Aikido and Judo

Hey guys, I just wanted your opinion...do you think Aikido and judo complment each other well? I thinking of starting Aikido, and at my club they do judo as well. Do you think they go well together, would you recommend or not starting them both together. I'm not too familiar with Judo, all I know of it is that it is a grappling art, very sports/competition orientated (do they have forms and kata's as well?).

Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

 

I'd say they complement each other pretty well, as they are both derivatives of Ju Jitsu they have many similar points. I'd advise you to start one, then the other. This will give you some conditioning time and get the ideas of one school rooted in your brain before you start the other, as they may have some points in common they also have contrasting viewpoints.

Hope this helps.

p.s What style of Aikido?

 

Aikikai I believe.

Another Question freeform, call me stupid for asking, but from the little that I know, Judo is alot (ALOT) of grappling. That true. I'm a great fan of throws, locks, pins but grappling, well Im not too sure. In a self-defense frame of mind (would do judo for both SD and sport) is judo effective taking into account that alot of the vicious/dangerous/lethal moves from ju jitsu were removed? Do they now just teach judo as a sport?
I know its a bit of a contentious question, but although I like the sport side of it, I want to be confident in it to know that I could, if the situation arose, apply it in defense of myself and/or others?

 

Depends on the school/teacher/style of Judo. If you're doing Aikido in the same place and the same instuctor(s), I'd have to think that they compliment each other otherwise why would they be teaching them.

As FF said, I would only do one style at a time not try to x-train too early otherwise you tend not to learn anything to any great extent.

 

Same school Jim, different teacher's though.

Is cross-training really that bad?? The majority of people seem to be against if for beginners, why is that? If the arts are different enough to a degree, surely you should be able to seperate them? And if you start combining them, is that always bad? For grading's I s'pose Heheheheh..no but serious, do you really need to be experienced in MA in order to learn what goes well together? ie. An aggressor attacks, you take him down with an Aikido throw, then slap a lock, or strangle hold on him from Judo. WOuld joining the two not be more effective? Once again, I know, heated question No offense intended, as I say, I'm just a begginner looking to suss out all the angles. I appreciate your answers, keep them coming

 

If you want to do as you've said in your last post you'd be best looking up a reputable Ju Jitsu school (or a Goshin Katori/Kyushin Judo school) as you'd get it all under one school.

But if you try learning different styles to begin with you'll get memory clog and freeze up, or alternatively you'll do a technique in randori that isn't legal/allowed and end up breaking your sparring partner.

Thanx

 

No offence taken (At least you didn't call me Jimmy!).

The (main) problem with cross training at the start is that you can get confused easily with what you're being taught and it won't sink in properly. This is especially the case with a soft vs hard style in which in one case you're being told to relax and breathe in this way but in another class you're being told to move fast and strike as hard as possible. Neither are wrong, but they don't blend well at the beginning.

 

Okay, thanks guys. Unfortunately Freeform, I agree with you, been looking for a jujitsu school in my area for months now, just cant find anything! Aikido very much the next in line, so to speak, so sort of trying to "create" jujitsu by doing Aikido and Judo? Stupid idea?

 

No, good idea.

Main thing is that you can understand and get along well with the instructors and other students.

 

Put simply, if you enjoy both and think you can take in all the information, then do both.
You'll quickly discover whether you can handle more than 1 at a time.

From experience (and this is in no way specific to anyone I currently know), I've found that those who cross train from the start are very receptive to anything they learn, but usually gravitate to the one that they feel they are best at.
People with many years of experience behind them often find it hard initially to 'forget' what they know - to come to a new art as a blank slate, but usually persevere and accept new ideas.
The most difficult time I think to start cross training is when you have maybe 6 months - 2 or 3 years experience in 1 style, as they often believe there style to be 'best', and have a closed mind to alternatives.

Again, this is what I have found in GENERAL, and I can name a number of people who this clearly does not apply.

A lot also depends on how open minded your instructor is.

My advice? Try both, then re-evaluate your position in a few months.

Have fun

 

In judo, being more sport orientated, do you still see a large number of locks (wrist, shoulder, elbow) or have those been lost by the wayside in the name of safety?

 

In competition you are only allowed to lock the elbow. Again if you find a traditional/SD orientated club they'll teach wrist, shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle and spine locking techniques.

 

So regardless of whether you compete or not, in weekly routine syllabus training, would they still not teach the lockign techniques? S'pose once again that depends on the club?

 

Yeah, cause some are geared up just for the sporting side, even if you don't compete.

 

So if they're taking everything away from Judo to sport-ize (?) it, then surely there's got to be a point where it just isnt Judo anymore?? Wierd statement, but you understand?

 

That's the general feeling, yeah.

I have a (sport) Judo friend who visits our club every so often. He has said that the umpiring in competition is so bad now that if you perform a Sutemi (Sacrifice throw) where you throw your opponent by throwing yourself first, they are usually awarded the point because you hit the ground first.

A lot of good techniques get lost right there.

 

I heard a couple of the BB's in my club describe Judo as a Sport

Shudders!!!

Modern Sports Judo seems to be as far away as possible from what Kano had originally intended. The had only seem randori as a training exercise, now it seems to be an end point.

 

Yyeah, sad really.

Randori is supposed to be a tool, not 'it'. It's like getting really enthusiastic about reverse parking but forgetting how to drive.

 

Further to this thread, when I first saw Aikido it seemed to me to be a bit like Tai Chi with a partner. My experience with it was with a very boring instructor back in the late eighties.

When I later met another BB in Aikido who was very macho, arrogant and agressive I couldn't understand why. It seemed totally at odds with what I had understood about the art on my first encounter. I couldn't understand what he found to be so arrogant about.

We eventually became good friends and I understood that trained in Japan in (I guess) the kind of Dojo as portrayed in 'Angry White Pajamas'.

Funny thing, first impressions.

 

Since your in south africa there is an affiliate ika school that teaches Tak Kubotas' famous Kubojitsu style which combines the best of judo, jiujitsu, and akido with a street twist. Go to ikakarate.com and send them an email for more info.