I said I wouldn't knock Aikido until I tried it. Well, I tried it.

[GettingLessFat]

Background: I've been doing JJJ for seven months, a yellow belt with 2 stripes (don't worry, it's really cheap and all stripes and promotions are free).

Monday I took an Aikido class. I'm glad to have gone, if for nothing else than to confirm what I've heard here about it.

The fighting stance, of course has the hands very low, in front of the gut, with the hands open and fingers relaxed.

After a fine warm up, our first technique was naturally a wrist grab defense. If their left hand grabs your left arm, just slide in front of them, while lifting your left hand and grabbing their right elbow with your right hand to put them in an arm lock.

So dude and I are doing the technique when I, in the course of taking the technique, step in front of his leg, blocking his hips and taking a ton of pressure off his arm lock. Wrong! Says sensei. You see, in the course of stepping to block dude from being right by my side (and maybe uchi mata-ing him), I lost! I adjusted my balance and posture to my advantage, which in aikido is a bad move. Also, sensei with a straight face told me that when I stepped to block dude's from really getting the arm lock, I would hit my knee into my own chest. Taking a step could result in me hitting my own chest with my knee.

ANYWAY! This can be turned into a pin by taking their arm to the ground and placing your knees on his shoulder and wrist. Now, when being pinned by another student, I heard the instructor saying to have the feet flat and to turn your head. I naturally thought he was refering to the student pinning me, but no. Aikido pinning techniques are so... unique that you have to learn how to be pinned by them before they work. Having my toes ready to move and being able to look at my opponent is apparently a negative.

That's right. When being pinned, you must look away from the opponent. In aikido world, this means he can't attack your face. I really just wanted to leave right then, but that would be closed-minded.

About pins, Sensei said to put up a small effort to escape, then tap out. The first time I was pinned by my left shoulder, I sprung on my feet and did a right shoulder roll out. The next time, the student put more pressure on my shoulder, which made me do a more compact roll. As I was sinking my right arm between my legs and tucking my chin, Sensei quickly told me to tap, which I did out of courtesy. It seems I wasn't supposed to escape twice.

After that was another technique from a front lunge punch. You know the one, from the movies. Fist at sternum level, vertical as if holding a staple gun, stepping with the punch, 100% committed. This one was Kote Gaeshi, a technique I am already familiar with. The application was fine enough, though the pin it led to was hokey at best.

The pin was to take one hand off the kote gaeshi's wrist and grab the bicep with it, then step over the persons head, ideally turning them over and giving you the arm to bearhug and twist. The problem here when I was uke, is that I hadn't been trained to immediately give up my back for the pin, so it led to the tori just holding my arm and stepping over my head while I spun on my ass on the mat.

Tori was getting frustrated, seeing as his brown belt wouldn't let him flip over someone who didn't want to flip themself over. This is when tori gets a brilliant idea. His technique is doing nothing, so he decides to twist/crank my wrist and shoulder together in the fight to turn me over. I didn't turn over, but it hurt a bit too much being tied up in dude's legs while he just twisted my arm so I tapped.

****, this is getting really long.

Skipping to the end of the class, other student and I kneel in front of eachother, where he gives me his wrists, and I am to grab them like holding a wheelbarrow and not let go. It's an exercise in balance and technique, but the only thing to it is bringing one arm down and one up. Of course I let him take me down, and bring my knees up to my chest while switching the grip of my right hand on his gi. WRONG! NO LEG WORK!!

This is where another tenet of Aikido becomes clear. In videos of aikido when you see someone thrown or taken down and their legs whip around like they really got thrown hard? They're all doing that on purpose. Every single one of them. According to sensei, I MUST turn my legs over to the side to "protect the groin". That's right. The legs may not be used on the ground, because as soon as one is used, the opponent could unleash a DEADLY groin strike! In this world, it only makes sense to be on the bottom and fight a dude's whole body with two arms and a chest.

On my turn to take dude down, I do, and procede to turn him into a scarf hold, but that's wrong again. As soon as I do, someone could stomp my face into pulp! Oh NOSE!

What I learned: Aikido is impractical, unrealistic, and based on flawed ideas of body mechanics and leverage.

This went way too long, but it feels so good to get it out.

Any other BSers out there have aikido experiences?

[Virus]

I understand your personal experiance may have been bad, but it sounds like you went to one of the shitty schools. I know, aikido gets a bad rap around here and stuff but this mostly comes from people in the west that think they understand what it really means and starting up crappy schools. What branch of aikido was it?

A good aikido school should explain the concepts clearly, before letting people try the techniques. Most aikido techniques are really designed to assist with balance and control, and have specific uses for armoured fighting and weapon retention. People that don't understand this and star jumping into wristlocks end up looking like douchebags and giving the art a bad name.

Take the lunge-punch for example, this should only be used as a tool for judging distance, then proper aikido striking should be used. Remember that Ueshiba said "90% of aikido is atemi" which means the instructor really should have taught you some of the better aikido striking methods.

As for the pins, well, I know they won't win you any BJJ submission wrestling comps, but they have thier use, just like many other techniques you mentioned, in restraint situations such as those faced by police and security personel.

