# why did you start karate



## drummingman (Feb 8, 2007)

why did you all start taking karate in the first place? what was it that moved you to start the martial arts, and karate specifically over other styles? what has karatedone for you in your life?


----------



## twendkata71 (Feb 8, 2007)

I started training because it excited me,watching martial arts movies on friday nights, we had a couple of people in my school that were into it.  Frankly I started in the style that I am now because it was the closest to where I lived and I didn't like the other school in the area. Had I went to the school 20 miles away I would probably be training in Bando right now. Personally I was fascinated with the Japanese/Okinawan and Chinese cultures, there were no kung fu schools in the area, so I went with the local karate club, which taught Shotokan/Seiei kan, later I found a local Matsubayashi Shorin ryu school and trained there for a while. I would have to say that karate training has taught me to be a more independant,stronger person and a better father and husband. It has also taught me to use my mind instead of just using  my muscles.


----------



## JasonASmith (Feb 8, 2007)

It's all about the Sensei...
I walked into the Dojo, watched two classes, and knew that it would be a CRIME not to go to him...I've never regretted that decision.


----------



## Drac (Feb 8, 2007)

Sick of getting my butt beat by bigger dudes..I heard an interview with a  local Sensei who was asked about defending himself against bigger guys.."All that meat you can hang in the butcher shop, it means nothing"...That's all it took..


----------



## michaeledward (Feb 8, 2007)

My younger daughter started studying first. My older daughter started studying about a year later. The older girl stopped studying after a year. I thought it was a bad choice for her to stop, and was searching for a way to encourage her to return. My wife and I started studying along with our younger girl, to try and 'pull' the older girl back on to the mat.

She never resumed her studies. I have continued.


----------



## Grenadier (Feb 8, 2007)

It was purely a matter of the fact that the best teacher in town happened to teach Shotokan Karate.  Her teachings ability was significantly better than what I saw in other Karate schools, as well as the Tae Kwon Do school, in my area, and that's what drove me to sign on.  

When I went to college, the roles had reversed.  There was a Karate group, but their instruction wasn't as good as the Tae Kwon Do group, which is why I studied Tae Kwon Do in college.


----------



## SFC JeffJ (Feb 8, 2007)

I actually started Shorin Ryu as a favor for a friend who had been going to that dojo for years.  He was getting close to testing for Shodan, and needed to take a newbie up to 8th kyu.  Knowing I was pretty interested in it, he asked me to be his student for that.  Heck, it got me a couple of months of free lessons too!

Jeff


----------



## Brandon Fisher (Feb 8, 2007)

I started when we first moved to Cleveland.  My friend who was the first kid I met when moving here was in a karate class through a local recreation department.  So because of me being very small and timid on top of having my vision problem my parents decided it would probably be good for me so they signed me up.  That was Novemeber, 1984 and I have been involved in karate ever since.


----------



## terryl965 (Feb 8, 2007)

As I have stated many times I had no choice father tought it and so I learned, never have I ever felt like I was misue it has and will be apart of my life and so with my childern and hopefully there as well.


----------



## searcher (Feb 8, 2007)

I had multiple reasons for starting karate.   I had trained since I was a little kid with my dad in submission and grappling, but I needed something else.   You would think at 6'3" and a little over 200 that nobody would pick on you, but that is not the case.  I was getting picked on by the same group of duys everyday and I got tired of not beign able to deal with them.   I had no striking skills and I did not want to go to the ground with there being more than one, so I started looking and I found an Kenpo school.   They were teaching what I knew I needed and so I started training.   I had the ever-present dilusions of kicking the crap out of all the bullies and becoming a hero to the picked on people.  I never got my chance to get redemption.  Before I knew it I was graduated and in college without ever having struck aone of them.   It was really a good thing for me as I have seen these same guys and now they are all strung out or are even worse off.   I see them and I am speechless.   I don't pity them, but the MAs have allowed me to get past having anger at them.   This is just one of the great things that I have received from karate.   I met My Wife in a karate class and I will always remember that.    The things are countless.

That is the reason I started.................................and the Karate Kid.


----------



## drummingman (Feb 9, 2007)

i have not started karate yet but i hope to,but i will give you my reasons why i have been interested in the martial arts for years.
when i was growing up (grade school and junior high) i went through some tough times with bullies that caused me a lot of problems.i used to battle with major fear of them and things like that.i stood up to one of them and at that point when he saw that i was ready to fight and had had enough he left me alone.but the junior high school that i went to was real rough.i would almost get into fights all the time because of how bad some of the people that went to the school were.i never wanted to fight with people but i always tried to keep from letting anyone push me around.but if i let somebody get away with pushing me around they would keep doing it until i put my foot down,which sometimes took a long time for me to do.and there were times i did not.there were also a lot of other issues in that school that caused lots of people to have to deal with violence on a regular basis.
so because of this things i have always wanted to learn to really be able to defend myself well since i was a kid.i started taking muay thai when i was about 22 or 23 but i had to stop because i had had wrist surgery for tendinitis a few months earlier and was not ready for that kind of strain on my wrist.amd my hand therapist told me that i was going to have to choose between my career (im a musician) or the martial arts.well when faced with that choice it was a no brainer.but over the years my interest in the martial arts wold pop up now and again.i knew i still wanted to study but was afraid to becuae of fear of messing up my wrists and in turn killing my drumming career.
at this point i still go back and forth on taking martial arts because of that fear of messing up my wrists but i really want to do it for so many reasons.


