8690 replies to this topic

[cupcake23]

well I just notice cupcake is keeper of Clarkson's lis... LAZY ess

He does have a lisp and I don't care what anyone says... hahahaa.

OH, I'm slightly intoxicated and we have a danceparty going on in the basement right now.... I'm waiting for a disc to burn so I can continue dancing

[Devils Pride 26]

The things I'd do for a jeep wrangler. tired of this camry. bro-mobile search begins now.

[RSC]

The things I'd do for a jeep wrangler. tired of this camry. bro-mobile search begins now.

The things I'd do for a Klondike Bar....

[CarpathianForest]

Hey guys I'm seriously considering leaving Judo for Aikido. I've been injured countless times and it's really taking it's toll. Plus I'm more groomed to be an instructor over a competitor. My Sensei has decided this year to really concentrate on competition and is really riding everyone hard. I still like Judo but it's getting awfully close to being not fun anymore. What are your thoughts?

[Scottie2Hottie]

Actually the two are quite similar. They both work on using the other persons momentum against them. Aikido is a lot more fancy about it though, and I'm sorry to say but you will probably sustain the same injuries you are facing in Judo. I have studied a bunch of different martial arts including Judo, Aikido, Silat Serak, and Muay Thai.

You will find a lot of what they will teach you in Aikido are exactly the same as some of the things you learned in Judo, but they have different names haha.

If you want an edge in competition, study a range of things. For example, Silat taught me to strike in close, and muay thai taught me to fight better at a distance.

What kind of injuries are you sustaining? Joint injuries? Maybe try some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for some great countering techniques for the ground work.

[CarpathianForest]

I'm not really interested in the competition side of things. If anything I want to be an instructor. That's what has always attracted me to Aikido is the non-competitive nature of it. Our dojo is headed in the direction that everything that's taught is for competitive purposes.
My injuries: I hurt my lower back, strained the tendons inside and outside my right elbow, sprained the joints in both big toes, I can pop all my fingers now. Currently I'm nursing a rotator cuff injury.
I've been really frustrated lately. I got skipped from orange to green just because of my knowledge and dedication but I feel it's become a big burden. We've been doing a lot of uchi komis(fit-ins) to start class and I get stuck with our star competitor. He throws me up and down the mat and to be honest getting thrown by a talented black belt at a hundred miles per hour can be exhausting. So when it's my turn my throws look like $hit cause I've been mashed into the tatami like 20 times and my Sensei criticizes my throws. On Monday we were doing koshi guruma which is one of my favorite techniques but I was exhausted from my partner's speed and taking so many falls. When I got down to the end of the tatami I applied my technique and fell right on my knees in front of my Sensei and he got pretty upset. I like to do my uchi komis with a bit more of a slower pace so I can break the technique down in my head.
My groundwork is good, but I hate groundwork. Although I'm supposed to be sitting out because of my shoulder I participated anyway because my Sensei gives me dirty looks if I don't. So this new SanDan tried to show my partner an armbar from tata shiho gatame. He didn't know I had an injury so I started tapping him vigorously before he could apply the technique. He stopped and I got criticized for not yelling mattei even though I was tapping him like a madman. Then I was just frustrated so I started choking all my groundwork partners out with a fury, just letting out my anger.
By the end of the night we were doing standing randori and I just couldn't compete. When I got paired up I would just take the fall no questions. I had one counter throw but by then I was just gassed.
It's been like this since I became sankyo in December.

[Scottie2Hottie]

Man it sounds like your Sensei isn't exactly a class act. He might know what he is doing but if hes allowing people to get injured or giving dirty looks at you for something you can't really help then I honestly suggest you get out of there anyways. I mean, part of martial arts is being able to show restraint, too.

Do you hate ground work because it isn't your strong suit? If that is the case it should drive you to perfect it.

I think its great you are trying to branch out to other martial arts, especially if you want to become an instructor some day (knowledge of any style, even a little bit is great). And it is incredibly unfortunate that everything is heading towards competition, because it drives students to go more 'all out' in their training. That is what causes injuries.

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? and what do you do as far as conditioning and endurance training?

Edited by Scottie2Hottie, 19 January 2011 - 02:17 PM.

[CarpathianForest]

My Sensei has been doing judo for 47 years and he competes so he's driven by competition. He's a good guy and all but I also feel like I'm copping out when I can't participate in certain things due to injury. You know lately he's been very hard on everyone to get better. He does have competitors' classes but I think he's starting to blend the two.
I'm actually quite good at ne waza. I don't use too much strength and I tend to use strategy over muscle. I just don't care for it that much.
I'm 33. I'm actually in college and working full time so I don't have much time for conditioning. I care about making judo beautiful, not killing people on the mat so I don't go to the gym or anything. I'm also an ex-smoker of 14 years, I have sleep apnea and a partially collapsed sinus cavity so it's a miracle that I can keep up normally. I could proabably stand to lose another 15 pounds but I like the idea that I'm a big guy. That way people get the idea that I'm all about power when I'm really not.

[CarpathianForest]

I'm actually doing 7 1/2 to 8 hours of Judo per week. That includes the kids' class and that can get pretty tiring. The kids' class runs one hour then I have a half hour til the adults' class starts.

