Is Aikido a good martial art for someone just getting in to martial arts? Is it good for fitness?

Question

Is Aikido a good martial art for someone just getting in to martial arts? Is it good for fitness?

Answer 1

No, it's unrealistic, has little sparring and most of the techniques have yet to work in a verifiable fight with resisting opponents.

The emphasis on fitness is rarely there and you're better off with Judo or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or wrestling; Sambo would be a great choice.

Answer 2

I think it's a good martial arts to start with, as long as you're not planning on getting into any fights any time soon

It does teach you the technical mechanics of pinning someone to the ground, thereby keeping them harmless without hurting them

the thing is, you're practicing the techniques against other aikido students, using traditional aikido attacks, so the punches etc. you'll be defending against aren't anything like a punch you'd really be faced with

My understanding is that the idea is not so much to develop external power, so much as internal ki power, and the ability to be in "harmony" (aiki) with your opponent; of course this apporach requires a much longer time in order to gain "fighting" proficiency than say, MMA or more physically focused approaches, so it comes down to what you're looking for

Answer 3

It's a great martial art for beginners.  Very traditional and respectful.  Lots of learning about balance, falling, rolling, joint locks.  Can be a very introspective art.

Lots of getting up and falling down, so it will increase your cardio, but I can't say it'll make you lose weight or be better than a gym work out.  The art can make you build up a sweat, but most warm ups are very relaxed and slow.

If you are looking for self defense - go take karate.  Aikido is more of a "theoretical principals" class.  The mat work is like a lab class, to 'try it out".  

As with any art, you get out of it what you put into it.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

look at seagal..the master of aikido..is he good at fitness?hahhahaa..how many pull ups,push up etc can he do??how many miles can he run??

Answer 5

aikido is an excellent martial art but it is a difficult art to master

it's very technical.

as for fitness it is not so physically demanding, so it will help some with your allround fitness but not a great deal