Multiple Martial Arts

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[Dylan]

try saying the thread title five times fast!

ok now onto my real question:

I was wondering if anyone here knows someone or has personaly gone through extensive training in one or more martial arts. I am interested in trying Aikido sometime in the future. The only thing that stops me is I am currently a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do. I recently heard about the art from a friend who is starting soon, and I would definitely like to keep in Tae Kwon Do but Aikido sounds appealing.
So my question is if I should try Aikido at all, like in a couple years when I’m more comfortable with Tae Kwon Do and have obtained a higher rank, or would it just be to confusing?
Thank you for your help!


[Edited by Dylan on April 7, 2001 at 06:29pm]

[Jim23]

Which Taekwondo are you training in ITF or WTF?

Jim23

[Nick]

the head of my aikido dojo told me I would have to have a shodan in either aikido or karate before I could train in both, such differing styles... however, he didn't mind me cross training in sword arts or tai chi, as they are more similar to aikido. Though I don't pretend to understand the head of my dojo, I can imagine he saw how karate was hurting my aikido, and vice versa (looking back, I can too). Not having the experience in either art to learn to relax correctly, I was tensing up and breaking things down in Aikido, and relaxing too much during karate, resulting in weak stances, etc. Therefore, I'd say pick one or the other, and train in it a while. Just see which you like more, I guess...

Nick

[Mark Cochran]

Hi your in luck. If you think my responeding is luck. I train in Aikido and there are many tae kwon do students in my dojo. Most are black belts and have study for years. I do agree with the idea of waiting till you have a black belt or atleast a very strong understanding of your original art. I personaly train in Aikido and Kobudo. IT can be time consuming but if the arts differ enough that you don't have to worry about confusing techniques there should be no real problem.

[chrisinbrasil]

Hi,
You came to the right place to ask such a question.
I´m not one of the great martial artists who do indeed lurk in the shadows around here, but I have some advice. Aikido is great. Just don´t take Aikido into TKD class or TKD into Aikido class. Keep them seperate unless you´re not in class. If you can´t do one without confusing yourself, the techniques, postures, etc... then just do one...
C ya,

[BC]

I think training in more than one martial art is a great idea. I trained in other arts for 16 years (kenpo-4, taijiquan-12) before taking up aikido, although I'm currently only practicing aikido. However, like others have said, I think it's a good idea to practice your first choice for a while before starting another, so you don't confuse the movements. I know many people who have extensive experience in both multiple arts and just single arts, and both groups seemed to have found what they were looking for. Basically, it depends on what you're looking for. Back in the early days of aikido, the Founder insisted that all students wishing to study aikido had previous experience in another budo or bugei. Best of luck.

[CZR]

Dylan,

I have studied several arts for a number of years and do strongly encourage it. However, one must be aware that two arts mean twice the practice time; a kind of commitment that can be burdensome if one is not mentally and physically prepared for it. So, as many others would agree, it is easiest, no, most beneficial to yourself, especially at beginning levels of training, to focus all your energies toward a single goal or art form. Also, as pointed out by others, there is the possibility of confusing fundamental principles across art forms.

Once one has had enough exposure to one art form to be acclimated to the routines, demands, and training mechanisms of the art, then it may be appropriate to explore the features of another art. Only you will know when this time has come; but only after a significant amount of time and effort have been put into exploring your first art.

At this point in your training you have the luxury of choosing from which art you will begin. This is the time when the experiences of others synthesized with a knowledge of your own expectations and abilities will be most useful. Asking the right question is often a more difficult endeavor than finding the answer. In your case I feel it may be best to ask "Where do I begin?" Pick one and run with it.

Best wishes for your future training.

[Arunabha Sengupta]

I have trained in Karate, Wing Chun and Aikido. Though I haven't trained in two martial arts at the same time too often, I have seen people who have done so successfully.
In our dojo there are two Senseis. Sensei Avijit Mitra is a third dan in Shotokan Karate and a Second Dan in Aikido. Sensei Debabrata Saha is a First Dan in both Judo and Aikido.
So, I don't think it is impossible to learn two Martial Arts together. However, care should be taken to learn both in their unadulterated form so that you know the basics fully well for each art before experimenting with the mixing and merging of them.

-Arunabha

[ian]

Lots of people seem to come into (and stay in) Aikido from doing another martial art. In fact I know of several people who quit aikido to do a more aggresive martial art, and then came back when they had a better comprehension of fighting. I didn't realise Ueshiba required prior martial arts experience of his trainees - very interesting. I think part of the problem in aikido is that if you are not very aware of how the techniques limit your opponents opportunity to attack and strike (which requires a good knowledge of attacking), then it can seem superficial.

I would definately encourage training at aikido if you feel that you have reached a stage in taekwondo where your progression is slow and you have a good, stable foundation. However you may find frustration between the two when you consider one approach to be better than another. However a persons martial art is their own practise, so it will also give you a good insight through the inter-comparison.

