Hello (Newbie) Intro

Sniped5050

White Belt
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Sep 22, 2011
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Mars
Hello everyone,

I have managed to read some of the forums post and found such great information in the little bit of content that I have read thus far. Introducing myself, I am Frank a 36yr old married father of two young girls from Orange County, NY. I have been very interested in martial arts for many yrs but never actually took the plunge. I come from a big martial arts family, father, many cousins etc... My father is a 3rd Dan and studied for many yrs and was very good but he is now 67 and has retired from training many yrs ago. I have been exposed to quite a bit over the years, but I was never formally instructed by my father or anyone because of my lack of discipline. I did learn some fighting skill and some form (good / bad??) but not enough to ever consider myself trained in any discipline.

I also grew up in a rough area of NYC and my father was afraid of me getting into a fight and potentially beating someone and them possibly coming back with a gun to finish the job. I guess you cant block bullets? but whatever his reason, I never held it against him as he was my father and did his best for us. Now being a father myself, I can certainly relate to the concerns for your children. So, here I am today eagerly excited to get into the arts. I have done plenty of research and found a style that I liked best and I thought suited me best because of technique and overall interest, while still being seemingly useful to me.

I decided to study the style of Nihon Goshin Aikido (NGA) under Sensei MacEwen in Middletown, NY. I have a few posts at various forums that this style does not necessarily follow the study of traditional Aikido or should it be considered Aikido etc... but I don't want to get into all of that right now. There are quite a few schools closer to me but after reading about NGA and Sensei MacEwen, I decided he would be the teacher I choose to study under. He has many yrs expierence and after seeing him I was truly impressed.I visted the school and decided to sign up for punishment (LOL). Anyhow, I just started training and found that I am in love with the training itself and the overall style of NGA. The art of Aikido itself is beautiful but when incorporated with other techniques it is simply amazing. I am a father of two with a very demanding career and home, but I have managed to set aside 3-4 days a week for my training. My belief is "you get out, what you put in", basic principle! I am not sure if this is too much for a beginne?r but this is what I feel I need.

Prior to my plunge, I always considered my self in pretty decent shape but I now realize how wrong I was. I come home sore after class and the next day is even worse but the funny part is I love every minute of it. I plan to make this a lifestyle for me rather than a hobby. I want to be healthy and fairly good shape as I get older and I think this will do it for me. One quick thing, I noticed immediately that when training at a gym with weights etc... There seemed to be very little cerebral action taking place other than counting reps. While in class and well after, my mind is going on overdrive. I am thinking about the obvious, what I have learned, application etc... next steps. There is a distinct difference between the two (weight training / MA) and I certainly enjoy the fact that it is a mind, body & spirit activity. I must say I am proud and happy to have taken the plunge and only regret not doing it sooner. I hope this wasn't a long boring read and I look forward to staying meeting others. Thanks for taking the time to read my greeting.
 
Great introduction, Frank. Nice to have you with us, greetings and enjoy the site........
 
Welcome to the forum! :)

Mike
 
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