first choice?

[aefibird]

Is the martial art that you're doing now your first choice of MA? Or did you have to pick another art? Eg, because of distance to first choice MA school, previous injury, lack of good clubs in your area etc etc

 

Karate was my first choice and I feel very lucky to have joined such a good club with a well-respected and very experienced instructor.

 

As an 'additional' MA, Aikido was my second choice. I was looking for a Judo or BJJ club but there are none in my area. I also didn't really want to go to the Aikido club that I do go to because the instructor is a friend of mine and I thought it might harm our friendship. Plus, it's miles away from where I live! However, I gave it a go and it seems to be working out fine and I now totally love Aikido. I'd still like to try Judo or BJJ, though.

[G Money Slick]

There were so many varities of martial arts and the only "Legit" Karate school nearby is the Internal Power Franchise of Central Florida.

 

I had a friend who was a certified black belt in Hapkido from St. Louis that went to my high school and talked to me about the benefits of Hapkido with a few lessons in grappling and defense (Like wristlocks and striking techniques)

 

I do some kickboxing for the conditioning and sparring aspects and Hapkido for self defense. I find Shotokan to be less appealing than Hapkido, even though that's what I intended on picking up.

[tommarker]

I wanted to do some form of Goju when I was a kid, but my parents couldn't afford it.

 

When I came to college, I was torn between the Shorin-Ryu club and the Tang Soo Do club. The Shorin-ryu teacher didn't seem very interested in having me as a student (3 months later, he moved his school) so the choice became apparent

[Beka]

My choice was pretty arbitrary. I didn't have much knowledge of the martial arts, and I didn't really know where to start, or what to start with. I looked into the martial arts program at UC Berkeley, but it looked huge and annoying. The rate is low ($100/semester), but I wanted to start right away, in November, and I wasn't going to start for a week, paying $100 for that week, to only have to stop in a few weeks for winter break. Also, at least in their Hapkido program, they promote people at the end of the semester no matter what, and that idea doesn't fly well with me. I don't do well with big classes, so I stayed away from it.

 

I did a yahoo search for martial arts schools in my area. What I found was mainly just yellow-pages listings for schools, and I didn't find that very informative. So then I decided to type things into google, and I found the Berkeley Parents' Network message board. Some mom had been looking for a good place to send their kid, and a bunch of other women replyed that My current school was the way to go because the instructor was so good with kids. I figured that if they're good with kids, they'd be good with me, too (even though I'm 20).

 

So, I called them up to ask about rates and all that. The offiec girl insisted on signing me up for my first (free) class the following tuesday night. I tried to say 'oh well, i'm not so sure yet if i'm going to go and blah blah blah' (basically I was trying to avoid buying something too fast and commiting myself). But she just kept saying she would keep me on the list for that night and that if I wasn't going to go I should call and cancel. Well, I didn't cancel, and I went.

 

My first night, I accidentally walked into the dojo with my shoes on. I didn't notice all the signs to make me take my shoes off. I filled out a little questionnaire that asked me about previous experience in martial arts, what I do in my free time, all that kind of stuff. The class was small (like usual), and I was getting a lot of individual attention from the sensei. I had such a good time punching and kicking and chopping things that I came back the next day and the next day and the next day and the next day and the next...

[Pacificshore]

When I started back when, I started with Kajukenbo. That was short-lived because I had to move. I wanted to continue in some form of kempo/kenpo, but unfortunately there weren't any schools of the sort. So I trained in TKD. After going off to college, I was lucky enough to meet my kenpo instructor at the University I studied at. Since then I've pretty much stuck to kenpo/kempo as my primary art.

[delta1]

If I could only do one art, it would be American Kenpo, and everything I do comes back to that base. But, since there are no AK schools near here, I do a lot of other things to keep going. I guess you could say that is a compromise, but I enjoy working with other styles and reworking their stuff to my base. We all do what we can, and I don't look at it as a compromise if I have to rework TKD or Arnis, or even Taiji, to AK. It's just another adventure in the martial arts.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Way back in the early 70's I had a choice of Hawaiian Kempo, TKD or Shorinryu. I knew the previosu two instructors to be bullys and common thugs that frequently started fights. My Shorinryu sensei had just gotten out of the Navy and had been stationed for several years on Okinawa training with the head of the system. I found that appealing, plus he was a very good man and martial artist.

 

There was no other choice for me, and I have never regretted it.

[WolverineGuy]

I've shopped around a bit...mine was in my price range at the time, and I don't think I could've picked a better school.

[ramymensa]

It was easy for me. I entered college and the sports I could do were quite a few. Karate was one of them. Since I wanted for all my childhood to do Karate, I just went there. For a semester I did it like a sport (getting a mark after the end of the semester). Though I didn't need it next semester anymore, I still went. Talked to sensei and joined the club for even more training. Been there for almost 3 years. They are excellent people and I keep going. Not to mention I've brought them some students too

[kle1n]

i wanted to do yoshinkan aikido or at least have a look at it. wing chun was my 2nd choice. and i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!