York Shodokan Aikido (UK)

[jcasford]

Aikido gets a lot of stick here - much of it well justified. However this is a style of Aikido that encourages training against a resisting opponent:5shocking .

The York club is a adults only club but mixes both degree students for the York St John university college and town members from the local area. I am told that this style forms the basis of the police retraining techniques taught in the UK and certianly there seems to be a high level of police involvement in this style across the country. Including several Law enforcement officers on the instructing team in York including the senior instructor. The techniques taught are largely sports based and practised against a partner that is actively resisting being thrown.

I have trained in several different aikido styles (and other arts) over the last 20 years (ki-aikido, aikikai and even played with Takeda Ryu and Kase Arasi Ryu people) but this is the first time I have felt real 'aliveness' in an Aikido dojo.

Having said that it is still aikido. There is limited work on effective striking (5 different hand attacks plus basic knife thrusts), no realistic ground work and very little weapons. Sparring is limited to a basic knife thrust starting position then Judo like vertical grappling with the use of the 5 strikes when grabbed.

I have seen prettier aikido but hardly ever aikido that is as affective. Worth a look if you are in the area.

[GoldenJonas]

Aliveness: 8?

While this is certainly interesting....

The second is the natural progression of randori keiko and is shiai, or competition bouts. In shiai, Tomiki Kenji devised a system based on the defence against a tanto (replica knife), since Aikido is heavily based in weapons work. The defending Aikidoka or Toshu (lit. empty handed) has one and a half minutes to defend against the opponent who is trying to strike their mid torso area with the tanto. They must attempt to apply Aikido techniques and are scored in a similar way to Judo in the fact that they gain points if they manage to break balance, apply an almost clean technique or are given a full score for a perfect technique. If the opponent manages to strike cleanly they also score a point. The tanto is then swapped over for the second half of the bout. Tomiki felt this type of training very beneficial for developing certain fundamental skills which he felt could not be learned by training with co-operative partners only (as in kata). He also saw it as the only way one could test ones skills fully, whilst retaining safety. Not all Aikidoka feel it is for them initially but often through the progressive stages of randori ho they may feel ready to try it as their Aikido skills develop.

It is not an 8. Please watch the videos here and edit your rating accordingly.

RATINGS: How Do Aliveness.....does your school look like this? - No BS Martial Arts

Grappling: 8?

You stated...

no realistic ground work...Judo like vertical grappling

Given your own statements, which one of the following more accurately represents the grappling taught here....

Grappling Instruction:

1-3: No grappling. Anti-grappling.
4-5: Limited single sub-range (standing, clinch, ground only).
6-7: Comprehensive grappling with success in local/regional competition or practical application (LEO, military).
8-9: Pressure-tested, full range grappling and proven success in limited restriction, top level competitions or high level self defense situations.
10: Superior excellence including A-level competitors/instructors

I would say it is a 4-5. Please edit your ratings accordingly.

Thanks
GJ

PS - Don't take it personally, I'm this hard on every body who posts a review here. We are trying to adhere to the rating standards as strictly as possible to provide people with a more objective overview of a school.

[jcasford]

Thanks for your advice GD.

I did look at these before I posted originally and while I probably did over rate the grappling, I still think the 'aliveness' is up there. Looking at the Judo bouts and the BJJ clip we do work that hard. Admittedly - not all the time, but sparring is part of every training session. The risk of injury is real in our training - I have walked out with a dislocated shoulder and elbow injuries that have put me out of training for up to 3 months and I am not the only one. Fortunately A&E is almost opposite the dojo. These techniques are also part of the UK police training and LEO instructors help keep it practical. Guess that makes it a 7

As for the grappling - yes I got this too high. Fair cop. In my defence I would say this is more than single sub range stuff as we work from striking range into close clinch. I would also point out that aikido is good at working body positioning for defence against multiple attackers and this is missing from most sports and one on one practise. Ok, Ok this is not grappling so I will drop to a 5 here.

Sound better?

More generally Tomiki broke from Ueshiba early in Aikido's history and what is taught is much closer to Kodokan Judo than 'traditional' aikido.

[GoldenJonas]

You train there, so if after looking at the reference videos you feel that your Aliveness rating is accurate, so be it.

You don't come across as a "School Zealot" so your explanation is sufficient.

Thanks for the review and your edits.

GJ

[mrgoshthereturn]

So an average of 5/10 then, not bad. Certainly worth checking out