I Respect Aikido But I Could Never Do It Because....

First off, I think aikido is the most unique martial art their is! I mean, the whole non violent approach to fighting is just phenomenal! Blending into your opponent's attacks and using their force against them is just pure ingenius!

Instead of going toe to toe with someone, you basically guide the opponent away from your body and to the ground. In aikido, the people don't wish to hurt the opponent but the potential is there if need be. I wish I could take up aikido and I would except for one reason. It takes longer to become effective then the average striking arts. A guy taking a striking art probably could handle himself better taking his art for six months and getting into a fight then an aikido student because aikido is a more complicated art.

I'm not saying I don't have the patience or that i'm lazy, but I work nights in new york and it takes me an hour to get to work traveling on the bus and then the train. My supervisor on the night shift has been mugged two weeks ago and he defended himself against attack quite well, and this was after he gave them his wallet, they still wanted trouble and he was forced to fight!

He refuses to tell me his style he practices. But anyway, i'm a huble, meek down to earth person and I know aikido would fit my personality very well, but because of my situation of travelling the streets at night so I can pay my bills, I need something that's gonna help me defend myself in the minimum amount of time possible! My only question is, can aikido be effective after just two months of training four nights a week? I know it depends on the teacher and how fast some one learns but i'm just speaking generally, how long would it take in general to be able to handle yourself in aikido? I'm not trying to say i'm gonna get mugged with in a few months but what happened to my supervisor really bugged me. Any suggestions?

 

If you're most interested in becoming a better fighter, study muay thai, brazilian jiu jitsu, both, vale tudo or join a mma gym. In other words train at a school where you practice fighting hard (this applies to any martial art, karate, kung fu, judo, etc.).

Aikido will be beneficial over time, but, unless you train at a place that does full-resistance person-to-person randori, it's going to be very difficult to be able to fight with it in a self-defense situation without investing years in the practice.

I personally don't think aikido is meant to be studied to be a better fighter. I think one chooses to train in aikido in order to find better options other than fighting (my passive-aggressive comment for the day). Personally, I would like aikido in general to emphasize more of the martial in martial arts, but that's one reason I have and continue to train in other things as well.

 

wow, these are fast responses. You know what, forget it, i'm going where my heart is! I'm doing aikido!!!!! (Turns back to the forum as the glowing japanese characters for aikido appears on the back of my bath robe!)

 

Good for you. I think that the heart is sometimes a lot more important than the head when it comes to what you want to do.

 

Yep follow your heart not your head....unless your heart tells you to walk off a cliff

 

as your name implies you should train on hard hitting art then flight.
but the question is what are the situation you fear? how many muggers? what the environment where you pass look like? what kind of streets you pass by?
if your cornered after hitting 1 of your mugger and killing him by putting his nose to his head, what happens? fight or flight? if your at the wrong place at the that time you can never decide but fight. if you know that his going to stab you even you gave him all your hard earned money you got to fight. then think of aikido! plus learn hard atemi!

 

Seems that you know the basics already

Pay attention to what's being taught to you and you wont know it all but you'll be combat effective in under a month. First and foremost TRUST in Aikido, TRUST in your Aikido training.

Yes. Yes you are! Sorry bloke, but you are looking for a quick fix to a larger problem. I hope you don't fall into a Mcdojo that has you in a black belt in 12 months. You need to go to a real Dojo and see some serious students.

You should never be forced to fight. The decision should be yours and you should be able to keep control of the situation. This is the true definition of an experienced Martial Artist. Self awareness and an awareness of situations that you put yourself in.

again there's no quick fix! but you will learn "something" in Aikido that'll help you in a month.

Yes! but there is no quick fix! That said again, you could be shown, "Hari Goshi" and practise it all afternoon and anyone that ever throws a punch at you would end up on their back!

It'll take you years to beat up Steven Seagal!

 

The way I see it, you should take up a striking art, AND do Aikido,

The striking art will give you a realistic defence and then Aikido can be your long term self devellopment.

 

Go aikido and tell the sensei you want to learn some strikes, (s)he'll probably give you a few ideas, or at least know who's who and where there is a good place is to go in your area.
For me the same dojo does aikido, wing tsun, wado ryu karate, jui jitsu and ninpo all with good instructors, in it for the love not the money. I'm a very lucky boy. A lot of places do more than one art, and more likely than not, the aikido sensei has studied some forms of other arts at some point in their life so will know some strikes.
The sensei will have been through the same experiences as you at some point, they are just slightly further along that journey than you right now.

 

I think Strafio has the right idea-- you could find a striking art like Krav maga, boxing, or Muay Thai that would allow you to feel more confidant in your ability to defend yourself as you make progress learning aikido.

Cross training will never hurt you.

 

I have to agree with aikimac on this cross training thing. Begginers should get some sort of foundation in one art before takeing up another.

In the case of Aikido I always recommend that people who wish to cross train should take up the other arts they are interested in before learning Aikido. This makes sense on two fronts.

The basics of most other arts can be picked up relativley quickly in comparison to Aikido basics. So if self defence is your main reason for taking up martial arts and you do not beleive Aikido can offer this on it's own in a short space of time you can put your mind at ease.

The graceful flowing movement of Aikido will compliment almost any other martial art. I personaly think moving from Aikido to a harder striking art would only serve to undo that element of Aikido training. I think if you wish to cross train and include Aikido in that training it makes sense to learn the hard stuff first and then refine it with Aikido movement.

 

Your heart may be in it. Try it out and if your heart is in akido then you will be a good akido artist (better than a bad (insert ma) artist). After like 6 months find a art that compliments akido and fits you.

 

IT'S Aikido!!! You spell it wrong in all your references to it!!!

And relax

 

Also a lot of it is pain compliance. With adrenaline as a factor a lot of the pain compliance will not work. It takes about a year to become street effective, and that's a year I don't have.

 

Depends on where you train. I'm of the opinion that the pain compliance should not be counted on at all. Rather, it's much more important to understand distance, timing, connection, leverage and off-balancing (like pretty much every other combative art).

 

also, i have always been taught to establish control before going for a "pain-compliance" lock

 

I Took 14 Styles Im A Soke ( Grandmaster-founder Of Asystem) Mystyle Is Called (shinobi-jutsu) And It Has Everything I Know In It And Everything You Could Imagine Even Aikido Just Try To Learn As Much As You Can Everything Helps Everything Ive Took Had Its Own Ups And Downs Try To ;find A Style That Has Striking And Jointlocks And Grappling In It I Know Its Rare Or Do At Separate Times In New York It Shouldent Be Hard To Find If You Cant Ill Send You And Record You Tapes Ofl My Style From White Belt If You R Interested Here Are The Styes I Have In The Style
( Karate Tae Kwon Do Judo Jui Jitsu Denju Aikido Hapkido Jishinryu Ukemi Jitsu Tigerclaw Kung Fu Iron Palm
Boxing Jeet Kun Do Brazilian Jui Jitsu The Style Can Take Someone From 5 To 15 Years To Learn Thats How Much I Have In It ) Just Try To Learn As Much As You Can Believe Me I Do It All Yeah It Took Me A While But I Did It Im Young To But Theres Nothing Wrong With Aikido