Are there health restrictions for practicing Aikido?

Aikido is not a fitness form, but a martial art, and at the trainings you will experience a significant physical load. Besides Aikido is also a type of martial arts with a high risk of injury. Therefore before starting trainings we strongly recommend you to consult your physician and be sure to inform your instructor on the state of your health.

Aikido is not a sport in the sense that various competitions, championships and tournaments are not held in it. That is why Aikido is usually tolerant to different health problems and disabilities. There are no principal bans for practicing Aikido. However, you should understand that if you have some problems with health, it may significantly restrain your progress in Aikido.

In Mumonkan Aikido Club each person who wants to practice Aikido should have a medical certificate where the following should be specified: "Has no medical contraindications for practicing Aikido". So be ready to visit your polyclinic.

From the point of view of a doctor, Aikido does not differ from sports wrestling. Therefore at estimation of your suitability for trainings your doctor will be guided first of all by the list of diseases and pathological states, preventing admission to sports.

Medical contraindications

All medical contraindications to sports are divided into groups. Let's list them and give a brief description.

Any acute and chronic diseases in the exacerbation phase.
Pathologies of physical development. These include: explicit lag in physical development, explicit disproportion of limbs, various deformities of limbs, chest or pelvis.
Neuropsychic disorders, traumas of the central and peripheral nervous systems. These are: various disorders caused by brain damage, schizophrenia and affective psychoses, neurotic disorders, traumas of brain and spinal cord; effects of skull fracture (cranial vault, facial bones, including the upper and lower jaws), mental retardation, and epilepsy.
Diseases of internal organs. The list of contraindications of this group is extensive. This includes such diseases as cardiopulmonary decompensation and cardiovascular inefficiency, diseases associated with respiratory impairment, bronchial asthma, peptic ulcer, chronic liver or kidney diseases, urolithiasis, diseases of the joints (arthritis), diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs, bleeding, etc.

Surgical diseases: diseases of the spine and musculoskeletal system; dislocations in large joints; resulting from slight physical exertion; hernia; early postoperative period.

Injuries and diseases of ENT organs. In this group of contraindications we should mention first of all vestibular-vegetative disorders.

Injuries and diseases of the eyes. This group includes a variety of congenital and acquired defects of the eye, affecting the eye function.

Skin and venereal diseases. These include infection and inflammatory diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders (psoriasis, eczema, microsporia etc.) syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Infectious diseases: intestinal diseases; bacterial and viral diseases, tuberculosis, HIV.

Pregnancy and early postpartum period.

Note. Please note that this list of contraindications is for information purposes only and it is far from being complete (for more detailed information see, for example, Annex 2 in a book by G.A.Makarova, Sports Medicine; Moscow: Soviet Sports, 2003).

The final decision on your suitability for practicing Aikido can only be taken by a qualified doctor. In some cases, the permission may be issued only after full recovery or removal from dispensary observation.