Okay. :twisted: That being said, I’ve got a nidan in Yoshinkan Aikido, so I think I can chime in on the subject accordingly.
extrabags, everyone here seems to have given you pretty good advice. Aikido will give you a decent workout, and teach you some good self-defense skills. I noticed that’s an ASU school in your link so it might be a little softer, but that can vary from dojo to dojo.
As it’s an ASU school, there will be no competitions. People have been somewhat incorrect in stating there is no competition in Aikido. Shodokan or Tomiki style Aikido focuses much of their time on competition. It’s very similar to judo style randori. And no one, unless they are the aiki-fruity type, will frown on you for having trained at a Shodakan dojo.
Aikido dojos do tend to be the most freindly of all the martial arts. The underlying philosophy of the art encourages it. Not to mention it attracts rather open minded people. I’ve also found that it seems to attract more professionals and women than most other martial arts. The underlying philosophy of the art and, depending on what style of Aikido, the actually physicality of the classes can be…not too physically demanding, which make it appealing to both these groups.
If after a time you feel the need to move onto something else, judo would be an easy next step and provide you with solid training.
All that being said, Aikido is really good for self defense and for law enforcement who must control and defend. But it is horrible for fighting. Fighters will never over commit in a way that is necessary for Aikido to work well. I quit 2 years ago and switched over to Sambo (Russian judo/wrestling/jiu-jitsu) and MMA training because I’m a young, healthy, fit male (ie young and dumb) and am more interested in real fighting at this point in my life. Now, when I’m forty, I’ll probably want to head back to Aikido because I do agree with its philosophy and because if practised carefully, can be done well into old age.
But more important than any of this, and I’m suprised no one has said this yet, the NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING to look for in a martial arts school is…the teacher. It’s more important for you to go look at a variety of schools and get a feeling for the head instructor at each one. Any school should allow you to watch a class. If they don’t, leave and never go back there. To get a good assessment of the instructor, look at the senior students (they’ve got the black belts on). Are the people encouraging? Does it look like the instructor pays attention to all students, regardless of rank? Does the school have an atmosphere of comrodery and good training? These things should be apparent, even at tough, ready-to-rumble MMA-type schools. Though it will probably take on a different form.
Anyway, good luck! Hope you find what you’re looking for.
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