When You started What was

[tshadowchaser]

When you started the martial arts, what was the hardest thing for you about the art you decided on, in the first few months of practice.

[BlackCatBonz]

i was scared to go and more scared to not go........the first few months were the toughest thing i ever did.....i shed a lot of blood, covered in bruises....i thought it must be illegal. it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

[Sarah]

The hard physical work outs and the competitive nature of our Dojo was and still is a challange for me.



Also for a while I was really self conscious and didn’t want to look like a right dork, but then I realised everyone else was so worried about what they are doing no one is even noticing that my kicks looked spastic

[shesulsa]

For me it was same-side striking, i.e. kick right, punch right. Reverse punches were rare and this was the opposite of what I'd learned in Kenpo. And jumping. Jumping, turning and kicking at the same time. My teacher said, 'pick up this knee while turning, then jump up with the other leg and do an inside crescent kick and land facing the same way you started.'

:erg: You want me to do WHAT??? :lol:

[Raewyn]

The physical and fitness side of it was really difficult. My body went into shock after not being that active for about 17 years and really rebelled. I think after the first week I could'nt walk for a week after that. Also getting the co-ordination right, which even now I still have problems with!!


The first 6 months though was the most rewarding. I felt like I had acheived something which I felt was most worthwhile.

[Rob Broad]

The hardest part for me was being part of a group activity. I was usually in activities where my only concern was me, such as gymnastics and diving.

[arnisador]

Fear of getting hit.

[BrandiJo]

anything that required a jump

[Sarah]

Fear of getting hit.
OMG...I still have issues with getting hit in the face, I hate it.

[cali_tkdbruin]

For me the hardest thing (things) was just learning the simple basics. The MAs appear so easy to perform, but for most rookie martial artists even the easy techniques are difficult at the beginning, and even just the thought of doing a smooth, powerful 360 roundhouse was completely out of my realm back then. Almost bad enough to make me want to make in my dobok pants :uhohh:


:wink1:

[Lisa]

The physical fitness part was extremely difficult. I, like Raewyn, was inactive for many years and my body hurt like, well you know ;) for a few weeks. The other thing I found tough was getting over my own self conciousness of doing techniques in front of others, I always felt like such a dork :)

[searcher]

The working out in the 105-110 degree heat. Super-intense training in brutal conditions. I thought I was in good condition until I started the MA's.

[OC Kid]

Fighting was the easiest, forms for me were the hardest thing for me to learn and understand..

[Eternal Beginner]

Hardest part for me was being thrown in the deep end when it came to sparring. We had no idea of control and very little techniques so sparring was very scary. I hated hitting people.

[lulflo]

hardest part for me...finding a partner to practice with, it is the same today though, so it is still very hard...

[Drac]

Fear of getting hit.
Yep,that I believe was the worst and still is..

[Shaolinwind]

The hardest thing was enduring the shame I felt from being too fat for any uniform or sash. Kung fu used to be so embarrasing for me I don't know how I kept at it.




When you started the martial arts, what was the hardest thing for you about the art you decided on, in the first few months of practice.

[beauty_in_the_sai]

Not being able to walk or sit comfortably for weeks. My first week in TKD was my legs' worst pain. Actually, scratch that....Getting kicked in the shin by a 3rd degree was the worst pain ever......But anyway, feeling my legs in pain and feeling like a complete idiot when everyone else knew what they where doing and I didn't (which I'm sure happens to all newbies) was the hardest thing to get over.

[TonyM.]

Remembering the moves correctly.

[Bigshadow]

When you started the martial arts, what was the hardest thing for you about the art you decided on, in the first few months of practice. Hahaha... Many things! For a big out of shape guy as I was when I started, things like rolling, ukemi, even moving properly was extremely difficult. I had many bruises, burns on the elbows and knees, and was even KO for a few seconds once, but I persevered through it. I am much better now, but as always there are limits that must be overcome (either physically and/or mentally). Even now there are many aspects of training that are very difficult and I suspect they will always be, but it is all relative.

[masherdong]

Kenpo stances. Especially the neutral bow.

[Shodan]

When I first started Kenpo, I was 13- still had a lot of energy, flexibility from gymastics.......so really the hardest thing for me was remembering all the new technique names.

I still do Kenpo twice a week now......but have just started another new school on alternating days......also two days a week. I am now 32, have old Kenpo injuries against me, not as energetic as I used to be........and am in class with a bunch of teens!! So now the hard part is trying to keep up with the cardio. they do in this new class, trying to learn something new and not pop into my Kenpo stuff right in the middle of a new technique and remembering the new names for things.

Also, I wear a white belt for this new class and honestly, don't get a whole lot of respect from the teens.......like I do in Kenpo where I am a higher rank. Maybe it has nothing to do with rank, maybe they just don't respect new people......but that has really changed since I started Kenpo back when I was a teen......everyone was respectful, regardless of rank.

[Aikikitty]

Good thread!

My mom and I never had done any sports or anything martially related before we started Aikido. Learning how to roll was very hard for the both of us, especially for my mom who was 49 at the time, but it still took me 2 months just to do a summersault (sp?). I remember what was also really hard for me was just getting used to the contact and being so close to all the other students. Aikido is definitly an "up close and smell 'em" type of art and I had to get used to touching other people when I previously wasn't comfortable being hugged by friends, much less almost strangers. I'm still working on the fear of being hit. I flinch a lot! :rolleyes:

Robyn :asian:

[DutchKenpo]

For me the hardest thing was, putting my fist from my hip to in front of me, using it as a check. I did Wado Ryu karate for a few years and then started EPAK, what a difference.

But also hitting women, was a hard thing to do, that changed when one of the women hit me in the groin with a ballkick, without wearing a cup.
Time for payback!
No seriously, i still find it though sometimes

grtz, Bob

[Gemini]

The other thing I found tough was getting over my own self conciousness of doing techniques in front of others, I always felt like such a dork :) Yep. That was me. Very difficult. Now I make it a point to make the newbies as comfortable and relaxed as possible. To let them know we've all been through it. Seems to help.

[Laborn]

I didn't want to get nailed by one of the heavy hitters. I had a fear for along time of being hit, I hated it, well 9 years later, now it's almost like living a daily life, food, pain, sleep, lol.

[kenpo tiger]

Like Opal's mom, I was in my 40s when I started. Walking onto the mat with all those 20-somethings...

[Raewyn]

hardest part for me...finding a partner to practice with, it is the same today though, so it is still very hard...


I don't have a partner any more which makes it really hard to train as I had gotten so used to her we pretty much new each other and the way we trained. It is hard to find someone else to trust.

[terryl965]

The thing for me was not letting my father down. He was a rock when it came to training and I was scared and pretty much intemitated by him after the first couple of years it become how can I be him instead of how I can I be me, then by the time I hit16 i understood it was not to be him but it was about how I can over come myself, later in life I find me and the rest is history.

Terry

[Navarre]

Although I wasn't in great shape when I started, the physical conditioning wasn't unbearable. I did find myself to be very stiff and uncoordinated, partly because I wanted to do everything so "perfectly" that I impeded myself.

So, physically and mentally I suppose that's the answer. Once I started training for its own sake and not because I had to "succeed", everything came much faster and easier.