Why do you study what you study?

[JoeW]

What made you choose the martial art you are in currently? Simple question just would like to hear why people chose what they did over other MAs.

[MJS]

What made you choose the martial art you are in currently? Simple question just would like to hear why people chose what they did over other MAs.

I was never really involved in sports when I was in school, so my father suggested I give the Martial Arts a try. Didn't really research much at the time, so we went to the closest school, which happened to be a Villari school. Made it to Brown, before changing to the Parker system. Currently training in the Tracy method.

Training really worked out to be a huge benefit for me, because over time, I was introduced to different people and various arts outside of Kenpo. The other arts I came across were Modern Arnis and BJJ. I'm fortunate that I have the people I do to train with. They're a great group and I enjoy working with them. :)

[Sukerkin]

:D

It might be a simple question, Joe but it certainly won't have a simple answer for many people; not those with a few decades behind them in the martial arts anyway.

I can give a few snapshots of points in my own martial history that could be seen as decision points but they were all really part of a much greater flow of choices and events.

I supppose a truly simple answer would be "Because I love it" but I sense that's not really what you're after.

[Kacey]

Why did I choose TKD? Honestly? I was suckered. I was dating a guy who had gotten his 4th gup (blue belt) in high school, stopped training after graduation, and nearly 10 years later, kept trying to teach me half-remembered techniques while we went for walks. We were looking for something we could do together that was exercise, and not too expensive (we were both college students - he'd taken a school hiatus while in the Air Force) - he found a class at the local Y and talked me into trying it with him. During the first couple of classes, something just "clicked", and I realized that I'd found something I didn't know I was missing. That was 21 years ago, and I've been training with my sahbum ever since - put it was pure happenstance that I ended up with him instead of someone else.

[stickarts]

Some Friends that I had each trained in Kempo and they recommended it. I really didn't know much about the different schools or styles but started formal training at a Kempo school that happened to be along a route I traveled often since they liked and recommended the style that this school offered.
Once I started there I got exposure to other teachers and styles and I added other styles that I tried and really liked.
I had just stopped playing semi-pro baseball and was looking for a new challenge. Been with it ever since.

[ktaylor75]

I train in Shaolin Kenpo since Oct of last year. Why? Because I wanted to do something to motivate myself to lose weight and get into shape....I did a search online for karate schools in my area, and happened across one that really peeked my interest, so I went there to try a free class and instantly fell in love with the art and the challenge! (PS: To date, have lost 36 pounds & 3 dress-sizes since beginning this journey!)

[kailat]

Funny, cause for me it goes all the way back to 1985 I started boxing and loved it while in JR. High school. I was playing baseball in the summer-fall months and wanted something to do thru out the remainder of the year. I tried running track and cross country for a while.. Wasn't big in basketball, although I enjoyed it, just wasnt' what I was looking for.

As I continued in boxing for a year or so, my coach had a minor heart failure and had to give up coaching for a while. My buddy talked me into taking Karate around 1986-87'. I never really thought much of karate. But i really enjoyed it once I got into it. It really kept me going. During this time I was cross trained in Kali-Silat and Jeet Kune Do as well as Muay Thai kickboxing under Sifu/Guro Bruce Ogle. As I continued to study over the years around 1991 I earned my black belt. I continued to study for several more months until I left for the Army in late of 91. I then realized that my "sport karate" training was not going to help me much on the battlefield. My training in the Filipino Arts seemed to be more prominant for what was going on. I continued to study FMA under various schools and instructors while in the Army. I attended several of Dan Inosanto seminars during this time.

As I come back home, I moved north of my home until I found my original teacher. But his distance from me was hard to maintain a continuous training regimine with. so i sought out my dear friend and teacher in serrada eskrima.. WOW, it was everything I never knew about FMA. I studied continuously for many years straight w/ him. Meeting many great friends and teachers. My carreer ended up going into law enforcement which has given me the opportunity to now be a certified Defensive Tactics instructor. Today, I teach a filipino structured martial art. I call it Kailat Kombatives. It's make up is of all I've studied over the past several years and what i've found that works in and out of actual combat from the military and law enforcement. I don't put forth much time into teaching or martial arts as I once used to.. And thats the great thing.. I allow myself to do this part time as i see fit around my busy and hectic lifestyle. If and when im ready to pursue the arts on a more full time basis I can and will.. it's not really something I want to allow to overtake my life.

so in the end.. many are into this study of martial arts to get rich.. I do it to calm myself and allow me to pass on what i know to those I can help.

