cross training

I am thinking of taking an jujitsu class once a week in addition to my two aikido classes, I was wondering if people think this is a good idea, or a bad idea? also if anyone has any experience with somthing like this.
thanks

Why not do a third aikido class?

more of anything and everything is good for your practice... generally speaking of course...

Wider perspectives usually are better than narrower ones, imho, of course.

Paul Kozlovskis wrote: Why not do a third aikido class?

Well none really run at convienient times for me, except for sunday morning class, but more often than not I am in no shape for that, due to roadieing for a friend of mines band more saturday nights than not, I am probably going to add those when I get closer to testing, and also I kinda want to add something a little different.

Demetrio Cereijo wrote: Wider perspectives usually are better than narrower ones, imho, of course.

yeah that was my thought about it

Well, I was kind of making a joke.

All flippancy aside, there are many pros and cons to taking up other arts in addition to X (be it aikido or whatever), and no doubt this type of thread has been done to death before.

At the end of the day you'll either do it, or not, for reasons of your own.

Sorry, sarcasm is sometimes hard to tell on the Internet

Cross training? Isn't that something that Jesus did?

Mark, **that** was funny. But look out, you see what cartoons can do...you keep making jokes like that and they'll be burning you in effigy...

Best,
Ron

oohh Mark you are going to HELL... but seriously i see no cons to cross training...

thanks for all the input and the cheesy but funny jokes

Go for it. What's it really going to hurt? You'll get exposed to new ideas and theories and have more training time. This is a bad thing because...?

I've gone from thinking cross training is a pretty good idea, to thinking it's essential. As well as giving you better rounded skills and ideas for application, it will keep your feet on the ground. Any group has their own internal processes which can lead to ideas out of whack with reality. Cross training can protect you from the worst excesses of that by giving you differing paradigms to come from. So you'll most likely take more of the extreme claims from both arts with the appropriate grain of salt.

Thanks again for all the input, I think I will start taking a jujitsu class once a week, I just need to talk to my friend who is in the class and find out what the cost, times etc are going to be

I think it is a good idea to cross-train in jujitsu to augment your Aikido training. I train in Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Jeet Kune Do, and I feel that my experience with resistence-based training of the latter two arts has improved my Aikido immensely without cultivating the "competitive" or "fighting" mindset that many Aikidoka fear one will acquire with such training.

Temet nosce,
Jim

oh man, my friend who I was going to start doing jujitsu with tore his acl in class last monday....its not going to detuer me from trying it but its just no good

Good idea.

Another perspective.

I did some cross training early on (tai chi, kali) but came to realize that I had far too much to learn about aikido to detract from that learning curve by bringing in other elements. I did find I was using the other art movements to see what I could do from an aikido perspective (nikyo with kali sticks is real painful). I understand the need to keep things relevant and be able to address other issues. However, I admire my sensei's perspective. He did not train in other arts but worked out with other arts to make sure his aikido worked against them. In other words, test your own art and fix what doesn't work or refine it so it does.

When I even watch other arts, I find myself looking for how I would respond from an aikido perspective or how to add an "aiki" element or component to a move or technique that looks effective. It adds to my arsenal not detracts from it. Also, if I were to decide to cross train again, I think I would look at something like daito-ryu or sojutsu or kenjutsu to enhance the elements making up aikido (especially daito-ryu since I'm interested in atemi).

Just my thoughts for whatever they are worth.

i find my cross training in arnis has helped my atemi and set up for aikido techniques... and i really love the nikkyo with stick(s)... but isn't that aikido??? ;-))

Edwin Neal wrote: i find my cross training in arnis has helped my atemi and set up for aikido techniques... and i really love the nikkyo with stick(s)... but isn't that aikido??? ;-))

Not if you are practicing sticks in a sticks class. My instructor had an interest in what I was doing in Aikido so he'd indulge me in the sticks applications-he liked some of the concepts.

doesn't aikido use sticks... although they are shaped a little different...

Good question! I'm tackling it too right now.

I've been doing aikikai for 8 months, and wanted to extend my studies from twice a week to 4. Since my dojo doesn't offer more classes at evening hours, I added another dojo, with a sensei that teaches Yoshinkan combined with BJJ. The teacher is great but
I find that everything that's right for Aikikai is wrong for yoshinkan and vice versa. The way you stand, roll, fall, even the terminology, everything is fundamentally different.

I sure got a new perspective, but also allot of confusement.

Maybe it was a bad idea?

Roy, I tend to think it was a bad idea. Cross training for different techniques and approaches can be great. Cross training to be taught the *same* technique in a different way, particularly as a beginner, is a recipie for trouble imo.

I tend to agree with Michael, if you do any crosstraining it should be to fill the gaps in Aikido training rather than learning a different way to do the same techniques.

Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or some type of striking art would probably be a better choice since they focus on skills that Aikido does not often cover. But I guess it depends on your goals, more Aikido training is probably better than crosstraining with traditional jujitsu,

i don't think it will do any harm to cross train in other 'styles' of aikido, and the thoughts of training in other arts are good... more aikido and everything else is good...