What inspired you?

[brokenswordx]

well i always like martial arts, but never took a class until 3 years. i thought my parents would say no, but i called the dojo and set up a time for me to try it. then i told my parnets, they knew i was serious about taking karte since i went through the trouble of calling. lol now i'm brown belt and one of the people to go to for help.

[ninjanurse]

The desire to be something that I thought I wasn't. In the process I found myself!

[blackxpress]

My wife is Korean and I've been around asian people (mostly Koreans) most of my life. I've always had an interest in MA and also in Eastern philosophy. When I finally decided to take the plunge it was because I wanted to improve my fitness and mental focus and gain self confidence and discipline. Natually, I originally wanted to study TKD but the best dojo in these parts is Wado-ryu. I've been training hard for 6 months now and loving every minute of it. Wado has become a way of life for me and I have gained more than I ever dreamed I would. I'm 49 years old and in the best shape of my life both physically and mentally.

[ff100]

I first started Karate when I was 7 until around 16 as someone told my family it was good for discipline and heath . I attained Shodan. Boy I was suprised when my daughter decided one day out of the blue that she would like to start training and I restarted with her and we loving every minute of it.....

[Rick_72]

I always wanted to get involved when I was a kid, but my parents couldn't afford it.

When my two boys started, I figured even at my age I could at least have some fun with it. Its become part of my day. Helps me with fitness, and keeping my mind in the right prospective.

[EclecticFighter]

When I moved away from home to go to college, I started looking for an activity to occupy my free time. I checked the list of activities at my college and there it was, karate in all it's glory. At the time I had not even seen a Bruce Lee movie!

It turned out I was very lucky because I ended up with a good teacher. Being totally clueless at the time I could have ended up in a martial art school where the level of proficiency is very disputable without knowing it...

That was a turning point in my life because it changed me from an obnoxious kid to a more mature and friendlier adult

[Jiffy]

For me, it was my Dad. He has been doing Karate since before I was born and I grew up watching him practise at home. As soon as I was old enough, I was in the class and have pretty much been training ever since.

[Canoe2fish]

I always wanted to get involved since I was a kid. Since I was the natural pick on (skinny, glasses, braces, red hair, freckles etc) I had my share of bully attention. Somehow I made it through those years, and didn't make the move until my son decided to sign up. I decided now or never. What I'm hoping to gain:

-Improvement in health - neither parent saw the age of 60

-Discipline

-Confidence - Don't like being intimidated by large aggressive types

-Self defence - being able to protect myself and family

-Inner self - Learn to focus and understand my inner psyche (sp?)

So far, I've made some positive changes that I'm hoping will be life long. I'm starting to see that MA are a way of life as opposed to an interest or hobby.

[Ace2021]

My dad was in Kyokushin since I was 5, I wanted to join but couldn't because it was full contact and he wouldn't sign permission..so I started Shotokan at age 8 until I turned 16, one could say I was very committed.

[GojuGal]

I started because I wanted my son to go. He had, and still has, some self esteem issues and I thought karate would be a great place for him to learn how to respect himself. Also, since in karate you are only competing against yourself, I didn't have to worry about him "losing" all the time in competitive sports. I had originally thought of a dojo in a nearby town, but it was more money than I could afford. After talking to a parent of my daughter's friend and finding out that there was a non-profit dojo in my own town, that was significantly less expensive, I signed all three of us up! We are now in our third year, my son is a purple belt, my daughter a yellow and I'm green. It's been a wonderful experience for all three of us, and I can see a lifetime of MA in our lives. My son is a bit more confident now, although he's having bullying issues in school, and my daughter is MUCH more confident in herself. It's been great for both of them.