Help me find a hard style with sparring to compliment Aikido

[signalnoise]

Hi,

First off, I've been lurking here a while and this place is great. Thanks to the whole community!

I've been studying Aikido for a few months and have been enjoying and benefitting from it thoroughly. However, I originally became interested in MA for self-defense and 'spiritual honing', which I don't feel I will get without some kind of harder system with more confrontational training (sparring/kumite)

Anyway, I'm thinking of cross-training in Karate so I can include those kinds of elements. I'm not very knowledgeable though. From my cursory research, Kyokushin seems ideal, but Shotokan or anything with sparring/kumite may fit my needs. Thoughts?

Finally, and this is probably asking and hoping too much, but if anyone can recommend a specific dojo in or around Champaign, Illinois, I'd be in your debt. I don't mind searching around, and I think I know what questions to ask to find one myself, but any input is appreciated.

Thanks much!

Frank

[Wa-No-Michi]

Aikido has its roots in the Koryu arts of mainland Japan, and as such many of it principles are in common with Wado Ryu Karate.

My advice to you would be to look for a quality Wado club in your area.

Easier said than done however as there is a lot of rubbish out there (meaning no disrespect, but particularly in the states).

This is definitely one of the best Wado assocs in the states:

https://www.uswadokai.com

The guy that heads it up is Bob Nash, if he hasn't got a club in your area he will recommend one.

WNM

[tallgeese]

Hey signalnoise, first off, welcome to KF. Glad you've liked what you've seen so far.

As to your question, about any striking heavy system would fit your needs. If you're looking specifically for a karate system, I'd take a good look at any school first to see if they are going to meet your training needs. If you're looking for sd capabilities and lots of heavy sparring, there are alot of schools that might not fit the bill as well as you'd think. There are also plenty that will.

In the Champaign area there are tons of schools. Lots might serve your cause. There are two guys I know personally that I trust a great deal.

One is Mike Schlosser. He has a school up in Rantoul last time I checked and that's been about 4-5 years ago. He's got a hard style Japaneese background and he's spent time doing Goju as well. He's also branched out into grappling and such and teaches the DT program at PTI (the police acadamy at UofI) as well.

The other is a guy who is semi-retired and mainly teaches private and semi private classes down in Matton. He does go to Champaign occassaionally to do some stuff out of a TKD school there. PM me if you might be interested.

That's the only first hand people I know of around the Champaign area. I'm down that way alot since I'm kind of from the area let me know where you end up. I started training in a town called Newton, a couple of hours south of there. It's a long drive, but a gym called Tri-Fitness still operates down there with my instructor, occassionally they host cross training sessions that are real helpful and might be worth the trip there and again, but it's probibly not going to work for a long term solution for you.

[bushido_man96]

Finally, and this is probably asking and hoping too much, but if anyone can recommend a specific dojo in or around Champaign, Illinois, I'd be in your debt. I don't mind searching around, and I think I know what questions to ask to find one myself, but any input is appreciated.

Thanks much!

Frank

Do a Google search for Martial Arts schools in your area, and see what is available. With a list, it would be easier to point you in the right direction.

Kyokushin is know for its hard-style, knockdown sparring rules, as are its offshoots, like Enshin and Ashihara. A Muay Thai gym might serve well, too.

Welcome to KF!

[Dobbersky]

Hiya just to add

I agree with the rest of the respondee's on here

To complement your Aikido, you need to look at styles which use similar body movements to Aikido.

I soully recommend Wado Ryu, Ashihara or Enshin karate. Tai Sabaki, Irimi and Tenkan are all founding techniques in each style

[signalnoise]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

With regard to Wado-ryu, youtube leads me to believe it uses point-sparring. I don't mean to be dismissive, but I'm not sure that's right for me. Ashihara or Enshin I'll be on the lookout for, though. It's interesting that they share some basic ideas with the Aikido I'm learning.

This leads me to another question: As a beginner, and therefore unable to really leverage any developed skill with Aikido, is it really significantly to my advantage to cross-train a system that 'compliments' it? Maybe it's misguided, but I wonder if I wouldn't benefit from more diversity in my training regime.

Appreciate the specific recommendations, tallgeese. I'll definitely go up and visit Mr. Schlosser, when I have a chance.

bushido_man, I picked up the yellow pages and did a google search before I posted here. If it helps, I'll compile a list after I do some basic follow-ups. There's an MMA club here that has a Muy Thai class. I'll talk to them also. (http://www.dragonzlairmartialarts.com/)

One of the reasons I decided to ask you fine people was a yellow-pages ad that boasted "WE DO BIRTHDAY PARTIES!". I fear direly the McDojo.

[granitemiller]

Kyokushin Karate will give you a taste of full contact sparring. I think it will be a nice mix for you, the hitting style of Kyokushin and the throws/use the opponent against himself of Aikido.

Shotokan also has full contact (ippon kumite), although finding schools that do it nowadays is hard and most do point sparring.

Judo will give you the hands on grappling training if you are looking down that path.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Traymond]

In my opinion, it is the fighting spirit that makes a style capable of fighting,

[tallgeese]

Spirit is important. I call it mindset but that's just the terminoliogy I use, it's unimportant what you call it. And yes, without that you might as well be learning to dance.

However, mindset or fighting spirit is like fuel. It drives everthing and gives intensity to your training and effort. But it's still just fuel. You need all the other componants to make an effective fight effort.

It's like a car, it won't go anywhere without gas. But you still need the componants of an internal combustion engine to make it go.

A system is like that aspect of what we're doing. Your fighting spirit is the fuel. But just as important is training methodology, tactics, tools, principles and strategy that allow your spirit to put together a response to someone elses aggresstion. All of these factors go in to making a style capable of being used in a fight as well. If a style is lacking in one or many of them then it will be less than effectual regardless of mindset.

It comes down to a whole package in my mind. Mindset on our part and the mechanics on the part of the system. All of it works ogether.

[bushido_man96]

As a beginner, and therefore unable to really leverage any developed skill with Aikido, is it really significantly to my advantage to cross-train a system that 'compliments' it? Maybe it's misguided, but I wonder if I wouldn't benefit from more diversity in my training regime.

Actually, I think it might benefit you the most. If styles like Enshin and Ashihara actually use a lot of the body movements that your Aikido has instilled in you, then this will help you adapt more quickly to the style. Also, the Karate style will help you learn how to put the different kicks and hand techniques into use with that same type of movement, which you most likely didn't get in Aikido. I think it would improve your skill set immeasureably.