Why do we train?

[Baltic]

Because I like fighting. That's the main reason.

[patusai]

I trained the the art ot it, for the way it makes me feel (even if it is all in my mind)

[Sensei Mark]

Osu, Believe or not most of the students who find them selves in a martial arts club or dojo end up their for reasons other than actually learning to fight.

Some come to get fit, others are their to try & lose weight or improving their confidence by achieving small goals such as traing, gradings and competing, others want some dicipline in their lives and others just come because they want to be involved in some sort of group activity where they can meet new people and make new friends.

Most of the kids come because their parents see that the martial arts offer "all" of the above to those that try their hand at the Martial Arts and as such see that their training is a major investment where at the end of the day even after 1 week of training the parents already have started to see the benefits.

Then their is that very small pool of students who want to compete in tournaments, we then have to break that down again to: Kata Competition, Non Contact , Semi Contact & Full Contact Competition etc

The great thing about competing in the Martial Arts is that the training for the students is like a mirror, we cannot lie to ourselves when we look at it, we cannot become lazy or complacent, even when your teacher turns their back it is not a time to relax and take a breather because "you know" that this is incorrect.

As we continue to train we look at that mirror every day and with this come a realisation that the Martial Arts is a "Gateway" to other unknown possibilities!

Osu

[Hidden_Ronin]

One of the Kyokushin Dojo kun exsplains it for me.

"We train out hearts and bodys, for a firm unshaking spirit"

And also

"Karate is an aide to Justic."

If more people studied martial arts, wouldn't the world be a better place?

[alsey]

i started karate when i was 15. at the time i just thought it looked cool and i wanted to be able to do all those kicks. since then, my reasons for doing MA have changed a lot. my main reason for doing it these days is out of pure interest; i find methods of fighting immensely interesting. its great for keeping my body and mind in shape, and i just really enjoy doing it. my goal isn't to get good at fighting (i was pretty good at that without MA), my goal is to keep training. fighting skills are just a by product of training.

[RichardHangHong]

If more people studied martial arts, wouldn't the world be a better place?

I think it's more of a society and culture thing rather than what one does in training. Taking up a martial art is a great introduction to the way that society works and behaves. I certainly believe that if we as westerners took a few leaves from the Japanese cultural differences it wouldn't hurt us a bit.

[tke010]

I started my martial arts training at the age of 6.

My parents wanted me to be able to defend myself.

I fell in love with it. (the respect, honor, loyalty, trust, knowledge,...)

Now, Martial Arts is a way of life. Everything I do now revolves around learning and training.....

[Zorbasan]

"so i dont have to fight"

[Jiffy]

For me, Martial Arts isn't so much what I do as it is who I am.

I'm now 25 and started training when I was 6. It's just every day life for me, and I couldn't live without it.

[Shotokan-kez]

My dad first took me to karate when i was 8 in 1985 i trained for a while then my parents divorced and we moved away. At that point i wasn't really bothered and didn't go back until my early teens. Again i gave it up and ended up having children and never went back to training until i was 28. Luckily karate always stayed with me all these years and i never lost interest, it shows it's a part of me. The main reason for starting in the first place was for self defence because i was bullied badly in school.

Now i train because i want to keep fit and basically karate gives me confidence and passion...i just love it!!