Welcome to AikiWeb Aikido Information
AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information
AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.

Sections
home
aikido articles
columns

Discussions
forums
aikiblogs

Databases
dojo search
seminars
image gallery
supplies
links directory

Reviews
book reviews
video reviews
dvd reviews
equip. reviews

News
submit
archive

Miscellaneous
newsletter
rss feeds
polls
about

Follow us on



Home > AikiWeb Aikido Forums
Go Back   AikiWeb Aikido Forums > General

Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history, humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.

If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced features available, you will need to register first. Registration is absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 04-04-2005, 04:41 AM   #1
Fred26
Dojo: Budo Kai, Ki-Aikido
Location: Östersund
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 61
Sweden
Offline
Training Jodo alongside Aikido[followup]

Hello.

I write this post as a follow-up to a previous inquiry I made here a few months ago regarding Jodo-training. I thought it might be fitting to write a follow-up to that post just for the hell of it, and perhaps some of you are interested too.

At the time of that earlier post I was concerned that training Jodo alongside aikido might be "harmful" and hamper progress in one or possibly both martial arts.

The response from this forum was quite positive though and I decided to go ahead with Jodo studies. The choice was made easier as my aikido-dojo belongs to the same martial-arts organisation, Budo-kai, and had recently moved to a new location literary next door to the Jodo section. (it also means I pay only one membership-fee but can train all the martial-arts of our club including jodo)

My first lesson was interesting on many levels. It was also the first conflict between aikido and jodo I encountered: The first "combat" stance.

The first stance is basicly standing with your feet close together like at attention with your jo held firmly in your right hand. As you can imagine it was difficult to get used to and to retain balance after 7 months of getting your mind used to stand in aikido-stance(s).

It was also difficult to get back into that stance after you done a movement. My instincts told me to put my foot one step ahead of the other in aikido-stance rather than the jodo-stance of feet next to each other. Actually I still forget that sometimes during Jodo.

I think if you are distracted, or experiencing stress you may be more prone to do stances/moves that you already are "programmed" to do , in this case aikido moves/stances. I'm sure it would be vice-versa if a jodo-student with some experience were to take up aikido.

The problem with stance(s) would come back to haunt me at a later stage as well. For instance, one of the things bout aikido-stances is the way your shoulders are pointed. If I stand in aikido-stance with my right foot in front, my shoulders are pointed (roughly) North-East and South-west. In Jodo I was frequently reminded by my sensei to keep my shoulders pointed West-East during several moves/positions.

I suppose it sounds simple enough on paper to keep your position in this or that way, but when you stand on the dojo floor and are in the process of excecuting a full kata, then your mind starts to use old (aikido)instincts.

But this was and still is just a minor annoyance as it is a matter of training and experience.

Other than the possible/real conflicts between aikido-moves and jodo-moves, I found Jodo to be quite fun and very rewarding. Our training is from start to finish a lesson in jodo-katas. (minus warmup) We train these katas in segments by ourselves and of course with a partner. As of this moment, I find that I'm more concentrated when training jodo rather than aikido. In aikido you almost always practice with a partner which is more dependant on the partner in order to concentrate and focus. I am also of the opinion that training with weapons, jodo or aikido, is a very good way to train your mind in the art of relaxing and concentration, both of which I usually lack.

So if anyone here is interested in starting with jodo then I can strongly recommend it. I see jodo as a way to enchance your abilities both on and off the training mat, and that is something we aikidoka strive for with our training as well.

Thats bout it I think. In a few months, (I think), I will begin my Iaido training. I'll be sure to make a report on that too although I don't think Iaido will be that much of a hinderance for my aikido studies.
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2005, 05:29 AM   #2
Peter Goldsbury
 
Peter Goldsbury's Avatar
Dojo: Hiroshima Kokusai Dojo
Location: Hiroshima, Japan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,308
Japan
Offline
Re: Training Jodo alongside Aikido[followup]

Mr Hall,

After I arrived in Hiroshima in 1980, I began training at the main aikido dojo in Hiroshima. The dojo-cho occasionally showed many jo techniques. Later I discovered that he had a 4th dan in jodo, which he can only have practised at the same time as he trained in aikido.

Alas, Mr Kitahira no longer teaches or practises with weapons. For a start, he is older and, as a result of a serious illness, more physically frail. Secondly, he has come to believe that proficiency in aikido does not require training with weapons. However, this is his own view, which he does not require of his students.

So if I could live my aikido life again, I would certainly combine my aikido training with serious training in weapons, probably the sword and the jo. But this would be serious training in three martial arts, not one martial art with two supplements.

Perhaps some might argue that the aikido world has changed radically since O Sensei's time, and that if we really need to supplement aikido training, this should be with more 'modern' arts like BJJ or Systema. This is fine. Each to his/her own.

If you have found a good teacher, I am sure that jodo can only enrich your aikido training. However, you should strive to ensure that your jodo training does not corrupt your aikido training.

Best wishes,

Last edited by Peter Goldsbury : 04-04-2005 at 05:31 AM.

P A Goldsbury
_______________________
Kokusai Dojo,
Hiroshima,
Japan
  Reply With Quote

Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Am i missing something?? aikigirl10 General 119 04-20-2006 12:07 PM
Beginners Retention Rates akiy Teaching 45 04-05-2006 11:13 PM
The Nage/Uke Dynamic - Guidelines senshincenter General 47 02-20-2006 05:20 PM
Practicing Jodo alongside Aikido? Fred26 General 22 04-06-2005 01:13 AM
*Really* Tough Training… jxa127 Training 29 05-09-2001 07:49 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:05 AM.



vBulletin Copyright © 2000-2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited
----------
Copyright 1997-2024 AikiWeb and its Authors, All Rights Reserved.
----------
For questions and comments about this website:
Send E-mail
plainlaid-picaresque outchasing-protistan explicantia-altarage seaford-stellionate