Does anyone here practice Aikido (hope I spelled it right)? If so how do you like it and do you spar?

Question

I would like to know if you like Aikido and if you spar against each other in training. Or is it the type of art that makes it hard to spar against someone for fear of injury? My cousin loves Steven Segal and I was wondering what kind of training he would be in for if he followed his heart and learned it.

Answer 1

You (and your cousin) ought to try having a go at Aikido.  It's widely available.  Many people posting in here talk the talk but don't walk the walk.

I do aikido and the complexity of it is a lot of the attraction.  

One person is designated at the attacker and the other the defender.  The focus is on teaching a variety of ways of defending yourself mostly against grabs of the wrist and strikes to the head (occasionally stabs to the stomach).  Aikido sometimes hits the attacker but only as a distraction to the main move.  You could call aikido a twisting Martial Art.  The attackers joints are twisted in a way so the end up on the ground.  Once an aikido move has been initiated it should be game over for the attacker.  The attacker can resist but they'll just gather injuries (usually over stretched ligaments).

As for sparing - after lots of training, and if the teacher thinks your good, they may say "choose any technique" to get out of a wrist grab (there are hundreds) or stabs to the stomach etc.

After years and years of aikido you may be asked to defend yourself against multiple attackers using any technique.  Then you'll be a tiny % of the way to being Segal.

Anyway... stop reading about it a go and do it!

Answer 2

Yes you do spar (kind of), it is called randori.  One person continually attacks the other person, the defender throws the attacker all over the place until the instructor tells you to change or stop.  Eventually you will have to defend against multiple attackers.  

Some forms are soft and some forms are brutal,...go with the brutal version!

Answer 3

Watch this clip and then see if you think it is fake:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=l6Y3WZuUtVo

Answer 4

Aikido is total bologna. its a farce. c**p like flowing chi is not real yet they pratice it in aikido. flowing chi looks so fake. it looks like all the students jump at their teacher pretending to attack him then he pretends to defend and they jump back like oww that hurt! no they dont spar either. im sure its good exercise but i wouldnt train in it.

EDIT: boy larry I watched that and that proves that it is fake thank you for posting that.

Answer 5

Yes, you spelled it right.  Oftentimes, Aikido is learned alongside Hapkido as they're very similar.  They lean towards understanding pressure points and joint locks, how they work and how they can be used against your opponents.

Like any other martial art, it takes YEARS to perfect the art.  It also involves a lot of judo-like throws, certain striking maneuvers and even weapons training.  Yes, you can spar in Aikido - you simply don't follow through on the limb-snapping moves or your sparring partner GOES with the move to avoid injury to his own body.