aikido

[DaughterOfZion]

does anyone know how old you have to be able to be in aikido?

[Wild Eagle]

There should be aikido clubs for many different age groups, shouldn't there?

[DaughterOfZion]

where we live the closest dojo there is you have to be 15 and up to be able to take lessons

[Wild Eagle]

Ah, I see...

If you don't want to wait, you could always go and get books on aikido or search on the Internet and learn from there.

[Gypsy]

Aikido requires a lot of control and concentration, especially when you're first learning. You can really, really hurt someone with little effort even in training, so I'm not surprised that there's an age limit on it specifically. But non-specifically, lots of dojos have an age limit. This is partly due to insurance purposes, and partly due to the level of material they teach. I'm also going to move this thread to general, since it's not really a tutorial thread and I'd rather not see it become one. *Salutes*

[starfire]

I think Aikido has one of the highest incident rates in martial arts, doesn't it? hehe. I'd be chicken to take it. I know most of the martial arts classes where I live are divided at least into age groups.

[Eriana]

I think Aikido has one of the highest incident rates in martial arts, doesn't it? hehe. I'd be chicken to take it. I know most of the martial arts classes where I live are divided at least into age groups.

Me too.
I have karate by my house but I find the style of fighting kind of useless in some ways depending. =.=;;;
And call me completely stupid and braindead but what is Aikido? ^^;;;

[~Natsumi Lam~]

--->does anyone know how old you have to be able to be in aikido?

i think 3 .... or 4

~NL~

[Eriana]

?.? I'm not sure I understood that last post Natsumi. ^^;;;

[Slater]

I started taking Aikido when I was 15. It's fun if you have a good instructor, but horribly hard if you got one who doesn't tollerate screwups too much, I imagine. I remember doing countless shoulder rolls, left and right.

[animegirl1]

um whats aikido?

[~Natsumi Lam~]

um whats aikido?

as style of martial arts.... known for throws and big pants ... ahah

~NL~

[DaughterOfZion]

I think Aikido has one of the highest incident rates in martial arts, doesn't it? hehe. I'd be chicken to take it. I know most of the martial arts classes where I live are divided at least into age groups.

same of the people who practice it jokingly consider it the "practice of becoming one with the mat" i do believe.to answer some of your question about what it is, its a purely defensive martial meant to do the least damage possible to an assailent.unlike most other martial arts that could kill or severly injure a person. its all defensive because the only way you can use it is if the person attacks you. it uses the other persons power against them. please correct me if i am wrong slater.

[~Natsumi Lam~]

i think Muiy Thai causes more pain... ouch...

~NL~

[Esoteric]

Within Aikido itself are multiple types, as each shihan has his own approach. There are hard and soft styles..the hard styles can be brutal and the soft styles can almost seem unefective. Finding a good sensei is the key.
Aikido is a style decendent of the ancient samurai arts such as juijistu, and kendo, it employs similar moves, however, the focus of aikido is controlling your oponnent through (painful) joint locks, whereas the ancient arts took is a step farther to breaking joints, permanently disabling your enemy. Aikido tries to be more...harmonizing...

As to age limit, my dojo does have a younger kids class, but the class is more about learning repect and etiquette, than real techniques. Aikido is largerly about the correct mindset, which requires maturity, hence, the age limit.

[DaughterOfZion]

im above 12 but under 15 and im more mature than most but that wont help me at all

[Wise Dragon]

Akido is an art that focuses on grapling, rolling, and evasion techniques. When coupled together with an aggresive martial Art the practitioner would become a formidable opponent indeed. Not to take away from it though, it is a purely defensive style. I have heard that "if one were to restle with the original master then he would be wrestling with seemingly a coat."

Anyway I can see the reason for an age limit; but then again maybee it isnt always necessary. Oh and by the way Seven Segall uses Akido.

Ok theres my two cents.

[Wise Dragon]

I have karate by my house but I find the style of fighting kind of useless in some ways depending.

So ya wanna spar and find out.

[Arnobius]

http://www.aikidofaq.com/history/index.html

As I understand he developed Aikijutsu, and Aikido was developed from it and was intended to be less violent.

Yes Steven Segal uses Aikido, though I understand the way he uses it in the movies is kind of antithetical to the original intent.

[BigZam]

well truly when martial arts were first being used in China and then Japan you had to be i think at least 16 because martial arts is NOT for little kids. but now in America if you own a dojo you hafta have martial arts for all age groups so you don't offend anybody....stupid America. with aikido i'm not sure. my sensei allows someone as young as i think 8 but if had it his way you'd hafta be at least 13 or 14. basically past puberty.

