Aikido or Judo?

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Andre Cognard Shihan in the USA - Cognard Shihan 8th Dan in CA, Orange County Aiki Kai June 28-July 1

[Mark B]

Hello, I have never posted here before but have enjoyed reading it many times. I have very little Aikido experience and even less Judo experience. I am currently training in Judo. My question is between Aikido and Judo which is more of a martial art with regard to self defense? I don't mean which one is better but which one would have more application other than sport? Thank you in advance for any comments.

[mj]

Hi Mark, I'm a long time judoka, short time aikidoka. The main 'self-defense' difference will be time. In judo you will learn 'real' application of your technique much more quickly mainly because, most of the time, no-one has any intention of letting you do your technique. Also, judo groundwork is a very powerful tool to have, I used to lie on the floor in my house, face down, and allow two friends to attack me when they were standing up, any attacks, and it was relatively easy to overcome them.
However, aikido has multi-opponent movement, weapons training, and a good ethical training.

You could quite freely train in both as they would not interfere with each other, as long as you don't start to compare them against each other. That is, don't think judo when training in aikido and vice-versa.

Just take your time and enjoy your training.

[Sam]

I do both aikido and judo. I have always thought of aikido as 'distance-apart judo'.

I have found aikido to be more martial and self-defence concerned and I have found that very few people can beat me at judo grip fighting because of my aikido experience.

However I found that judo was easier to learn initially and I find the groundwork to be an excellent confidence booster self-defense wise.

[ian]

Hi Mark,
though I've probably got less Judo experience than the two above, I would pretty much agree. Many of the throws in Aikido are identical to judo. However there are some good techniques for applying pain to joints etc and joint manipulations in aikido which would prevent most judokas being able to get hold of you. Since I started aikido first and then did some judo I used to find it a bit frustrating because there are things you can't do in judo which I would naturally do in such a situation. However I know a lot of people that cam from judo into aikido and they had very good throws. As was said, I don't think there would be a problem training in both.

Aikido is a 'self-defence' and in many ways it is not a series of techniques, it is a way of doing techniques (with blending etc). I also find it more interesting than other martial arts and also something which you get better at as you train (so far!), rather than reaching a peak (as often happens in karate and less so in judo). Lots of judo people were sent to Ueshiba to train in aikido to pick up new ideas.

Ian

[andrew]

I read a brief explanation of some of the technical differences between the two on a french site once, and although this isn't much use to the original query, the explanation went something like "In judo, when you're pushed you pull and when you're pulled you push. In aikido when you're pulled you enter and when you're pushed you tenkan."

Naturally you can't sum up the differences in one sentence, but you can start....
andrew

[sanskara]

I wouldn't necessarily disagree with any of the previous posts, but would just point out that other than the Goshin-Jutsu Kata, Judo isn't specifically designed for self-defense; it's designed for regulated competition. People don't wear Gis on the street that you can use to throw them or choke with. If you grab someone from the front in an attempt to trip or throw them, they're more likely to knee you in the groin than play the typical cat and mouse games found in many Judo schools. And lastly, if you are going to use Ne-Waza or ground fighting techniques, always remember to protect your eyes, throat, and groin--in Judo as in Brazilian Jiujitsu, you are not allowed to take advantage of such openings. As a result, people train in holds and movements that expose them to a would-be attacker, even though they're effective in tournament situations. Conversely, as already stated, Aikido is not necessarily the quickest path to martial effectiveness. However, as a former student of all three arts mentioned, I am certainly not critical of their practice, but still feel the need to point out that certain modifications are necessary in all cases if self-defense is your most primary and immediate goal.