Seeking Input on Aikido, Fencing, Archery, Knife Throwing, etc.

[Roguelet]

I'm not sure where the best place to post this is, so I apologize if it belongs in another forum.

My 14 year old daughter is interested in learning things like fencing, sword work, knife throwing, jousting, archery, etc. She is also interested in learning some martial arts skills, but isn't really looking for the straight karate type of instruction. She doesn't have any real experience with these things but has been interested for a while. She went to a few Appleseed and Revere's Riders events when she was younger and she wasn't strong enough to effectively support the rifle without being in prone. Now that she's stronger she wants to get back into that as well, but I believe I have leads on how to make that happen. What I don't have is any experience with these other areas that she's interested in.

After doing a little research, I feel like Aikido might be a promising place for her to start, and my understanding is that it typically includes weapons training. I found a place called "Sarkine's Total Warrior" which appears to offer a lot of what my daughter is looking for and isn't all that far from us. I was hoping to get some insight about this place as well as Aikido and weapons training in general.

I also found "Indianapolis Fencing Club" and would appreciate hearing opinions about it as well.

I would prefer to find quality instruction as close to me as possible. I am between Crawfordsville and Lebanon. If anyone has recommendations other than the two places I mentioned, or leads for good instruction in other skills like knife throwing, archery, etc. please share those. I don't expect her to dive into all of these things at once, but I'm looking into as many as I can to see what fits best with location and schedules so we can get the ball rolling in something.

 

[maxwelhse]

I may be a little off base here, but I believe INGO member Melensdad is a nationally ranked swordsman of some variety. If he doesn't find this thread on his own, drop him a PM.

 

[chezuki]

For martial arts, I’d highly recommend BJJ. Aikido is Bullshido.

 

[Roguelet]

For martial arts, I’d highly recommend BJJ. Aikido is Bullshido.

I don't know anything about all of the different types so I just looked up BJJ... is it "tougher" for lack of a better word? She would prefer something that involves more mental and strategical input over something that is entirely physical. I'm probably not explaining that very well and I know that all forms of martial arts are physical. What is it that you don't like about Aikido?

 

[chezuki]

I don't know anything about all of the different types so I just looked up BJJ... is it "tougher" for lack of a better word? She would prefer something that involves more mental and strategical input over something that is entirely physical. I'm probably not explaining that very well and I know that all forms of martial arts are physical. What is it that you don't like about Aikido?

BJJ is very much a strategic mental game, almost like chess on the mats. Aikido just doesn’t work in the real world like it does against someone playing the role of “aikido opponent”. If a martial art doesn’t work against a real-life resisting opponent, it won’t work for self defense.

 

[jsharmon7]

If she wants something more “cerebral,” then definitely BJJ.

 

[Libertarian01]

For the sword skills you might want to contact one of the Renaissance fair folks. I remember going to one of those where a young woman did a jousting demonstration. She was brutal! She hit three (3) puny little ring about 2" diameter at full gallop with a lance. It was an awesome demonstration.

They also did historic sword competition, but I'll never forget the young lady jousting. They take that sort of stuff very seriously. (At least some do.)

Regards,

Doug

 

[drillsgt]

BJJ is very much a strategic mental game, almost like chess on the mats. Aikido just doesn’t work in the real world like it does against someone playing the role of “aikido opponent”. If a martial art doesn’t work against a real-life resisting opponent, it won’t work for self defense.

There are a lot of 'BJJ' techniques that don't work against real-life resisting opponents also, they all have limitations.

 

[wtfd661]

For martial arts, I’d highly recommend BJJ. Aikido is Bullshido.

i studied Aikido for 4 years and found it very effective when I used in the jail I worked for 15 years. The joint locks and take downs worked extremely well for me. I couldn’t begin to count how many times I used it to either defend myself or to restrain a combative inmate. Where people get confused with it is the demonstrations where you see them throwing and flipping each other easily. The main reason for that comes from knowing how much the joint locks hurt when they are resisted, the “going with the throw” comes from knowing it is the safest way to fall and roll out of the throw without causing injury.

now I say that with some qualifications, first if you want a martial art that is quick to learn than Aikido is not for you. It takes quite a while to become some what proficient with it. Second is it the best self defense martial art out there, no, there are countless better self defense martial arts . But that said, I’ve practiced several styles of martial arts and hands down Aikido was my favorite, why, I’m not sure it’s just the one I enjoyed the most.