# Thought about Aikido



## Tank (Feb 21, 2009)

hello, i thought about taking up aikido. i used to box and do tae kwon do. Aikido has caught my eye because its traditional and its a simple put art, nothing too tricky.

Whats a good organization/association for traditional aikido?

i live in the heart of Hollywood, CA. i couldn't find anything good in my area. i need something cheap and please no McDojos! LOL!


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## artFling (Feb 21, 2009)

Ok, the part about Aikido being simple, not so much.  The moves are simple to explain in many ways, but to actually do them well requires years of fine tuning for your body to be able to respond effectively.  Still, it is worth the effort.  Nothing looks more effortless and smooth than an Aikido master throwing someone on their butt, grounding out their energy.


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## Tank (Feb 22, 2009)

artFling said:


> Ok, the part about Aikido being simple, not so much.  The moves are simple to explain in many ways, but to actually do them well requires years of fine tuning for your body to be able to respond effectively.  Still, it is worth the effort.  Nothing looks more effortless and smooth than an Aikido master throwing someone on their butt, grounding out their energy.



it looks hard. but thats not what i meant by simple. as in its an art that focuses on 1 or 2 things and works,. not a million like some others lol.


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## kaizasosei (Feb 22, 2009)

Aikido was conceived to be simple.  However, the concept of aiki is one of the most elusive and lofty in all of the martial arts.  Aiki is the essence of all movement, moving and living bodies.

Also, there are so many henka to the basic moves that it takes years to learn just the movements, let alone how to apply them to life or selfdefense situations.

Still it is true that aikido is simple in many ways.  One positive thing is that what is simple is often effective.  However, the only danger or loss in saying aikido is simple, is that one stops looking further.  Because if you ask advanced practitioners about details, pay close attention to books and manuals, you'll find you can always discover new aspects and new methods.  Only thing needed is to be open for it and believing in always better approaches.  Because simple is great to get someone down but in a martial arts class, most people go there to learn tons of freaky moves, weird philosophies and strange ideologies-at best- and impose their will on others or collect rank at worst...so all ma are really quite complicated. 

.whatever, i think i know what is meant, i'm just being a bit of an ***

j


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## theletch1 (Feb 22, 2009)

Tank, I'm afraid we're not doing a very good job of answering your original question.  I'm not at all familiar with aikido in Hollywood so can't help you there.  As for cheap... in Hollywood?   Really, though, martial arts actually happens to be one of those things where the old saw about getting what you pay for doesn't always hold true.  Hopefully, someone here will be able to point you in the right direction.  How many miles are you willing to travel?

As for aikido being a simple art... to an extent, I agree.  Many arts teach that for a right roundhouse you do defense number 1.  For a left roundhouse you do defense number 2 and so on.  Aikido teaches you how to manipulate energy that is flowing in a circular motion and you then figure out how to apply that technique to either right or left, punch or kick and so on.  So, in that manner, yes, aikido is simple.  What the others are talking about is simply that the fine points for learning to manipulate that circular energy takes years to master.  You'll have a leg up on many beginning aikido-ka for having studied striking arts a bit as it will help you better dissect an offensive attack.  Hope this helps.


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## amir (Feb 26, 2009)

Tank said:


> hello, i thought about taking up aikido. i used to box and do tae kwon do. Aikido has caught my eye because its traditional and its a simple put art, nothing too tricky.
> 
> Whats a good organization/association for traditional aikido?
> 
> i live in the heart of Hollywood, CA. i couldn't find anything good in my area. i need something cheap and please no McDojos! LOL!


 

Aikido - simple ?
I guess you are much more talented then me, I am learning for over 17 years andstill has a lot of things to learn and improve. 
Aikido has a plentora of techniques and variations, requires precise execution, great timing and sensitivity and quite a few of the techniques are rather complex (require to generate multiple actions simultanously or in very precise order while adjusting to ever changing situation).
Just to be a good Uke (a good training partner on the recieving end) often takes more then a decade.

So, if you find Aikido to be simple, you must be far more gifted then me. Or, far less knowledgable?



This does not mean it is not fun or woth learning, on the contrary.


And, considering my location, I am afraid I do not know anyone from your area...

Amir


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## terryl965 (Feb 26, 2009)

Tank some of the best advice I can give you is go to some different locations and watch and talk to the instructor, make a list of pro's and con's and go from there. I wish you some luck because this will take some time to get done.


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## Aikikitty (Feb 26, 2009)

Hmm...I'm afraid I don't know what's available in your area. If nothing is very close, try doing an online directory search for school or clubs in yellowpages.com (or is it yellowbook?) and aikido journal has a dojo search http://www.aikidojournal.com/dojos . Find a school before worrying about styles.

Most people have already stated this and I agree that the longer I've been in aikido, the more complex I realize it is. My sensei who has been doing it for 30+ years makes it look and feel very simple, (and he even says "it's not that complicated!") but I'm not there yet.  lol! Now, I'm ignorant in other styles (so forgive me), but there seem to be only so many ways to punch and kick someone, but in an art where size isn't supposed to matter and you don't use force or strength against your opponent, there are a lot more things to consider. So many variations of the same technique and knowing (without thinking) which ones to use (or not use) against a person of so-and-so size--to being grabbed and flowing the right direction depending if you feel the attacker pushing or pulling with the grab--the difference in what to do if you are "early, middle, or late" in your time to respond to the attack--to if a technique doesn't work or attacker does something different to flow into a different technique and take their balance away. Those are all things that you begin to learn when you become more advance and have the basics down pretty good though.

Actually, now that I think about it, the techniques themselves probably aren't that complicated, but the whole process of "feeling your/their center and balance" and "doing without thinking" and other tiny things that make a huge difference (like a simple body shift) is what makes it seem so complex and usually takes so long for someone to become skilled. I think I gained new understanding today! Yay! 

One of the older guys in my class was in Tae Kwon Do for a few decades before trying Aikido. He had trouble at first with some of the differences just because he was so used to a different art, but now he catches on rather quickly and adds a new and valuable perspective that I never would have known before.

I hope you can find a good aikido class not too far away from you and enjoy it. Please let us know what you find and your experiences. 

Robyn :asian:


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## Catalyst (Feb 27, 2009)

Hi Tank,
Here's another seach engine for Aikido Dojo's:

http://www.aikiweb.com/search/

You can run the search yourself and see the details of the results with addresses, styles, phone numbers, etc.

There were 21 Aikido Dojo's within 10 miles of Hollywood and 46 Aikido Dojo's within 25 miles of Hollywood.

As terryl965 so wisely says, go and visit the ones you're interested in - meet the instructors, see how they train, ask questions, etc.

Ultimately, you're not picking an Art or even a Style within an Art, you're choosing an Instructor and a group of people to train with.

Good Luck in your search.


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