How old where you when you started?

[Deathtrap101]

I was just wonderin' how old each of you where when you started practicing martial arts. Ive bin training for about a year and im just about 16.

I kinda htought all the greatest martial artist started when they were real young like around 5. So when I joined i figured it was a little late for me to be a great martial artist but im still gonna do it ;).

[AvPKenpo]

I started when I was 19, I am now 25. Wish I had of started when I was your age or younger.

Michael

[fissure]

Started at 8.I'm now 31.:EG:

[Eraser]

Hey,


I started in MA when i was 25, im now 27.... lots of years left in me to train.. and besides.. isn't MA a life study??????

[Danny]

Started at age 7. I'm 17 now.

[Shinzu]

started at age 15. i'm now 30. i stopped once or twice during my highschool years but looking back now i wish i never did.

[karatekid1975]

I started Seriously at 25. Now I'm 27. Almost two years (dang! I is a rookie compared to you guys LOL)

[Mace]

I started when I was 15 and am now 32. Took a couple years off in my 20's and really don't regret it. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on where I had come from and where I wanted to go. It also brought forth an art change and 6 years later I wouldn't change a thing.
I've found that I'm only getting faster and stronger as each year passes, so for you guys that are younger than me, don't worry about what age you started at. You have plenty of good years ahead of you to perfect your material and master yourself.
Respectfully,
Mace

[Shoto Tiger]

Eraser/Karatekid

Just like yourselves I started at 25 and only recently turned 28!!

Never too late to start though I think...definately has to be a life study!

[Colin Thomas]

I didn't come to MA until late in life. I started 18 months ago when I was 44. Its really boosted my fitness and flexibility. But I wish I'd had the opportunity to start in my teens.

[tonbo]

I actually "started" in the martial arts when I was 17-18. However, I only took karate for a couple of months (through a college course). After that, I figured I wasn't ready.

I got into it seriously about 10 years ago, when I was 24. I'll be celebrating my 35th birthday in a little over a month.

Do I wish that I got started earlier? Maybe. I don't think that I (personally) was ready at 17 for the knowledge that I was getting. I think that it served me better in my 20s, when I had "cooked" a bit, and was ready to actually *learn*. Some people can handle the MA earlier; I just don't think I was one of them. But, as the saying goes: "When the student is ready, the master appears", no?

Peace--

[Matt Stone]

Started when in 1985 or 6 when I was about 16-17...

I am 33 now (34 in November), and I still don't know a damn thing...

Maybe by the time I die I will actually make some progress...

Gambarimasu.

:asian:

[girlychuks]

I was 24 when I started and am 25 now. I wish I had gone so much earlier... but at least I am in it now

[Nightingale]

I started at 10. I'm 23 now.

[kenpo12]

I started when I was 21 and now I'm 27. Got a long way to go but loving every minute of it.

[Dronak]

I started in the fall last year, before my birthday, so I was 27. I'm 28 now and have been practicing for, hmm, almost 11 months I guess. When classes start up in the fall semester again, I'll reach the 1 year mark. One of the latest starters and among the least amount of time in training, too. :) Wow, I am *such* a newbie. ;)

[Robbo]

Started at 15, am now 32. Have recently lost the motovation to train due to moving away from my school. I'm sure the desire will come back but right now it's got me wondering.....

Rob

[Aikikitty]

Hey Deathtrap, I started a thread and poll just like this some months back. Great minds think alike. :D

I started Aikido when I was 18. I'm 20 now.

My mom started Aikido with me when she was 50!!!! :erg: She's 52 now.

Robyn :wavey:

:yinyang:

[warder]

I started at 18. I attended a military college, and there I had some of exposure to hand to hand combat and self defense. Then i took it one step further and began training at a local dojo off campus. We wernt taught alot at military school, just some basic defense, but it was enough to spark my intrests, and motivate me to begin training seriously. Wow, now that i think about, ill be 27 next week, time flies. I havent stopped training for more that 2 months at a time since then.

