Hey, I have trained in Aikido for a while and have found that the techniques are useful against people who are not good at retaining their energy, so their energy is easier to use. Do you think that Aikido could be effective against a skilled martial artist who practices, say wing chun, and so are good at controlling strikes or a boxer who would not put all their strength into a jab?
Scroll down the page a bit and read the thread Question for fellow aikidoka, and read the threads cited therein. If you still have a question, then come back and ask.
And I agree with Mac.. read the threads; But, Aikido as the "art" is only one part of the "effectiveness against..." debate. Ask yourself this question and answer it honestly.. How good are you at aikido and how many times have you physically tested those skills against aggressors or resisting opponents? Therein lies the answer to your question posed at the top of this thread. Dave
my brother is a second degree black belt & he has been going to his school (or dojo... tomato/tomatoo) for as long as i can remember. And he noted a few times that he thinks a practioner of the art unless, they were really really good would get destroyed by a good boxer or thai boxer. Now i do't know too much about the art, but as far as my knowledge goes there isn't to many offensive techniques in it, so it'd probably be better if you used it when taken with a more offensive style that doesn't really conflict with the defensive skills of aikido. Recently my bro has been training a bit in Thai boxing and BJJ. BJJ would surely conflict with aikido. but he's done it after i've done judo. and he seems to agree that a good BJJ artist would beat an aikido artist as well. But my real question is.... wasn't the founder a cult memeber??? i've only read a bit on the style (and pardon my stupidity) but the man seems like he was in a cult to me.... no disrespect of course. I think aikido is awesome, but the founder did seem pretty strange after i read his biography.
What style do you reccomend cross training in? How would it help to use Aikido? Sorry to change the topic, but crosstraining and Aikido seems better than effectiveness as a subject.
I believe that depends on your goal. Would you like to learn more striking techniques? More throwing? More lockings/chokings? More defense against armed opponents? Grappling? If you want to learn more about striking, then I recommend a style like thai boxing, a full contact karate style or maybe wing chun. If your'e looking for throws/grappling and lockings/chokings, try judo or BJJ, altough BJJ will also learn you more about striking. For more training against armed assailants, I can only think of Krav Maga. But I did read something about Kali being fit for the job. I am sure that others will fill you in on all this (or correct mistakes made by me). And ofcourse, an important question: would like really like to combine the styles into your own form, or just train them seperately for the same goal? I crosstrain in thai boxing. My first goal was to use it as an additional training to complement aikido. I wanted to combine techniques and harden my body. After 1.5 years, I decided that it was best to keep them separated. I now train thai boxing for the full contact aspect and for pure condition. Looking at the self defence aspect, I would use thai boxing techniques when I am not in a position to use regular aikido techniques. But then again, that also depends on the situation. If I can prematurely end a fight (or get out of one) by instantly using a thai boxing technique, then I hope that's what I'll do. On the other hand, If I have the posibillity to end/escape a fight by using some form of aikido, then I hope that's what I'll do. I guess that combining another MA with aikido will help you as an aikidoka by learning more about different attacks/attack situations (either as uke or as tori) and how other uke's COULD react if they are not aikidoka's at all. All in all, it'll make your aikido more effective, especially if the MA features some form of contact sparring. And about full contact MAers 'beating' aikidoka's: it holds some thruth for sure. But if you crosstrain in full contact, it's a whole different ball game. Remember though, that aikido isn't about winning a fight. It's about surviving and not getting in one in the first place. That's about it for now
Looking at the technical side of BJJ vs aikido, they do not conflict. They're actually very compatible. The underlying, foundational theory is the same: redirect the opponent's energy and use his energy against him. You can blend BJJ and aikido nicely. Looking at it from the mental side, yes, maybe they conflict. BJJ gets a lot of press for being fight-oriented. BJJ people in large numbers compete in seemingly every tournament. In contrast, the heart of aikido is not fighting. The goal is reconciliation, non-violence, harmony, love for others, and all those other mushy words. How you get there is a matter of personal taste. Different people do aikido differently. Some people are rough with their application of techniques, and some people are gentle. Some people like to spar with high levels of resistance, and some people do not want much resistance. It's a personal choice. The techniques are all substantially the same. Yes, O'Sensei was a cultist. It's not relevant to me. I look at what he actually "preached" as it were, and I see a huge, huge amount of overlap with Christianity, my religion. Other people find overlap with other religions. O'Sensei 's church membership has never caused me trouble.
You always have to remember the direct origins of the art... Daito Ryu Aiki Jutsu (and several other classical systems) ... That developed into the "new" art known as Aikido. If I were faced with a situation (combative) where only one rule existed - Survival - You would see me collect my Katana and square off. Not very Aiki ? Perhaps not but; a large part of Aiki is heavily influenced by classical weapons of Japan so, in essence my 'aiki-ken' is very much Aikido. Do you feel a boxer or Thai boxer would feel comfortable faced with a 66cm razor sharp Shinken (and a person who knows how to use it) ? This is the problem we always face when we discuss the style vs. style debate. Frankly IMHO it's a waste of everyone's time. Yes I do concede there will always be systems that have massive merits and those that perhaps don't, this is in fact how Japanese Budo came about in days of old... The systems that were less effective died out (literally) as the exponents were killed off by those studying systems with better strategy and technique - Martial evolution. My advice is always... Train hard and do not concern yourself with the "what if's". Dave PS.. You are wrong about Aikido having "no offensive techiques" The ideology of the art is that of 'non aggression' however; doesn't mean you wait to be assaulted before you act.
I suggest you cross train with either judo or brazlian jiujitsu. Those 2 added with aikido will give you very refined grappling skills. If you are serious about your self defence I suggest you learn some striking in the form of kyokushin karate or muay thai.
I agree that a grappling style would suit Aikido in crosstraining. I would find a striking art such as Karate more difficult due to the differences in footwork and general philosophies. I do study Wing Chun but keep it very seperate from Aikido until I feel out which I wish to continue as a foundation style before attempting to incorporate any others.
reply, add, First off I don't believe in crosstraining that much, I'm very much a traditionalist. With that said I believe no matter what art you study if you stay with it long enough you will learn how to defend yourself against any possible attack. You just have to trust the art, and your instructor. If you still want something more agressive per say. I would suggest staying with Aikido, but maybe find a more agressive style. If you are with a Aikikai school I would suggest maybe a Steven Segal type style, Ten Shen, or maybe go deeper into the roots and study Aikijutsu. Maybe like Iguama Ryu which is really devistating. Just A thought, but like I said I think you would be better off to give the art more time. From what I've seen the real hardcore techniques are not learned until 4th dan and above. Just an opinion. "namaste"
Perhaps as an Aikido practitioner it is no surprise I think Aikido is as capable on it's own as any other martial art of acheiving it's objectives. I think people become dissalutioned with Aikido when they are looking for instant answers or black belts in a can. Cross training in several arts can be beneficial. But is not required to make Aikido effective. What makes Aikido effective is honest hard work in training. I think it's a blessing for Aikido to have techniques of such a nature that sloppy practice will always become blatantly obviouse immediatly. Especially to the trained eye. If you find your Aikido isn't working it could just be the case that you need more practice. If Aikido is what you are looking for in martial arts, my advice is stick with your Aikido. Give your self time to develop and grow.
Hey dave, thats what im trying to do, but the SPS has not had any bloodu vacancy's for along time. I know its a good career. how long you been with the service?
I know what you mean Mike-IHF and Aikiwolfie. A martial arts system would not survive long if it couldn't be used effectively to defend yourself against all sorts of attacks and situations.
