Style vs. Age

[Aodhan]

I was reading the "Who likes forms" thread, and saw the responses from DoktorVet and the boxer stating that they didn't like forms, and a couple of the stylists that stated they didn't like them to start but love them now.

I wonder how much of our love for forms and or the styles we choose comes from our instructors and the style we choose, and the age we are (With that goes media exposure. There is SO much more media exposure to ANYthing than there was even 15 years ago)

For example, I'm 39 years old, and started training in MA when I was 22. MMA wasn't around in the form it is now, so there were the traditional choices (Karate, TKD, judo, boxing, aikido, etc).

Now we have MMA, and I have noticed that a lot of MMA'ers are younger (15-24), and have a large disdain (in general, not trying to start a flame war) for striking arts that don't include groundwork. MMA also gets much more exposure in TV and media than traditional MA does, simply because of the action factor. (TMA does not make for great TV, just look at the US Open highlights that ESPN shows every year).

So, since I can't figure out how to do a poll with multiple options (One for age and one for style), I'd like to see a discussion on what influenced you to start in MA, kept you in MA, or pushed you to a certain art?

My impetus to start was the movie Octagon (Chuck Norris). I thought the dude with the sai was just the...well, he rocked. I wasn't able to start MA until college, and I got into karate first, then gravitated to TKD, since I had better legs and kicks than strikes at the time.

Where does everyone else stand? (Besides on their feet).

Aodhan

[DJmma]

well...i started MMA just a couple weeks ago. I love it. I'm 16, and used to do TKD and hapkido for about 3 years. we did forms, and although i had some fun doing them, i couldnt help but think they weren't very useful, and got tired of it. i started up MMA, and like it much more. since im naturaly athletic, i picked it up very quickly and im having fun. I found that in TKD and hapkido, it took a while to become perficient at it. so, i guess i learned what I like best. not that i didnt have fun in the other MA's, but MMA seems to suit me more, since i am a fan of UFC and want a more realistic style. But whatever MA you choose, if you work hard at it, you should be proud of what you accomplished, even if you think you missed out on MMA. 39 is not too late to start a new one either...and you've been doing martial arts for 17 years. no matter what it is, whats important is that you enjoy it and are dedicated.

[Kieran-Lilith]

I'm 16 years old, for the age question.

I joined my current dojo under the influence of a friend. I had always been interested in MA, had taken it when I was younger, I watched Power Rangers, the Ninja Turtles, Mortal Kombat...and one other movie I don't recall the name of. I loved it to death, though.

As for what kept me in MA....I had a lot of trouble in my life, emotionally and mentally, last year. MA became one of the few constants I felt I had, and when I felt almost destroyed inside, I clung to the one thing that felt stable in my life. The dojo was there, and now, I'd be willing to call the class there part of my family.

I picked my art now because one of my best friends happened to be a MA there, and he knew I wanted back into a dojo. So, he brought me along, and that was that.

[elbows_and_knees]

I'm 28. got started when I was 6 from watching kung fu theater. competition pushes me to continue now. That and the fact that I've been doing it for so long I can't imagine not doing it.

[CheekyMusician]

I started training at 17 in Shotokan. I wasn't particularly keen on forms at the time, which I think was partly to do with my instructor and partly to do with being young and wanting to fight and do pad work and all that sort of fun stuff.

I started training at a new club about 6 months ago, but still train at my previous one. My new instructor is really traditional and has made me really focus on kata and now I'm beginning to really love doing them. I'm almost 21 one now, so I'm not a huge heap older than when I started, but I have matured a lot in the past few years from starting out being a shy little schoolgirl, to nowadays being not too far off graduating from Uni and having experienced a lot more in life that's made me grow up.

I think whether you like forms or not is sort of a maturity thing. I think most people when they are young want to see results immediately and don't have a lot of patience, and fights and padworks serve their purposes because they can instantly see the results of their hardwork. I think forms usually require a bit more sort of reflective, personal meditation on them and results aren't often seen as obviously. You have to focus constantly on tiny details when doing forms and I think the younger you are, the more difficult that tends to be. I've found as I've got older I've got more concerned with focussing on the little, basic things in all sorts of different areas of my life, not just my karate. For example. I now practice my piano scales where I never bothered with them before and just jumped into the pieces. I think as you get older you realise working the basics to within an inch of their life and focussing on the detail of forms etc. affects your performance and improves you generally.

[Anbu Alex]

im 20 and i started with traditional kung fu and would go to aTKD club near where i lived afther family problems i stopped and got back into it with jkd and mma it was kool but ilike my current dojo alot better than MMA they didnt suit me i like doing forms now because my sensei puts a method behind its madness lol

[dtfrank]

My impetus to start was the movie Octagon (Chuck Norris). I thought the dude with the sai was just the...well, he rocked. I wasn't able to start MA until college, and I got into karate first, then gravitated to TKD, since I had better legs and kicks than strikes at the time.

Aodhan

I am currently 52, and first starting taking martial arts out of high school because a friend of mine was teaching. I stayed in for about 12 years and then because of work and family I just fell away from it. However, when I moved to where I live now I saw that a new dojo was opening up and was associated with the martial artist that you liked so much in the Octagon. His name Tadashi Yamashita sensei is pretty incredible and still gives out the black belts in our dojo and does seminars twice a year. Just being associated with this man and still learning from this tradtional martial art has kept me enthused where I have been back in the martial arts for about 7 years and will be going for my nidan in June.

David Frank

[Ryokeen]

I'm not confident enough in myself to say I'ma martial artist.

I've been at it 4-5 years. I'm a yellow belt.

I'm going to start training A LOT with a redbelt and my sensei Mono y Mono.

I was persuaded to join the arts origionally because well frankly I watched the Power Rangers a lot. I also watched Walker Texas Ranger and all the MA tournements on T.V that I could. Eventually I started looking up Biographies on many famous martial artists and Christmas 2001, my 9th dan Sensei gave me a free uniform and invited me to study with him and a few other students.

Apparently, I have great potential, but I'm the laziest kid soemtimes and it bugs me to death.

Anyways!

Staying on topic...

I'd say Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and those Power Rangers got me into this.

[Sohan]

I started fighting arts for protection from bullies when I was young. I guess you can say that was the major motivator until I got in my 30's, when I began to appreciate MA for its own sake, and had less focus on being a tough guy. Today, I enjoy all aspects of my arts practice, and find different dimensions to intrigue and motivate me.

I chose my current sensei because he had integrity and dignity. He has nothing to prove and teaches because he loves karate-do.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[lordtariel]

I started training at age 18 in Judo. I've always been into fantasy and my intrest in fighting has stemmed from that. Unfortunatly, when I was young, there was only one dojo in my city and they wanted to charge $40 a week for training, but I could get my black belt in under a year.

By the time I got to community colloge, they had started offering judo as one of the phys ed courses. I wasn't particularly fond of judo. I don't like grappeling and I wasn't particularly great at it. There were no forms and really no way you could practice without a dojo.

When I moved on to college, the only open course in martial arts they had was Tai Chi. Fortunatly, I had an instructor who knew some martial application and was willing to admit he didn't know everything. Tai Chi was the opposite of Judo, all forms and very little practicle application. I stuck with it for about 5 years before I had graduated and moved away from the city I lived in.

Now I'm taking Karate and seem to have found a good ballance between the two. Forms are important because they help you disect and truly understand the moves, but it has to be combined with actuall application so you can make that knowledge practical.