[Deathtrap101]

Hey Deathtrap, I started a thread and poll just like this some months back. Great minds think alike.

Yea maybe, lol.

[arnisador]

Originally posted by warder

I attended a military college

Where, if you don't mind me asking? I taught at one in NY.

[warder]

arnisador, i went to Norwich University the Militaryy College of Vermont. We were the school that founded ROTC. I know from reading your posts that you taught West Point. And I was at the WMAA camp in Buffelo this year. I never had the chance to talk to you, but I was there when you got your certificate.

[arnisador]

Norwich is a great school! Half military, half not. A colleague of mine just took a position there. They now have a Modern Arnis program under Jeff Delaney's IMAF.

I'm now at one of the few colleges in the country that still has a mandatory ROTC requirement for all freshmen, though that's about to change due to lowered ROTC staffing requirements.

Sorry I missed you at the camp! I'll be there next year of course--maybe we'll meet then.

[H@pkid0ist]

My mother was always overly protective of me, so in spite of her my stepdad put me in when I was 6. Since then I have went through about 5 different styles until I settled on Hapkido.

[hapki-bujutsu]

when i was 4 my father started teaching me judo but i don't remebr it to much. at 5 i was enrolled in a tiny tots martial arts class. I wanted to be hong kong foohi!! My dad thought it built character so he started him early. It's funny because around 10 I wanted to stop because my friends didn't do it and he wouldn't let me. Now I guess i should be thanking him for that.

[MartialArtsChic]

Started 1st time at 29. Took 3 years off. Started again at 33. Am now 35 and going for Black soon. Woo Hoo.

[hapki-bujutsu]

glad you came back!! When do you test for black? any time frame?

[MartialArtsChic]

Originally posted by hapki-bujutsu
glad you came back!! When do you test for black? any time frame?

April, 2004 - no date set yet.

[hapki-bujutsu]

thats pretty close but leaves plenty of time for training. do you train in an art where you can practice on your own or is it more of a grappling style where for most you need another person? The key is always pratice and more practice. Before my tests I use to go in early and have people who had reached where i was going give me some input. Not everyone may like that but I thought it helped me alot.

[Shodan]

It was a busy week for me back in 1986!! I turned 13, started karate (Ed Parker's American Kenpo) and got braces all in the same week. I am now 30 and still studying!! I do wish I had been involved in the martial arts earlier, though the two years before I started, I was in gymnastics and I think that really helped prepare me for martial arts flexibility-wise.

:asian: :karate:

[MartialArtsChic]

Originally posted by Shodan
It was a busy week for me back in 1986!! I turned 13, started karate (Ed Parker's American Kenpo) and got braces all in the same week. I am now 30 and still studying!! :asian: :karate:

Shodan: Do you still have braces? :D (just teasing - couldn't resist).

Hapki: Some stuff I can practice by myself, some stuff my invisible friend helps me with and some stuff I need a body for, but I have plenty of people to help me w/that. I'll be ready to rock!

[Shodan]

Ha ha!! And No!! Fortunately no more braces on my teeth!! I did have them on for 3 years though! Now I have a knee brace, does that count?!! :D

:asian: :karate:

[Touch Of Death]

Ten.

[Mithios]

Started at 12, just a month from my 13th birtday. I am 36 now ! Dang i feel old, LOL Mithios

[Jay Bell]

Started at 5...with the typical "Kid Karate Class". I didn't get serious into it until my freshman year of highschool (15ish?)

[ABN]

Late comer. I dabbled with MA during my initial enlistment, but didn't really get into it until my mid twenties.

andy

[bdparsons]

I started at 15 and I just turned 47.

Respects,
Bill Parsons

[TonyM.]

Oh my! Someone close to my age. Started at 10, now 51. Also went to Vermont College when it was owned by Norwich. Second oldest student and one of two vets at the time. (pesky cadets used to follow myself and kevin D. around until we asked them to cut it out.)

