I had some training from a friend before I started formally training in Karate (age 14). A friend of mine ran a series of free classes, twice a week, over at the church, and had trained us in Tae Kwon Do. He showed us the basic techniques of the style, as well as some elementary stances, and a decent array of kicks. Basically, what I learned from him in those 6 weeks, was what got me started in Karate. Nobody was intimidated, since we were all newbies, no experience, etc., and he still found a way to give some good instruction. To be able to do teach newbies like we were, and to still get the message across and make everyone feel pretty good about this, is a wonderful ability that every instructor would certainly like to have.
I wanted to train in his dojang, but unfortunately, the school was a good distance (he only came to that church because of family ties). The only reasonable place was over at the local "Y," where a good Shotokan instructor was teaching classes for a minimal amount of money.
When I started there, it was somewhat intimidating. I was only one of four white belts in a class full of all sorts of ranks, and many of these higher ranks were significantly younger. I did have an advantage, though, that the previous training fit in quite nicely with the cirriculum, and the previous fundamentals taught very closely matched what the sensei wanted.
Overall, I certainly enjoyed my first day, once I got past the initial apprehension.
A more recent experience of "my first day," though, was when I took my first Jiu-Jitsu class, after having over a dozen years of Karate experience. I was in pretty good shape even then, and accepted an offer to come train with another friend, who was taking Jiu-Jitsu, for a month.
Now THIS was a time of apprehension. Here I was, doing things that were very unfamiliar. I had already learned various breakfalls, takedowns, locks, throws, in Karate, but compared to these guys, what I had learned was nothing more than a couple of breadcrumbs in a picnic basket. The hardest part was forcing the body to relax when taking that impact from all sorts of positions that I had never dreamed of doing.
After that first class was over, I didn't want to get up from the mats. Sore, exhausted, and ready to fall asleep right there.
My friend cheerfully said "Hey! Come on! We're going out for a few beers. We need to kill off this excess energy!" I mumbled something about leaving me there to die in peace, but did end up managing to pull myself off the floor, get changed, and enjoy a few rounds of cold brew.
Despite all of the aches and pains, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Jiu-Jitsu school. As part of the deal, my friends had to come over to the Karate dojo, and train in Karate for a month. Halfway through the first class, they were winded. At the end of the class, one wanted to puke, especially after I offered to buy him several rounds of cold beer. Still, everyone enjoyed that month as well.