[Scottie2Hottie]

Hmm you may have a harder time doing the Aikido actually. There is a lot more conditioning that goes into Aikido than Judo. Aikido also focus' a lot on proper breathing while fighting as to absorb strikes in order to counter.

It just sounds to me that your class is a little over the top. Like I said, people in the class should NOT be getting hurt. And he probably is blending the classes as Martial Arts are becoming much more popular with kids wanting to do MMA fighting and all of that jazz.

In all honesty, I don't think you are going to gain as much out of Aikido as you may think. Sure you'll learn a trick or two. But hearing about your injuries makes me want to say try something totally different. You don't want to wind up injuring yourself permanently.

For a big guy, maybe check out Silat Serak or Shotokahn karate.

http://www.youtube.com/user/karatefire

this guy has some pretty good Silat videos. We have some real big guys in my class. and they do it all fine.

Edited by Scottie2Hottie, 19 January 2011 - 04:09 PM.

[CarpathianForest]

I've looked into other disciplines but I'm not a fan of the kicking and punching. I tried out Kobudo a couple of weeks ago and although it is interesting when you come from Judo to a discipline that works with forms gets really trying. I like karate but I don't think I could do the same forms over and over again for an hour.

Like I said the thing that interests me the most is the instruction and actually performing an artform. If I can make it look beautiful then I'm satisfied.
I'm sure Aikido has it's share of high impact but I've observed some classes before and they do a lot of breathing and meditation which may help me. In Judo, the only kind of breathing exercise we get is someone coming up to you and telling you to control your breathing. It's hard to control your breathing when you don't know how and you only have about 80% ability to breathe through your nose.
Aikido was my first choice but I went to Judo because I didn't think Aikido was physical enough. Perhaps I was wrong.

Edited by CarpathianForest, 19 January 2011 - 04:15 PM.

[jim777]

I love the idea of Aikido, but it has always struck me as very 'big circle'. I think you would be better off with Hapkido over Aikido, because the movements are smaller and tighter. They are very similar in concept, but i think you'd be better served with Hapkido (or better - combat hapkido) if you want the the Aikido ideal of using the opponents force against him. It seems much more efficient to me.

If you are anywhere near Master Brian McCann's school in central Jersey, check it out.

[CarpathianForest]

Thanks, Jim.
I'm in Albuquerque so I'm kind of limited.
I'm really into the fluid movements of Aikido above everything else. The fact that someone who is really good at Aikido can make it look completely harmonic is what draws me.

Edited by CarpathianForest, 19 January 2011 - 05:15 PM.

[jim777]

That is true about Aikido, but it is true about Hapkido as well. The styles are very similar, but where Aikido is a 'big circle' movement style, hapkido is a 'small circle' movement style. Both are redirections of oncoming force at their core, with other stuff thrown in Try and find a local hapkido school - you may be able to find someone on the martialtalk.com forums who is familiar with one as well if you can't find one. Check out a class, your judo knowledge will help you as there is a lot of similarity there as well.

[cupcake23]

OHHHH MAN! I always miss the fun threads.

[Scottie2Hottie]

Jim is right. I never even thought about Hapkido. Check that one out. The better you can do Hapkido, the better you would be able to do Aikido.

Breathing exercises are VERY important in any martial art so I'm kind of stunned that they tell you that about your breathing in your school. I understand you predicament about your breathing, but there are many different kinds of breathing (as odd as that may sound)

But yeah I agree with Jim, check out Hapkido first.

[jim777]

This place teaches Combat Hapkido in your neck of the woods, and seems worth checking out if it's close by : http://www.champion-tkd.com/

I've done a few combat hapkido seminars over the last few years, and if i could get to a school on a regular basis it would definitely be my primary style.

[CarpathianForest]

Thanks for the input, Guys. I went to Judo last night. My Sensei was out sick so we had a couple of other black belts teaching. They're more instructor over competitor types so it was pretty cool. I could't do any ne waza randori because of my shoulder. Judo is really kind of my thing. I have a love/hate relationship with it. What is it Al Pacino said, "Every time I think I'm out tthey pull me back in?"

[Pepperkorn]

Why don't you try yoga? I love my yoga class. The dude that teaches studied kinesiology and you can seriously tell. Seriously -- just by listening to what he says you're doing all of this crazy stuff. It's particularly fun for me because I have no idea about yoga poses and stuff so I have no idea what the heck they're talking about when everyone groans when he says we're going to work on our blahblahayasavustry -- I just do what I'm told and I'm in some back bend or hand stand - massively fun!!! If ha had just said get into a back bend I'd have died. So fun! IT'S KILLER! You stay in these positions for ages... did you know that if you just hang out energetically on your hands and knees like a dog for long enough you seriously think your arms are going to fall off and you start shaking all over. and in all honesty -- you seriously come out of class high. I KID YOU NOT! They ain't burning nothing either.

ANyhow -- as with all things I think you need to have the right teacher or place of study. Don't give up any art form until you've gotten several takes on it, you know? Maybe it's not a new martial art you need but a new place to study - not just a different teacher in the same place, because you want to always have a productive class -- not just depend on one teacher -- or dojo or whatever. I know you all have pretty much kind of said that -- but I thought I'd just re-state it.

[CarpathianForest]

Thanks, PK! I looked into yoga to supplement my judo to increase flexibility. It's a bit on the expensive side.