Thinking of training a martial art form???

I am a deputy sheriff but I work in the jail. I am thinking of taking up a Martial Art. I go to my jailor basic school in a few weeks and I know there they teach either Aikido or Hapkito moves, not sure which one it is. I am very interested in the joint locks and such taught in these art forms. I was wondering what you guys think about it. I am thinking of taking up one of the art forms once I get back from the academy just to keep learning more about it and perfecting what I learned at the academy. What do you guys think? I know I have one of the two offered here in my area, I thinks Aikido is the one taught here, would it be of any benifit?

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Originally posted by solidj55
I am a deputy sheriff but I work in the jail. I am thinking of taking up a Martial Art. ... I thinks Aikido is the one taught here, would it be of any benifit?

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In one word?

YES!

:) Aikido is probably one of the better martial arts for close quarters immobilisations of people when you want to stop them cold yet "cause the least visible dammage".

Of course I am a little biased here... did train in Aikido for many years and loved it. But I can tell you that for work where one must "handle" and "control" non cooperative people without beating the shit out of them (too much damm paperwork!), a few Aikido holds and joint locks are very usefull. A basic understanding of the art would be a godsend in that kind of work.

Red

Thanks man for the info. Do you know of any sites on the web that I could look up to read some more info on it? I would like to see some pics or diagrams of the holds, etc before I go to the academy and before I enroll in classes afterwards. Also, I think the guy that teaches these classes only hold 1-2 classes per week. Is that adequate enough to keep yourself in practice with the moves? I guess Ill need to work on my grip training a little more in the gym now :)

When starting out, you need a minimum of 2 classes per week, though my personnal opinon is nothing less than 3 per week.

http://www.aikido-world.com/ is really nice! Check out their "Technical Tips" section, lots of animated GIFs.

Some kick ass clips at: http://www.aikidofaq.com/multimedia.html

Other nice sites...

http://www.aikidofaq.com/
http://www.aikidoonline.com/
http://www.aiki.com/
http://www.aikiweb.com/

And the best is of course to go and attend a few classes... most reputable Dojos will allow a prospective student come and "check out" the style instructed there.

Check out a few classes BUT beware... when looking at trained Aikido practicioners sparring, to the untrained eye everything looks fake and rehearsed... people think that until the Sensei demonstrates a few of the techniques on them :)

In aikido a subject who doesn't resist and cooperates with the technique will generally not get hurt... just immobilised. On the other hand one who resists will get seriously hurt (we're talking torn muscles, ripped ligaments, dislocated joints...)

Hope this helps out bro! :)

Red

Thanks dude, that helped a lot.