What Made You Pick Your Art?

[Tony]

Well ever since seeing all those Hong Kong Martial ARts films and Bruce Lee I had always wanted to do kung fu but I could not find anywhere. I bought books hoping i could teach myself then i was lucky enough to receive some instruction from a Brown belt in Lau Gar, a friend of my sister. After that i had to trian myself again reading mostly about Bruce Lee. I was taken to a Taekwondo class by a friend of my mum's but somehow i knew it wasn;t for me. I didn't like the structure and it didn't feel like a friendly atmostphere.
I felt like fake for many years because i was not even learning from anyone. I made friend who had studied a little Karate and was also training himself in Bruce Lee's fighting methods and had even had to use his skills one time. He always managed to win every sparring match which frustrated me and sometimes made me cry although I never showed it to him. That was when i was in my late teens and we both used to go to th gym together. Some years later i realised there was no way i coudl study from books the rest of my life but being shy it was hard to make that first initial step into a class because it was so intimidating. I had psyched myself up to go to an Aikido class but i felt panic and never even made it to the door, then i tried a Tang Soo do class as it was teh nearest i coudl find to Kung fu but again i chickened out. As I left i noticed a poster advertising a Kung fu class! My prayer had been heard and i became more determined not chicken out. I called the number and got the instructor's assistant and i called again to make sure i ahd the right directions. I turned up and i was the first one there. And from day one i really enjoyed it and have been studying Shaolin Long Fist for over 7 years now! I am due to take my black sash grading Next month. I have also been doing Wing Chun now for about 3 months and enjoying that too. Both differ alot but offer so much!

 

[phlaw]

When I first started in 1984 Tang Soo Do was the only schoold in my town, when I started in Shotokan in 1990-91 it was because I had heard that Jean Claude Van Dam trained in this and I was a teenager and a big fan. When I started in TKD in 1992 it was for a credit in college, when I decided to commit to TKD it was because of the impact that my current instructor had on me. Other styles I have studied including Judo, Aikido, American Kenpo etc.. I have specifically sought out these arts because of research and they each had something I wanted to explore and learn.

 

[Hand Sword]

The simple, direct, brutality of the defenses. (very appealing to a young kid)

 

[Jenna]

My early martial arts career was made up of hopeless misses and no hits. I finally chose Aikido because being just a slip of a thing, I really wanted something that would help me "punch above my weight". I had tried a number of places but everywhere I'd previously visited or studied seemed to accommodate a whole bunch of guys never managing to punch past their egos.

Maybe I just got lucky in the end but my Aikido club has no bluster or bravado. From the outset, nobody ever seemed as if they wanted to kill me there I've seen too much one-sided Aikido practise - tapping the foot and staring up to the ceiling while you "do your technique".

Where I am now, we try openly to train WITH each other so everybody takes something away. You say, but LIFE has winners and losers. I know, I think that's because even when we "co-operate" in our workaday lives we're STILL trying to win. As odd as it might sound, I don't care much for winning. As the saying goes, when we try to win, we've already lost.

Yr most obdt hmble svt,
Jenna

 

[bydand]

For me it was a long journey to "my" art. I started looking in the mid 70's in Michigan and tried different arts off and on for the next 20 years,before walking into the "Discovery Martial Arts" school in Caribou, Maine and finding what I had been looking for. The art I had been looking for is one that even a smaller person could dump me on my butt without having to use their "might" to do so. I grew up slightly on the rougher side of things and was a good fighter from early grade school, but knew that there had to be a MA out there that didn't rely on street-wise moves to finish, or avoid a fight. Most of the other schools I tried were great at form and movement, but when it came down to "putting the knuckles" to somebody, they fell short of what I could do already to the vast majority of people. This school had me on my back, butt, and head right from the start without ever laying a hand or even finger on the other person. It helped that the person I was training with was about 7" shorter and 40 Pounds lighter than I was, the movement, distancing, and techniques were doing all the work and not the practitioner. SOLD!!! I have always figured SD is a lifelong thing, and have found an art that an 80 year old can walk away from most 20 year olds in a scuffle.

 

[Tarot]

I started with TKD for about seven months. Circumstances arose and I started looking for a new school. Searched for a very long time and ended up at a school that teaches Modern Arnis. My first class I was hooked and knew I didn't need to look any farther.

 

[ChrisWTK]

It was the dojo closest to me, I didn't really take into consideration the kind of martial arts I was learning. It seems to have been a good choice and it broke the ice for me so now I'm not afraid to possibly join another dojo to get some experience in other styles.

 

[Robert Lee]

I have trained in several arts. And it was so I could get an idea of what I wanted. Then I took out what was useful for me. The only Art I try to remain loyal to Is JKD and it has far to much politics But I prefure it over the other methods through the years.And I prefure what is now called Ojkd But in real aspects its just JKD Its good to study and train in other arts If you relize that it can both help you better understand your main art Or find in them something that may be useful to take.