why would competitive Aikidoka be any different? Also you have to strike the balance of safe/real. For real we need a bit of resistance but not to much that we break, hence safe. The Aiki style ukemi (for example Kote Gaeshi ukemi) looks nice and flowery and 'unrealistic' to punters. They don't realise that we do it to protect our limbs! I've kinda gone off on a tangent, I hope you understand what I'm getting at (cause I'm not sure I do )! Colin
yeah i get ya.. in ref to tintin's post its a bit like i said, i took into account at the time that those people weren't representative of tomiki but only of those people.. if you get me.. with ukemi, i tend to have a bit of side to my falls any way. but i protect the rib cage with correct body positioning. ill try and fiind a descent photo to show you what i mean.. i'd really like to try randori or competing at some level in aikido. i realise it has its place in aikido training, but i dont think it takes you any closer to the application of technique in reality than traditional 'tori uke' training.(hear me out) rather that it might show at higher grades the true meaning of using uke's energy.. like a very advanced form of kagewaza.. but like you say some poeple will not have this in mind when training. given that i'd really like to try it. plus that im not against it in any way and feel that in the correct light it can actually enhance your ability to read energy as tori, think on this:- I believe that O'sensei did not teach Kagewaza to his students until they were going to found dojo's of their own as aikido dojo's.. this means that either a) he only thought to do it then or b) it is extremely advanced training and not to be taken lightly by lower grades.(including first and second dans..) it is not my opinion that competition is bad.. i'm just throwing ideas in the air like you asked
