Making Aikido not suck

[Mandem]

Ok guys here me out here before you just say "do judo instead" or whatever.
The way my training currently works out is that I do Muay Thai twice a week and Aikido once a week. I could probably do more Muay Thai if I quit aikido, however the advantage of aikido is that I help teach the kids' class which I use as volunteering for the Duke of Edinburgh award which apparently is great for your CV, and since I want to study at Oxford or Cambridge I need all the CV decoration I can get.

So seeing as how I'm doing an hour of aikido practice a week anyway I thought I might as well try and make the best of it. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to make aikido useful, beyond just drilling with more aliveness which I intend to try and do?
If anyone knows of practical adjustments for aikido techniques that would be much appreciated.

[Bar Humbug]

Not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear

Ok guys here me out here before you just say "do judo instead" or whatever.
The way my training currently works out is that I do Muay Thai twice a week and Aikido once a week. I could probably do more Muay Thai if I quit aikido, however the advantage of aikido is that I help teach the kids' class which I use as volunteering for the Duke of Edinburgh award which apparently is great for your CV, and since I want to study at Oxford or Cambridge I need all the CV decoration I can get.

So seeing as how I'm doing an hour of aikido practice a week anyway I thought I might as well try and make the best of it. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to make aikido useful, beyond just drilling with more aliveness which I intend to try and do?
If anyone knows of practical adjustments for aikido techniques that would be much appreciated.

You want to go Oxbridge, so take it from someone who has:

Drop Aikido.

Study more.

Despite what your career and University advisor might have told you, those who decide your fate about getting into a college don't give a fuck about your personal statement or extra curricular activities.

They only care about grades. I know this, because when I did my master's, I sat next to one of the guys who was on the undergrad entry board and he was telling me how sad it was when he came across people who thought that the extra curricular stuff was going to get them over the line.

GO STUDY!

[DCS]

Not sure if I understand what are you looking for.

Something like doing an iriminage but, instead of performing a fake throw, finishing in a standing rear naked choke? Starting a shiho nage but getting a 2 on 1 wrestling grip?

[Ming Loyalist]

Not sure if I understand what are you looking for.

Something like doing an iriminage but, instead of performing a fake throw, finishing in a standing rear naked choke? Starting a shiho nage but getting a 2 on 1 wrestling grip?

i'm not entirely sure OP knows what he is looking for either, but i have an idea.

OP - you might want to start by changing what you want to get out of aikido. it sounds like something silly that you are burdened with and are trying to make the best of a bad situation. with that mindset i think you will find very little of value in aikido.

i practice aikido in addition to judo and a gendai JJJ system under the same sensei. we see many of the same techniques taught across the three arts, so that helps with figuring out what we are looking for out of each art.

in my case, i enjoy aikido because it's *fun*, i like working with an uke who comes at me from farther away and with more commitment than judo, and i find it useful in training my movement, tai sabaki and spatial awareness. i also like the people in the class, enjoy more time with my sensei who no longer runs my judo class, and enjoy some of the cultural aspects (i really struggle to think of a currently practical reason to study defenses from a situation where you and your attacker are sitting seiza, for instance, but i do understand the historical reasons why this was relevant in the past.)

[Mandem]

i'm not entirely sure OP knows what he is looking for either, but i have an idea.

OP - you might want to start by changing what you want to get out of aikido. it sounds like something silly that you are burdened with and are trying to make the best of a bad situation. with that mindset i think you will find very little of value in aikido.

i practice aikido in addition to judo and a gendai JJJ system under the same sensei. we see many of the same techniques taught across the three arts, so that helps with figuring out what we are looking for out of each art.

in my case, i enjoy aikido because it's *fun*, i like working with an uke who comes at me from farther away and with more commitment than judo, and i find it useful in training my movement, tai sabaki and spatial awareness. i also like the people in the class, enjoy more time with my sensei who no longer runs my judo class, and enjoy some of the cultural aspects (i really struggle to think of a currently practical reason to study defenses from a situation where you and your attacker are sitting seiza, for instance, but i do understand the historical reasons why this was relevant in the past.)

I agree, I find aikido fun too which is why I'm still doing it. I just thought that given that I'm having to cut down a bit on how much time I can spend doing Muay Thai since I started Sixth Form it might be a good idea to see if anyone on this forum had any ideas on how to get the most out of it in the sense of practical applications. Having done it for 10 years, although admittedly not very seriously, I've found that the grab defenses are good but the approach to defending against punching is flawed, so I was wondering if anyone else on here does aikido and could help out.

