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.

(I had trouble connecting so I'm sorry if this posted more than once) 1. Kickboxing 2. Vale Tudo 3. Boxing 4. Krav Maga 5. Thai Boxing And I'm a former aikido guy who prefers a more defensive strategy. Aikido is #15 on this list. Of course, this is a little more what I'd like to do *now*, so it kinda makes sense. Anyone know what German Ju Jitsu is??

How is a grappling and MMA program different from NW fighting's approach? (From my very limited point of view the two gyms still sound very similar).

Aikido, from my experience, teaches a good deal about combat theory: how to maintain balance, keep your center and move with it, maintain proper distance, and blend with attacks, whether they are form one person or many. However, taking this approach is very time consuming ... though I do believe in the end it will produce a very good martial artist. I've developed the opinion over the years that aikido is one of those arts that is great to learn after having a good foundation in a striking or grappling art. I think there will be a much greater level of appreciation for it, as well as a greater understanding of how it fits in to combat application. Jumping into aikido with no other art under my belt ... so to speak ... was a disadvantage. Chances are, I'm going to study some combination of striking and grappling for a while (like a Straight Blast Gym program or something) and then come back to aikido. I think I will appreciate it - and be able to understand its application - a lot more.

Sounds like your dojo focuses on more combat oriented aikido than we did. The attacks we were usually given were these fully committed "I'm coming at you from across the room" type haymakers or simple wrist grabs and such. We did have similar questions about how aikido would handle the swiftness of a boxer or a WC guy because aikido seems to take best advantage of a strike with a good degree of commitment. Something like chain punching or a jab ... while not counter to this idea ... is certainly more difficult because of its timing and speed. I commented somewhere else about aikido's lack of striking (I forget where). It certainly involves strikes, but to varying degrees depending on the teacher. Some use it only for distraction. Others show you when to apply it when you create the openings during application of technique. Others apparently go all out and you better hang on . Sounds like you're part of the last group, which seems a little more like Daito ryu. I was more of the second group ... but wondered why we never trained in the strikes we were supposed to use if the situation required it. I got the response of, "If you have to strike, it's no longer aikido." (Hey, if I have to use something other than aikido to keep my rear end from getting handed to me, I'll do it. Show me the atemi!!) In any event, it's good to hear that the two styles are working so well for you.

Yeah, that's what I heard too ... they seem to throw traditionalism out the window if it serves little or no purpose. I've been going back and forth about either joining a straight blast gym or wing chun place for the longest time. Money and travel has sorta limited my ability to actually go to one or the other but at this point I should probably just choose one and see how i like it.

Which lineages teach grappling? There's a guy around here who was taught by Jiu Wan and they appear to focus primarily on standup techniques, though my exposure to it was some class observation and a few questions. I hear about "anti grappling" programs, but I'm not sure what that covers. How does WC handle the ground game from your experience?

What classes did you take? I've done a little reading about them but haven't signed up yet.

Aikido ... pros - good workout flexibility you lose the fear of being thrown around like a rag doll overall control of your center generally good combat theory good throws, which is nice for multi person randori cons - unrealistic attacks no atemi (striking) is taught limited range - standing grappling - no extension to other ranges no crossover scenarios (how to handle kicks, takedowns, etc) I dunno ... maybe the first rank in aikido should be based on learning some simple strikes and blocks to introduce the idea of entering / intercepting, etc. Then, incorporate groundwork if for no other reason than to show people how to avoid it or get up quickly ... it just never felt like a well rounded MA to me. It does have its good points, though ...

Could this be where aikido / hapkido / aikijujitsu or any other "standing grappling" forms come in handy? Personally I like the idea of using someone as a weapon by throwing them into another person if necessary. Besides, that would probably end up in fewer broken hand bones. I tend to agree with SevenStar, who brought up some great points ... grappling doesn't necessarily mean going to the ground, but it doe involve throw and takedowns ... and definitely implies some ground competency in case you end up there. My vote is grappling, provided you know how to stay mobile.

There's one in Beaverton - taught by Chow Hung-Yuen (though I've heard him called "Hung Chow"). Web site is: http://www.wingchun.org/txt/misc/wcso.html The other is in NE Portland along Burnside ... I think it's 1007 E. Burnside, or something like that. Same style, taught by a student of Hung Chow. http://www.portlandkungfuclub.com/ As for effectiveness, I've heard varying things. Some say it's tremendously effective because it's so simplified and fast. Others say it's incomplete because it doesn't have grappling and that you never see trapping in MMA tourneys. Who knows. I know in the latter place they encourage going to MMA tourneys if only to get exposed to other styles and therefore adapt to techniques you wouldn't otherwise see. Another place to spot out would be: http://www.straightblastgym.net/ ... which is in Beaverton, but there's also a place in Portland along MLK (something like 1911 or thereabouts). They teach a philosophy of "aliveness" ... if it doesn't work against a fully resisting opponent who's intent on taking yer head off, it had no place here. Sound advice, I suppose. Hope I helped.