What got you people into the Martial Arts?

[yaxomoxay]

In 2008 my wife and I got our then 6yrs old son in a Tang Soo Do dojan to help him with focus issues. We saw the lessons, we waited a few months and then my wife and I both joined. He's now a Cho Dan Bo, I am a 2nd Gup, my wife a 1st gup.
Our 5 1/2 yrs old son recently joined too, he's still a 10th gup.
Basically it became a family activity (although our little son cannot attend adult evening classes).

 

[mook jong man]

One fine day I was sitting under a waterfall meditating , as the cascading water caressed my shaven skull I happened to chance upon a snail and a caterpillar engaged in mortal combat.

I was entranced by the two little creatures and I studied their attacks and defences diligently , and it was from that vision that my personal fighting style was born.


Nah not really , it just seemed like a good way to keep me out of the pub.

 

[Yondanchris]

Got beat up as a kid so my parents enrolled me in karate classes and I have never looked back!

 

[threethirty]

I had always been kinda interested in MA, one day I was riding through town and saw a blinky light sign that said the place taught kung-fu. So I figured I'd stop in.

 

[WTSDAJJ]

I was 4 and watched the karate kid movies.

 

[Xue Sheng100]

More serious answer than i gave a few years ago.

Saw a friend in a jiujitsu demo at a mall, and the original Kung fu tv series

 

[Stuarto67]

I have been interested in martial arts since I was a child. Back then I got into aikido and wish that I had stuck with it. I started aikido again in 2019 but after only a few short months of training, my dojo was shut down due to covid. I later got interested in Kenpo and in the summer of 2024 found my school. I have been attending on a regular basis ever since.

 

[wanderingstudent]

I have had a lot of hobbies/activities over the years. Like most kids, I took TKD classes, for a while. One day, I was in a book store trying to pick something out. In the Sports section they have various Martial Arts books and I thought it would be a good opportunity to rekindle an interest. I went home and thought about it more and started researching various styles and whatnot. Martial Arts encompasses many things- there is the spiritual, physical and mental paths. All good stuff. I believe Martial Arts training is the best way to live your life.

 

[Simfers106]

I got into martial arts at 18 (28 years ago) for two reasons:

1. I desperately needed to get in some semblance of a shape that wasn't a circle. I'm a lazy bastard wity lousy food discipline and a family history of obesity and at 18, I had more than the belly fat I have now, but without the layer of muscle under. Something had to be done.

2. Well, martial arts are super cool! The final fight scene in Lethal Weapon was the COOLEST thing I'd ever seen for decades and made me go "yes, I wanna do that". That was years before I'd wind up starting, but that seed led me to Tae Kwon Do, then to Karate, then to Can-Ryu Jiu Jitsu, and now to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

The learning, and therefore the fun, never stops.

 

[Hyoho]

I am wondering what got you people into training into the Martial Arts? It can be for many reasons for improving your health, improving your self-confidence and self-esteem, learning to defend youself against bullies at school, or it can be the influence of so many Martial Arts movies and TV shows, growing idolizing so many Martial Arts movie stars.

When I was a kid growing up in Eastern Toronto, I grew up watching boxing and pro wrestling. I have also grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even watched the movies. I also watched Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and I grew idolizing Jason David Frank. I had other influences such as Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly, Jean Claude Van Damme, Michael Jai White. They are awesome Martial Artists. So at age 20 I decided to give Martial Arts a try and until day I loved it.

Library books when I was at elementary school. I'm 78 now!