Why did you start studying your particular martial art?

What is the main reason you orginally started studying martial arts?

  • To learn how to fight.

  • To learn how to defend.

  • Traditional and cultural reasons.

  • Health and Fitness.

  • Parents / Buddy / Someone pushed me into it.

  • It looked cool on television and in movies.

  • Other (please explain below).


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A

Akula

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I have been reading through various fora, and one of a few general questions keep coming to mind. What was the original inspiration of why you started martial arts?

I know most people will have more than one reason - I do.

For me, I would say that the 'Tradition' item is the most relevant. I've wanted to study 'something' for a while. When I recently made the decision to finally start, I set about trying to decide which art to study. Looking at several items in my area, I came across a few possiblities. One of the items that did factor in is that my family is part russian. A few years ago, I saw some RMA footage on a television program and at the time, it definitely piqued my interest. Here's a martial art, and it's russian. Back to the present - I recently moved to a new area for job related reasons, and as it turned out, found a local instructor in Systema, and started. Now I'm working in a system based on over 1000 years of russian history and traditions, and really enjoy it.
 

MJS

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I originally started for a few reasons. SD, confidence, and to stay in shape. Kenpo was really the only art that, 1 was close by, and 2, that I really knew about. As time went on, I was fortunate to meet many good people both at the school and outside of the school. While I'm not really active in Kenpo any longer, I still train with a few other Inst. from different arts that I came across.

Mike
 
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K

kenpo12

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I took up the Martial arts because I'm an addict. Not of drugs or anything but I have to have something that I pour my everything into. From about age 12 to 18 it was skateboarding, I lived it, breathed it, crapped it. I always had interest in the MA's but just never had time with my skateboarding. After I got out of the military I tried skateboarding again but it just wasn't the same so I needed a new "drug" so to speak. Since I had always had interest in the martial arts I decided it was time. I've been addicted ever since.
 

karatekid1975

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I originally started in Tang Soo Do. I wanted to learn self defense. But I didn't know anything about MA. I did know a crappy school when I saw one, though. I looked at a few "crappy" places, then found my TSD dojang. It had Hapikdo, and Thai boxing mixed in. I thought it was perfect for self defense ..... come to find out, I was right. I defended myself with it on the street. Worked wonders :)

Then I moved :( I found my dojang on the internet. Checked out other schools (even attended a sport school for a year). Then decided it was time to attend this one. Another good pick :) It's a hybrid style TKD mixed with throws, standing and ground grappling, joint locks, ect (as well as the norm TKD stuff). Very self defense based.
 

Ceicei

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I had always been interested in martial arts while growing up but couldn't get involved until I went to college and classes were available. I did have incidents that required me to defend myself twice. This gave me the incentive to get started into martial arts to defend myself better.

- Ceicei
 

Tony

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Well I've always been interested in Martial Arts, specifically Kung fu. I used to train myself as I could not find any clubs in my area and i also I am quite shy!. My sister's friend showed me a little Lau Gar but that was basic punches and kicks.
So after I started to get all the books I could on diiferent Martial Arts and a lot on Bruce Lee as well!
But one day I decided seriously to look for somewhere I could actually study properly under proper guidance. So I found myself looking through the yellow pages and phoning a couple of places such as Aikido and Tang soo do, but when I got to the classes I just felt so intimidated by it all and didn't have the courage to go in and introduce myself. The last time I went to the Tang soo do class and felt such a failure for not even going inside the training hall and introducing myself, but as i was leaving the Sports centre I noticed on one of the walls a poster advertising a Kung Fu class. So I rang up and got through to the assistant of the instructor and he told me all about it. I was quite excited. I turned up and the Instructor greeted me very friendly and I really loved it from day one, great training! I have been studying Kung Fu now for 5 years and i am now a blue sash!.
I always used to teach myself from books in the hope that I would be an expert, but it was no good! i felt so low because I was reading about people in my local paper who had done well in Martial arts competitions, and friends of friends who were good at certain Martial Arts! I felt like a joke with all my own self study!
 
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markulous

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I have always had that feeling and urge to go into martial arts. It's one of the few things I truely enjoy. Nothing gives me a better feeling than practicing my art.

So anyway a friend of my parents got me into American Boxing. And a few years later I started training in other "forms" and got more into the art side than just the martial.
 

7starmantis

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Thats an awesome story, I'm glad you got the courage to try something out, and even more so that you found something that you enjoy and fits with you. I don't really know what level a blue sash is, since most kung fu schools have differing belt systems if any, but I'm glad you have stuck with it.

By the way, I study kung fu as well, and I love it.

7sm
 

Tony

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Hi 7sm

Thanks! So what style of Kung fu do you practice? I do Shaolin Long Fist/ Bak Shaolin Wushu Pai hence why i use Kung fu for short! Well I have my grading soon and my next sash will be yellow and then a couple more and then its black!
But I have so many forms to get to grips with! Its easy to learn all the forms and then miss moves because I start practicing them so fast!
So tell me more about your style and what you do, I'd be really interested to learn more about different systems!
 

jfarnsworth

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The Kenpo system suited my needs for what I was looking for. In-depth study on motion, hard concrete answers on self-defense. Many many more things.:asian:
 
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RCastillo

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Purely by accident. After I saw "Fists of Fury", I decided to try it. (1974)The craze in town at the time was a then Joe Lewis Karate studio(Under the Tracy system) I saw the Dragon in the window and went for it. (I of course had no idea what Kenpo was from anything else, I was 18 at the time)

Anyway, here I am, still growing within Kenpo, and wouldn't trade it for anything else.:asian:
 

Taiji Rebel

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Began studying to learn how to fight. Doing so introduced me to the spirit of budo. From there I realized martial arts are a vehicle for spiritual development. At first it was the Japanese arts. Then I came across the Tao Te Ching. After studying longer I began to understand there is no real separation between the various styles. All forms are snapshots. Simple shapes to remind us of basic concepts. Zen, chan, meditation in motion. There are many aspects to martial arts and it is the art which keeps me training. The martial applications are not as important as they originally were.
 
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