Aikido - Anyone practise?

Marcel

Marcel

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Marcel
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Couldn't sleep this morning, so lie awake thinking :p
I used to do alot of Karate many many years ago....and enjoyed it, but fizzled out when I left school.

I've always wanted to try Aikido. It's fascinated me for years, and it's a style I think I would really enjoy turning my hand to (no pun intended).
I went for a couple of sessions a few years ago with an old friend. Unfortunately, I was a bus driver so worked shifts, and couldn't really make the training times. I was also a smoker with asthma too then , which didn't help.

Now I'm a house husband, I have my evenings free. I'm not getting any younger, and I need to start making changes. I'd like to have another go at it before it's too late, but I'm unsure. I'm fat and unfit for a start...lol

Mainly though, I also have a huge confidence problem...new social situations absolutely scare the crap out of me....always have done.
I'd love to be able to turn up to my local club on my own, in my sweat pants and say 'Sign me up please', but there's no way I could.
I've always been one of these people who prefers to go with a friend who knows what goes on etc. Does that make sense?
Nowhere seems to offer complete beginners classes (There is only one club near me in Bury anyway)

I'm waffling now :p
 
Little bump...I've been thinking about this even more lately, since my son started karate (the same style I used to practise, er, a *few* years ago).

I've decided I'm going to give the local club a ring this week and bite the bullet.
 
i have a mate who does karate, he got to be a third dan ? and opened his own club, sadly he has problems with his hands these days so he had to stop competing, he's still fit as a butchers dog though and can boast that he beat john jepson.....twice :clap:

go for it marcel, just avoid the full contact variety :thumbs:
 
Marcel,

I go to an aikido club in the centre of Manchester. It's pretty friendly and they don't mind beginners turning up (I was one last year).

Mason Street Dojo

They have their own place in the northern quarter, but they also have a class at the University of Manchester on Wednesday evenings.

Interested?

dave
 
If you want to get fit, I can offer you some free squash coaching in Prestwich Marcel!! :D
 
candlestick said:
If you want to get fit, I can offer you some free squash coaching in Prestwich Marcel!! :D
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Hehe funnily enough, a friend of mine has just asked me if I fancy a game of squash sometime.

I've never played so I said yeah. Not sure where he plays though. Are you at the old Village Squash club up George St?
 
Nah, they're the arch rivals of the mighty Cheetham Hill Cricket Club!!* :nuts::nuts:













*They're not really, 1/2 of our club play down there as well as at Cheetham Hill!! :D
 
Aahhhh, so you're in a squash club then? Gotcha :)

Well I've just given the local Aikido club a ring, gonna pop down this week to watch them training, with a view to joining in next time I go....Looking forward to it!
 
Well went down the other night to watch. Was kinda gutted I chose to watch for the first time instead...wanted to get stuck in.

Went out and bought a gi yesterday (luckily found one that fits! although it's a heavyweight so not good for staying cool :p)

Had my first session tonight. 2 hours or so and I came out drenched in sweat and aching :D I'm gonna hurt tomorrow :p

Learnt quite alot too, absolutely loved it. Definitely keeping this up.
 
Marcel said:
Well went down the other night to watch. Was kinda gutted I chose to watch for the first time instead...wanted to get stuck in.

Went out and bought a gi yesterday (luckily found one that fits! although it's a heavyweight so not good for staying cool :p)

Had my first session tonight. 2 hours or so and I came out drenched in sweat and aching :D I'm gonna hurt tomorrow :p

Learnt quite alot too, absolutely loved it. Definitely keeping this up.
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Marcel, Althoug I think your doing this for fitness, I think your doing this also to loose weight? (forgive me if I'm wrong)
But Sweating whilst excersising is perfect, As long as you re-hydrate. If you continue 2 hours lessons each week and do a little in between, You will soon start to notice a difference :)

Wish you luck mate
 
Its not 2 hours, it's 2 x 2 hours. Training twice a week.

If I get one or two trips a week in at the gym too, and maybe little changes in the rest of my life...it should drop off :)
 
Good for you Marcel.

I am tempted to take up something like this. But I dont have the money :(

Just be good for the fitness to be honest. I have no intent of loosing the pounds (im underweight as it is) But looks like alot of fun. Keep it up :D
 
i used to be into marshal arts in a big way, until my silly job made regular training difficult.
i did something called goyararu.
an excellent all round discipline, with exmphasis on the "art" .
billed itself as the thinking mans martial art. which i would have to agree with.
i loved it, and trained for over ten years, in tow five year bursts. (bloody jobs again).
good opertunity to learn, get fit, and feel better about yourself.
and not full of ego's like some martial arts.
i think there are a couple of clubs in the manchester area.
 
