Why do you study?

[ramcalgary]

personally I began in karate when I was only 8. I began simply because I was very tiny and was cursed with curly hair(afro city) I was continually teased and bullied so to defend myself my dad put me in karate. 31 years later I still train and although I do not train solely in shotokan anymore . I still beleave that the arts gives me balance in my life.

 

 

[three60roundhouse]

Well, it's along story that begins three years ago.

 

My ten year old brother, Sean, was the middle child of five, and was very sensitive and emotional (in other words, a big sissy. Don't worry, not there are six kids, and he got over the middle kid thing). A teacher suggested martial arts for him as a good activity to build confidence. My mom looked around for a school, and Mr. Stevens, my instructor, had just moved his dojang very close to us. My mom met him and thought he was nice, and we knew nothing about martial arts choosing schools (in other words WE WErE SOOOOO LUCKY). Sean started and then my brother Mike (13) and my brother Ry ( finally complained her into buying them classes too, and they moved up to high white and I was tired of sitting there watching them do classes, so I started and I have been doping it ever since. We have all pretty much evened out, we are all the same rank (testing for red belt in March0, and even though some of us are a little better, we all train together and help each other out, so we can pull through and MAYBE someday become the first family of four black belts from Stevens Martial Arts.

[Piastre]

I began as an 11 year old who had just seen Way of the Dragon for the first time! I was mesmerised by Bruce Lee and figured I'd like to give it a go.

 

I continue to train today, 17 years later, simply because I love it. No matter how bad a day at work may be going, I have something to look forward to at the end of it. No matter how unhappy I feel going into the dojo, when I leave I leave with a smile on my face.

 

I gain a great deal from martial arts, physically, mentally and emotionally. That's why I train.

[spinninggumby]

My first martial arts training began when I was six in Aikido, and that was because I was fortunate enough to have parents who wanted to expose me to as many different activities (such as piano and painting ) as possible so that when I grew up I could choose and keep the ones that kept me so happy. My focus has jumped from aikido to the more hard but still somewhat soft traditional kung fu with circular movements to modern wushu and acrobatic and WTF taekwondo. Although there was a period of time when I did focus on self-defense and street-smart application, my main focus now and probably til the day I die is now health, recreation, and because I think it is so damn fun. At the same time, the training instills in me discipline and perseverance as well as giving everybody in the world respect until they prove to me otherwise that they do not deserve it.

 

I love doing all types of martial arts because it is fun and exhilarating. Every movement, every technique is a verse of kinetic poetry, and there is expression and a story behind every kick, punch, jump, throw, lunge, etc. When I train or practice, the martial arts is an extension or expression of my soul and/or inner self. Some people train their bodies so that in the event of an attacker, the muscle memory and years of practice will enable them to react and diffuse/deal with the situation immediately with no hesitation. I train b/c to me martial arts is just like playing the piano or writing poetry. It is a way of expressing oneself and displaying beauty in a form that which is channeled from what you feel inside.

 

But that's just me! hehehehehehe Everyone's reasons are valid as long as it makes them satisfied and fulfilled with what they have accomplished. Idealistic bast@rd am I, no? :angel:

 

 

[Bon]

::edit:: Edited September 29, 2002 by Bon

[taezee]

well i started about twenty six years ago over a "mama: joke..i could take any Rank out contest and all ..but i was like dont talk about my mama...sooo i got into a fight with the school bully at the time and called him out after school..because he started making jokes about my mother..he didnt show so i took the bus which would drop me off in front of his house..it was funny because when i walked up to his door and rang the bell his mother answered and i said hi im here to see robert as if i was one of his friends..when he came to the door i yanked the door open pulled him out onto the front lawn a proceeded to punch him in the face!!!we wound up wrestling and my head hit the curb..and i wound up with a big knot on my forehead..he told every body the next day at school that he had given me the knot...and i was angry because i didnt knock him out..his mother finally rushed out and pulled me off of him and cursed me out..lol..but i said from that day im gonna learn how to knock people out i actually started learning karate through a mail order company that would teach you karate moves through the mail..so every week i would wait for my next "lesson" teaching me how to kill an opponent with deadly strikes to vunerable areas..they sent me a poster and all..of the deadly striking zones..so im 11 learning how to kill people from the mail..lol then one of my younger brothers friends mentioned to me that he was studying some martial art called taekwondo..which some instructor had just opened up..so i begged my parents to put me in the class so i could learn to become deadly..lol..thought i was a bad ass when i first put on a dobok.and thought man i allready know enough with my deadly mail order training...got my ass kicked all over the place the first few classes and realized.."hey this martial arts stuff isnt easy"....got hooked ever since saying to myself.."this guy kicked my ass this week but next week ill get back"!!!..lol..then started seeing that taekwondo wasnt about all that..and been going ever since with one thing that remained constant to this day.."ive gotta kick your ass..otherwise ill lose sleep"..lol..become alot more mature about it over the years but still say to myself....im not gonna get another knot on my head!!! and i know how to kill you..with all my deadly moves LMAO!!