If your taekwondo is anything like our local club there are many techniques that are superficially similar at the higher levels. Since aikido focuses on doing a few techniwues (applications) well, it may improve you taekwondo as well.

Ian

[Peter]

Hello,
you may also want to look into Hapkido, if there is a dojang in your area. Hapkido combines techniques of Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujitsu and Tae Kwon Do. The fact that it is of one culture (Korean) will reduce the confusion of doing two martial arts at the same time. However, it can be difficult to find a school in this art.

Although still somewhat of a beginner in Hapkido, I found attending some Aikido classes helped me to focus on the fundamentals. Learning a technique from more then one person almost always helps you understand it better, in my opinion.

Peter

[andrew]

Originally posted by Peter
Hello,
you may also want to look into Hapkido, if there is a dojang in your area. Hapkido combines techniques of Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujitsu and Tae Kwon Do.

What I've heard is the guy who founded Hapkido was a servant of Takeda (Daito-Ryu reviver) for years, although he's not listed as an attendee at any of Takedas seminars.

Eh, Dylan, try it. You might prefer it. You might not. Possibly there's a very good aikido teacher near you, possibly your TaeKwonDo teacher is excellent, but you should judge the relative merits of both on the particular clubs involved, not on a general appraisal of the arts. I mean, for all we know, you could be thinking about joining up with a useless Aikido teacher which would render all other debate irrelevant.

andrew

[Al]

I have to agree with what everyone has said to this post. My personal addition is that I have been in contact and participated in martial arts which have more than one disipline within them. For instance I saw a poster this week for Byukan Karate, for self defence the instructor teaches Aikido. I think that many arts do this, incorporate other styles to make the art more appealling. I once studied an art with three styles muddled into one, it was confusing to know which was which, but the three together did make the art more interesting and fulfilling.

Many instructors in my area teach both Aikido and Tai Chi, or have experience in both. Crossing from Tae Kwon Do and participating in Aikido will give you more choice in how you apply yourself in situations. There are many benefits of both arts which you could use to your advantage, it will most likely make you think about what works and what does not. The last thing to say is, just give it a go, if it is not for you then there is no pressure to continue.

[JJF]

Originally posted by Al
Crossing from Tae Kwon Do and participating in Aikido will give you more choice in how you apply yourself in situations. There are many benefits of both arts which you could use to your advantage, it will most likely make you think about what works and what does not.Hi! I just want to ad that I know a couple of guys who have crossed from Tae Kwon Do to Aikido, and they have a very hard time learning to become good aikido-ka's. They focus way to much on power and stance to be good uke's and they have a tendency to try to 'force' the technique allmost all the time. I'm not saying that theses two arts can never be a good combination, just that they can be very bad for some individuals. Perhaps the reason is that they have not reached a sufficiently high level within TKD before taking up Aikido. I myself have practiced karate for 5 years and Kendo for a couple of years before switching to Aikido, and though I off course have benefit from the knowledge i gained from the two first arts, I still have a lot of trouble 'de-learning' the ways I have learned to move, so basic foot-work in Aikido comes to me very hard.

I guess my point is, that some arts go together better than others, and that I would be very carfull before blending arts that doesn't mix well.

[Jon C Strauss]

Howdy,

I practiced Aikido for five years before I started another martial art (Kung Fu & Baugua Chen). I enjoyed it immensely, but when I was asked to test for shodan in Aikido, my other art(s) suffered. Eventually I moved too far away from the Kung Fu school to practice regularly. I now (five years later) practice Shind Muso ryu and I'm aware of what kind of commitment both will take. I'll do both as long as I enjoy both.

As far as mixing those two arts (Aikido & TKD) specifically, I've had some students who came from TKD schools and most of them eventually gave up on Aikido. We did have a TKD instructor who was taking classes with us who was one of our best students. A schedule conflict prevented him from staying with us and he actually got depressed about it.

A lot depends on the individual, the time, the schools, and the teachers.
Go for it.

Peace,
JCS
RMKS at CSU

[wawatusi]

Originally posted by Dylan
try saying the thread title five times fast!

ok now onto my real question:

I was wondering if anyone here knows someone or has personaly gone through extensive training in one or more martial arts. I am interested in trying Aikido sometime in the future. The only thing that stops me is I am currently a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do. I recently heard about the art from a friend who is starting soon, and I would definitely like to keep in Tae Kwon Do but Aikido sounds appealing.
So my question is if I should try Aikido at all, like in a couple years when I’m more comfortable with Tae Kwon Do and have obtained a higher rank, or would it just be to confusing?
Thank you for your help!


[Edited by Dylan on April 7, 2001 at 06:29pm]

I started Aikido about a year ago... 3 months ago I started taking Brazilian/Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Besides being completely wiped out Physically by GJJ, my aikido has definately improved... I am learning that if my Aikido fails and I am taken to the ground (in a real situation) I would know what to do. This gives me more confidence which allows me to perform my Aikido techniques with more certainty and less effort. My attacks are more sincere and my ukemi is free-er... Its hard to explain but I definately noticed a difference