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inoelinux

Aikido

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From what I have heard from my friend, aikido, at least, traditional aikido, that is, focuses heavily on defense. My friend humorously told me there's practically no such thing as sparring in aikido 'coz they'd just end up crouching, each waiting for the other to move aggressively. From the few snippets he regales us with over lunch, I think one of the principles is that the nearer to earth you are, the better your "balance" or something...The main point, from what I gather, is not in counter-attack but just defense, that is, immobilizing your opponent and "parrying" his (or her) attacks :P

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I have training experience in aikido for about 2 years (not contiguous though)...From my point of view its difficult to categorize aikido into a particular KIND of martial art!It depends on various factors:i) Instructor- His skill, experience and how he himself percieves it to be. What other aspect besides pure physical training does the instructor delve into and so onii) Student- Your motivation to learn (as self-defence, to be aggressive, just for fun and so on)iii) Aikido is PERCEIVED as self defence art since usually attacks are not taught in aikidoSo far from my experience with two instructors, the aikdo movements are heavily derived from sword fighting movements.As such you mainly have cuts in sword fightin, no kicks and punches, rather if you were not skillfull you wouldnt survive beyond one cut.So how does sword fighting techniques help in aikido??The idea of gettng quick into motion, gaining momentum (and even blending your momentum with the opponents) is what is derived from swordtechniques and is appied here for defending/overpowering/throwing etc. the opponent. if you are in total balance and really know how to do atechnique, even a simple move can devastate your opponent!!!

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Yeah, I also though aikido had to do with swords. I remember this really really old game, I think it was in the nes, and the fighters had swords. Thats why I also thought aikido was a martial art with swords

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I've got several years training in Aikido. I trained with one of the founder's students who has actually trained with the founder's son, Ueshiba Kisshomaru, as well. The gentleman's name is Walter Von Krenner (Von Krenner Sensei) and you can see the Dojo website here. Aikido, in its original form, can't be used to start a fight, it can only be used to quickly end one. By using the attacker's own momentum and inertia the martial artist can create a vacuum where his attack is aimed and help his body follow the attack by gently guiding it along and to the ground. With some grappling moves one can encourage the attacker to roll over on to his stomach and become absolutely immersed in complete blinding pain which sometimes has the effect of removing his desire to continue his attack. The sword and other sticks are simply extensions of the arm and are used in training extensively. I know most people, me included, think he's not much of an actor, but Steven Sagal is actually a high level black belt in Aikido and if you really want to see the art in action, albeit highly scripted, just watch one of his many movies. The Aikido black belt can be highly persuasive against an attacker and it's a real pleasure to watch the fluid movements of the pro. It's like art in motion and looks completely effortless watching it, but I assure you, many years of training go into it. On a side note, Aikido is one of those things that doesn't rely upon the size of the individual practicing. The slightest woman can overwhelm an attacker as long as she's well trained, no matter how big the attacker is. The original master was a small Japanese man of slight build and modest presence, Morihei Ueshiba, who could send the most monstrous attacker flying in the air without so much as the slightest movement. It's truly the art of the lazy person who really doesn't want to fight, but wishes to be able to disable or terminate the attacker with minimal contact and effort. Yes. An attacker can face his own death at the hands of the black belt in Aikido. We're trained how to kill, and how to disable, and we're mentally prepared to do either as a situation calls.

Edited by Watermonkey (see edit history)

