It's a very real martial art.
Through use of momentum and joint locks it's very possible to chuck people about like that. I did judo for 8 years and it has similar principles.
I'd avoid ki aikido or anything that claims to use ki or chi to knock people over from a distance. That's just bollocks as this video will demonstrate... www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEDaCIDvj6I
The thing you have to think about is what you want to learn it for. As a martial artist I prefer the striking arts more, I don't like the 'peaceful' self defence techniques. Some of them are hard to apply under pressure and rely on you holding the person there until help comes. Not very useful if they have a mate with them.
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Draconacticus Reject shampoo. Demand real poo!, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 21:20,
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yeah ive always been a muay thai man m'self. very basic set of moves, just lots of hitting pads and sparring, but i gave up a few years back when i realised my body couldnt really take it any more. gone for indoor climbing and kite boarding instead, but theres something quite appealing about Aikido. more a mental thing than anything else from the looks of it.
(, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 21:58, Share, Reply)
I liked Aikido because there were 'gears in the box'
What I mean is that each technique can be used to an appropriate level. If all you need is to get your attacker to back down by applying pain, that's what you do. If you need them to be incapacitated, that's what you do. If you need to break bones, that's what you do. The hard bit is getting the techniques ingrained into your muscle memory so they just happen without having to think - but that applies to all martial arts.
(, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:08, Share, Reply)
cool, theres a place nearish to me im thinking about gong to, im right on the boarder of london and surrey. any idea how much a lesson should cost? (pounds sterling)
(, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:13, Share, Reply)
In Manchester for an hour and a half's lesson I pay about a fiver.
Depends on the lesson though, some of the advanced classes cost a bit more.
Some clubs try to tie you in on gym style membership contracts though, so be wary of that.
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Draconacticus Reject shampoo. Demand real poo!, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:57,
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Kickboxing is what I do now with some Lau Gar kung fu mixed in for the self defense side and weapons.
You might enjoy kung fu too. Very technical, still striking based but not quite as intense on the shin bones. It's also pretty nasty from a fighting point of view. A lot of joint destruction, soft tissue damage and buggering up people's tendons.
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Draconacticus Reject shampoo. Demand real poo!, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:49,
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im currently tossing up aikido and jiujitsu, i cant unlearn muay thai, ive tried many times, instructors just get pissed off with me. if i was to do it all again, maybe capoeira as you learn to woo the ladies in clubs with your mad b-boy skillz at the same time but im too old to learn that :D
(, Tue 5 Feb 2013, 11:01, Share, Reply)
oh and....
my scepticism comes from the whole if somebody is grabbing you, why dont they just let go and smack you in the face. from watching the video (yes all 44 minutes and 1 second) i get the impression you have to be quick enough for somebody not to realise what is happening and make their body react almost subliminally.
(, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:11, Share, Reply)
In all of the techniques I was taught the first thing you do is strike* - then apply the technique
* As the chief instructor - the late, great Tom Moss - said 'Just to get their attention'.
(, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:18, Share, Reply)
Attention? Or a distraction!
Nothing takes the mind off what you're doing to their arms more than a squishy nose.
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Draconacticus Reject shampoo. Demand real poo!, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:52,
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i don't know how those techniques work in Aikido
they're descended from some Chinese martial arts stuff that is called qin na, which I have trained a bit. Before any of the fancy business starts in those grabbing applications, the person doing the technique traps the hand so it can't be pulled away (if that doesn't work people train other options). Its utility has to do with moving towards a more advantageous situation than you'd be in if you just wriggled your hand free. And yeah, it's pretty hard to do properly!
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the prick of misery pierced my foot on a spiiiike on, Mon 4 Feb 2013, 22:57,
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