why do people keep telling me to do something other than Aikido?

Hello everyone,

I am new here. I decided to do Aikido but people keep telling me that I should be thinking about doing another martial art because if I really want to learn self-defense Aikido is going to take longer while other types or martial art will help me learn self defense quickly.

I chose Aikido not only because of learning self defense but also because I like the philosophy behind it. I am a pacifist and I do oppose the idea of war, I do yoga and meditation and I believe that we should aspire to become one with the whole universe. I think that Aikido teaches that as well and that is why I want to do it, however I really want to know why some people "underestimate" it and if it is probably a better idea to do Aikido with another martial art?

 

People tell you to do other martial arts than aikido, because they are projecting their own preconceptions, needs, understandings and biases. They don't hear you asking "should I do aikido", they hear you asking "Why don't you do aikido?".

If you want to do aikido, and it is available to you, do it! Put yourself first, and other people's opinions second.

Most people do not actually know what aikido is, or understand that - for a relatively new martial art - it is extremely variable in how it is taught and expressed.

Others confuse techniques with principles. I agree that it would take a long while to get shihonage or yonkajo honed to be a viable self defence technique, but the principles of getting off line, tenkan when pushed and irimi when pulled are universal, effective and easy to pick up.

Oh, and some schools do teach truly awful aikido. But then again, that is not limited to aikido - there are truly awful schools of every martial art and the irony is that to the novice, there is no good way to tell if a school is good or bad; it only comes with experience.

I don't know that you should worry about starting another martial art at the same time as aikido - it will be hard enough getting one straight in your head as it is. But my personal experience in this may be clouding my judgement; I started aikido as my second martial art, concurrently with karate, so had already learned how to learn a martial art.

If aikido is available to you, do it. If it isn't, do another martial art - it doesn't matter too much which one.

 

MA training is for:

- combat,
- health,
- self-cultivation,
- inner peace.

Depending on your priority, you then pick the style that you want to train.

 

People will tell you a lot of things, and only some of them will be true. You sound like you really want to do aikido, it's a fine art. You should do it!

 

I did 5 years of Aikido. I thought mostly like you did, but I also expected Aikido to be a valid form of self-defense. Unfortunately, it simply is not. I'm not going to get into specifics but Aikido won't help you train for real life confrontations.

I'm not saying nobody trained exclusively in Aikido can't defend him/herself, it's only that it would've taken that person an unreasonable amount of time to get to that level. As long as you're aware of those limitations, it's perfectly fair that you practice Aikido.

Tell your friends that you're practicing Aikido for spiritual / cultural reasons, or to get fit, or because you have fun with it, and they'll surely understand. However, if you're claiming that Aikido is giving you all that and preparing you to defend yourself in a real fight, their reaction is perfectly normal; in fact they might be trying to protect you from harm. Aikido is not a fighting art.

 

One concern that I have about Aikido is if there is no tournament, how will you be able to "test" your skill?

Back in 1974, my friend Armando Flores visted my house one weekend. There was a Karate tournament in Austin, Texas that day. By using my sparring equipment, he and I and another MA friend of mine, we all went to compete in that Karate tournament. Armando is a good fighter. In his 1st round, he hit his opponent's face too hard and he was disqualified. A week later Armando was kicked out of his Aikido association. Armando told me that his Aikido association won't allow members to compete in tournament. After that he went to far east and spent many years in his Aikido training and became an Aikido Sensei. Even today, both Armando and I still believe in tournament "testing".

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHLKoou5s_4"]Sensei Armando Flores - Ohana Aikido - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlXcTSQ1A1Q"]Sensei Flores Aikido Demo - YouTube[/ame]

 

Hello 'kidvisions',

Don't listen to others - not even me - do what YOU want to do.

I've done a little bit of Aikido...
Aikido is fun...
Aikido will improve your health (if taught correctly).
Aikido can work fo self defence - it will depend on the style of Aikido (there are several different styles of Aikido) and perhaps more importantly on the interests of the instructor.

I teach Tai Chi - but I also teach the self-defence applications of Tai Chi... Why? Because I enjoy that aspect of Tai Chi as well as the health / fitness / meditative aspects...