[Zepp]

Started in Hapkido at 6- stayed with it until we moved to a new neighborhood when I was 9.

At 18, as soon as I got college, I signed up for a Tae Kwon Do class. There were 2 different ones to choose from. Turns out I got lucky and picked the right class. :)

[theletch1]

30 years old here. Did the mandatory hand to hand in the military but back then it was something of a joke. I didn't start formally training until the age of 30, in kenpo, studied that for 2 years and swapped to nihon goshin aikido.

[hardheadjarhead]

I was just a little older than you. I was sixteen.

That was 1973.

Glad to see there are some other guys my age (or older) on the board.

Mithios? You feel old? WAIT TEN YEARS.

Don't want to scare you or anything...but things fall off.

Regards,

Steve Scott

[KanoLives]

I was 22 when I started. It'll be a year next month that I started. Though I wanted to start younger. I couldn't because my folks couldn't afford it, seeing how I have three other brothers and myself all doin' something to cost my parents money at the time. :p

[oldnewbie]

Wow, I was feeling old when I started reading this thread, then a few "older" ones piped in.

I started at 38, am now 40..
Lost 15 pounds, but Damn am I sore....:D

[2fisted]

I was 22. I'm now 27. *goo goo*

[LadyDragon]

I originally started MA when I was 14 and back then I wish I would've started earlier. Unfortunately, I had to stop a few months later. But I restarted again at 21. I'm now 27 and still love doing it all. But I still wish I could've started at a younger age.

[Kempo Guy]

Started at 5 or 6. Been dabbling ever since... I'm now 32 and still a beginner.

KG

[Klondike93]

Started TKD in March of 1975 in the long gone Rocky Mountain TaeKwon Do association at the ripe age of 14 (almost 15) years old.



:p

[Disco]

Had a few judo lessons from my uncle in 1958. Started striking style in 1963, been involved in the arts since. The one thing I've learned is that the arts are like golf. If you take either seriously, they become addictive and a large part of your life. But in a good way. You can learn respect, honor and courage from both. In my mind, there's no substitute for those qualities.
:asian:

[NYCRonin]

I started at age 9, in 1963; at the Bedford Ave. Boys Club in their 'Judo for kids' club.
The instructor also had a friend who came in and taught some basic Shotokan. I have long since forgotten their names but if they were alive today; they would be in their 70's...so I would imagine they passed away. I owe those two guys my deepest thanks and gratitude - and bow humbly to their memory. :asian:

Its been a wonderful journey and the best is yet to come!

[IMAA]

I started back in 1986 when I was around 13 or 14, Im 30 turning 31 next month (dec).

I started in American Karate, then went into FMA, then dove into several other arts over the past few years. Still in the same Karate system under a different Sensie same lineage. Still doing FMA. Constantly learning don't think I will ever stop.

I started my son training at around 3 or4 he's 7 now and a Blue Belt. he's gonna be one of those lifers too...hahaha

[masterfinger]

I started back in '71 when I was 10, I'm 42 now. :asian:

[paihequan]

I started in 1970, I'm 42 with greying hair but I still love the arts

[Eldritch Knight]

Started TKD when I was in 5th grade. Started kendo while I was on student exchange to Japan between graduating high school and college, and I started kung fu and taido in my 1st year of college.

[Brother John]

7 years old.
Didn't pay enough attention for a few years.
But that's the way a 7 year old is isn't it?

Your Brother
John

[Gotkenpo?]

i was 20 1/2 :) i'm now 21

[KenpoDave]

I was 19 when I started. I am 37 now. I used to wish I started younger. Now I wish I was younger.

[The Boar Man]

I started back in 81 (I was 19) in a YMCA TKD due to a girl friend and her brother who was taking the class. I'm the only one who stayed with it. Now I'm 42.

While I started in American TKD, I got interested in the Filipino Martial Arts in 1983, and really started mainly training in them from 1992 till the present. Although up untill last year I still taught American TKD now I just teach the FMA and Hock Hochheim's combative systems.

