# hey there



## FinalCrowing (Aug 16, 2006)

Hey everybody.  I'm Matt and I'm new so I figured I should post here first.  Well, I'm 15 years old and I live in Antioch, Californa.  I've been interested in the martial arts for many years now.  I used to learn TKD, but the instructor wasn't that great and he barely seemed to know what he was doing, and it wasn't very beneficial to me, so i quit.  A few years ago I took up the art of Shaolin Kenpo, and it seemed to be the perfect thing for me.  The art's origins and lineage seemed to be very respectable and the instructors who would be teaching me were very kind and they definately had all the skill and knowledge to be capable instructors (they were a married couple and the woman is the daughter of Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro and her brother is Grandmaster Rob Castro).  I am currently a blue belt, but I took the summer off because of personal issues.  Also, when you turn 15 you go into the adult class and I wanted to make sure it was definately the art for me before proceeding in my studies.  I'm not too sure that it is the art for me anymore.  Shaolin Kenpo places a lot of emphasis on self-defense, as most arts do I would assume, and is reputed to be a great art for defending yourself on the street, and yet all the dances we learn are a fixed order of techniques with no variety.  Maybe, I just haven't reached a deep enough level in my training, but I'm starting to doubt whether or not it's the art for me.  I've been looking into other arts, and through my searches, I found this site.  So yeah, sorry for such a long first post, but I thought someone might be able to help or offer an opinion.  Thanks.


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## SFC JeffJ (Aug 16, 2006)

Welcome and enjoy!!

My two cents is give the forms a chance.  I never used to like them, but now, I go out of my way to learn a few that I think can help my understanding of core principles out.

Jeff


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## Brian R. VanCise (Aug 16, 2006)

Welcome to MartialTalk!

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com


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## terryl965 (Aug 16, 2006)

Welcome and happy posting
Terry


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## Kenpojujitsu3 (Aug 16, 2006)

Welcome!


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## Swordlady (Aug 16, 2006)

Welcome to MT!  :wavey:  Yes, forms can sometimes get boring and repetitive, but they do help teach you some fundamentals on how to *use* the techniques you learn.  Good luck with your training, and I hope you find what you're looking for.


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## pstarr (Aug 16, 2006)

Welcome!


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## MJS (Aug 16, 2006)

Welcome to Martial Talk Matt! :ultracool 

Mike


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## Kacey (Aug 17, 2006)

Welcome, and happy posting!  :wavey:

As others have said, forms often seem pointless when you first learn them... then you start to see the benefits.  I would suggest talking to your instructors and asking them why they teach forms; their answer may help you.  Also, if you're not sure that this is the style for you, go try some others.  The comparision information will be very valuable, whether you ultimately decide to stay or try something else.  Either way, enjoy!


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## Lisa (Aug 17, 2006)

Welcome Matt, I hope you enjoy the forum! :wavey:


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## w.kaer (Aug 17, 2006)

Welcome FinalCrowing. As for the forms...remember Daniel-san didn't understand why he was sanding the floor.


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## stone_dragone (Aug 17, 2006)

Greetings and welcome to MT!  Almost everybody goes through points in their learning process where they find what they are doing is pointless (kata, forms, etc) or that they have no growth .  Keep it up and you'll break through.  Just like any exercise there will be plateaus.  You just need to keep going, double your efforts and you'll get better results again.


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## Jade Tigress (Aug 17, 2006)

Welcome to Martial Talk!


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## HKphooey (Aug 17, 2006)

Welocme to MT!


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## Bigshadow (Aug 17, 2006)

Welcome to Martial Talk!


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## Drac (Aug 17, 2006)

Greetings and welcome to MT...


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## FinalCrowing (Aug 17, 2006)

hey guys, thanks a lot for the comments.  I guess I'm not the only one who doubts their training sometimes.  I'm gonna to go and check out one of the adult classes, and most likely I'll go ahead and sign up for it.  I figure that even if the dances seem pointless, there's probably something deeper that I haven't gotten to yet, and that's what I'm looking to find now.  And if I find, in time, that it's not the art for me, I'll look around for something different.


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## kelly keltner (Aug 17, 2006)

welcome


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## Ping898 (Aug 17, 2006)

Hey Matt, Welcome to MT  :wavey:


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## matt.m (Aug 17, 2006)

Welcome


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## Kreth (Aug 21, 2006)

Welcome to Martial Talk, Matt.


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