[Ming Loyalist]

I agree, I find aikido fun too which is why I'm still doing it. I just thought that given that I'm having to cut down a bit on how much time I can spend doing Muay Thai since I started Sixth Form it might be a good idea to see if anyone on this forum had any ideas on how to get the most out of it in the sense of practical applications. Having done it for 10 years, although admittedly not very seriously, I've found that the grab defenses are good but the approach to defending against punching is flawed, so I was wondering if anyone else on here does aikido and could help out.

oh, ok.

do judo instead.

[Raycetpfl]

I agree, I find aikido fun too which is why I'm still doing it. I just thought that given that I'm having to cut down a bit on how much time I can spend doing Muay Thai since I started Sixth Form it might be a good idea to see if anyone on this forum had any ideas on how to get the most out of it in the sense of practical applications. Having done it for 10 years, although admittedly not very seriously, I've found that the grab defenses are good but the approach to defending against punching is flawed, so I was wondering if anyone else on here does aikido and could help out.

I think to make aikido more practical you could just politely ask an attacker to run at you from far with no intention of hitting you or causing you harm. You should easily be able throw him 6-7 ft in the air upon his arrival.
If it's a bar fight starting from close just ask the aggressor if he would like his palm read. When he says yes..... break his wrist or throw him 6-7 ft in the air if he is kind enough to jump for you. I think using aikido practically would require a lot of diplomacy.
Or do Judo/Bjj so you aren't utterly clueless how to grapple when someone actual wants to hurt you or beat you in a match.
I think aikido is a neat form of moving meditation. It's Japanese Tai Chi imho.

[Hadzu]

I think aikido is a neat form of moving meditation. It's Japanese Tai Chi imho.

And even then, I've seen some pretty legit Tai Chi guys that can actually throw down (quite literally, in fact). Aikido, not so much. I get wanting to try and find practical applications for Aikido stuff, but if your instructor isn't teaching class with that same intent, it'll probably end up being counterproductive for both parties. If you enjoy Aikido, then more power to you; I've tried it out once or twice, with an instructor who openly admitted that it was essentially moving meditation with no real combative application, and I had a blast.

[goodlun]

oh, ok.

do judo instead.

This here is pretty sound advice.

[mike321]

Ok guys here me out here before you just say "do judo instead" or whatever.
The way my training currently works out is that I do Muay Thai twice a week and Aikido once a week. I could probably do more Muay Thai if I quit aikido, however the advantage of aikido is that I help teach the kids' class which I use as volunteering for the Duke of Edinburgh award which apparently is great for your CV, and since I want to study at Oxford or Cambridge I need all the CV decoration I can get.

So seeing as how I'm doing an hour of aikido practice a week anyway I thought I might as well try and make the best of it. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to make aikido useful, beyond just drilling with more aliveness which I intend to try and do?
If anyone knows of practical adjustments for aikido techniques that would be much appreciated.

Here is slightly different advice. You are not long term committed here. Study your aikido EXACTLY as it is being taught. Absorb the lessons of what you are taught. Do not try anything to modify it. When you get to university there will be judo. Gain some expertise in judo, then decide how you want to use the knowledge you gained during this time. Not to mention you have muy thai which is already very practical.

[mike321]

Also, teaching is a useful skill to develop for life in general so there is value there too. (Beyond helping the kids. You are at a point in life where you need to be selfish as you develop skills so i am not meaning anything negative.)

[Yuk]

So, I suppose your goal is to make most out of the time you spend in aikido class. I would suggest working on transferable skills, such as breathing, balance, relaxation, and general kinaesthetic awareness. That is, try to pay close attention to your and your partner's body position, balance, tension, weight distribution, forces at work while doing the moves. Try to feel it. Watch your balance and try to figure out how and why you get unbalanced. Watch your breathing, you are probably being taught to breath out when doing throws, pay attention to that. Watch your partner's breathing as well, being able to time your movements to his breath will help you in Muay Thai as well. Same about relaxation, it's easier to relax and remember how it feels while nobody is hitting you for real.

[gregaquaman]

Here is slightly different advice. You are not long term committed here. Study your aikido EXACTLY as it is being taught. Absorb the lessons of what you are taught. Do not try anything to modify it. When you get to university there will be judo. Gain some expertise in judo, then decide how you want to use the knowledge you gained during this time. Not to mention you have muy thai which is already very practical.

Yeah. Learn it as a learning exercise.

[ermghoti]

You're training an hour a week? Yeah, never mind improving anything, that's basically the same as not training.