Is aikido a really good art, because I saw a feel close combat trainers recommend not doing it.?

Question

Hey.

I have a question on aikido.

You see, I thought of going onto it later, because I want to do karate first, but there was close combat trainers who tought me that it is not good for self defense and only for discipline.

Because the art is develope for sport and not for hitting and striking that make it not so good.

He also said that you cant focus on making peace with your opponent and not want to strike the h**l out of him like in aikido's problem thats only ment to calm down.

He said he did aikido and is one of the top close combat self defense trainers.

These really putted me off of doing aikido later.

And please if you can, tell me how karate worked for you and if you know fushin ryu karate.

I hear it is a new style of New Zealand and deal with grappling as well.

Maybe I agree with him, because aikido mainly deal with throwing, but what happens next?"

was his question also.

So, please answer it.

Answer 1

Throws and defensive moves are a large part of Aikido, but not all of it.  If you can get your friend to go up to an experienced aikido practitioner and tell him what he told you I want to be there to watch.

The newer styles of combat self defence, like Krav Maga and KFM, and even most karate and kempo styles, teach simple but effective bashing techniques, and you do them till its a reflex.  There is nothing wrong with that at all.  All four styles I mentioned are perfectly suited for self defense from one or more attackers.

Aikido, and arts like Tai Chi, are just as effective but usually take longer to make useable because they require the understanding and ability to manipulate ones center of gravity and balance.  

Also, a "do" like aikido or judo is a sport.  A "jitzu" is taught for self defense, not points.  The techniques are the same, but the intent is different.  Maybe a aikijitzu class would be more for you.  

To answer your question: As you throw the guy, hit him three of four times.

Answer 2

Akido is a great martial arts, it's a grappling art that never matches force against force. In Akido instead of using strength to takedown your opponent you use there own body against them. Aside from doing throws akido also uses a wide array of joint-locks to manipulate your opponents body.

Answer 3

Aikido can be extremely effective in close-quarters, but it's primarily a defensive art. People who learn Aikido don't generally want to *start* fights, they want to be able to defend themselves when necessary.

JuJitsu is the parent art of both Aikido and Judo, so several techniques are common to each of these martial arts. Judo is the only one of these that was ever conceived as a "sport". Jigoro Kano took techniques from JuJitsu that would be considered "less dangerous" and created Judo from that.

JuJitsu was originally conceived for the high ranking samurai class of warriors who needed efficient and effective self defense techniques on the battlefield. If a Samurai lost his sword, he needed to be able to defend himself until he was able to retrieve it.

Aikido came primarily from Daito-ryu Aiki-JuJitsu and sword techniques (Kenjutsu or Kendo) and was never intended to be a sport. The only style of Aikido which competes in tournaments is Tomiki-ryu, which I (and many others) feel kind of goes against the true purpose of the art.

Many Aikido techniques are used to control the aggressor to make him comply (like what the police do when they need to take a suspect into custody), or to use the opponent's momentum and direction to *your* advantage. Get him off balance and it will take very little strength or effort to throw him or to keep him away from you.

Answer 4

If you want to win a fight that is already started, Aikido isn't for you.

If you would rather prevent a fight from starting in the first place, Aikido might be what you are looking for.

The methods used to accomplish this are not always (in fact rarely) martial - they are social...

Don't let the other person(s) get angry or defensive and the fight never happens.

I don't know of any other art that takes the idea of 'no attack, only defense' to that level.

Perhaps is not a good thing to try to do so, but on the other hand, in my experience, its worked quite well - I've broken up a number of fights and have prevented a many potentials with small things like an apology or the purchase of a drink special - that how things mostly go down.

You can go ahead and say 'but you don't know how its like in a bad neighborhood...'.  To that I say 'the way to avoid the conflict is to move out.'  Then you say 'but I can't move.'  But to say so means you aren't really interested in avoiding conflict - you just want to justify it.

Your choice and whatever happens is on you.  Decide what you want to do.  You might think things are not that easy but consider this:  if you are on Yahoo! answers speaking English, chances are you don't know what you are talking about and actually have options.  If you CHOOSE not to take advantage of them, who's fault is it really?  Yeah it may cost money, but what's more important?  I decent living situation or  a new set of woofers in the trunk of a $hit-mobile?

I see this day in and day out and the pattern I elude to is real.

