I'm going to speak on a personnal note about my life on martial arts over the years, this was brought up by a student I have known for thirty something years different style so bear with me.
I started training at the ripe old age of two did I know what I was doing, heck no do I remember my training another heck no, then how do I know I satrted at that age, simple question, simple answer because my father said I did, see he trained over a 10,000 men while he was in the service, he has old 8 mm film showing me trying to kick and punch along side my brothers and sisters.
When do I remember my first real training, I was six and by this time I have been training for four years and by george I was still a white belt how do I know because my father said so and those damm 8 mm films show it again. I can remember kicking a tree with a old mattress wrapped around it as if it was yesterday, now rewmember this is over forty years ago.
When I recieved my yellow belt I was eight and I was the happiest person anywhere that yeallow belt meant more to me than and other things in my life it had meaning, which was I have grown out of early child hood and could train with the older people you know the real MA'ers those 10 and 11 year old people, over the years I finally got to BB level I was 19 years old and I relized on that day that my training was really beginning, for it was then that I really stated to compete and I got my head nearly knocked off. 5 years later I started to gain enlightment what Martial Arts was for me not my father or all my other instructors but for me alone, tournaments was a fun way of getting to know how my training was going and to my amazement the more I won the less happier I was, it just did not seem right that people was out there for the sport and not the Art.
Now twenty years later I too see myself doing the exact same thing my father did to me with my three son's and that is I tell them they have been training since they could walk and I know because I have pics and videos of all of you doing it just like my father, they are doing tournament just like me and one day I hope they are able to find the enlightment though there journey of the Martial Arts.
As I sit back and wonder over the years how was it that I could stay in an Art for so long and how was it my father was able to keep me going when I wanted to quit, I find myself thanking the man that brought me all of this everyday and wondering if I will be able to do the same with my family.
They say that childern are suppose to have fun and be able to make mistakes and learn to grow on there own but are they really growing in a world of MA anymore or are they just learning how to be able to get by? I know I stuggle everyday to explain how come society has given the arts a bad rep. and why we are no longer able to really train the old ways for fear of a lawsuite, but behind close doors is where the real training lie's within all of us.
Just a bit of a moment I tought I would share.
I started training at the ripe old age of two did I know what I was doing, heck no do I remember my training another heck no, then how do I know I satrted at that age, simple question, simple answer because my father said I did, see he trained over a 10,000 men while he was in the service, he has old 8 mm film showing me trying to kick and punch along side my brothers and sisters.
When do I remember my first real training, I was six and by this time I have been training for four years and by george I was still a white belt how do I know because my father said so and those damm 8 mm films show it again. I can remember kicking a tree with a old mattress wrapped around it as if it was yesterday, now rewmember this is over forty years ago.
When I recieved my yellow belt I was eight and I was the happiest person anywhere that yeallow belt meant more to me than and other things in my life it had meaning, which was I have grown out of early child hood and could train with the older people you know the real MA'ers those 10 and 11 year old people, over the years I finally got to BB level I was 19 years old and I relized on that day that my training was really beginning, for it was then that I really stated to compete and I got my head nearly knocked off. 5 years later I started to gain enlightment what Martial Arts was for me not my father or all my other instructors but for me alone, tournaments was a fun way of getting to know how my training was going and to my amazement the more I won the less happier I was, it just did not seem right that people was out there for the sport and not the Art.
Now twenty years later I too see myself doing the exact same thing my father did to me with my three son's and that is I tell them they have been training since they could walk and I know because I have pics and videos of all of you doing it just like my father, they are doing tournament just like me and one day I hope they are able to find the enlightment though there journey of the Martial Arts.
As I sit back and wonder over the years how was it that I could stay in an Art for so long and how was it my father was able to keep me going when I wanted to quit, I find myself thanking the man that brought me all of this everyday and wondering if I will be able to do the same with my family.
They say that childern are suppose to have fun and be able to make mistakes and learn to grow on there own but are they really growing in a world of MA anymore or are they just learning how to be able to get by? I know I stuggle everyday to explain how come society has given the arts a bad rep. and why we are no longer able to really train the old ways for fear of a lawsuite, but behind close doors is where the real training lie's within all of us.
Just a bit of a moment I tought I would share.