Mark

[donald]

Actual training in Chinese Kenpo began when I was about 23 years "old". Which was approximately 17years (yikes)ago!

:asian:

[vincefuess]

My first kick was through the placenta, and I haven't stopped since.

[Cruentus]

Age 7...I am 25

[KenpoSterre]

I started at eleven. Now I am slightly older. I have a long way to go.

[Ceicei]

I started at 19. Now I am 40 and still training...

[IcemanSK]

I started training when I was 14. I'm 38 now. Time flies when you're having fun

[Drac]

Started at 31 or 32..Got REAL SERIOUS in my mid 40's..I'm now 53...

[MSTCNC]

I was 12 when I first started Jukido JJ... and, after moving away from CT... I wandered the path, trying to find a style (Uechi Ryu, EPAK, Bujinkan) that "fit" me, until I was almost 21...

Except for a few breaks here and there... I pretty much trained straight into my early 30's... then, due to getting married, working shift-work, and then owning my own business... I fell out of my routine... and stopped training on a regular basis...

Now, at 39 (I'll be 40 in Feb)... I'm starting back into things again...

I'm hoping to start back to my TSD classes (I'm a 3rd gup) in a few weeks... once I get settled into the new j-o-b... and have set the goal of acheiving cho dan bo in the next two-years...

I also plan on contacting Guro Sal from Cebu West so I can get back into a regular Modern Arnis training schedule... as my Guro (Chad D.) had to move out of the area for his new job...

Your NEVER too old to start in the MA (IMHO)... Heck! We had a guy in his mid to late 60's testing for 1st Dan a few years back... and he not only passed; but, he's now a 2nd Dan at almost 70!

TANG SOO!

So, don't worry about the age you start training at... just worry about the training...

Best Regards,

Andy

[Shodan]

Started at 13, now I'm 33.....still training! :)

[Fluffy]

I started when I was 12, I am now 33.

[ajs1976]

started 2 years ago when I was 28. Had to take a few months off, but now I'm back into it.

[Kacey]

I started at 20, and I'm now 40.

[stone_dragone]

Started when I was 14, about to turn 28 this month. Haven't stopped for a single day (some days have had more training than others).

[elder999]

Started informally with my dad at 8, began formal training at 11-on my birthday!-and I turned 46 this past June.....no long breaks, but a few style changes or changes in emphasis, or due to moves every couple of years or so......

[KempoShaun]

I started before I was able to walk, my father was a Kung Fu and Chin-Na expert, but as far as training, I was 3 or 4 before I went to the formal school. I see a lot of threads that say kids shouldn't start before 7 or 8, I think that's crazy personally. It's not right to turn our schools into daycare centers, but there is the odd young student who will actually learn. I'm now 28.

[Robert Lee]

I was 20 years old when I enrolled in my first art. Had some side training before that. Now almost 34 years later I still find M/A a great hobby and part of who I am.

[tradrockrat]

Started when I was 8 . I'm now 34.

[bookworm_cn317]

I started when I was 17 in my senior year of high school. Stopped when I was 22 (Due to circumstances WAY beyond my control, BTY!). Started up again last year (June 2005). I'm currently 25 and I'll be testing for blue belt soon.

[Brandon Fisher]

I was 7 according to my parents I thought I was 8 but I trust them on it. I am will be 30 in November.

[w.kaer]

I started when I was about 25. I stopped a couple of years later right after the birth of my son and I had to take a full time restaurant management job that left little time to work routine training. I started again this past February.

[Last Fearner]

I'm not sure, but it might have been in a previous life. :D

Anyhow, like my profile says, I was pretty much born into it in 1960, however I place the official point of beginning to comprehend at age 5 in 1965. I learned grappling from my father (He was a Professional Wrestler in the 50's and 60's), and Judo from my Uncle (3rd Dan, ex-Marine). I studied some Karate and Kung-fu in unofficial terms. Then, in 1975 (age 15) I joined a Judo school, and in 1976 I joined a Taekwondo School.