[TheShadow]

To kick ass and chew bubblegum.

And Im fresh out of bubblegum.

[terryl965]

Because the Little old man kicked my ass so I figure go a head and train with someone that could.

[tshadowchaser]

I wanted to learn from the best instructor in the area or at least from one of the best I could find so I moved to where one of the two best I knew where and got a job and started studying with him

[arnisador]

(As Rowdy Roddy said:)

To kick ass and chew bubblegum.

And Im fresh out of bubblegum.

Ah, a pro wrestling fan! Introduce yourself to The Game (http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/member.php?u=8805).

[YoungMan]

My dad figured Tae Kwon Do was most appropriate based on what I said I was interested in. I said I wanted to learn a kicking-based martial art.
Why did I stay? Haven't found anything worth making me leave.

[JohnPeace]

I study kenpo because it is easily applied in the real world (outside the dojo). I study marital arts to reach inside and develop a greater understanding of myself.

[Fiendlover]

Fighting runs in my blood so I decided to try the closest one which happened to be karate (which also had some of my friends in it) and close meaning it was only about 5 minutes away unless I hopped the wall then it would be 3 minutes away. :ultracool
So I tried it and at first i hated it but when i got used to it i fell in love with it!

[celtic_crippler]

I've studied a few arts in my life, but finally settled on kenpo.

I'm a practical person and kenpo is a practical art. It's about what works. It's based on scientific principles and not only focuses on what to do in certain situations but also on the "why".

I ask a lot of questions and in other arts the answer I was often given was "Because I say so" but all of my kenpo instructors never minded my questions. They were more than happey to tell me, or demonstrate the "whys", often resulting in bruises and blood.....but well worth it. lol

Kenpo keeps my attention. There's no way one can know all there is to know about kenpo. It's an analytical and scientific art; often referred to as a "journey", there is always something more to learn so I'm never bored.

I respect the traditional and performance arts, but I'm a "meat & potatos" kind of guy so kenpo appeals to me. The scientific approach can be compared to the old addage, "Give a man fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life."

In short, it makes sense to me so that's why I study it.

[Cirdan]

I was looking for a traditional art with solid striking skills. Karate was a natural choise. I have tried a few other styles but love Wado so much for the tecnical depth.

Since then I have added Jujutsu to my training. I was looking for a bit more of grappling and resistance training and was concidering Judo. However a Jujutsu demonstration totally blew me away so I decided to try that instead.

I train because the arts offer a pretty unique challenge to both your mind and evry part of your body.

[Darth F.Takeda]

Traditional and Combat Jujutsu and Pekiti Tarsia.

Why? When I was in a TKD school, we had an instrucotr there who was a multi BB in various arts, including Jujutsu.
The destructivness yet the ability to control people apealed to me, in addition in real fights I tended to ensare arms and get in choke holds as much as I punched and kicked.

It took me years to find a good Jujutsu school (sorry BJJ but they are not the same, just have some similar techniques) and when I did I never left.

As far as Pekiti Tarsia, I always was interested in FMA and my late Sempai taught us elements from FMA and other arts and was training with Dave Wink and brought me up to crosstrain.

FMA gives me better entry skills and Jujutsu gives me options.
I like real combat arts, developed for warfare, not ego fights or sport, Royce Gracie will probably not try to mug me or rape my lady, but thugs very well might. By hook or by crook (or knife, gun or my hands) I train to be the meanest person in the situation.
I also train because I just plain love it.

SHUGYO!