So find a club that is run by a good instructor and is full of nice friendly and helpful people and you will have a great time - if you don't then go do something else

It's really simple

 

Like deciding any martial art-

DO IT FOR YOU

 

Stick with Aikido,if you enjoy it don't worry what others say.As far as its self defence ability it will depend on so many factors such as your own ability,your instructors ability,what style of Aikido your are being taught etc.
I have a brother who is a black belt in Aikido and he could kick my butt any day of the week, so don't be hung up on whether it is any good or not,just enjoy yourself.

 

Thank you all for your comments. One thing that concerns me is whether Aikido is efficient as a self defense martial art. I do not want to do a martial art only because of the spiritual moral, etc... aspect of it, I want it to be efficient in real life situations as well, because after all I can do meditation ad yoga for that (which I am actually doing).
The main reason why I liked Aikido is because I read that it was a self defense technique used to allow you to defend yourself trying to cause the least damage to the person attacking you... The fact that it is a whole set of defense techniques and spiritual teaching is what made me attracted to it. So if you tell me that I should do it because I "like it" or because of the spiritual side of it, I don't think that would work for me, I want to know people's experiences with it so that it helps me make my own decision.

 

In that case, my honest opinion is that you should check out some other martial arts before you decide to stick to Aikido.

If you're hoping to defend yourself causing the least possible damage, I would look into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, or other competition-tested grappling arts. These will teach you how to properly control a human body that is resisting. Aikido, as it is commonly taught, just won't give you the adequate set of skills. Also, I think it's a misconception that Aikido deals the least damage to the attacker. In theory it does, but in practice, if you manage to pull an Aikido projection technique on a real attacker, chances are he won't know how to breakfall and will end up breaking something (Ironically, the only time I've witnessed Aikido working in my life, it ended in someone being hurt badly).

 

Judo or wrestling might be a better option for you if you want to learn how to not hurt people/totally wreck them.

 

I think I am going to make a list of the things I want in a martial art and share them here with you and from your recommendations I will decide!

 

Personally, I'm not a fan of aikido as a self-defense system. When I briefly trained in it, and from the numerous Youtube videos posted here about it, it seems to have some pretty serious compliance/theatrics issues. I'm sure some schools are exceptions, but it's pretty hard to identify them as a beginner with no experience to base a wise decision on.

I second the statements made about using ground grappling arts if you want systems to do the least damage possible to an aggressor. And cardio training. Keep your cardio training up. It takes great technique, superior positioning, and strong cardio to hold someone down without damaging them until they decide they've had enough. Learn to refine each technique you study with less and less muscle strength each application.

 

Not saying that this is an end to video. Just that it's not that easy to grab someone who doesn't want to get grabbed and also punching you in the face (even if it is lightly).

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbya7nEL0MQ"]Muay Thai vs Aikido - YouTube[/ame]

 

... How can you even post such a vid? My god it is awfull and i'm not just talking about the "Aikido" the "Muay Thai" was terrible aswell.....

 

People tell you to do something else as others have said, because they have their own opinions, experiences, perceptions and preconceptions. I'd bet real money the vast majority of these people have never seen Aikido, trained in Aikido or have any real clue as to what Aikido is. And those that have seen it are YouTube warriors.

If you are enjoying your Aikido training then continue with that. There is no greater hell in life than forcing yourself to learn a martial art you hate. At the end of the day you'll turn out to be mediocre at best and a danger to yourself at worst.

Genuine self defence is more than just fighting back. Ideally you want to develop a degree of situational awareness that stops you getting into such trouble in the first place. And you don't need to study martial arts for that.

Philosophy is something teachers pass on to students. It very often has very little to do with the art it's self. Aikido is no more suited to a pacifist than Kendo, Judo or Kickboxing. No responsible teacher would tell you to go out and actively look for trouble.

With that said some Aikido clubs will really push the "Ki" agenda. You will learn nothing of value at such a club with respect to Aikido or Ki. Such clubs are for the tourists who have no intention of nursing the bruises, strains and sprains that come with martial arts practice. These clubs will tell you Aikido has no strikes. Atemi is a strike. It should connect. It should hurt.

Generally speaking one martial art is more than enough for any beginner. Get a few years experience under your belt first before branching out.

 

Did you wan to make any specific critique to show me that you know what you're talking about?

These guys aren't pros and the MT was taking it easy on the Aikidoka. And this wasn't a fight to the death. Not even medium sparring.

But let's see a video of you in action.