You should actually seek out a proper aikido school before you make rash judgments about its practicality. Mostly this comes from people not understanding what the real aikido is about.

[DdlR]

Background: I've been doing JJJ for seven months, a yellow belt with 2 stripes (don't worry, it's really cheap and all stripes and promotions are free).

Monday I took an Aikido class. I'm glad to have gone, if for nothing else than to confirm what I've heard here about it.

(SNIP)

What I learned: Aikido is impractical, unrealistic, and based on flawed ideas of body mechanics and leverage.

TBH, I think that as a jujitsu yellow belt with all of seven months training, you're not experienced enough to realistically judge another entire style after taking a single class in that style.

[G-Off]

Valid or not (according to others), I enjoyed the write-up. Well done.

[3moose1]

honestly, you don't need to be a blackbelt to see shitty ideas in the Martial Arts.

Though this may have been a crappy aikido school, we'll never know.


Post school website, plz

[Lily]

If 'GettinglessFat' thinks he's going to be seen as some cool hero for discovering a crappy Aikido dojo then I feel sorry for the loser.

What sort of moron does two LARP MA and then proclaims it to Bullshido? You probably do Aikido because they take fatties.

Stop posting fuckwit.

[GRAB MY WRIST]

I understand your personal experiance may have been bad, but it sounds like you went to one of the shitty schools. I know, aikido gets a bad rap around here and stuff but this mostly comes from people in the west that think they understand what it really means and starting up crappy schools. What branch of aikido was it?

A good aikido school should explain the concepts clearly, before letting people try the techniques. Most aikido techniques are really designed to assist with balance and control, and have specific uses for armoured fighting and weapon retention. People that don't understand this and star jumping into wristlocks end up looking like douchebags and giving the art a bad name.

Take the lunge-punch for example, this should only be used as a tool for judging distance, then proper aikido striking should be used. Remember that Ueshiba said "90% of aikido is atemi" which means the instructor really should have taught you some of the better aikido striking methods.

As for the pins, well, I know they won't win you any BJJ submission wrestling comps, but they have thier use, just like many other techniques you mentioned, in restraint situations such as those faced by police and security personel.

You should actually seek out a proper aikido school before you make rash judgments about its practicality. Mostly this comes from people not understanding what the real aikido is about.

This post comfirms what I had feared most.... Virus indeed is a closet magic-pants wearing wannabe.

Come out in the open already Virus... we will still love you nonetheless. Peace

GMW

[RDRR]

If 'GettinglessFat' thinks he's going to be seen as some cool hero for discovering a crappy Aikido dojo then I feel sorry for the loser.

What sort of moron does two LARP MA and then proclaims it to Bullshido? You probably do Aikido because they take fatties.

Stop posting fuckwit.

I don't know if this is supposed to be a joke, but if it isn't: dumbest. reply. evar!

[Toby Christensen]

My memories of Aikido:

I entered the dojo. I noted with interest that it was attended by a wide variety of people ethnically. I remembered what a man had said about aikido being able to "blend" with people so as to unbalance and neutralise them. This all seemed promising.

People hung around and chatted. A man practised with a bokken. A senior belt and I chatted about him "mentoring" me. I asked for sparring. None eventuated.

The sensei said aikido was clearly too dangerous for me and I should stick to attempting to negotiate. He then took a small book out of his pants and read from it. I remember being quite disturbed by the strange wording therein.

Without being tested physically, mentally, or otherwise, I walked out, totally confused.

[Lily]

RDRR, that was no joke and because you're too stupid I'll break it down for you (not like the 100 or so threads on LOLAikido don't already do that).

[quote]

Background: I've been doing JJJ for seven months, a yellow belt with 2 stripes (don't worry, it's really cheap and all stripes and promotions are free).

GLF tries to paint his JJJ dojo as a non-McDojo by saying that promotions are free. I do JJJ, I'd love to know the name of his dojo to verify this (and ryu).

Monday I took an Aikido class. I'm glad to have gone, if for nothing else than to confirm what I've heard here about it.

The height of stupidity. One does not need to jump off a speeding train to confirm that one will be splattered in 10 different directions.

The fighting stance, of course has the hands very low, in front of the gut, with the hands open and fingers relaxed.

Is that your gut GLF? It's one thing to make fun of Aikido or any TMA for that matter, but 7 months in JJJ (if we are to believe you) doesn't mean jack.

After a fine warm up, our first technique was naturally a wrist grab defense. If their left hand grabs your left arm, just slide in front of them, while lifting your left hand and grabbing their right elbow with your right hand to put them in an arm lock.

Blah and more yawn and more obvious material that has been beaten like a dead donkey all over this site.

That's right. When being pinned, you must look away from the opponent. In aikido world, this means he can't attack your face. I really just wanted to leave right then, but that would be closed-minded.

:gay:

Tori was getting frustrated, seeing as his brown belt wouldn't let him flip over someone who didn't want to flip themself over. This is when tori gets a brilliant idea. His technique is doing nothing, so he decides to twist/crank my wrist and shoulder together in the fight to turn me over. I didn't turn over, but it hurt a bit too much being tied up in dude's legs while he just twisted my arm so I tapped.

Brown belt aikidoka...?

This went way too long.

The only part where you are correct.