Weight Lifting & Aikido
 

:cool: Hi Everyone Im New To This Forum I Have Been Practicing Aikido For About 9 Months I Have Also Been Weightlifting For About 15 Years. My Question Is Do You Think Weightlifting Is Good Or Bad For Practicing Aikido?It Seems To Me In My Particular Case That It Makes Me Slower .Also When We Practice Ukeme My Shoulders Hurt Quite A Bit. My Sensei Says Its Because My Shoulders Are So Large That When I Do Ukeme I Land Harder Than The Other Students Any Advice Or Suggestions ? Peace.:ai: ;)

Hi Isaac,

Welcome to the AikiWeb Forums! Thanks for your introduction.

I don't know much about weightlifting, but I've trained with a lot of folks with very large shoulders. All I can surmise is that if your shoulders are hurting from ukemi, you're not taking the fall correctly regardless of how large your shoulders are. Make sure to round your back so you're not landing on your shoulders and work in such a way so as to eliminate any "corners" in your ukemi (eg at your shoulders)...

Hope that helps,

-- Jun

I wonder about this too, having been weight training for many years. I feel that weight training helps me with strength (obviously), it does nothing re. flexibility, and it can be a hindrance re. muscle relaxation and ki extension.

My learned tendency is to muscle through my techniques and to tense up during a dramatic ukemi. That is my big aikido issue, lately, and I think weight training has helped condition me, at a deep level, to associate power with muscle strength.

So that is what I am trying to unlearn, in aikido. I am still lifting, and I am trying to get a grip on power through ki extension and not muscle strength.

I think one can be big and powerful and still be supple and take soft ukemi. I'm 6'2" 230lbs. fairly muscular and I think my ukemi is pretty quiet. I also find the wieght of my big arms rather than the strength tends to be benefitial when it comes to wieght under side. I have yet to see him in action but Jon Haye Sensei is a very muscular guy. Met him for the first time the other day. I am told he is a very talanted Aikidoka. He would be a good person to ask what the prose and cons of being muscular are.

Re: Weight Lifting & Aikido
 

I know lots of big muscled types with good aikido. You might have to practise on relaxing and do some work to increase your flexibility but everyone has some problems to work on, at least you know what yours are.

Simon

You ought to train ur body to the max!!If your strong you could be an excellent uke for an excellent nage.But remember to keep stretching!!!push pushhhh, streeeettttccchhhhhh!!!