Which Martial Art?

Question

I currently am training in Aikido and I absolutely love it. I can't believe I didn't do it earlier. But I would like to become more well-rounded, and since Aikido isn't so much offensive, I was wondering what would be a good martial art to take along side Aikido that is more offensive as well as defensive? What Martial Art compliments Aikido?

I am leaning towards...
Ju Jitsu
Judo
Muay Thai

if anyone has any other suggestions, or advice about the three above, I'd appreciate it!

Answer 1

This is entirely up to you because martial arts offer different training regimens that may or may not fit you, regardless of what other people tell you. However, why not train in all of them my dear? You have the freedom to do so. Don't train in them to add techniques on to your arsenal, but train in them to know what to defend against, because out of all the techniques that you will learn in your life, most likely you will only be able to use a few of them anyway.

I'm assuming (though I could be wrong) that Aikido is your first art, so therefore it is your base art. What you can do is use the PRINCIPLES of Aikido, and some principles of another art and combine these together to make a foundation of principles that is tailor made especially for you. Once you have your principles established, you can pretty much use any technique from any art........if it works for the current situation that is.

In this way, you will have a fixed guideline to follow by, but the techniques will be random. It's pretty much what Bruce Lee was trying to get all martial artists to see.

Speaking of that, my own Quan'fa is comprised of principles from Jeet Kune Do and Aikijujitsu, and I have to say that the Jeet Kune Do way of pulling off techniques will compliment the Aikijujitsu way very well. One is Yang while the other is Yin. It's a perfect balance. You just have to know how to make it work. Those are just my guidelines because they work for me, but like I was saying above, I use any technique that works to get me out of a situation, regardless of the martial art I picked it up from, or whether I saw it on a movie or not. If it works for you, USE it.

I'd have to say that Jeet Kune Do would probably be the most practical set of guideline principles to help you as a martial artist. You can study those from home basically, as long as you have the things that are required like sparring gear, a partner, wing chun dummy, etc...


I mean, the world of martial arts principles and techniques are open and free to everyone, so just shop around and get what you can get. There is nothing or noone that can stop you.

Answer 2

go with judo. Judo is the brother of aikido. It will be similar to aikido, so u will addapt quickly. There is a risk though, u might fall in love with judo then aikido. It is great defense, and offense, but if u want a striking style, then go with mouy chiraya. It is a branch of mouy thai, that is really effective in self defense,and uses mostly elbows, and knees to strike. You defend, and attack at the same time. Any type of karate will do well for striking if u have a good instructor.

Answer 3

Any of those arts would be great as a compliment to your aikido training. Muay Thai especially would be beneficial.

Here is a list of some other styles that may be beneficial to you.
Kajukenbo
CHA 3 kenpo
Choy lay fut
Shotokan
Tang soo do

Answer 4

Jujutsu and Judo are from Aikijujutsu, so is Aikido.

That whole offensive/defensive stuff is a myth. Aiki has strikes just like any other art. You don't see it because of the fluid nature of Aikido.

If you want something more combative, then go for Aikijujutsu. Daito Ryu comes to mind. Gozo Shioda's lineage is also more combative.

Don't fall for the off/def nonsense. It comes from people who don't have a true understanding of martial arts.

Answer 5

Well Aikido is basically strong on grappling and Ju-Jitsu or Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu complements that and are more on the offensive. For a more varied style try something like Taido, Taekkyeon or Muay Thai because Judo is too familiar.

Answer 6

Kajukenbo its a very good street art to compliment the aikido self defense. It has 5 styles mixed in to one. KA - kartate, JU - judo/ ju jitsu, KEN - kenpo, BO - chinese boxing (kung fu). A well rounded Kaju instructor would work with what you know and help you evolve as a better martial artist.

Answer 7

Well Muay Thai or Kickboxing would be offensive but I am not sure how much it would compliment Aikido. Jujitsu and Judo would compliment Aikido but not so much offensively. I think Kempo might be your best bet. I would look into Muay Thai. I would look into each one of them most Dojo's will let you sit in on a class.

Answer 8

I do southern praying mantis, there's not that many schools about, if you can find 1, go along and have a look. Southern Praying Mantis systems are much respected styles of Kung Fu with simple, more effective techniques.designed to inflict maximum damage on an opponent.

Southern Mantis Kung Fu uses a strong stance from which to defend against aggressive attacks. The wrists are used to manipulate the opponent's attack, forcing an opening in their defence allowing for a lethal & devastating counter attack targeted to vital points of the body, destroying nerves, organs and breaking bones - effectively rendering the opponent defenceless. This makes Southern Mantis Kung Fu very dangerous....i love it and cant wait for my next lessons to come around

Answer 9

What ever your "main" practice is and yours seems to be AIKIDO pick an art that compliments and is similar to the way AIKIDO teaches you to move your body.

DAN IVAN who was a main contributor to BLACK BELT mag and co founder of the yearly MARTIAL ARTS FESTIVAL in LA wrote an article once titled.
KARATE MAKES AIKIDO WORK AIKIDO MAKES KARATE WORK BETTER.

Answer 10

Tae kwon do is pretty good, and I would advise against karate. A good offensive/defensive art is kickboxing, which I think would complement aikido pretty well. I think judo is too similar to aikido to complement it. Also I would recommend jeet kun do if you can find anyone who teaches it.