You are not in East Timor.  You are not living in Bagdad.  You are not a Bosnian Serb, you aren't a Marine (US or Royal) dropped into Somalia, You are not a popey farmer on the boarder of Afghanistan and Pakistan etc.,... Let's try to have some perspective shall we?

Aikido as a discipline may not be useful in Bagdad...  but hello? you aren't in Bagdad no matter how much you want to claim stuff is as hard as you would like it to be.  You aren't winning macho points from anyone except other machos that are talking tough.

Choose to 'win' before it happens or choose to be the big man on campus and kick some pre-justified *** after its already started.  Up to you.

Answer 5

aikido is a great martial art, but it is a very difficult art to master.

The bashing of aikido is usually done by people that tried but failed to hang in there.

effective mastering of aikido usually takes many years, which makes that only 5% of all people that start with it, ever make it to a first dan level.

of course a lot of the effectiveness of any martial art has a lot to do with how realisticly you train.  if you are stuck with a teacher that just sticks to fixed forms and programs there is little hope of you ever learning effective self defense, but if you have a good teacher that won't be the case.

as to close combat trainers.  a few years back we had a training session with a few close combat instructors from the army.  they tried being a hard a s s  on us just to see where they would get.  they soon found out that aikido is not something to mess with...

Answer 6

It can be a very effective art. Your trainer unfortunately has misinformed you. Maybe not on purpose, but because of their limited knowledge. It is considered by many as a grappling art. It may even have some of the same techniques of Judo and Jujitsu. But it is not completely about throwing. Like someone said before me it uses joint locks or manipulations. It is an art the exercises control of your opponent. But not necessarily with force. Yes, it also teaches weapons and how o defend and capture a weapon when you are unarmed. It is true that it is unlikely that someone today will attack you with a sword, but it can and does happen, just not often. But you can use those same techniques to disarm someone with a knife or stick or some other blunt object.

I would recommend that you not take the opinion of that trainer or my opinion, but you should check it out for yourself. Who knows what you will learn.

I will admit I'm not a master of knowledge in this art. But I have learned some great techniques from it. I'm looking forward to learning more.

I wish I knew more Aikido when I was still competing in Judo.  It has helped me along with my jujitsu training when breaking up fights in the school district where I work. I can easily control several people without injuring them and being sued or arrested. If I desired to injure that would be possible too.

Answer 7

If you meditate a lot, develop lightning fast reflexes as a result, and in addition you also do Aikido, the martial art will work, but as a technical martial art, just the moves on their own, without the meditation the martial art simply won't work.  As a general rule, the great majority of martial arts are all designed to be simple, so you don't need a more highly developed level of focus to use them effectively.  If you are athletic, this is even more true.

Meditation will enhance anything you do, be it martial arts, be it school, or even video games.  At the highest levels, it will outright affect your reaction time.  At the lowest, you will just see slight improvements with whatever you do for a hobby (such as yours truly) but not much.  Now, here's the thing; Aikido is a martial art that only works when attacks from long range.  The only people who will attack from long range, are brutes who don't know what they're doing.

Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, deliberately designed the techniques to be inefective against other martial artists, with the assumption that if you are the type of person who gives others cause for revenge, you should not be studying martial arts in the first place.  A peaceful person, will most likely encounter a brainless brute who will do a "charge" type attack, be it a "charge" type kick, punch, and of course a tackle, all of which Aikido will easily neutralize.  However, within the "kill zone," the area within your personal space, against grappling arts, or against arts that have close range strikes that are unblockable such as Wing Chun Kung Fu, Aikido will not work.  Once again; if a brute is the type of person who comes after you, Aikido will work.  If someone well versed in martial arts comes after you it means you are a person who is so evil, mean and nasty that you motivated the victim of your bullying to study martial arts in deph.  Hence the reason, why Aikido is technically inefective against other martial arts, especially against martial artists who know what they are doing.  Technically infective, that is, the mechanics, all on their own, of the moves, just won't work against a well-trained martial artist.  However....

If the Aikidoka, in accordance to O'Sensei's instructions, spends more time at the Zen temple, than on the Aikido mat, then he will get more out of Aikido than someone who simply studies the techniques meaning, combined with meditation, after 10 years of learning how to focus at a Zen temple, Aikido is almost invincible.  The power of Aikido ultimately lies, therefore, not in its techniques, but in a strong and well-disciplined mind.

