Why martial arts?

[Prodigy-Child]

i started martial arts when i was 13....i started high school and i wanted to get into some school sports.......but

 

foot ball team wouldnt take me cuz i was too small same with the rugby team

 

wrestling team wouldnt take me cuz i was too light and there was nobody in the region at my weight

 

i got fed up so i decided to take up taekwondo at the time.....i got sick of that after a year so i started kickboxing and along side with that i do jiu jitsu and im loving it

 

im 17 now and i really see a difference in myself from when i was 13

 

plus im not really good at team sports....only individual sports

[SBN Doug]

Hey! What's wrong with the TMN Turtles. My daughter used to get me to watch that and Power Rangers with her. :lol:

 

I originally became interested by watching Chuck N. and being amazed at the skills of him and others. I wanted to learn how to do those things. It broke my childhood lack of self esteem. Now its migrated into more fitness, and the desire to pass on what I've learned.

[kicker]

well I choose Martial Arts over other activities because I wanted to learn some self defence and have fun while I was at it

 

 

[ad]

i started as well when i was 13 to prodigy child,

 

bullying and street crime is a major problem, ecspecailly where i live

 

martial arts is the key aid to help you

 

i feel most people getting invovled are doing it for street self defense,

 

heck it amazes me how scary the street actually is

[Joecooke007]

I started to kick ass but I get it now. It's not about wailing on someone's ass when they try to hit you *That's a perk* I'm in it for the strength and mental capabilities that have been shown to me. I'm a better person becasue of martial arts.

 

 

[Crucio]

when i was about 7, i did ITF TKD becuase i wanted to be like the people in the video game "street fighter". Then, i got to about red belt, moved from Ca to Pa (started 5th grade) I stopped in Pa becuase where i was i couldnt find an instructor that i liked and i wanted to do some school sports (basketball, baseball, and track)

 

then i moved to michigan in 10th grade and decided to try out a martial art again because baseball was getting really boring.

 

I made some new friends and found out their interests and sports. Most did boxing and wrestling. I met one third degree black belt 1 year older than me and decided to do taekwondo again. I wanted to be able to change up some of my macho boxer friends punches with kicks (god do they work good on boxers) The thrid degree took ATA and i researched it and found it was more traditional and signed up for it.

 

I really like my instructor and class mates although it would be a lot more fun if more people my age did it (the only people who spar is a 1st dan world champ and some huge 1st degrees and a 3rd degree)

 

I dont ever win, but then again, its nice to fight against someone really good, cause if you can put a nice punch or kick that is clean, then you can do it to pretty much everyone

 

im trying to recruit people from my HighSchool now, but its not going to well. They are either scared or in other sports. I mean a 3month season is one thing, but a martial art is your whole freaking life

[karatekid1975]

I started MA for self defense. I was a security officer at a mall (where regular fights broke out .... eeekkkk). Plus I was one of the geeks that got beat on in high school lol.

 

I started with TSD, and I was hooked. After just 6 months, I had better self confidence, self esteem, and looked and felt better.

[spinninggumby]

Heyyy same here! hehehe I was one of those guys in high school that was so easy for everyone to pick on. Naturally my first and primary purpose for getting back into martial arts was to develop my self-defense skills and become an efficient fighter but as time goes on I am leaning more and more toward personal enjoyment, health, and interest in the art and also just surprising myself to see what I can accomplish when I have faith, commitment, and willpower.

[karatekid1975]

Hey, are we related, Spin? That's exactly what happened to me. I got more into the "mental" part of martial arts. Plus it was cool to see how far I could push myself (or hurt myself) learning new stuff lol. I can remember all the bruises I got on my arsh for trying the 540 and falling on my butt hehehehe.

[jahred]

as i haven't even _started_ formal MA training yet, i can't comment too much.. i can however say why i do want to start.

 

for a good while now i've been doing heavy weight training, and i've gotten a fair bit of results from it. so i'm not a really small guy (anymore), and i'm getting more and more content with self image and the like. however, about two months ago a fight broke out at a party where i realized i didn't know how to fight for the life of me. granted, i could throw a guy across a room pretty easily but i didn't even know how to punch.. being the laid-back, easygoing guy that i am i'd never had to before. luckily some others intervened and the fight was broken up, but i was still angry and a little concerned that i just didn't know what to do in a fight.

 

eventually during the weeks following that i started to think about being able to fight when the time arose, and alas my answer came from one of my favorite games of all time, tekken tag tournament. i'd just go into the game and watch hwoarang (tkd man for those who aren't fans of the game) do his thang, and i realized how bad i wanted to be able to do the same when the time came.

 

so i went onto the net and started looking for information on tkd.. being from remote newfoundland, canada, i figured there wouldn't be any real opportunities to learn, until i found a single, well-respected ITF tkd school. i hastily sought to join, but registration is only accepted annually in september. so, not one to be put off, i looked for information on general punches/blocks, and stretching and began to prepare for september.

 

since then, my bookmark list in IE has swelled up with pages of information on tae kwon do, wing chun, capoeira, aikido, bjj, vale tudo, savate, and more. i've developed a true love for the martial arts, i just love reading the histories or methods of each MA, it's truly enjoyable. i don't even want to learn for the principle of fighting anymore.. the desire i have to be able to perform the ITF tkd patterns without flaw is off the scale!

 

so there.. that's 'why ma' for me.