 

_________________

 

Javier l Rosario

 

bayshore new york

 

instructor taekwondo/hapkido

 

"whenever youre lazy enough not to train .someone, somewhere is training very hard to kick your ass"

 

[ This Message was edited by: taezee on 2002-02-20 22:32 ]

 

[ This Message was edited by: taezee on 2002-02-20 22:45 ]

[Singularity]

I have loved martial arts since I can remember. When I was 4 I always loved any show on TV that incorporated martial arts (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!). I liked the idea of possessing power without having to use a gun or even any weapon necessarily except for your own body. I wanted those abilities, I yearned for them. I tried several different styles over the years. At first I wanted something that would make me look like the guys I saw on TV, but eventually I wanted to be sufficient in protecting myself, and that became my central focus. I wanted to be the fastest and most effective fighter out there. I didn't care about wowing the crowd anymore, I just wanted to know that if I was approached by someone, I would have the ability to defend myself. So now if I can't instantly apply what I learn, I lose interest very quickly.

 

I began when I was 7, in taekwondo for a little while, and then when I was 8, it was aikido, for about 4 months. Then I went through a dry spell until I was about 12, and went into shorin-ryu for about 8 months, off and on. About 3 months ago, I took a few wing tsun classes, but dropped that for the same reason I dropped all my other styles. To tell the truth, the only style I really ended up sticking with wasn't a style at all, no not JKD, just some training methods I found that have been the source of controversy in these forums. (Kung Fu forum, Chain Punching). I try to absorb everything I can about martial arts, and I'm so picky it's disgusting. But in the end, I agree, everybody's answer to this question is perfect as long as they are satisfied with it.

 

Dave

[SBN Doug]

I started, in my mind, when I was around 10. Caught sight of my first MA movies, and even saw the MA nature of Star Wars. But I really got hooked when I saw Chuck Norris and Bill Wallace duke it out. The anguish (as badly acted as it may have been) that Chuck showed when he was left with no choice but to kill Bill was really enlightening for me.

 

I started mimicing their movments as much as I could, but never got a chance to study formally until I was a senior in high school.

 

The rest of the story is in the "Bad Teachers" thread.

[kicker]

Well when i was around 6 or 7 i started taking karate because I was bored at home and wanted to do something that was fun or interesting so My mom signed me up into karate and I was their for a few years training and progessing getting belts and moving into harder classes to train and have fun also doing my karate. but then once i couldn't go because we went on vacation in the summer so i missed quite a bit of classes and when i came back i came home and from that day on i didn't go back i don't know why but i just didn't even though i still had quite a bit of classes left but anyways i still just didn't go even though i met some of the kids that went to the club i went and were asking me if i could come back or if i was going to but I didn't.

 

then later on when i was about 10 turning 11 soon and was going soon into junier high school i went and started taking kickboxing and muay thai classes it was sort of a class were you learn mostly kickboxing and muay thai a bit and i when into that class always learning something intil i got better i started taking harder classes ad doing more work on Martial Arts then I am here today still training

 

hey it pays off in the future or in a fight when you get into or to do MA's for fun and learn

 

 

[psychospaz]

i was a lot like Singularity watching movies etc and stuff and wanting to do all the cool acrobatics and kicks. I started out taking taekwondo on and off for a while never getting an official belt (i know- lame) and then i resorted to only training at home with my brother, using video games and action movies as a reference (the BEST resources possible!)

 

now i do shotokan, but still resort to silly arial spin kicks whenever i spar. pretty much chose shotokan to try to break some of my kick only style but it seems to want to stay.

 

Also that acrobatics thing looks like a pipe dream. harder to do all those fun stunts i could do back in the day now that im pretty much twice the height i was when i did tkd before :