Other martial arts do not necessarily need a strong mind, only a strong, athletic body, Aikido on the other hand, is completely and entirely dependent on a strong mind for it to work both against ignorant brutes, and well trained martial artists.  This focus on spirituality, makes it so that only the best of people will be interested in studying it, not people seeking to hurt others.  Indeed, countless men and young men who are bullies in the martial art they choose to study in instead of Aikido, tend to be put off by it.  O'Sensei it seems, was far wiser than what most martial art circles give him credit for.

Again; Aikido's techniques, are deliberately inefective.  You only study Aikido, after you have had a foundation in Judo or BJJ.  As a complimentary martial art, protection against long range attacks, combined with Judo or BJJ boy, you're set.  Throw meditation into the mix which disciplines the mind, and increases focus, and with it reaction time, and what more could ask for?

Combat trainers are correct in not recomending it; from a strictly technical, mechanical standpoint, it sucks.  Even Tai Chi Chuan is more effective, at any range.  In fact, attacking a Tai Chi expert from long range, they will throw you much in the same way an Aikidoka would.  The long range attack defenses in Tai Chi and Aikido are very similar indeed.

If you are interested in something quick, easy to learn, that you can use almost right away, I'd go with Judo.  Grappling is a natural instinct to the human body and Judo is simple.  In fact, its effectiveness has been proven time and again against catch wrestling.  The two grappling styles have roughly an even win reccord, thing is, most catch wrestlers tend to be much stronger than the majority of Judoka.  First of all, second; many Judoka have big egos, most of the non-Japanese ones anyway.  They think that just because their grappling style is from a "far away land" that its exotic and all mysterious like, and they get overconfident against a catch wrestler, not realizing that the moves are similar and who wins and who doesn't boils down to how many times either one has been slammed on their respective mats, not so much the grappling style.

Judo, will always have the better win record, because in Japan it is damned well near sacred, whereas catch isn't taken nearly so seriously here in the states or elsewhere in the west.  Although, all things considered; techniques, mechanical efficient use of strength, etc, the two grappling style martial arts are roughly equal, so it could really go either way.  If you are still in high school just join your wrestling team, there you will pick up a few moves.  If you are out of high school take up Judo or BJJ, whatever is available.

I reccomend grappling because grappling is a natural instinct to all primates, humans included, so any grappling martial art, all people learn it much faster than unnatural, striking arts.

Hope this helped.  Oh yeah; Aikido is not strictly a throwing art, it is more a method of ascetic meditation that happens to use throws to teach its students to learn how to focus.

Answer 8

So sorry please, but the individual who advised you does not appear to be very knowledgable about aikido nor martial arts in general.

Aikido is one of the most effective martial arts for self defense, for subduing an aggressor without having to break him or her into pieces as well as being a strict disciplined art which a definite spiritual aspect.

This one has studied martial arts for more than 43 years beginnig with judo, moving to boxing and then to tae kwon do (tang so do and chang pyo).  From there, this one also studied various forms of kung fu, including Northern Style Seven Stars Praying Mantis, Hong Family Style, Sil Lum Choy La Fut, Hung Gar, Wing Chun and Hsing Hi.  During the early 1970s, this one fought professionally in full contact karate (immediately after Jhoon Rhee developed the safety Kicks and Chops), has worked as a body guard as well as having taught the arts and associated skills.

One of my teachers once made a comment that if he had the opportunity to repeat his studies that he had undertaken during his youth in Singapore, instead of Manits, he would have chosen to study aikido.  Mantis is literally a very deadly art and highly effective.  At the time this was said to me, I was more than a bit stunned.

Now many years later, this one finally has the opportunity to study aikido and now realise that which this one missed.

Rather than listen to your current advisor, why don't you do some research in aikdo, into the life of O'Sensei Morehei Ueshiba and, if possible, take a class as most instructors will allow an individual to take and introductory class for free.

This one would also recommend that you read the writings of Matsugi Saotome, one of O'Sensei's students.

There is no "sport" aspect in aikido.  Hitting and striking are a part of aikido training as well as the use of the sword, bokken, and ju.  IN aikido, one alaso learns to pin or hold an opponent and should one desire or need to do so, with aikdo, one could literally dismantle another person but, with aikido techiniques, there is never need to do so.

This one hopes that you learn the truth as currently, what you have been told by your advisor is not true.

Be well.