Hello, and happy new year. I have just started training in Krav Maga, and I think I would like to study another martial art along with this to improve my timing, control of techniques, body positioning etc. I notice that a lot of Krav Maga trainers have experience in some other martial art as well. I have been considering either Aikido or Jujutsu (Japanese) for this purpose, and was hoping to canvass some opinions on the suitability of these arts, or how well they would work for my requirements. I must admit I am a little cautious about Aikido as I have read that it can take many years before it is a useful tool for self defense. I know that Aikido is very different in philosophy to Krav Maga, but the skills it teaches are surely beneficial. Thanks for sharing
Hi there and welcome The quality of the clubs around your area is a huge factor here. Have you found anywhere your considering training at or would you be willing to share your (rough) location so people can look online for you? I don't know how well the physical aspects of each art will mix with Krav (never done Krav and only very little aikido) But one thing I will say though is that the philosophical side of aikido (very peaceful) might not sit very well the ethos of Krav (very aggressive). That would depend a lot on the individual clubs and how much you wanted to delve into the philosophy behind the arts.
Welcome to MAP! As I understand it, Krav Maga is a good framework for self defence and therefore when people look for something to complement it they are in essence looking to sharpen certain skills used in Krav Maga training. "Japanese" jujutsu comes in two flavours, namely the actual Japanese jujutsu taught as part of a koryu (traditional system) and as more modern systems which are usually based on judo, karate and aikido or some similar blend. The first of these is very unlikely to be good for a casual student looking to build up their ability in a core system, as the traditional schools require a strong commitment to learning that system and can include a lot of esoteric training which may not blend instantly with KM (not that I'm an expert or saying that the esoteric training isn't useful, I just believe that it's unlikely to provide immediate benefit). The second is also questionable. I tend to say that modern jujutsu systems are similar to Krav Maga in aims, i.e. that they teach a framework and a set of strategies but don't focus in enough to get really good at everything. As such, if you're looking to get better at any one thing in particular, this is unlikely to meet your requirements. If you're looking for more practice of general fighting strategies, then maybe. I would generally say that there are a few obvious places to go if you're looking to focus your training in certain specific areas, such as: Throwing: Judo, wrestling, sambo Groundwork: Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, submission grappling Weapons: Filipino stick/knife systems Striking: boxing, muay thai, karate (some systems, at least) Your aim to work on timing, body control and positioning is perhaps a little vague, as all martial arts focus on these. If you know what area you would like to improve these in, that would probably be more useful. At that point you can consult the list above for a good starting point. Hope this helps - I'm sure others will be along with other views as well!
Thanks FunnyBadger. Location is Darwin, Australia. The local jujutsu club seems to focus on practical aspects more so that sport, and the aikido clubs both identify themselves as Aikikai organisations. Will they have realistic sparring/kumite? I am not particularly interested in the spiritual aspects, I am more interested in improving my self defense skills. @Aegis: thank you for your response. I am mainly looking to gain more confidence in situations where the other person is close range, e.g. grappling range. I was actually interested in Sambo, but there doesn't appear to be a club nearby.
If you are interested in the SD aspect then the FMA suggestion is a good one. You'll have the weapons understanding and in addition FMA does have a complete empty hands system that will compliment the Krav. My own opinion is although the empty hands system is very good the average Filipino is smaller in stature that the average westerner and as such I find my empty hands comes from boxing, kick boxing and other arts. If you are happy with the kicks, punches, elbows etc from Krav, then consider FMA (Eskrima). Technically very good, awesome with weapons, but with the additional power from Krav to compliment their empty hands system.
