Can judo be used in a "non-violent" way much like aikido?

Question

I still have a dillema between choosing aikido or judo. I like the aikido defense-oriented, non-violent, not hurting your opponet, philosophies of it all. But aikido seems hard to apply/or be totally effective in a self defense situation (i took aikijiujitsu for 2 years and it seemed like i would need at least 2 more years to do much with it). I'm not sure I would feel confident in aikido training if a selfdefense situation occured. I do believe judo would be a more practical choice for selfdefense over aikido. But could judo be used to subdue an attacker over injure him much like aikido aims to do? How would judo go about doing that? Is this a practical approach to selfdefense with judo? I am a non-violent, selfdefense oriented, pacisfist, who is well aware of legalities that may arise in a selfdefense situation (go beserk on a guy and getting overly violent can send you to jail and/or prison. No thank you!). Any advice out there?

Answer 1

Short answer, Yes. Judo is known as the gentle art because it has been stripped of the more deadly strikes and locks of jujutsu, but it can still be effectively used as a form of self defense. It has moves that can be used to control and restrain an opponent without unnecessarily hurting them. Although the sport competition aspect of Judo does promote aggression, but only to the point of overcoming your opponent's resistance and effectively restraining him or stunning him. Various law enforcement agencies around the world train in Judo for that purpose. If you are more comfortable with it, then I suggest you go with that. I've always believed that personal preference is always a valid reason for taking something up since it helps to motivate you to do well in whatever endeavor you take up.

Answer 2

Judo is can be easily applied for self defense when taught properly.The question of legalities is always an issue, even if you were using aikido an attacker could be hurt. With Judo your aim is to control your opponent, so the question of reasonable force is a usually covered because once you have put your opponent on the ground with yourself in a dominant position you can in theory hold them there as long as you like. The excessive use of force issue you pointed out shouldn't apply unless you decided to lay into him with strikes once your opponent was already under control on the ground.



That being said, the throw in Judo can generate a lot of force, new students spend a lot of their time learning how to fall properly to avoid injury. Your average attacker won't necessarily have that training so a big throw could cause serious injury.



Again, as long as you apply what should be considered reasonable amount of force you're likely to avoid trouble with the police. Civil suits are another matter though and your attacker could sue you for damages if he's hurt (yay sue happy countries ).



Between the two arts I would probably feel safer with a couple years training in Judo over Aikido. While it isn't a rule, Aikido schools generally practice with a lot of compliance whereas Judo is meant for use against a fully resisting opponent in the ring. This means (to me) the odds are good that the Judo training would be more readily applied in self defense than the Aikido training within your first couple years.



Check out both schools and see which you are more in to. Find the better teacher between the two and train hard. You should be set with a good teacher and a good training ethic. Good Luck.

Answer 3

There are certain fundamentals of budo that seem to be achieved only through Judo training, one of the genius points of Dr. Jigoro Kano.



I would highly recommend studying Kodokan Judo for at least one year before switching to Aikido.



Aikido is very self-defense oriented, more so than Judo. But Judo randori is fantastic, and you really get a lot out of randori.



I studied Judo since 1968 (a short time) and dabbled in Aikido, the New England Aikikai, for over two years (a shorter time) and I realized how much my Judo complimented my Aikido training. A lot of fundamentals I already had under my black belt as I was a white belt in Aikido.



I respect Aikido for its self-defense application, but Judo is essential for any and all martial arts enthusiasts, even kung fu practitioners.

Answer 4

There are a lot of similar throws taught in judo and aikido.



Can judo be used in a "non-violent" way much like aikido?

Yes you can.



If you want practical self-defense then I would recommend aikido because my friend told me that they were taught how to disarm weapons and roll if under fire with a gun.



If you're going to use it in MMA then I would recommend Judo.



Hope this helps :-)

Answer 5

Wow, I don't think there is a non-violent approach to self defense, A wrist lock can hurt and break bones, regardless of the banner under which it is applied.



Reality check,if a person comes after you with a knife of baseball bat, the attacker is not sending you love letter and a box of chocolates. Sure you can disarm him without too much pain, but the real objective of self defense is survival. If you don't have the instinct to hurt or kill, you probably won't regardless of the situation.



Judo, Aikido, this is not as important as the end result, your survival.

Answer 6

Let me point out a few things. First Judo is the " sport " application of ju jitsu. Second. Aikido is based very much in the disciplines of ju jitsu. Having said that I'm sure you can see that yes you can use Judo, Aikido,and Ju jitsu in non violent ways. I've studied Ju jitsu for most of my life. I was told it is the Art for the belligerent drunk who happens to be your uncle. You don't necessarily wish to harm him. Merely to control him until he calms down.

Answer 7

Well, usually you will learn lots of wrist locks and Aikido from your judo instructor, since most Judo instructors have basic knowledge of Aikido. : )