What is your motivation?

[Sylvie.andrsn1]

When we start training in a martial art we do so for the primary reason of wanting to learn self defence but at some point as we grow older, the focus should change to maintaining our health through movement.
I just turned 65 and have an extensive background in both JKD and karate and really just want to stay healthy and mobile as I age.
I am graded shodan in Budokan which is shotokan based with some Kung Fu influences.
I have been drawn back to the karate as I get older because it suits my purposes.
I dont train with the same level of intensity as I did in my youth but still feel the benefits.
I am the sole carer for my 87 old mother and it is almost 24/7 so all my training is solo...Kata and kihon come into their own in my situation.
How is everybody else approaching their training as they age?

At 42, and being a mom to 3 boys, I fully understand what my body can't do that it used to do 19 years ago. Sometimes my lower back gets cranky if i skip mobility. So, motivation for me is not to prove anything, but staying strong and keeping my joints happy

 

[Holmejr4 2]

At 71, so many motivators.
Mastering the art that is always slightly out of reach.
Self defense.
Health.
Good example to my children / grandchildren.

I also play USTA tennis. The two activities complement each other well. Both are weapon based arts

 

[Gyakuto137 146]

I wish I knew what motivated me. I just have to think about and practise the Japanese martial arts. It’s like an obsession but without the derangement associate with that state. I’ve stopped trying to identify/analyse but I’m thankful for it as it’s profoundly touched all aspects of my life. I just enjoy the feeling of being all consumed.

 

[Buka45 2]

Motivation to train in the arts….it’s kind of like asking a heroine addict what motivated him to look for a fix when he got up this afternoon.

At one point for me the motivation was to not get my ash kicked, but that was just a change of location. I was then getting my ash kicked with bowing and strange new words.

But if you’re lucky enough to find an art that speaks to you, and the right dojo for that conversation to take place, training isn’t something that’s easy to give up. It becomes like oxygen, ice cream and you know what.

 

[Gyakuto137 146]

Motivation to train in the arts….it’s kind of like asking a heroine addict what motivated him to look for a fix when he got up this afternoon.

Their Mu (μ) receptors! A class of G-protein-coupled receptors in the nervous system that bind both internal (endogenous) pain-relieving peptides and external opioid drugs like morphine. All junkies know this

At one point for me the motivation was to not get my ash kicked, but that was just a change of location. I was then getting my ash kicked with bowing and strange new words.

Yes I think this is very true of the empty handed arts in particular.

Ironically, I think it’s the dignified presence/grace/character (‘hinkaku’) that the martial arts bestows upon the practitioner that provides 99% of self-defence.

I had to walk through a dodgy area of town last night to and from a restaurant with my other half. I held her hand, stood tall and walked with vigilance (zanshin) making eye contact where necessary and I think I radiated confidence that made us an unpalatable target. That or the fact I’d obviously solid the back of my trousers

But if you’re lucky enough to find an art that speaks to you, and the right dojo for that conversation to take place, training isn’t something that’s easy to give up. It becomes like oxygen, ice cream and you know what.

Rather than nutritionally-innutritive ice cream, a better analogy would be some sort of whole, plant-based food because like that kind of food, TMA are very good for those that practice them.

 

[Buka45 2]

Their Mu (μ) receptors! A class of G-protein-coupled receptors in the nervous system that bind both internal (endogenous) pain-relieving peptides and external opioid drugs like morphine. All junkies know this


Yes I think this is very true of the empty handed arts in particular.

Ironically, I think it’s the dignified presence/grace/character (‘hinkaku’) that the martial arts bestows upon the practitioner that provides 99% of self-defence.

I had to walk through a dodgy area of town last night to and from a restaurant with my other half. I held her hand, stood tall and walked with vigilance (zanshin) making eye contact where necessary and I think I radiated confidence that made us an unpalatable target. That or the fact I’d obviously solid the back of my trousers

Rather than nutritionally-innutritive ice cream, a better analogy would be some sort of whole, plant-based food because like that kind of food, TMA are very good for those that practice them.

Ice cream isn’t a food, it’s a medicine.

 

[Dragonfly55]

Fitness, fun and community are my motivation. Fighting is the least of my interests. Our instructor likes to focus on the functional aspects of FMA, yet also reminds us the likelihood of being involved in a violent situation is pretty slim.

"The goal of the martial arts is not for the destruction of an opponent but rather for self-growth and self-perfection" - Dan Inosanto

 

[Gyakuto137 146]

Ice cream isn’t a food, it’s a medicine.

You know, I don’t like ice cream! When I tell people that, they look at me like I kick puppies every weekend as a hobby.

 

[Gyakuto137 146]

Fitness, fun and community are my motivation.

Good motivations.


I use the gym very effectively for the first one, Youtube kitten/puppy videos for the second and I don’t like people.

Fighting is the least of my interests.

Not that’s a very interesting statement. What is it about (very controlled) fighting you don’t like? As a young man I didn’t like it either but as I got older and became more fearless, I really took to it and saw it as an avenue to test what I’d learned.

yet also reminds us the likelihood of being involved in a violent situation is pretty slim.

Very true in the UK (excluding London!)

"The goal of the martial arts is not for the destruction of an opponent but rather for self-growth and self-perfection" - Dan Inosanto

I’m very sceptical of the self-growth type statements. You need to want to grow for the TMA to provide the fertile ground for that growth and I find asignificant proportion of TMA to be knob’eads (as we say in these parts).

I recently read a psychology paper (I know, I know but I used it for toilet paper after I’d finished ) about ‘Roid Rage’ and general aggressive tendencies in anabolic steroid abusers. Its research found that anabolic steroids didn’t significantly increase aggressiveness in abusers at all and concluded that ‘…aggressiveness in steroid users was a indicator of pre-abuse levels, sometimes latent, of aggressiveness…’ In other words, a ‘nice, emotionally balanced person’ is unlikely to display roid rage whereas a c**t is!

I think it’s the same with TMA abusers

 

[Stuarto91 1]

You know, I don’t like ice cream! When I tell people that, they look at me like I kick puppies every weekend as a hobby.

Literally everybody likes ice cream, Gyakuto

 

[Gyakuto137 146]

Literally everybody likes ice cream, Gyakuto

I quite like mint chocolate chip but I wouldn’t choose it over…a kale and brussels sprout as casserole

 

[Wing Woo Gar71 32]

I quite like mint chocolate chip but I wouldn’t choose it over…a kale and brussels sprout as casserole

You will never get to be a real boy as long as you keep telling those lies…

 

[Gyakuto137 146]

You will never get to be a real boy as long as you keep telling those lies…

I a man and you’ve seen my ‘special photos’ that prove it