I am female, 17 years old and I am thinking of starting Aikido (rest below)?

Question

... Should I do it? I know it is diffucult but are there any reasons I should not start? Also, is Aikido an Olympic sport?

Answer 1

go for it.

Aikido is indeed not the easiest of arts. It takes years to effectively master the basic techniques of aikido (the advanced stuff takes even longer) but aikido is one of the most effective defensive tools once mastered. The techniques taught in aikido can indeed break bones dislocate joints or kill or render people invalid if you know what you are doing. But that is not it's intention. It truly is as the creator Morihei Uyeshiba called it the art of peace. The ultimate truth in aikido (as in most MA) is to avoid fighting and to convince your opponent of the futility of fighting just by your attitude and comportment alone. Aikido teaches you a lot about human anatomy and balance, energy streams and it also has a serious spîritual and philosophical aspect to it. I'll tell you that in the beginning whatever you are learning is gonna seem and sound like chinese but once you are on your way you are involved in a beautiful art.

Answer 2

no aikido isnt an olympic sport the closest thing would be judo, both using throws and grappling techniques. true aikido teaches you how to not be the aggressor and to redirect the energy(momentum)of the attacker. so in that sense a aikido match would be EXTREMELY boring watching two people wait for each other to attack each other until the time runs out or each person dies of boredom. but i do believe their might be aikido demostrations in the olympics sometimes just not matches
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_sports#Current_program

i say go for it if you like it. but ask yourself what are you trying to achieve? do you want to fight competitively? probably should look for something else. exercise? sure self defense? maybe. spritiual refinement/learning how to control situations and not losing tempure? yes

my dad has been studying aikido for 3 years. he loves it because it helps his arthritis and flexibility, and its great exercise for him plus at his age he cant do "hard" contact martial arts like karate, taekwondo, muay thai etc...he also feels more calm doing the art because it teaches you about your chi and avoiding fights being peaceful etc...but he says in comparsion to other martial arts to him it seems like it'll take a lot longer to learn how to defend yourself than other arts. also it depends on the instructor, some places dont train realistically. by realistically i mean some place dont train at full speed or with a resisting person.

some places only teach you how to defend you from an attacker but the attacker is going at a fraction of the speed they would be in real life, without training in real time you wont know how to defend yourself in real life. also some techniques you'll practice the person isnt resisting allowing them to be thrown will also not help you ina real self defense situation in which a person is going to be trying their best to to be thrown.

but if the school you go to teaches in a realistic manner you'll be fine with self defense. i just dont like the idea of always defending and never being the aggressor but thats me

anyways good luck

Answer 3

it is a great style and yes it is an Olympic sport if goes in against judo. I believe Haikido would be better. Don't you think that your a little old to be thinking about an Olympic sport most people have been training since they were three. If you work hard and go to a great master then I would say any thing is possible. good luck and if you win I want a picture of you with the metal.

Answer 4

I don't know if it is an Olympic sport but Aikido is good for both sexes and all ages because it is primarily a defensive martial art, where you use your opponent's moves against them.