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Old 10-03-2006, 06:51 AM   #10
DonMagee
Location: Indiana
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,311
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Re: Aikido/BJJ combo??

A good bjj school will give you a chance to explore body movement and resistance in a less restrictive enviorment. In my opinion training any kind of sport can only help you in the long run. You will get in better shape, gain more flexablity, gain more speed, learn how to deal with resistance, learn how to deal with being on the ground, learn how to deal with physical pain and discomfort, learn how to deal with weight, learn how to breathe, learn how to deal with losing, learn how to deal with a-holes, and you will have more oppertunity to try out your bjj on different body types and mindsets (sometimes if we never try it on other people we all get sucked into group think). You will really know if you can do something or not because those bjj guys are not going to let you do anything.

The biggest question is "What do you want out of the martial arts?". Until you know that, you can't really decide if bjj fits into your aikido. For me, I'm a scholar, I just like to train and learn. I'm also a big fan of competition, so I love judo, bjj, boxing, kickboxing, mma, and anything else I can compete in. I love aikido because of the grace it's practioners can exibit. But I found that I learn better though the bjj style of teaching. So I have found that by training bjj and judo, I have learned a lot about aikido. There were many concpets I did not understand in aikido until I spent many hours sparing in the club and messing around with the concpets.

So if you have the time, then you have nothing to lose by crosstraining. Just make sure you know why you are training, and that you are getting the most out of your time. If you are in aikido to learn about japanese tradition, history, and non violence, I don't think bjj is going to help further that goal.

Oh yea, and don't forget that wrist locks are very much legal in bjj. So learn them and try to use them. It's my goal this week to work on my wrist locks. Also, make sure you are starting from the standup if you are serious about learning bjj in a realistic enviorment. 90% of all fights start standing up ;-)

Re-reading the first post, going from bjj to aikido might be hard for most bjj guys. But keep an open mind and give it an honest shot. Aikido training methods seem to vary widely so there is no way to say "This is what should happen in an aikido class" beyond saying you will learn how to fall (always a good thing), learn how to use some footwork, wrist locks, and whole body movements. You will also have to train yourself to not resist. I know that when I go back to aikido I have to try very very hard to not fight back. But it is important to remember your goal as uke and play it out the way the teacher wants you to. The breakfall practice alone is probably worth it. But again, anytime your moving around, and moving with timing, motion, and resistance you are doing a good thing. And a lot of aikido schools have 2 of those 3, and some have all 3.

Last edited by DonMagee : 10-03-2006 at 06:57 AM.

- Don
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - Albert Einstein
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