Hi, incase you were all wondering, I am the thread starter.

Thanks for the positive feedback to my decision, also thanks for the negative feedback. I wont dwell on those individuals that still live in the fantasy kingdom where their martial art is the best, this thread is not about you.

During my two years of Aikido I did have a chance to experiment informally with several students who where either cross training from another martial art or decided to quit their previous art and try Aikido for a while. I had a taste of many martial arts and many different varieties of Aikido from different teachers.

Honestly though, bjj is not the grappling art I was going for, infact, it would be amateur wrestling, there is a little catch-wrestling club that never gets attention from the "serious" martial artists, maybe its not mystical or oriental enough for them but I was seriously impressed with the ingenious holds and locks that one of the ex-catch wrestlers put on me. Mind blowing stuff for someone who always thought that groundwork involves sitting on your knees and duckwalking.

To the person inquiring about how "good" I am, how would I know, I never managed to test myself against a realisticaly out-to-get me opponent, gradings were probably the closest to this and even then it was always utterly co-operative. In that time I never failed a grading and was even praised once for having "exceptional intensity" (3rd kyu by the way)

To the person rolling their eyes (on the internet) at my claiming to have lost weight and gained fitness in the two years of Aikido, why not? I was 20 lbs overweight, no muscle tone, zero endurance, now I am at my ideal weight, actual muscle tone, lots of endurance. Its not impossible in a span of only two years.