KM, aikido and jujitsu Hi, A bit of history. Aikido. There is a style which is synthesis of Krav Maga and aikido and that is Krav Magen. In videos it looks rather like Krav Maga but with a certain added circularity. I am told that Imi Lichtenfeld spoke very highly of it. But note that it was a physical synthesis. Comments above on the esoteric aspects of aikido training may be correct. Krav Maga training does not enter into that sort of thing very much. What philosophy there is (that I teach, can't speak for others) is in the realm of directness, simplicity, compassion, and the rightness and justice of abiding by the law of the land on proportionality. What criticism I have heard of aikido as a combat system is that it is very difficult to lock someone who is struggling unless you relax them by striking them first. KM would teach you the strikes and some of the locks, but unless you need to understand restraint because you work in security, the police, etc. you need to be clear within yourself as to why you need further training than the KM in the first place. Jiu Jitsu Our chief instructor, Richard Douieb studied aikijijutsu before KM and continued with it. He later became a French kick-boxing champion in the 80s. The balance that jujitsu teaches and his timing in striking from boxing make him an extreme handful even though he is not very big and now in his late 50s. But remember that KM is a self-defence system. Some Kravists go into jujitsu, MMA, striking sports because when they have sparred against them in a training environment they have found that students of those disciplines have dominated them. This is to be expected and misses the point of KM. KM is simple - boxing is simple - judo is simple. This is why I agree with the Philosoraptor above. A boxer will knock most martial artists (including kravists) for six because he only trains in a few punches and can execute them blindingly fast. But he he spends no time training against a rugby tackle, a bear hug, someone grabbing both arms from the side, a kick in the shins, or the groin, a knife to the neck or a gun to the back of the head. KM is an SD system which deals with and drills those angles of defence and attack. If SD is what you want I suggest that you stick with that until you reach some level of competence - in the FEKM which is not yet well represented in the UK, that would be about green belt (two years + of training). - or FMA - or Marbo or another art that provides you with a level of confidence in SD (i.e. that teaches SD rather than sport - if you are interested in combat sport, go for that instead, but note the limitations of whatever you choose. Much combat sport will give you a basis in SD as SD would help you study a combat sport, but there differences and you need to know what you are looking for - there is no magic bullet, as I am sure you are aware). The type of instruction is probably more important than the name of the art. Douieb once told us: we are mediocre boxers, mediocre wrestlers, mediocre blade users. But we box and kick better than wrestlers, and we wrestle better than boxers, etc. However, he and his senior instructors are looking a lot at BJJ at the moment and seeking to extract what they can and synthesis it with KM without compromising on pure SD. So we do not want to study 15 ways of choking someone out on the ground, but shrimping and other escapes are very very useful with a view to standing up and continuing the fight or escaping. Like you, KM seeks to evolve. Good luck with your training.
Having trained Yoshinkan for a while I'll weigh in. Aikido can be useful for SD but it has to be trained with a combativeness mindset. Many, and I would even say most clubs do not do this. Grabs are going to be mainly what you will find the aikido techniques useful for. Countering/stripping them is really handy whether you're a civilian or law enforcement worried about arrests and weapon retention. Striking is a bit of a problem. It is incredibly difficult to make many aikido techniques work against a non-committed attack which is why it's so difficult making any of these techniques work against someone trying to box you. There's also the problem of most aikido schools not training kick defense either thoroughly or at all. Ueshiba said that aikido is 90% striking which makes the joint locking complimentary and fairly low percentage. Offensively is actually where I have always found the techniques better suited. When you strike and your opponent covers you have a chance to grab an arm and wrench them to the ground. TLDR: many of the techniques are great for law enforcement but it's hard to make much of it work against modern striking. While I'm glad I know the techniques and they do and have come in handy in a law enforcement role most people will be better served by Judo. It fills many of the same roles but with competition, resisting training partners, and higher percentage techniques. I love wrestling too but living in a cold country covering clothing grabs is a necessity.
Kickboxing and wrestling are for thugs with no sense of technique or decorum. Boxing and judo are for all true martial artists and honorable fellows. It is known.
Hey thanks! Probably would do a fair bit of damage if you used one to whack someone or maybe if you dropped one of f a building onto someone or something, but I think you'd be better off in all cases with a cinder block or a bat.