[Hyper_Shadow]

Absolute chance for me. I was training in JuJitsu and was enjoying what I was doing. One day a leaflet dropped through a friends letterbox advertising a new dojo in our local area. We went along for a taster sesion. After then I've been hooked. The wealth of information and explanation I've recieved from my instructor is phenomenal. He's never failed to answer a question and has never been afraid to put words to practice if he needed to prove the effectiveness of a technique.
Just chance guys and your whole life and its direction changes, amazing isn't it?

[Jenna]

Some of these are really cool tales :) My dad used to run a boxing gym. I loved to train there when I was younger. It was plain though that I was no pro boxer in the making. He asked around on my behalf and common wisdom in those days was that Aikido was the art for those of us who are maybe not so big.

Many years later, I love my Aiki because I can hurt people while maintaining a compassionate attitude for their pain :D ha! I jest, of course ;)

I do not espouse the values of competition for its own sake and so I find there is less posturing in my Aikido than in some of the other styles I have sampled.
Yr most obdt hmble srvt,
Jenna

[jkembry]

Hmmm....interesting question. I eventually went with my style (Uechi-ryu) because it seemed to be less competitive and I was comfortable with my Sensei's style of instruction. At my age (50) I am more interested in the philisophical and spiritual aspects of MA than the fighting or competitive aspects...although I do believe these are helpful too.

My first interest in MA started after watching the first episode of "Kung Fu" back in the 70s. there was a TKD dojo in town which I attended for a few months in the summer...until the instructor moved out of town. While in the Navy I studied Shorin-ryu for a while until I retired. It took me almost 10 years after retiring from the Navy to find a style, and Sensei, that I was comfortable with.

[jarrod]

my martial arts training has been an amazing journey for me. for every phase of my life there has been a corresponding art form. i want to know how to hurt people (but not necessarily do it) so i study judo & jujitsu. i was terrified of getting hit so i kickbox. i love the concept of absolute focus & self-mastery, so there was tai chi (which i will return to someday) & now kendo. when i was 16 i saw a neighbor kid in his backyard breaking cinder blocks & i asked him how he did that. he studied tkd so i started to also (i never got around to breaking a cinder block but it doesn't seem important now). i could go on.

[Phoenix44]

My first art--kenpo, which later evolved into more of an old Japanese style at our dojo--was just dumb luck. I was looking to train in a martial art, I knew nothing about the various styles, but my first session clicked, and the teacher was highly skilled and knowledgeable.

When I started tai chi a few years ago, that was a conscious decision. I'd tried a class at the National Women's Martial Arts Federation Special Training, and I immediately KNEW I had to do this. I loved the internal aspect, the flow, the yin and yang, the deliberate movement, the philosophy. I knew it could add to my ability as a martial artist. Plus, I know I can be practicing tai chi if I live to be 100. So I actively sought a qualified tai chi teacher.

[chinto]

I study what I do because, The system is an older Okinawan system that works. It has a real history of being tested over the years as well as my instructor has been teaching for a long time. I took a similar style for a little bit as a child and that same similar system a bit as a teen. This system is actually a much better system, and older then the seito system i took back then. I like that it is both hard and soft, liner and circler, and of course like most Okinawan systems at least, has grapples, locks sweeps, brakes and throws as well as strikes. ( oh for those of you who have never been around the Okinawan martial arts, they always have had strikes, locks, sweeps, brakes, throws and grapples when taught properly. )

[tellner]

I had been a dojo bum of one sort or another since fencing when I was a kid. I'd done a number of other things, was already into FMA and had heard of Silat through Donn Draeger's books. When I heard that a Silat teacher was moving to town I decided to give it a try. It was different than anything I'd ever seen, and I liked the teacher's mindset and practicality. After a while my current teacher moved to town, and my old teacher strongly recommended I study with him. That was sixteen years ago. I've never looked back.

[Tomu]

I had always wanted to study MA, but the places I lived when I actually had time always seemed to be TKD which I had no interest in. Part of the problem is that I also had some preconceived notions about what certain MA's were about. I've always wanted something practical and that would work for someone who wasn't a brute. I moved to my current home and still only found TKD schools. But a new friend was telling me about a JJJ school that was just starting up and that I should come and check out a class. I did and have been there ever since.