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I actually write for my campus newspaper, and I wrote an article on Aikido. I interviewed and instructor and a black belt student. This is the basic way I can put it: It's not fighting back, it's being aware of your body and space and how you move. When a move is done right, you shouldn't feel anything(but the person you just flipped on the ground might). It's amazing, and you can really only understand it if you do it or see it done. Here's my article that does a pretty good job of explaining it:The Aikido Club ?is designed to promote and explore the opportunities to blend and redirect aggressive or violent energy; we embrace all elements of martial styles, but would like to discover the most effective and least destructive strategies for dealing with attacks, both physical and non-physical,? according to the club website, http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ is not simply self-defense; it is about dealing with your energy in a positive way. ?Aikido changes your awareness and response to control a situation with minimal force,? said Dale Bergeron, assistant professor and extension educator at UMD and chief instructor of Aikido.A lot of people think of self-defense as fighting back, and possibly hurting the other person to take them down and get away, but Aikido allows you to protect yourself without hurting anybody.?It is a low-impact martial art with a high degree of self-protection and self-awareness,? Bergeron said. ?If everything goes perfectly, you won't feel anything.? Bergeron said that when you are pushed, it is natural to push back, but with Aikido, you have to allow yourself to ?fall? first and have patience. ?Taking a step to walk is falling,? he said. ?In order to move, you have to fall. Aikido teaches you how to fall, and how to protect yourself?it teaches you to turn the other cheek without getting slapped.? Bergeron said that there are three main things to learn in order to make Aikido work. The first is vector physics?knowing which direction energy is traveling, and understanding the angles of your body. The second is biomechanics?knowing that your body can only move in certain ways. It's about finding ways your body moves successfully, because understanding what caused a successful action to work allows it to happen again. And the third is self-control?true victory is over yourself, and we learn to modify ourselves to fit the world instead of modifying the world to suit us. Aikido is unlike any other martial art. It is a combination of many martial arts, with the goal of developing self-improvement, ?It's the only physical fighting where you train for a peaceful outcome,? said Ryan Welles, a masters student a UMD and black belt in Aikido. ?I started Aikido when I was 17 and did it for a year or two, but then I switched to full-contact fighting because I didn't feel like I was doing anything to anyone, but I got back into Aikido because I realized it's not just fighting, but it's understanding yourself and the nature of conflict.?Since joining the Aikido club, Welles said that he has seen the skills reverberate through the rest of his life. ?I guarantee that anyone who learns Aikido will have a greater understanding in football, tennis, writing, singing, or anything else in the world,? said Bergeron. ?When you go on to professional careers and use the principles learned, they will help you to see new opportunities and position yourself to obtain them.?

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Hello!I am a 53 year old American who has practiced aikido in Moscow, Russia for 7 years at Koinobori Dojo, and I highly recommend it (both the art and the dojo). I currently have a 1st degree dan black belt ranking from AIKIKAI Hombu Dojo, Aikido World Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan. I have taken the past year off because of major knee problems (old torn anterior cruciate ligament), but hope to resume practice soon. If you are interested in aikido in general, I recommend the web site of Aikido Journal (http://blog.aikidojournal.com/), and in Russia I recommend my dojo's web site (http://www.koinobori.ru/). Much of the site has been translated from Russian in English by me or someone else. Koinobori is headed by Marina Karpova, 5th degree black belt, the highest ranking woman aikidoka in Russia (I believe), and one of the highest ranking in Russia of either sex. In the US I have had very good experiences at John Messores' dojo near Tampa, FL (http://theaikidodojo.com/). Messores sensei is a 6th degree black belt and one of the main students of Shihan Mitsugi Saotome, one of the students of the Founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba.The Aikido Journal site recently posted a fun clip of Steven Seagal on Merv Griffin from many years ago. Go tot that site and scroll down until you find it. If you have to register, do so.Best regards,Douglas

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Hey, I'm 15, and I am thinking of starting a martial art, so I chose Aikido. I know that it is a grappling based fighting style and is very defensive rather than offensive. But before I start looking for an instructor, is there any advice or suggestions before I start?I'm very interested in starting Aikido, it sounds exactly what I want, not to attack, but just defend myself ;)

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:lol: Hey guys,...
I just wan to share about aikido, hmmm i have training aikido for a 9 month and maybe you can give me another way to have some aikido movevent
thanks


Well, you learn it through experience... if you want to be good, you have train often at least 2 times a week preferrably 3x or more. My dojo did an extra session with weapons (Jo staff and Bokken wooden sword), that helps a lot to for your posture.

If at a point you have practiced a lot but you seem stuck, try to read a book on Aikido philosophy. The founder has nice poems and there's a guy... I think calles John(?) Stevens or something like that who wrote a pretty good book on the subject.

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