Drunken_Apprentice

I could be wrong, but I believe Ueshiba (founder of aikido) and Young Sool Choi (founder of Hapkido) both studied Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu. The arts are basically siblings. If you want more emphasis on atemi, then I'd recommend hapkido, or traditional jujutsu. That way you're staying in the same general family of principles but incorporating a little more variety.

Wait, he sells hair growth tonic?? *digs out wallet*

I've seen Lieutenant X's web sites before. Anyone who calls himself "Lieutenant X" already has one strike against him in the credibility department. Anyone who can "guarantee" an array of deadly techniques "instantly hardwired" into your reflexes has another. Some of their techniques might be just fine ... heck, maybe all of them. But I wouldn't trust my MA training to a bunch of DVD's from a guy who doesn't even use his real name. Besides, I'd be hard pressed to find someone to practice all of these "deadly" moves to make sure they worked in a high pressure situation.

Merry Christmas!!

Yoga, Chi Gong (sp), Tai Chi, and meditation. They're all great for increasing mind / body awareness.

I agree with the recommendations here. Aikido is ... well, a little unique. I had taken it for several years and it's (IMO) certainly not what I would consider to be a comprehensive form of self defense. In other words, if you want to learn how to fight in short order, go to a gym where they teach a combination of standup (like boxing / MT) and groundwork like BJJ or Judo. However, aikido is excellent in teaching what I would call "good combat theory" ... maintaining balance, flowing with an attack, understanding body mechanics, and, to whatever extent is realistically possible, dealing with more than one opponent at once. Personally, I would take it after a few years of other MA experience. (Of course if you have such experience and are looking to supplement what you have, then by all means go ahead!) Bottom line - visit a dojo or two and check it out. Take some classes and see for yourself. You will know if it's for you.

Okay, that was pretty funny

And your uniform must have the American Flag on it. A big one.

On line training (or training by book / video) might help you if you already have a good base in a MA and want to do some additional work on your own, but not if you're just starting out. There's no substitute for a good (live) instructor. The money you spend will be worth it.

My money's on the street fighter. He or she has much more of an undrestanding of what would work against an uncooperative opponent in a potential life or death situation. A MA guy with no fighting experience would, in my opinion, get wiped out in the first 30 seconds because there is no understanding of application.

I love that they are always given such cunning names like "Lieutenant X" and "Super Secret Special Black Ops Agent Smith", as if that somehow lends credibility to their art. Method. Thing. The catch phrases are the best ... "super wicked", "tendon popping", "muscle ripping" "mega nasty death throw of a thousand knives" ... all for only $187, too. How can you possibly go wrong??

That would be the guy.

Anyone heard of him? Good or bad? His resume includes Chen / Yang styles of Tai Chi, I Chuan, Northern Praying Mantis, and (I think) Ba Gua and Northern Shaolin. It sounds really impressive ... but I'd like to know if anyone's had some personal experience training with him. Thanks!

I second this. Tuck, stay big and keep your arms in the "unbendable" (but not locked straight) position, make sure you go over a shoulder and not your head, and stop thinking about it. That makes it 100 times worse. Just do it. A good way to get used to it is to have a high ranking student throw you (with the understanding that you're tyring to learn how to roll!) I learned that way, and you do it so fast that you don't have time to think about it before you realize it happened already.

Yeah, I wish I did a little more research when looking for a MA and not basing it on "Hey, Steven Seagal looks so cool when he does aikido in his movies so that's what I'll do!!" (duh.) !!! Even so, it was still interesting, and it gave me a workout. I'll give it that. And, in my defense, i did like the idea of using an opponent's momentum against them. I just didn't know that atemi and groundwork were going to be almost completely neglected, and real-life application was a looooong time off. I've been out of MA's for a while and would like something like ba gua, or a type of kajukenbo that incorporated IMA (there's one out there, I forget the name) ... heck, I suppose even BJJ. Something that still has the same "gentle" aspect like aikido, but with a little more direct application. Just my $0.02.