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 White
Oak Aikido
Aikido in Reading
Berkshire
and
Aikido on
Powys, Shropshire,
Herefordshire Borders
offering classes in the
Japanese martial art of Aikido
since 1991
...the way
of the warrior ...the
way of harmony
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The Best
Martial Art For You
Our
top tips for choosing the best martial art
for you
There are a lot of martial
arts out there, including Aikido,
Karate, Judo, Kung Fu and Taekwondo to name only
a few. Here, we’ll give you our top tips for
finding the best martial art for you and a few
things you need to think about before you start
training in the martial arts, something that
could easily develop into a lifelong study. Many
martial arts or individual martial arts clubs
like to promote themselves as being ‘the best’,
but before you can define what the best martial
art is for you, it’s important to define what
you want from a martial art. Some people just
want an interesting way to keep fit, some a
means of self-defence, others want a route to
self-development and some people want to
compete. Ultimately, it will all come down to
which martial art you will enjoy most and,
therefore, which one you’ll continue to train
in, come rain or shine, week after week, year
after year. There are literally hundreds of
martial arts and martial art styles, so only a
few are mentioned here as examples – it’s not a
comprehensive list!
Who
invented my martial art?
Chinese martial arts,
Japanese martial arts, Korean martial arts,
Brazilian, Israeli, Indian, the list goes on.
Except if you have a particular wish to work
within or to learn about a particular culture as
part of your martial arts training, it probably
matters little to most people where their chosen
martial art originates from. In the end, there
are only a certain number of ways in which an
attacker’s body can be hit or twisted
effectively; this was once demonstrated by
Tomita Sensei at an Aikido course in Preston,
when he showed a picture of a carving in a book
about ancient Greece of a ‘wrestling’ technique,
where the handgrip is identical to the Sankyo
technique of Aikido (The Pancrastinae).
What
happens in my martial art?
However, what you actually get to do
in your chosen martial art will be much more
important. Obviously, we like the throwing and
immobilisation techniques of Aikido
with its non-aggressive, non-competitive
approach and the concept of redirecting an
attacker's force. At the crudest level, although
all these martial arts have a lot more to them,
if you like the idea of punching / hitting /
kicking, then arts like Karate, Taekwondo and
Kung Fu will attract you, and don’t forget to
check out Boxing too. If you’re highly
competitive and you like to fight and win, then
you’ll want to get involved in competitions, so
Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing, Judo, MMA and Muay
Thai might be for you. Then there are the
grappling arts, like Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Sumo and
Wrestling. That’s not to say that any of these
definitions are mutually exclusive, so there are
non-competitive forms of Judo, there are Karate
styles that contain throws and immobilisations,
there’s even a competitive form of Aikido,
called Tomiki Aikido after its founder. A lot of
what is taught in any martial art is a
reflection of the specific interests and skills
of the teacher in the specific club that you
attend and of the organisation of which they are
a member, so your choice will often just be
dictated by what is available near you.
So, enough of the
intro, here’s our top tips on choosing the
best martial art for you:
- Decide what YOU want
from a martial art, and make sure the
martial art, club and instructor you are
thinking about offer it.
- Check out the
background of the senior instructor: Who
were they taught by? How many years have
they been training and teaching? Do they
have recognised qualifications to teach? Do
they still train and attend courses to keep
improving their skills? Don’t be impressed
by a flashy grade or title that has little
basis in reality.
- Find out about the
classes available and whether they will fit
in with your work, social and home
commitments, so you can commit to training
regularly.
- Find out about costs.
There are some martial arts schools run by
professional instructors that are more
interested in your money and getting you to
pay for your next grading than in training
you (there are also many very good
professional teachers
– it’s all down to your research).
- Check that the martial
arts club you are thinking about lets you
watch a session and/or try training for free
before you have to hand over money – never
feel pressured into signing up before you’re
sure it’s what you want.
- Make sure you feel
welcome when you first attend to either
watch or try your first session. Will you
enjoy training regularly at your chosen
martial arts club?
- Before or after the
training session, talk to the teachers and
some of the students. Find out what they
have to say and what the overall atmosphere
in the martial arts club is like.
- Is safety emphasised
throughout the training at your first
session – your own and anyone you train
with?
- Are you taught as an
individual at your first session with
specific attention to what you are capable
of and how you learn, or are you just thrown
in at the deep end and expected to get on
with it somehow?
- Turn up, train hard,
have fun!
If you think Aikido might be the martial art for
you and you would like to experience what
training at White Oak Aikido is like, you’re
always welcome to come and watch or join in for
a free taster session on any on any Tuesday in
Caversham Reading or Monday in Whitton Knighton.
We look forward to seeing you.
Find out more about getting
involved in the martial art of Aikido in
Whitton and Aikido in Reading:
Home page of White Oak Aikido UK
Info
for Beginners - some more details about
Aikido and what to expect if you come along to
either our Reading or Whitton dojos.
Discover the martial art of Aikido
near Knighton Powys at our
Whitton dojo.
Find out more about the martial art of Aikido
Reading Berkshire at our
Caversham dojo.
Or please
Contact
us if you have any questions about Aikido
classes in Reading or Whitton.
...and here's some pages
about the past - Aikido in the old days
Weekly
Chi Gung / Qigong classes in Craven Arms
Shropshire
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