[Arnobius]

well truly when martial arts were first being used in China and then Japan you had to be i think at least 16 because martial arts is NOT for little kids. but now in America if you own a dojo you hafta have martial arts for all age groups so you don't offend anybody....stupid America. with aikido i'm not sure. my sensei allows someone as young as i think 8 but if had it his way you'd hafta be at least 13 or 14. basically past puberty.

I thought in Asia, they started young, because it was a lifetime devotion. It's not like America where the black belt is the goal. As i understand it, over there, the black belt means you mastered the basics and are now ready to study in detail.

[Yojimbo]

AnimeHeretic is right in Asia you start young. And I think there should be age limits for all martial arts. Unless of course it's just a little karate factory to build up confidence in young kids.

I actually took Aikido for about a year and a half. I loved just about everything about it. We were a small little school and I was the youngest student there. We maybe had 15 members at one time. And I don't know what someone said about there being lots of injuries in Aikido. That's just not true even in more physical styles like Yoshinkai, there was not a single real injury at our dojo in all five years of it's existence.

And Esoteric is right Aikido is not about breaking your opponents arm in half like in a cheap Kung Fu movie. But rather manipulating them "naturally" as to do the least damage but still convince them to give in. I remember Yonkyu grabs used to kill no matter how you did them though... And they used to call me "Gumby" too since I was so flexible but it still hurt bad.

Unfortunately I faded away from it about a year ago. I was working more, the dojo was on another side of town and at the time I didn't have a car, busy with school, all that jazz. That's ok though it was a good learning experience and I'll probably pick it up again when I go to Purdue University next year.

[Ashley]

Ignore any redirects you see on this thread; I didn't see Gyppers post and accidentally re-moved it. ^^;; Gomen, gomen...please continue...

[oro!]

There is a dojo in my town, and i hope to be able to take it whenever I get a job(maybe next summer). The thing I am worrying about is not the age restriction, but the spiritual part of aikido. I guess it differs from school to school, but is there shintoism, or any other bad religion I should be worried about.

[Yojimbo]

There is a dojo in my town, and i hope to be able to take it whenever I get a job(maybe next summer). The thing I am worrying about is not the age restriction, but the spiritual part of aikido. I guess it differs from school to school, but is there shintoism, or any other bad religion I should be worried about.

Well obviously any Japanese martial art has it's roots in shintoism. Our dojo was actually part of a larger Christian martial arts dojo in one large building. I do remember they did take down a picture with a quote something like "A way to reconcile the world" referring to Aikido when they had a seminar going on. I have never heard of any schools in the Aikido Federation that had shrines. Besides even if there were you wouldn't be obligated to bow or anything. Heck I remember one of the highest ranking shihans at a seminar I went to was an Egyptian Muslim and he would, respectfully, not bow to anyone or to the picture of Ueshiba.

[DaughterOfZion]

the reason my dad will let me do aikido when we find a dojo is because he feels it sticks the closest to our christian faith

[Wise Dragon]

Most martial arts dojos dont really focus on religion at all except for the concept of Ki and Chi, which deals with your internal energy. There is some controversy on that subject though (which will probably result in the next five pages of this thread being filled with us arguing over it); but i personally dont think it really has anything to do with religion at all if you ask me.

[Arnobius]

It probably depends on the practitioner. I imagine by the time it gets to America, the spiritual is rather watered down

[~Natsumi Lam~]

we own a christian based dojo.... it has aikido in it too........



just remember... just because a dojo doesnt focus on the martial arts doesnt mean there isnt a spiritual undertone to it....

i have been doing martial arts for 19 yrs and have incountered it.



~NL~

[Esoteric]

I have never heard of any schools in the Aikido Federation that had shrines. Besides even if there were you wouldn't be obligated to bow or anything. Heck I remember one of the highest ranking shihans at a seminar I went to was an Egyptian Muslim and he would, respectfully, not bow to anyone or to the picture of Ueshiba.

Hmmm, I suppose that brings up a question for me. I attend a very traditional dojo. Etiquette it most important...bowing, verbally thanking the instructor, not walking in front of anyone etc. Also because it is so traditional, they have a picture of O'sensei, flowers, a mirror and a little wooden house thing on the shomen. Might that be a shrine? The sensei rarely talks about anything spiritual and once told me they bow to O'sensei's picture above the shomen in respect for his creating the art. But if that is a shrine, would it be considered unchrisitian to bow to the shomen because it's there too?