I earned my 1st Dan in 1978 (age 18), opened my first school later that year, under the direction of my instructor, 4th Dan Alvin Smith (now 8th Dan Grandmaster Smith). I have since earned a Black Belt in Judo, Aikido, and Karate. I am now 46 years old, and have been studying the Martial Art for 41 years, Taekwondo for 30 years, and teaching Taekwondo for 28 years, and I am just getting started - lol. :asian:

Chief Master D.J. Eisenhart
______________________
Last Fearner

[Fuzzy Foot]

Started at 16, 33yrs ago, you can do the math but I wish you wouldn't. After years of karate, a little over a year ago I started traditional Japanese Sword and feel like a perpetual beginner again. So if you think your too old to start, or start something new, if you have a breath and a pulse put the keyboard down and get going !!

[delicate Flower]

I was exposed to it when I was 13, but being a fat and i mean fat kid like 250 pounds fat, i could not quite do it for obvious reasons, never did put on any more weight but did not find it againg until i was 31 and had lost 50 pounds from weighlifting and cardio, I am 35 now and weigh in at 195, so it has helped me alot, also I dont think looking back I would have been as ready as I was at this time, no I cant kick over my head and do a jumping spinning kick, however as the great Bruce Lee said, why kick so high when you can perfect a low kick and be just as damaging? Each body style is different and performs differently, knowing your body is the first step, and for me at 35 it is very true
food for thought

[Xue Sheng]

I am to old to remember that far back but I think my sparing partner was a t-rex

[mjd]

I am to old to remember that far back but I think my sparing partner was a t-rex

Now that is funny, hey I wasn't that old but here is a picture of me.
:bow:

[Kenpojujitsu3]

I am to old to remember that far back but I think my sparing partner was a t-rex

LOL

[chris_มวยไทย]

i was about 8 or 9 when i started training , i started off with jujitsu , and now im advanced (highest grade) in muay thai , people say im too young to commit myself to something important and that im too young to stick too it (they think il get bored and give up) , but im pretty sure im going to be doing MA for many years and im going to enjoy it a lot

[PictonMA]

I played around with some boxing / kick-boxing between 8-10 years old, started more serious martial arts training right after that. I'm 32 now.

[Xue Sheng]

Now that is funny, hey I wasn't that old but here is a picture of me.
:bow:

LOL

[michelle_gonzales74]

well, although i do not practice any, my youngest son has just started a kung fu/san shou-shuai chiao class. he is 5. let me ask a question though.... does it really give you an advantage if you start that young???

[Shrewsbury]

If you stick with it yes, it does.

My father was training in Tang soo do, since I can remember, me and my brothers had no choice but to train. A new neihbor moved across the street from me at around age 7, he studied gung fu, not sure what style, I practiced with him all the time to my dad's dismay. I am now 37 and still feel like a kid when it comes to training and I am still a student, all the black belt/sashes and master rank are not as important as my training, so I feell lucky to still be a student.

[IcemanSK]

well, although i do not practice any, my youngest son has just started a kung fu/san shou-shuai chiao class. he is 5. let me ask a question though.... does it really give you an advantage if you start that young???

I'm not sure whether it gives one an advantage or not, but for those who fall in love w/ the Arts the phrase, "Man, I wish I'd have started this when I was younger," is often heard from adults students. Heck, I started at 14 & wish I'd started eariler:ultracool . I'm 38 now.

[Brandon Fisher]

Depends on the person if they stick with it yes it does because that age is so impressionable. Good instruction at that age can help make the techniques being taught and practiced second nature easier over a long period of time. Do they fully understand them at that age no they don't.

[Cirdan]

Started at 27, turning 30 next month. Since I plan to live forever it doesn`t matter that I started late. MUHAHAHA :EG: