From judo to aikido
 

Hello,

After practicing Judo for eight years, age 10 to 18, and not studying at all in the last two years (after moving to a new city), I have become interested in studying Aikido, but would like some input.

I truly love Judo, and would practice every day if could find the people and the place, and I've won many tournaments in my time. But with few dojos in my area I have found it difficult. There are however a few aikido dojos.

Has anyone here studied both judo and aikido. Will I be able to bring any of my skills with me? How do the philosophies differ? What do you imagine would be the most difficult aspect of this change for me? What do you think the two arts have in common?

Thanks,

-Elliott

It all depends on your club. :)

Some clubs will be interested in your experience and technique (I find that some aikido people just love the way judo people can tie them up in knots or throw them).

Other clubs (rarely) will not.

As for the most difficult thing...well for me it is aikido strangles. They are just laughable. Don't make the mistakes I have by pointing it out, just let it go or you get a hard time.

Other than that enjoy. Most Judo techniques work on 2 points or a triangulation, Aikido can work on as little as one point.

Oh..they don't like to be thrown on their backs either..just let them roll away ;)

Do you mean they get stuck like a ninja turtle, Mark? :D

Jim23

I did Judo strait for a year and now on and off.... same with any grappling really.

And I've been doing Aikido for about a year and a half, so near got it perfected... </sarcasm>

Just go for it, some teachers will even let ya take Judo grips for a time for us its more or less 10th form.

But get on the mat and see what happens.

I am sure that it will be a most interesting time for you and them.

All the best.

Make sure to take it easy on the Aikidoka. I got very enthusiatic when I started taking Judo and dumped a few people on their heads by accident, I still feel bad about it almost a year later.

Most Aikido practice is done cooperatively like uchikomi in Judo, sometimes people like to resist and rough house a bit which is great fun but you may instinctively think randori and then do a big throw that they are not prepared to take.

Aikido is like practicing the Goshin Waza all the time with a little Aikido randori thrown in on occasion. Aikido randori is much different than Judo randori and can be alot of fun but still resist doing Judo throws unless you are sure the person can take it. Aikidoka are used to taking falls forward or backward and rolling out of them, many can not take ukemi well from hard slams on the mat, especially the throws that land you on top of them like Harai goshi.

But if you are paired off with a black belt and they start to try and roughhouse then let go and have fun :)

Aikido has a lot of great stuff and I think you will enjoy yourself, but do not give up Judo.

Actually the thing I'm most nervous about is using weapons. That's as forign an idea to me as punching a guy in the face.

How big a part do memorization and vocabularly play in class. Are you expected to know the names of moves by heart in most places.

I guess i could just start going to watch and see how it goes but i guess i'm just a little worried.

No worries the weapons practice is slow until you realy know what you are doing, it is only kata so you never really spar with weapons.

Re: From judo to aikido
 

Dear Elliot,
at least you don't have to spend a lot of time learning ukemi. and your knowledge of ne-waza will be a great advantage.
the most common difference is the competition, i think. in general, aikido do not encourage competition. 'randori' in aikido means you take turn to be the thrower (nage) and the one being thrown (uke) using any aikido techniques you like. You may take some time in adopting this kind of attitude.
the principal of non-resistance, i guess. if i'm not mistaken in judo "you pull when being pushed and pushed when being pulled", whereas in aikido "you turn when being pushed and enter when being pulled", might be a bit different but these two share a something in common, that is you do not fight force against force.

Re: Re: From judo to aikido
 

That's really a shame.. I found compitition to be very stimulating. Espically when working with the sensi or the advanced students. I really felt that i got across somthing that would be very dificult to teach. For example... When your stuck in a difficult strangulation it's easy enought to say how your going to get out, but when it comes to actually doing the move while you cant breath is somthing i think would be hard to teach.

I guess this is not really a fair thing to say since i have only really leaned one way. Maybe the non-coompetition way can be just as efective.

I don't think the training methods of Aikido are as effective as judo to learn real world application, this is one of the weakneses I found with Aikido. You never really learn to use technique against fully resisting partners. As anyone who has any Judo or similar training knows, this makes a very big difference.

However the training methods of Aikido do allow some more dangerous techniques to be taught that are not allowed in Judo competition. And it does teach you how to deal with multiple attackers. There are also many other benefits of Aikido that people here will surely explain to you.

I do think Aikido is effective, I just believe that it takes much longer to learn than many other arts. I also firmly believe that Aikido is not the wisest choice for a first martial art, it is a finishing school to polish your skills and add a new dimension to your abilities.

As with any art it has its strengths and weaknesses.

I personally started with Aikido and stopped to take Judo. I may return to Aikido one day but only when I have reached at least shodan in Judo and possible blue or purple belt in Jiu Jitsu.

