# What was your first class like?



## young.learner (Jun 20, 2009)

I am having my first class of the martial arts soon!
And that got me wondering what will it be like?
So what was your first class like?

your friend,
Young.learner
(or matt)


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## Tensei85 (Jun 20, 2009)

I was 8, so the 1st class as best as I can remember we were taught the basics...

basic stance
footwork
kicks
punches
drills.

The general...

It will be fun and educational good luck


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## Tensei85 (Jun 20, 2009)

Website for what you may be interested in:

http://www.bodymindharmony.com/chinese_martial_arts/mantis.php
http://www.akronkungfu.com/


These are both Tong Long schools in the Akron, Ohio + you have the Bujinkan info I sent you as well...


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## terryl965 (Jun 20, 2009)

My first class was back in 1963 and to be honest I just do not remember, but I am still here and training the best that I can.


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## Omar B (Jun 20, 2009)

Oh gosh.  My first class, I was 5 years old, it was Seido karate being taught after class hours at my prep school.  All my little friends and I picked up the class and we were all so nervous and excited because all we knew of karate was from the movies and Batman comics.  We didn't have gis yet so we wore our PS clothes.  That's how a life long obsession starts.


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## Ken Morgan (Jun 20, 2009)

Totally lost, trying to absorb it all.


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## jarrod (Jun 20, 2009)

i don't remember much, because i lost consciousness several times during my first lesson.  i remember lots of screaming, & bleeding a lot.  i'll admit, i even cried a little when i got home.  i was 24 at the time.  

anyway, it's worthwhile if you just stick with it.  enjoy the journey!

jf

p.s. i'm just screwing with you, have fun.


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## mook jong man (Jun 20, 2009)

Well first they shaved my head bald , then they told me I had to go down this dark narrow hallway.

With great trepidation I started moving down the hallway , suddenly what looked to be a wooden man tried to take my head off with his wooden limbs .
 Instinctively I deflected with a high Bong Sau , I endured attack after attack from these mechanically driven wooden warriors . Though their Kung Fu was powerful and highly skilled , they could not breach my defenses which were honed from plucking flies out of the air with chopsticks.
 I could not believe how well I was doing , that is until I got to the 36th wooden man who promptly jumped out and kicked me in the nuts.


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## padre (Jun 21, 2009)

Not counting the vaguely unpleasant 6-week class I took when I was ten through the public school system...

My first class was a little over a week ago. I walked in limping from minor injuries sustained falling from a tree and performing too many full prostrations (zen) without stretching in the days leading up to the lesson.

The instructor put me through some jumping jacks, stretches, basic blocks, punches, kicks, more stretching, and a few breathing exercises.

I left feeling fantastic and with my legs working better than they had in quite some time.


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## arnisador (Jun 21, 2009)

I was very young, and my brother and I went to a class that was part of a one-month free trial at a new karate school. It was more of a demo--some very simple wrist grab escapes. We were bored, actually. It was probably another 5-6 years before I tried it again.


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## Tez3 (Jun 21, 2009)

jarrod said:


> i don't remember much, because i lost consciousness several times during my first lesson. i remember lots of screaming, & bleeding a lot. i'll admit, i even cried a little when i got home. i was 24 at the time.
> 
> anyway, it's worthwhile if you just stick with it. enjoy the journey!
> 
> ...


 

Naughty boy! You should have gone into the adult's class not the childrens!
 You do know btw that phrase has a totally different connotation for British posters?


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## jarrod (Jun 21, 2009)

really?  do tell, tez!

jf


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## qwksilver61 (Jul 12, 2009)

Walking on stilts......downstairs


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## tallgeese (Jul 13, 2009)

I wish my memory was still good enough to remember! lol


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## bowser666 (Jul 13, 2009)

I can't really remember.  It was a American Kenpo class.  USSD was the association the school was affiliated with.  I seemed to enjoy it since I was there for 3 years      That was almost 20 years ago.


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## Frostbite (Jul 14, 2009)

I took "Karate" at a rec center in Washington where I grew up.  I felt really out of place, didn't know how to tie my belt, didn't know anyone, no one bothered to come and introduce themselves (including the instructor)...

Overall it was a pretty disappointing experience and I only lasted about 4 months, and considering it was "Karate," we spent a lot of time groundfighting.  Part of the problem was I got thrown in there because my parents didn't want to pay for a real school and this place was dirt cheap.  Which is to say, find a place you feel comfortable at and worry about the finer points, like cost, later.

My first Kali class was great.  Instructor was real friendly and I learned a few knife drills the first day which looked like something right of an action film.  Always a great feeling when you walk out of there feeling like they blew your mind.  My first Muay Thai class was brutal but I felt great afterward.  I got worked so hard, I didn't have the energy to really worry about being the "new kid."



Tez:  fanny, screwing, napkin..and all kinds of other words that mean something different over here!


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## jarrod (Jul 14, 2009)

while frostbite provides a good cautionary tale, i just want to point out that low cost doesn't always mean it's a crap class.  my judo/jujitsu/sambo coach teaches out of a rec center, & has managed to turn out national & world champs, as well as an olympian.

jf


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## Frostbite (Jul 14, 2009)

jarrod said:


> while frostbite provides a good cautionary tale, i just want to point out that low cost doesn't always mean it's a crap class.  my judo/jujitsu/sambo coach teaches out of a rec center, & has managed to turn out national & world champs, as well as an olympian.
> 
> jf



Oh god no.  Low cost doesn't mean low quality just as high cost doesn't equal high quality.  I only meant to point out that the cost shouldn't be the only deciding factor.

Hell, this Enshin place I mentioned trying in another thread is $50/month and as near as I can tell is really great instruction.


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