I have two main martial art schools I am considering out of 25 in my city. I have considered time, money, instructors, students, the dojo, all those things. I have visited several too. So, here is the two top ones I am thinking about.
#1. Aikido
Instructor is 4th dan black belt
Moriehei Ueshiba styled Aikido (traditional styled)
2x's/week 2 hrs./class
15 min from home
$20 (US)/month No contracts
My thoughts/confusions: I like Aikido. I like it's peaceful, defensive, philosophy of handling attackers. I could see myself be willing to use every move it teaches full power to subdue an attacker. It is relaxing. It has a mild level of exercise so it doesn't burn me out (allows me to get in shape). I have done aiki jiu jitsu (aikido's parent art), and other martial arts so, I can grasp aikido teaching quickly.
I am doubtful of it's self-defense value. I could not use aiki jiu jitsu, in the 2 years I studied it, seriously for self-defense at all. Aiki jiu jitsu has a lot of similarities to Aikido. Aikido also has little to none in helping you defend yourself in a groundfight. A lot of people say it is weak and is near useless to defend yourself. I wonder if I would be wasting my time with it. I want to be able to use it 1 to 2 years. I think with my previous marial arts experience, 1 to 2 years I should be seeing some decent self-defense value or it is a bit of waste to take.
#2. Judo
Instructor is 1st dan black belt
Olympic styled Judo
2x's/week 1hr./class
20 min. from home
$50 (US)/month 1 year contract
My thoughts/confusions: Judo has a some things I like about it. I have a love/hate relationship with it's sparring. Sometimes it is fun to wrestle another student. The other times I dread doing it because I am not super-competitive. I think Judo has superior self-defense abilities too. It's throws are practical, and you are able to use them quickly. It has good groundfighting skills too. It builds toughness. The throws, pins, chokes, armlocks, are all good self-defense tools.
I don't like certain things about it too. I took it for 5 months one time. I quit mainly becaue it was too far away. But, there were things I did not like. I mentioned I didn't like sparring all the time. I feel claustrophobic during ground wrestling (ne waza) sometimes. The full-contact nature of it bangs you up. My back seemed to hurt a lot. I sometimes think serious injury could result if I take it too long and compete. It draws competitive people to it which I don't like very much (I like easy-going people not win at all cost types).
So, which school would you take if you were me? Would you take any of them? Self-defense is one of my main goals in taking martial arts. But, even though a martial art may be good for self-defense, sometimes the training is so unpleasant it isn't worth it. So, I need a certain amout of enjoyment. What would you do and why?
#1. Aikido
Instructor is 4th dan black belt
Moriehei Ueshiba styled Aikido (traditional styled)
2x's/week 2 hrs./class
15 min from home
$20 (US)/month No contracts
My thoughts/confusions: I like Aikido. I like it's peaceful, defensive, philosophy of handling attackers. I could see myself be willing to use every move it teaches full power to subdue an attacker. It is relaxing. It has a mild level of exercise so it doesn't burn me out (allows me to get in shape). I have done aiki jiu jitsu (aikido's parent art), and other martial arts so, I can grasp aikido teaching quickly.
I am doubtful of it's self-defense value. I could not use aiki jiu jitsu, in the 2 years I studied it, seriously for self-defense at all. Aiki jiu jitsu has a lot of similarities to Aikido. Aikido also has little to none in helping you defend yourself in a groundfight. A lot of people say it is weak and is near useless to defend yourself. I wonder if I would be wasting my time with it. I want to be able to use it 1 to 2 years. I think with my previous marial arts experience, 1 to 2 years I should be seeing some decent self-defense value or it is a bit of waste to take.
#2. Judo
Instructor is 1st dan black belt
Olympic styled Judo
2x's/week 1hr./class
20 min. from home
$50 (US)/month 1 year contract
My thoughts/confusions: Judo has a some things I like about it. I have a love/hate relationship with it's sparring. Sometimes it is fun to wrestle another student. The other times I dread doing it because I am not super-competitive. I think Judo has superior self-defense abilities too. It's throws are practical, and you are able to use them quickly. It has good groundfighting skills too. It builds toughness. The throws, pins, chokes, armlocks, are all good self-defense tools.
I don't like certain things about it too. I took it for 5 months one time. I quit mainly becaue it was too far away. But, there were things I did not like. I mentioned I didn't like sparring all the time. I feel claustrophobic during ground wrestling (ne waza) sometimes. The full-contact nature of it bangs you up. My back seemed to hurt a lot. I sometimes think serious injury could result if I take it too long and compete. It draws competitive people to it which I don't like very much (I like easy-going people not win at all cost types).
So, which school would you take if you were me? Would you take any of them? Self-defense is one of my main goals in taking martial arts. But, even though a martial art may be good for self-defense, sometimes the training is so unpleasant it isn't worth it. So, I need a certain amout of enjoyment. What would you do and why?