[Mike Hamer]

Well....lets see.....I train in Instictive Response Training because it has a little bit of everything packed into one. One moment we might be working on 6 and 10 count with 26" sticks, bust out some focus mits and work cover parrys and hand strikes, work on firearm drawing/disarm techniques, then switch right into some good ol' grappling......I train in IRT because it is a flexible art, with almost no rules to what what you "can" and "cannot" do. If it can work in the moment to protect you or your loved ones, then its a welcome addition to an IRT practitioners skillset. I will continue to train in IRT because I think I have a one of a kind teacher, a one of a kind art, and I see great potential for myself if I stick with it. :)

[bowser666]

I train in Shaolin Chang Chuan ( Northern Longfist) and I started training in it because it has loads of weapons :) I also like it for the powerful kicks, punches, and long graceful movement. It is beauty in motion.

[shihansmurf]

Well, the shotokan school where I began my training happened to be a few blocks from our house when I was a kid....

I have stuck with shotokan as a base art ever since due to the simple fact that the building blocks of every system is kihon. Being highly proficient in basic punches, blocks, and kicks is eessential for attaining any decent level of skill in any art. Shotokan excells at training basics.

After a few years my family moved and there was no shotokan school in the new town we were in. I wasn't interested in Tae Kwan Do so I got involved in a system called Han Foo Wa, which was for all intents and purposes JKD with belts. I was introduced to a more "Chineese" way of looking at the arts. Softer and more circular movement. I have retained much of that.

So I got inton Boxing cause I wanted to punch the crap out of an opponet and they frown on that in most sport karate tourneys. I learned how important conditioning is to a martial artist during those years.

After I joned the Army I got to train American Kenpo. It tought me how to verbalize many physical concepts. I learned how to be a much more effective teacher due to the analytical nature of the system. I don't think it made me a better fighter but it certainly gave me a great toolbox for imparting underatanding of the concepts and principle that govern movement and fighting. As an aside, the instructor there, Dave Coppock, tought me through example more about how to be a good instructor than anyone I have ever encountered.

So to sum up(sorry I got a bit verbose) I stay with shotokan because I find the basics unsurpassed, Kenpo for the depth of fighting analysis, and JKD/Boxing for the heavy contact fighting.

I'm looking for a good grappeling class around these parts but so far no luck.

Mark

[pesilat]

From '78 to '95 I had formal training in TKD then in Okinawan Goju-Ryu. I was also, during that time, exposed to a variety of other martial arts. In Feb '95, though, I was introduced to Sikal. It felt as though it was what I'd been searching for for 17 years. By the end of my first class I knew that it suited my body, mindset, philosophy, etc. better than anything else I'd ever studied or been exposed to. It was like coming home after a really long trip.

Sikal is my home. Since '95 I've trained in other systems (most of them have still been Filipino or Indonesian, though, and most were things that Sikal draws from so it was really like I was still training in Sikal). I also train in a system called Shen Chuan. Shen Chuan, like Sikal, called to me from the moment I saw it - though the calling wasn't as strong. Sikal is my home and Shen Chuan is my best friend's house - a home away from home.

These are my primary systems and I doubt that will ever change - though I am always willing to work out with other people and get exposure to other systems and perspectives.

I began my study Sikal and, later, Shen Chuan because they suit me. I continue training them because I enjoy them and my instructors in them will always have more to share with me based on their own explorations within their systems.

In a broader sense, though, I can attribute - directly or indirectly - every good thing in my life to my training in the martial arts. I continue to train because I enjoy it and I enjoy the benefits it brings to me and the camaraderie I find with fellow martial artists. I teach because I love teaching and it feels good to help other people find benefits in their own lives similar to what I've experienced in my own.

Mike

[wrc619]

The way the instructor taught the kids was phenomenal. He encouraged us to watch a couple of classes before we decided. After my first class, I was hooked. The art is brutally effective for self defense, which can serve me well on guard duty(heaven forbid it become necessary).