Ok, here's my problem: I haven't done sports for some time now and I wish to pick up a sport again. I always loved Judo but can't continue it for personal reasons (nothing to do with injuries). So I was looking for an alternative. Unfortunately, I don't like most sports. The only things I ever really enjoyed were basketball and Judo. But I'm pondering the idea of giving Aikido a try. The only problem is that it seems to lack what I loved most about Judo: the randori in which all techniques could be tried with full speed and force in a competitive setting where there would be a winner and a loser - which apparently goes against the very nature of Aikido (and the risk of injury seems to be higher for Aikido techniques if done with full speed/force by less experienced people). My second concern is that Aikido apparently does less for your personal fitness, i.e. strength and stamina - although it seems to have great general health effects as it puts a great emphasis on breathing etc. I'm interested in the meditative aspect of Aikido (which I missed in Judo) but I would really like a strong sport aspect as well. Unfortunately, there are not many Aikido schools around here that would be close enough, so I can't just look for the one school that does a lot of fitness training. Why am I still interested in Aikido despite these concerns: I can't think of a real alternative. I don't really like hard striking styles like Karate or TKD. I was thinking of Win Chun but that has been bashed in this forum quite a bit and I don't like the attitude of "we are the only real self-defense martial art, with us you gauge eyes and rip throats", which is how WC presents itself at least in Europe (not that I have anything against some self-defense usability!). Besides, I have always PERSONALLY favoured Japanese culture over Chinese (no offense intended). I am also thinking about BJJ because in Judo I loved the newaza part the most and it certainly includes some real practice fighting with a strong emphasis on bodily fitness. But BJJ seems to attract a certain kind of people - maybe that's a wrong prejudice, I don't really know - with more aggression who train in it to become proficient street warriors. So, I know that this doesn't contain a real question, and honestly, I don't really know what kind of answer I'm looking for. I would be grateful for some input though regarding my concerns. What do you think of Aikido as a sport and means to get in shape? Is the constant practicing of forms and pre-set movements against a non-resisting opponent boring or unfulfilling at some point? Maybe there's someone here who has done Judo and Aikido. Perhaps I'm only waiting for someone to push me over to just give Aikido a try Thanks for all input provided anyway!
There does seem to be a general consensus that a background in judo is especially usefull in taking up aikido.
Probably won't be popular but you could give ninjutsu a crack, the bujinken in particular has a degree of flow that isn't entirely unlike aikido's. Can't speak for the other kans, I don't have much experience with them. There's no big encouragement for resistance but in my experience if you ask your partner to be more awkward and stuff they'll be willing to go with it and you can ramp it up a little.
Yeah judo is pretty good for bujinkan! what about BJJ? essentially the same groundwork with a different rule set
Try a free first class in maybe 5 arts you're thinking about - Aikido, WC, BJJ, ... See what they're like for you. Maybe you'll like the BJJ guys or the WC lot won't be deluded, whatever, but then you'll have a point of reference. If then you love your nearby Aikido class but they're out of shape, I say it's a bad sign, but you might choose to do your running and weights outside of class time and in the end ticked the right boxes. MN
Also for what it's worth, the wing chun class I used to go to was very down to earth with a good humoured instructor, classes were quite informal and it was a lot of fun. Only real downside was the classes were a little expensive for someone who can't budget well lol. That was part of Midlands Wing Chun Kuen. Don't let the farty "we're number one!" attitude put you off, if you're interested jump in and see what it's about. I've been to a few "we're the best" classes but had a good time
Wrong. So wrong. Those people don't have the mentality or the motivational drive to actually involve themselves in something that would humble them and shatter their delusions of power so quickly. Best not to judge on assumptions, find a BJJ school and take a free class; if you say you liked ne-waza, physical conditioning, randori and a competitive atmosphere, that basically screams BJJ.
trying Aikido Dear sony, There are many ex judoka doing aikido.I studied Judo for 13 yrs ,Aikido over 40 years.At no time have I been bored.I do not know where you get the idea that Aikido does not include fitness.Try doing two hrs training with some guys can be tiring.By the way in most cases Aikido is not competitive except in Tomiki style. Good luck, Cheers, Joe.
Sony, Judo and Aikido work well together, look at the judo goshin jutsu kata, most of the techniques practiced are Aikido based, Kenji Tomiki was involved in the development of this kata. Many of the techniques of kodokan goshin jutsu on kata are within the Tomiki systems koryu no kata. I practice both judo and Aikido I found that as a young man the competitive training within Tomiki Aikido suited my personality down to the ground. Now at the age of 50 I still enjoy randori at club level, a good way of keeping fit. I also really enjoy the deeper understanding I have got from practicing the various kata. From a Judoka's point of view Tomiki Aikido works well at Kenji Tomiki took the structured educational principles of judo (kata) and applied the techniques of Aikido to these. Although many non Tomiki Aikidoka (mostly non Japanese) seem to slate us for the competitive side, this is only a small part of the system. In all styles of Aikido you can practice as hard or gentle as you like for fitness. I have met a few unfit fat judoka over the years as well.
Thank you all very much, I found all the input very helpful! I think I will just start with Aikido for half a year - after all, it's not marriage - and if I don't like it, I can still move on to BJJ then (or go back to Judo at some later point). Unfortunately, there is no Tomiki Aikido dojo in my town. My main problem was that I thought I would have to make ONE extremely well thought through decision - but I can just give it a try and if Aikido doesn't suit me it will still have given me an interesting experience. But I have looked up Bujinkan and it seems interesting. There's even a school here but it's a bit on the other side of town. I will keep that in mind though, should I stand before the same problem again. Although it's right that all I said "basically screams BJJ" and for one moment I thought that I should just do that, there is not a big variety of schools here. And they charge like hell (like 70 Euros a month ~ 100 USD). Compared to that Aikido is a bargain (40 Euros). But maybe I will change my mind after some time if I find Aikido not exhausting enough. So you guys have helped me to narrow the decision down a bit (with Bujinkan as another option should I run out of ideas). Thanks!
May I bother you with another question? I have found three Aikido dojos within good range. But I don't know much about different styles and traditions and heritages, so maybe you could throw in some insight on in what they might differ (more meditative approach or more physical etc). Two of the schools have trainers who studied with Tamura Nobuyoshi. The third school has a trainer who names varied people as his teachers. Among them are: Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, Toshiro Suga and - again - Tamura (so maybe no big difference there). Unfortunately, they don't give many hints on their homepages on what their training in the dojo is like. Is there anything I can watch out for in order to identify a good dojo that might suit my preferences (besides going to a free class in all three of them)?
Try them all ... You have nothing to lose .... Jujitsu , Aikido , all will fit in with your judo background Good luck Smurf
Means NOTHING who they say they have trained with, it only matters how they train and how you feel. They may have just attended a few seminars under these guys along with a few hundred other people and call themselves students of these teachers or they may have spent years living and training next to these teachers. Just get on the mat and feel it
