Aikido for LE Defensive Tactics

[dentndude7]

Hello all! This is my first post to this forum although I have visited quite often.

I guess you could say I am a seeker of a style of "martial arts" to study. I want to study a form to supplement my knowledge of law enforcement defensive tactics. I am a police officer and we receive 4 hours of refresher training every 6 months and we only received a week worth of training in the police academy. In my opinion, this is sorely deficient. As a result, I have been lead to Aikido because of it's 'gentle' nature to inflict as little injury as possible. Looks very good on the police report and subsequent trial.

The only thing that bothers me is the spititual aspect of Aikido. It seems very pantheistic and I must admit I am monotheistic of the Christian breed. My faith is very important to me and I do not want to study something that will be in contradiction. I have been assured by some that it will not but I wanted to get some opinions on both aspects of my thread.

My thanks in advance!

Craig Simons

[jabonn]

Craig good to see another from Denton. I know I guess all three Aikido schools/clubs in Denton. I do not study Aikido however it seems MAist run in the same circles - and have met many of the Aikido-ka in area. If you have any questions about any of the clubs PM me.

My teacher rents some time and space to an Aikido club, - the Aikido teacher and I have been trying to get a grassroots Judo club started. I know a few Police Officers play a little Judo up at Denton Opt. Club. Could be a choice.

One of Alan Mohlers' students is teaching BJJ off of University. I am moving to Ponder and was going to look him up. They are now with Jacare' Cavalcanti (http://www.alliancebjj.com/home.htm) .

[riku]

Welcome Craig!

I'll give my regular caveat first: what I'm going to say is merely opinion of me (a low-rank student of some arts), not stone-carved truth or official opinion of any MA style.

Altough the founder of Aikido had very strong spiritual/religious beliefs, I don't believe that Aikido would carry - in the way it's usually teached and studied - religious indoctrination. Also, by my limited knowledge (to both), I see some similar ideals both in the philosophical side of Aikido and the ethics of Christianity: forgiveness and that certain gentle attitude/nature you mentioned pop to mind at first.


Even though it's gentle nature, Aikido can be highly effective martial art in its best. Many arts can, however, be studied/teached/used in very versatile ways, from soft and gentle to quite harsh. I'm not saying that Aikido wouldn't be good choice - it's great art - but perhaps for LE tasks you might find good points also from some Ju-Jutsu or Hapkido schools, or Western wrestling: all those -among many others - carry different hold, pin and controlling techniques that can be used as 'justified use of force', or what the phrase was.

Once again, welcome,

Riku Ylönen

[Dale Seago]

So you're in the Dallas area, more or less?

If you're not totally committed to Aikido but are looking, as you said, for "a style of 'martial arts' to study" to supplement your law enforcement training, you might consider the Bujinkan. I have several LE officers training with me, and they find our approach ideal for their work. Two of them, in fact, have now also become defensive-tactics trainers for their respective departments.

There happens to be a very good instructor near you, named Luke Molitor. You can check out his website at http://www.jigokudojo.com -- I'm sure you'd be welcome to visit and observe a class and ask questions.

[Cliff Hargrave]

There are so many variables in law enforcement that if you covered all of them you would need to be a kickboxer, wrestler, judoka, Aikidoka, escrimador, BJJ player, and an excellent combat shooter.

Since that is unrealistic, I suggest find one to specialize in and be realistic and have a some type of working knowledge of the others. Aikido can be an excellent base to specialize in however Aikido dojos run the spectrum of hard core training to new age hippies. If you do find an Aikido dojo, watch several classes, see if you can participate for free for a few classes, and then make up your mind. My personal preference would be Yoshinkan or Tomiki Ryu. Yoshinkan is the base style of the Tokyo Metro Police.

Your best bet would be a modern Japanese based jujutsu style. These styles SHOULD cover a little of everything, striking, throws, joint locks similar to Aikido, and groundwork. However these styles are full of fakes and you really need to watch and evaluate the classes first and check the reputation of the instructor. I guess now you need to really watch, research and evaluate ANY class before joining.

Find one you can be confortable in, get along well with the instructor, get a good effective workout, and learn something. Once you are "in the loop" or martial arts so to speak you will be surprized how many friends you can make and start to share different martial arts techniques to cover the gaps in your training.

I started several years ago in Okinawan karate and Japanese jujutsu, and even kickboxed some in my younger days. I have migrated over to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Escrima now. I have been in law enforcement for 19 years and every art I studied has helped me at one time or another during my career. I really cannot say which one has been the best for me, they all offered something good.

[roninja]

I would agree with all of the posts above. and would still ike to give my opinion (what a great guy I am:D ). Anywho, you said you were Christian and that it has a deciding factor on you rlife. and from my opinion, that's awesome. strong convictions can be very good, though sometimes very bad (not saying anything about yours). anywho, and i dont' know if this will influence your opinion but it's nice to know things anyway, Ueshiba was part of an organization though referred to as a religion called "Oomoto", though I believe that he was personally Shinto. Oomoto is a religion that seeks unity and peace between religions. and if I'm not correct there are many conferences held where religious leaders form around the world come to celebrate whatever the meeting is for, and I know that Christian leaders are often present.
now onto Aikido there are two main schools of Aikido, I think, that have a somewhat "spiritual" aspect to them. and those are Aikikai, and the Ki society (and I could be wrong on their names too)/ each of these schools has their derivatives. but there is also a main school of Aikido that has a near absence of spirituality, and that is Tomiki. I'm a student of the Tomiki style and I know that the msot we have dealt with the inner side of things was when discussing the theory of unbendable arm. But unless you just find a really traditional school, the odds are going to be that you will not encounter religion.
and like i think someone else said, if you're extremely worried about it, try jiu-jutsu. I hope this helps.
peace love and blessings

[Jas]

I would probibly choose an art that keeps you off the ground, I know that most fights do go to the ground, but with Aikido you have a better chance to stay on your feet. I study Nihon Goshin Aikido and i've said it before I have used it a couple of times in the prison I work in. I practice Jui-jitsu from tapes and some mat training just for fun, but in a LE situation when your there by yourself waiting for your backup to arrive the last place you want to be is the ground, chances are he has some buddies waiting for an oppertunity to throw a few cheap shots.

John Schuck

[stella fuentes]

welcome, craig.

i find no conflict in aikido and spirituality at all. it's been a big help in improving meditation and becoming more receptive/or open. you mentioned monotheistic and that religion is very important to you...so it is with me and i had a few apprehensions about it at first too. fortunately, there's never been a conflict at all.
i too agree with the above suggestions. look and shop around and observe before making a choice. or get on the mats and try ..you can always get out when you feel it does not fit in with your personal beliefs/practices.

good luck.