GFC Muay Thai

Location: Britannina Mill, Cobden St, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 6AW
Style: Muay Thai Boxing
Times: evening class, day time private lessons
Contact: Darren Phillips, 07939277002, darren@gfcmuaythai.co.uk
have you seen this lot?
 
fyonn said:
Marcel,

I go to an aikido club in the centre of Manchester. It's pretty friendly and they don't mind beginners turning up (I was one last year).

Mason Street Dojo

They have their own place in the northern quarter, but they also have a class at the University of Manchester on Wednesday evenings.

Interested?

dave
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Hi Dave

Apologies, I missed your post for some reason :thinking:
Don't want you to think I was ignoring you :)

I've been going to my local club for a few weeks now. (4th lesson tonight). It's knackering, but I'm loving it.
I twisted my knees a couple of weeks ago and painfully hurt my coccixx on the same night, so had to sit out for a week or so.

Coccix is still a bit sore, but I went on friday and took it easy.

I'm really enjoying it. Bought a couple of wooden weapons on Sunday and I'm thining of buying another gi (a much lighter one), proper traditional Japanese style (shorter arms etc, ideal for Aikido), as the one I bought last month is heavyweight and I get very very warm in it (which doesn't take much anyway).

Hoping to focus more on footwork and application tonight :D

Anyway, I'm waffling...must be off....
 
inaneredstripe said:
i used to be into marshal arts in a big way, until my silly job made regular training difficult.
i did something called goyararu.
an excellent all round discipline, with exmphasis on the "art" .
billed itself as the thinking mans martial art. which i would have to agree with.
i loved it, and trained for over ten years, in tow five year bursts. (bloody jobs again).
good opertunity to learn, get fit, and feel better about yourself.
and not full of ego's like some martial arts.
i think there are a couple of clubs in the manchester area.
Click to expand...

I've looked into the possibility of a few different martial arts and at the moment, it's only Aikido that I want to do. It's the one martial art that is really fascinating me, both in its application and history, and also in the spiritual side / personal development of it.
 
Marcel said:
Its not 2 hours, it's 2 x 2 hours. Training twice a week.

If I get one or two trips a week in at the gym too, and maybe little changes in the rest of my life...it should drop off :)
Click to expand...

That or you drop off :D Kudos for finding something you enjoy and doing it. Thats the real bitch of working out. If you find it a chore you ain't going to do it.
 
Exactly :)

The gym is enjoyable in a 'i know its good for me really' kind of way, but I just get bored to tears doing it as I have a very active mind. I can't just put one foot infront of the other and plod on with a clear mind. My mind just wanders.

With this I'm constantly doing something and *want* to keep going for the enjoyment of the activity, not for the prospect of getting fitter
 
good luck marcel, hope it works for you
 
Its always better to keep fit to play sport than to play sport to keep fit! well done Marcel, i wish i could find something that i could do other than the gym! but with the injuried im sporting at the moment its difficult!

I was taught some Aikido while i was in the Army, plus some other stuff too, it can be very effective.. i always enjoyed those sessions.. Jap slapping we called it!! :lol:
 
Well done Marcel, been following your tweets about training, and sounds like you have finally found what you were looking for. Maybe if our club can ever get an adult class going again I would consder donning a Gi, but in the meantime, will enjoy your progress. :clap:
 
I did Aiki for a few years, along with a lot of other stuff (Judo, Karate, Ju-Jitsu, Wing Chun etc) and it's very interesting.

I'd hate to have to rely on it for self-defence though, due to the extreme control required to make it work. In practical self-defence situations, you're going to be experiencing huge doses of adrenaline that make a lot of those precise movements very hard to do for real. Hitting people really ****ing hard is in general much more reliable for defence.

Aikido seems to me like a really advanced and refined martial art. Something that you start learning when you hit middle age, and you can't compete with the kids for pure speed and athleticism after 30 years doing the more direct martial arts. It has some interesting things to teach about distance, evasion, timing and fooling your opponents nervous system into defeating him for you.

If you don't really care about self-defence though, I could see Aikido in isolation from the more practical martial arts being a valuable physical and mental practice. It's excellent for flexibility, gives a good workout and teaches precision of movement, balance and if you do it right, awareness.
 
Good on you Marcel, I've been saying for years I'll start to so some kayaking again, but never get round to it, so well done.

Is this a continuation of your new years health kick, with the getting fit and the going to bed before 11 thing.
 
Well done Marcel. I used to practice Judo, got bronze medal in the Nationals, so that ranked me no 3 in south east. All martial arts are good for the mind, body and soul. Keep it up mate.
Dean:)
 
Thanks again. :)
Whiteflyer it is.....Weight hasn't dropped off yet though :p

As for the self defense, I think I disagree to an extent. I think it does have quite an application (Which is one of the reasons I want to learn). However, it fits in with my ideals as it's a non-aggressive martial art.

Ideally it's not going to be perfect for every single attack or situation, but then again no martial art is. This does fit within my own personal temperament and ideals though :)

Who knows, only time will tell :)
 
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