Aikido or Jujutsu?

Question

hi me and my friend have decided to take up martial arts and here is the two we are considering. which is best in real life situation and why? which is most enjoyable?

Answer 1

If you enjoy this story then Aikido might be for you? It took me 8 years of solid training in Aikido to discover it was not for me. I discovered that my Aikido training worked well against only two types of opponents: 1) People with no martial arts training 2) People who trained Aikido also

Aikido is not a bad martial art, but rather I'm a bad martial artist.

Here is the story:

The problem that arises out of comparing Aikido to other martial arts is that Aikido exists in the absolute world while other arts deal with the relative world. This is not to say that everyone is in the place of no contest: the absolute, but O'Sensei pointed the way through his practice and his character and gave the art direction. It seems that everyone these days is worrying about Aikido's effectiveness or how it will do against this art or that art. Let me give an example of Aikido training's "effectiveness" from my own experience.

When I was living in Korea I organized and led an Aikido class on the military base gym in Seoul. The martial arts room was divided into two sections, separated by a short wall. On the other side, at the same time as mine was a tae kwon do class. While his students were busy doing their kata, the Korean teacher would lean on the divider and glare at me and my students. Japan or its martial arts were not liked by most Koreans at that time for historical reasons.

One day after both our classes were over, he came over to my side and said: "You! Teach me Aikido!" I could tell from his voice and aggressive posture that he was not interested in learning anything from me. Both of our students had gathered round and the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. I realize that this was a challenge and he only wanted to show his students how Japanese Aikido was inferior to Korean martial arts. I politely told him that he was already a great martial artist and I didn't need me to show him anything. But this only increased his anger. "No," he shouted. "You teach me Aikido, now!" Realizing there was no way out of this. I asked him to extend his hand and grabbed HIS wrist. I asked him to pivot and bend his knees. When he did this I followed his movement and took ukemi for him. This continued with various moves, myself always as uke and taking the ukemi for him. After a few throws, the anger in his face began to fade and finally became a big smile. His students and mine breathed a sigh of relieve as no one had lost face. Finally, he reached out his hand in friendship and said: I like this Aikido!

From then on he smiled whenever we met, and when he watched my class during his breaks, it was with genuine interest, rather than distrust.

The power of Aikido lies in the subtleties of mutual victory. Often the importance of receiving (ukemi) is lost in the rhetoric of this technique versus that technique.

Be careful not to "win the battle, but lose the war."

Answer 2

Aikido would be much better in a real life situation, as it is mainly a defensive art, and can be used whenever someone attacks you in pretty much any style of fighting. The only thing with Aikido is that you need to be a little careful or you could seriously injure someone even just during training. Aikido is also banned from use in martial arts tournaments because it is considered a 'bone-breaking' art. Don't know all that much about Jujutsu though.

Answer 3

I've taken jujutsu and will atest that it is much more based on combat than akido. akido in my experience is more of an excercise best performed by two people that know akido. The best jujutsu will actually incorporate elements of akido (I learned akido's method of falling for example, its way different). But while akido is meant to be more of an art, jujutsu is more for combat. The best jujutsu will actually incorporate some of its Okinawan neighbor's karate along with forms such as akijutsu (not a form of akido). It practice, this blending gives someone more of a base in real world situations. There are also several different Ryu's (schools) of jujutsu including some that make heavy use of presswure points, some that rely heavily on judo and some that are very old school (budo). I recommend a budo for the best form of combat training. Judo-based forms are not much better than akido teaching almost no striking. Pressure point based forms are highly effective as well but difficult to learn. When picking a ryu, ask questions such as the history of the school. You want one as closely related to Japanese roots as possible so that you don't get a watered down version of the art. Find out how many blackbelts they have. Too many is actually a bad thing. It takes a good four years to learn the art to that level and having an excessive number means the school might promote too quickly. You want to know the black belt you will wear means something. Find out the training of the teacher. Anyone that claims to be a 9th don or higher you should be suspecious of. I've met four in my life and there was no doubt they deserved it - they learned from the old masters in Japan back in the 1950s and had been doing it for more than 50 years. My teacher was only a fourth degree, which is plenty high enough considering he knew everything the old master taught. Ask about weapon training. They should have some including the roko shaku bo, the jo or bokuto (sword). these are basically traditional samurai weapons (the bo is actually Okinawan or a hybrid of the naginata). Nunchuko and sai are Okinawan and not bad to learn either. Akido as far as I know has no weapons training. I could write a book but, lastly, try it out. The ways of falling in either are are slightly different. It's important that your body is able to do this without much problem. You may not find jujutsu fits your body style. I had no trouble even though I was overweight. I've seen others that just can't learn to roll. Be prepared when starting either to learn falling for at least the first three to four months. It's important to be able to get it right so you don't get hurt. It will not be glamerous but it pays off in the end. The fun starts after your second belt (seventh kyu) when you begin to pick up the pace with the higher ranks. By the time you're fifth kyu, you're doing the heavy stuff - full contact, arials, weapons. The last two kyu ranks are more designed to refine the skills and generate creativity in implementing them.

