Aikido/judo

[Manny]

Please don't delete this post or move it from here, my post is about Judo and Aikido and I think this is the right place to start a friendly tread instead to be related to aikido forum or judo forum.

I'm a striker/kicker for many years I've been a TKDoing and want to ad some new knowledge to my person practicing another martial art and came across two non striking martial arts, the judo and the aikido but I must confess I am not a conoceur about this two japanese martial arts but I have had certain aproach to them, however I want people who practices this martial arts to help me to take a desicion in which one to take.

Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. From my point of view Judo is martial art that descends from Jujutsu, it's not so agresive and has deleted some harsh techs to make it more userfriendly and safe to the practicioner, judo is an exelent exercise and cultivates mind, sould and body. Judo specialices on trowing and some ground work trough submisions, locks? pins?. Judo can be very phisical and specilizes in seaking for the ippon, so basically is atrowing martial art.

Aikido is also a softhened version of jujutsu, not so physical, in aikido is no competition and aikido centralize in redirectioning the flow of the energy of the oponent using locks,levers,pins, joint work,etc.etc.

I am trying to figure out which one is best for me, a 45 years old man who wants to learn something new and who wants toget involved in something diferent from TKD.

What are the substancial and the minor diferences beetwen judo and aikido?

Manny

 

[K-man]

If you look first at Judo. When it was first devised Kano took bits and pieces from everything he could find to build on his jujutsu base. He incorporated many of those techniques into his new art. Basically in the beginning it was jujutsu. In one way you could consider what Kano developed was the first attempt at MMA. Over time, because he took it into the schools and it became a sport, the striking and kicking has all but disappeared.

Aikido is the same. It came from Daito Ryu which is similar in many ways to jujutsu but it also contained sword and spear. Hence aikido used the jo and the bokken and the principles of sword. In the early days aikido too had all the kicks and strikes. Now, these are rarely taught but a top teacher would normally include the strikes.

At 45 you would have no problem with either art. It depends on the direction you wish to travel. At 58, I took the aikido path because I could see the things that aikido and karate had in common and it helped me better understand my karate. My aikido teacher still demonstrates the strikes so it makes for a more effective system. We do all the takedowns but we spend virtually no time grappling on the ground.

If you look at some of the top Okinawan karate guys, the also have black belts in judo, so judo is also an excellent choice to complement your training.

To be honest, I think the choice comes down to the quality of the instruction. Go to a few schools and watch. Watch what the students can do, not just the instructor. Then perhaps try a little hands on. I got into trouble on another thread for suggesting you ask the aikido guys to try and move you when you resist. It is only in a quality school that they will be able to do that to you, particularly with your skill base.

Good luck. Either way will be a great new experience.

 

[ballen0351]

Ive done them both but not for long I did a few months of Aikido before the school closed. I recently found a 7th dan Judo instructor with over 50 years of Judo and Jujusitu training. I personally like the Judo classes better but they may be because the aikido teacher had some health problems and wasnt able to show many of the moves he couldnt take falls and if he did go out the ground he would need help getting back up.
Also I think I like Judo better because its new to me so Im still in that honeymoon phase.
I would second K-mans recomendation find which schools are close to you try them both out and pick the one you like better. You cant go wrong with either one.

 

[Dwi Chugi]

I agree with the above two answers, visit schools and look at the students. I have a 5th Dan in Taekwondo and a 4 th Dan in Hapkido. Hapkido is very similar to both Aikido and Judo with some of its theory. The art was founded from the same Aiki-jujitsu school that Aikido was founded from and the founders first student was a black belt in judo so you can see both arts in a good Hapkido school.

I just started formal Judo classes two months ago and BJJ a year ago.

Thus far, I have not found an art I do not like. I think it's great you are expanding your horizons. Good luck.

 

[2003karateka]

Hi, I know it's a bit late now,but I'm thinking of doing cross training in the future, so my question is should I choose judo or aikido for cross training? I already have any years of training in karate.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Hi, I know it's a bit late now,but I'm thinking of doing cross training in the future, so my question is should I choose judo or aikido for cross training? I already have any years of training in karate.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks

I'll pick this up with you here. For future reference, it's usually preferred to start a new thread, instead of resurrecting one that is several years old. It avoids confusion (people end up replying to earlier parts of the thread, not noticing the age).

What is the purpose of your cross-training? Judo and Aikido share some principles, but can be very different arts. There are some styles of Aikido (and some Aikido arts not derived from Ueshiba's art) that are closer to Judo in some ways. Best to start by looking to see what's close enough to be convenient. Once you have some potential schools/programs to consider, we can give you better suggestions on what you might expect.

As a general note, most Judo schools will be focused on training toward Judo competition. This was true back when I trained Judo in the 1980's, and seems even truer today. That's neither a good nor a bad thing, except where it meets/fails to meet your needs. What it means is that most won't teach strikes, nor spend much time (if any) on the self-defense oriented segment of the art (goshin waza?). They will practice with a lot of resistance, which will develop good throws, good body control, and good takedown defense.

Depending upon the style/art of Aikido you look at, some will have virtually no strikes. This is less of an issue, given your Karate background, but it can lead to weak attacks (since many students won't have that background). Some will over-emphasize (in my opinion) the flow and soft nature of an "aiki" art. This is fine if someone has a background in both striking and grappling (many early Aikido practitioners had Judo background already), but leads to poor fundamentals if you lack either of those. The range of what's available under the "Aikido" umbrella is pretty wide - you can get schools that strike a lot (Yoshinkan Aikido, many Nihon Goshin Aikido schools, probably Tomiki/Shotokan Aikido) and may even be more Judo-like in some ways, or you can get some that are not really focused on physical execution - physical technique being a path to studying "ki" (Shin-shin-toitsu Aikido).

Tell us what's in your area, as well as your purposes in cross-training, and we'll give you some feedback on what to look for.

In the end, it's going to come down to what you enjoy. You'll want to visit the schools near you and observe a couple of classes, maybe take a class or two if they offer any kind of free trial or per-class payment. But we'll be happy to help you figure out what you might expect at some of them.

 

[2003karateka]

To gpseymour:
Well, the intention of my cross training is to complement my karate and and be an all rounder (in terms of grappling,throws, joint locks)

 

[Gerry Seymour]

To gpseymour:
Well, the intention of my cross training is to complement my karate and and be an all rounder (in terms of grappling,throws, joint locks)

If you're looking for a more natural fit, most Karate benefits from grappling that fills the in-close gaps. Judo and the more Judo-influenced types of Aikido will be better suited to that. The advantage of the Aikido styles that fit this, is they also have strikes, so are better at integrating your striking into what they do.

What schools are in your area?

 

[JP3]

Hi, I know it's a bit late now,but I'm thinking of doing cross training in the future, so my question is should I choose judo or aikido for cross training? I already have any years of training in karate.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks

I'd recommend starting with Judo. It'll be enough of a paradigm-shift from the striking stuff you've done in Karate to fry your brain a bit, in a fun way, and still be unsubtle enough that you won't find it boring and nonsensical. Do Judo for a couple-few years, then slide into Aikido as you get older. Then, imo you'll have a very complete system striking/grappling/and low energy input-output for big finishes.