Hex

hi Thanks for the link. I've never been into the arts to get a Dan grade but for the benefits for life, and obvious defense reasons. I'm in a little village in Leicestershire, fairly close to Loughborough, if you know the area. Neil

thanks for the replies folks, no flame bating intended, simply stating my viewpoint at the time of writing. If Aikido works as well as it would appear then I consider this to be the direction I'll go. I'll pick up a copy of the book and have a read through. I'm in the UK (midlands) and are struggling to find a decent club around here, so want to be certain of which direction I want to go before seeking out a venue. cheers Neil

My first post here - so firstly 'hi' Couple of questions for you all I practiced Karate (Wadokai) between the ages of 14 and 19 then went on to Seike Juku Karate for a further few years before giving it up. At 33 I'm now looking to get back into it, but want to try something different from the kicking / punching arts, (no reason for this, just fancy a change) so thought about Aikido or Jiu Jitsu. I can see that Jiu Jitsu has a real basis in self defence (after all most fights end up on the ground) and looks to be quite an exciting art, however, I'm less convinced on Aikido, as it seems so little physical effort for such massive results. Of the videos and research I've seen on the Aikido art, it seems that students seem to toss themselves around at the slightest movement of the masters hands. Surely this wouldnt be the case in a real-life situation? Sorry to sound a little skeptical on Aikido, maybe someone can set me right. Finally, can someone explain Chi - the mystical chinese force that chinese masters seem to posses and use to great effect, again effortlessly? Is this force something that can be measured? Again, slightly puzzled and a little skeptical of this. cheers Neil