On a side note, jujutsu has no sparring though akido has some provided the people know the art. In both cases, the moves are designed to break joints (not bones, that's karate).

Answer 4

Both can be extremely effective. It depends entirely upon the quality of your instruction. As to karate being about fighting -- well, you get out of it what you put in. If a student goes into a dojo with the mindset that he wants to have great martial competence to the exclusion of everything else, that is what he will get. If he is searching for spiritual well-being or physical fitness, he can get that too. Most people have a combination of these three -- and I can assure you that to the great masters, it is not about beating the crap out of people at all. I imagine that this is the same in aikido or jujutsu. They are certainly different styles. But I do not believe you can say that one is superior.

Answer 5

I'm with Bluto on this. Check the school. If they spar and do some realistic training that will be better. I believe Aikido takes a bit longer to get but I could be wrong on that. Both have successful artists. As far as enjoyment goes, that is subjective so even more, check out the schools, attend class in both. Roll in both classes and find out what you like best.

Answer 6

Both are very effective, but as with all martial arts depend on your work ethic, dedication, practice and the teacher. Check out both schools, ask to watch a couple of lessons both private and group. Don't be shy about this, most legit schools wont mind, but they should also speak with the student before hand when someone is viewing a private lesson. This is your chance to judge the sensei, is he courteous to the student and let him or her know before the lesson begins? Even better, did he ask permission to have you view it before saying yes to you? The sensei may say that private lessons are a problem due to student privacy, but viewing a group lesson should never be a problem.

Also, ask for a free lesson before signing up. Both of you should go separately and get a free lesson and maybe attend one group lesson. This lets you see how you feel doing the art.

Once this has been done with both discuss them and the options. Did one feel better then the other? Choose accordingly and not based on price. They should be close in price, if not then something is very different or wrong about one of the dojos. Check how often the dojo is open to you, my dojo costs more then most but it is open to me 7 days a week. If I don't have a class in my rank and age group I can still come by and use equipment, ask questions, sit in on a class or even help the instructor by being his "dummy" (thus getting some training reinforcement as well since even going through the motions is training).

But yes, both Ju Jitsu and Aikido are very good martial arts. Ju Jitsu is a very old art and is mainly a grappling art, Brazilian Ju Jitsu or BJJ adds more strikes to it, but is still mainly grappling. Aikido is mainly a defensive art and is very fluid and evasion based. It is based off some very old ideas but is a rather new art.

Answer 7

The most important thing to do is go with WHAT YOU LIKE. Visit the school. See which art you prefer, and MOST IMPORTANTLY which school you prefer. Aikido will likely take longer to be "effective" in a real life situation. Please, no aikido people jump on me. I didn't say it wasn't effective, but it is much more subtle of an art and takes a long time to master the little nuances that make it truly effective. Again, see which one you prefer, and make sure you like the school itself (schools can differ greatly in quality, affordability, and instructor ability).

Answer 8

AIKIDO - Not only is it the best defense for any opposition but they teach you how fighting should be detered all together. THe best fight to be in is the one that never begins. When looking for a martial art, one should look at them self and ask why. What reason do you want to learn a martial art. If for self defense for competition or fitness.

If you want to compete and get a work out - Ju-jitsu

If you want to be confident in real life situations - Aikido

Answer 9

Aikido is by far the most effective in the hands of someone who can do it well. But it may take longer to reach that standard.

Aikido is based on a spiritual sense of unity and harmony with everything. This allows you to defuse any attack without needing any physical strength - even against bigger stronger faster opponents, against groups, and weapons.

Jujutsu is more pragmatically based on an understanding of the body and how it moves. It allows for gentle self defense as in aikido, but can also get a bit more rough and physical at times. For a lot of people the moves in jujutsu are easier to learn because they do not require as much sensitivity.

I think which one is more fun depends on what kind of person you are. I definitely prefer aikido. But then i am very much interested in the spiritual arts. If you are more of a sports person you might prefer jujutsu.

you might also consider wingchun kungfu - very effective style based on a few simple movements and the power of your energy. probably good for people who fall somewhere in the middle - it's more physical than aikido, but more spiritual than jujutsu.

Answer 10

Aikido pales in comparison next to Jiu-Jitsu. Both incorporate holds, locks, and throws, but the best fighters in the world train in Jiu-Jitsu. All of the MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters practice Jiu-Jitsu, so I would think that it is the art best used in the real world. With the booming popularity of MMA, there will be more people looking to learn Jiu-Jitsu than Aikido, so you would get more competition and meet more people.