Elliot;

Are you seriously trying to tell me there is no Judo in Montreal - look harder, take the Metro.

Kenji Tomiki considered Judo and Aikido to be the same thing separated only by combative distance. Aikido is basically what you do before you get within grappling range.

In my opinion (and there is a story there that I wont repeat) Judo compliments Aikido and vice versa. Aikido is my main art but I train in Judo.

Try Aikido - you might even prefer it over Judo - but don't stop what you devoted 8 years to.

Training wise (with the exception of randori) its about the same. Just as uchikomi has varying degrees of resistance so does Aikido kata. The trick is discovering what the appropriate level is.

OMG where you been Jim? :D

Micheal, you heretic!

Such language Mark! I've been tossed on my back - just kidding. :D Just been very busy, but I pop in every once in a while to see everyone blending with each other.

Jim23

This like any generalization is complete nonsense. It really comes down to the local teachers and how training is conducted in individual schools. Training methods vary a great deal and there are schools where one learns to use techniques against fully resisting partners. That is IMO a true test of aikido technical skill. Getting someone to cooperate that has no intentionor or interest in cooperating. It of course has to be worked up to in stages.

Seems like he should be first looking for some Tomiki style related club. Hard to imagine that they wouldn't look very favorably on his judo experience.

Craig

Yes I am definately an Aikido heretic :)

I know you meant no offense there Craig, but I wonder whether it is based on knowledge of both Judo and Aikido training, or if it is only your opinion?

Re: From judo to aikido
 

Hi Elliott,

In Montreal you have THE best judo dojo in Canada --- Nakamura sensei's dojo.He is chef instructor of National Team of Canada and many members of Team moved from all Canada to Montreal only to be able to practice in his dojo every day.

If you rather like to stay with aikido --- the most difficult thing will be, you will find ALL aikido techniques as fake. You will find aikido completly non--efficient in a sense of judo's work. That will be most difficult part.

Also methodology of training is different. There is plenty of techniques "useless" from practical point of view.

Of cours/e, there are some reasons for such reality.

If you still like aikido :D , come to my dojo, we will have fun ;)

For the first few years of my training, I practiced Judo two nights a week, Aikido two nights a week and Jujutsu on the weekends. It always seemed to me (and still does) that it's a case of same church, different pew. Once the basics are understood, the differences start to fade away.

Hey Mark, glad to see you on the forums again :), hope things are coming along well for the Winter Camp. My regrets at not being able to attend.

Once again, Peter beat me to the punch.:)

As someone who supplements my Shodokan Aikido with as much Judo as I can get, I'd have to echo Peter, Mark B. and Craig's comments.

Just to add, there IS competition in Aikido and it DOES provide one with a similar place to attempt techniques under skilled resistance to better appreciate how to apply the principles, how to escape and how to counter. I think you would be right at home at a Shodokan dojo, in the event that you don't find a Judo dojo of course. The approach to kuzushi between the 2 systems is particularly similar in my book.

As far as finding "aikido completly non--efficient in a sense of judo's work", I say it depends on where you train, this has not been my experience at all. It's all in the approach, and Shodokan's training system is highly Judo influenced in a very positive way I think.

Peter may be able to give some directions as regards a good Shodokan dojo in the Montreal area (I think :)).

In any case, go visit with an open mind, train a class and see how you feel.

L.C.:ai::ki:

In case there's any doubt, I'd like to take this time to point out that, as there are probably many styles of judo, there are many styles of aikido. Within a single style, variation in training and even technique can be found as well.

For one thing, there's more to aikido ukemi (in some styles) than forward and backward rolls. ^_- Yoshokai, and presumably Yoshinkai as well, also do what I've heard as more 'judo-style' falls for when you're thrown harder/faster/at a bad angle.

Considering what I've heard from judo people, there's also a difference in that aikido has many more joint controls.

I'll try to avoid being stupid and making any more attempts to make 'general' comparisons between two arts.

Let me just finish by noting that from what I've heard, it's best to 'empty the cup'; err on the side of being a total beginner, at least at first. As your aikido grows, you'll probably find ways to synergize with your judo training to increase your understanding.

Larry - I was the only Shodokan dojo in Quebec much less Canada.

Montreal has plenty of choice. There are both good Aikido and Aikibudo dojos available.

Elliot, I think the biggest adjustment you may have to make will be the freedom from competitive rules employed in judo. Also you will probably notice aikido's economy of motion in many similar techniques. For instance you can get up much quicker if you can roll instead of breakfall!

Re: Re: Re: From judo to aikido
 

no, no Elliott don't say that. only that coming from such competitive environment in judo you may think at first that aikido is sissy (sorry to say) because in aikido generally there's no competition, sometimes too much cooperation. But as Peter says, Judo complements aikido as aikido complements judo. give it a try and see how you feel.