----------



## Blindside (Feb 9, 2007)

I first started Isshin-ryu because my best friend was doing it.

Dropped out three years later when I discovered girls. 

Lamont


----------



## wnykarateboy (Feb 9, 2007)

I started Isshin-ryu because it sounded fun, it was fun and still is


----------



## Josh (Feb 12, 2007)

To be 100% honest... It was a mix between the ninja turtles, the power rangers, the karate kid and the 3 ninjas. I never was beaten up as a kid, I never really got into fights until middle school. I started to because I liked what I saw on TV. After years of training I do it for more of a spiritual reason. I fid comfort in it. Self defense has always been on the back burner for me.
Starting Martial Arts was one of the best things I ever did though. So in a way, all those hours in front of the TV watching the green ranger paid off.


----------



## wade (Feb 13, 2007)

To balance my kicking skills. Same reason I studied Aikido, Hapkido, and weapons. to balance me out.


----------



## NDNgirl4ever (Feb 17, 2007)

I have always been somewhat interested in martials arts, although my mom wouldn't let me take classes when I was young. I really got into it in January, and I love it. It's a good workout, and I really thought some self defense training would be good, especially since I'm in college with the rate of crime on some campuses. I looked up schools in my area, and went to observe the one I'm currently, at, which teaches Shorin Ryu. I really liked what I saw, so I went back for my two trial classes and then signed up. It's been fun ever since.:ultracool


----------



## Cirdan (Feb 18, 2007)

I needed a mountain to climb. This turned out to be the most beautiful I have ever seen.


----------



## Zero (Feb 24, 2007)

Generally I've always had a passion for, and been very interested in, martial arts. I started with judo in primary school and then moved on to TKD through my high school years. For some reason when I was at Uni and working I drifted away from training in MA and focused on the gym and weights. Then I thought what the hells going on and began searching for the art that was really for me. After trying so many clubs round my city I ended up in a small scout hall that was also used by a goju ryu club - and my love for MA and more particular karate really kicked off. 

The club was brilliant - the head sensei was very traditional goju down to the traditional hardening and strength training, while of the other two senoirs one was 7th time natinal heavyweight champion and had fought all through Asia while the other was a huge Samoan who had not only been in karate for over 20 yrs but was very into grappling, wrestling and boxing. All were awesome trainers and it was the best to train with these talented (and at times frightening) individuals! THus the club was very eclectic and embraced training on all levels.

I really enjoy the hard contact and the focus on both the hand and kicking skills offered - I am at my happiest sparing or training on the bag or just yarning about fights and the science of fighting.


----------



## twendkata71 (Feb 24, 2007)

Yeah, It bores my wife to tears, but I could set around all night discussing techniques,tactics, and practicing them.


----------



## Haze (Mar 20, 2007)

I was 36yrs old, my son was 8 and wanted to get into karate. I sat around the dojo watching him and they offered me some free classes. One thing led to another and
I was signing a contract. That was in 1987.

What has it done for me? I am a much nicer *%%&^* person and have a deep  $$^%^%^&$  respect for other #&*^%  people (JK)


----------



## jim777 (Mar 20, 2007)

Haze said:


> I was 36yrs old, my son was 8 and wanted to get into karate. I sat around the dojo watching him and they offered me some free classes. One thing led to another and
> I was signing a contract. That was in 1987.
> 
> What has it done for me? I am a much nicer *%%&^* person and have a deep $$^%^%^&$ respect for other #&*^% people (JK)


 
Awesome stuff! :lol: I took my kids to TKD last September because I wanted them to study Martial Arts. I had wanted to study all my life (I'm 45 now) but never had classes that started when I was off from work or out of school or something. I had taken about 6 months of Kung Fu from Alan Lee's school in Manhattan in '80, but that was it. After watching my daughters for two weeks, I asked if they had classes for adult beginners, and I started the following Friday. So that's it; I'm going until I die now, it's a dream come true for me to be finally in a position to be studying Martial Arts. Come September the whole family (6 of us) will be going. 

And it was David Carradine and Kwai Chang Cane that got me interested in the Martial Arts initially. Master Po and the grasshopper 

jim


----------



## 14 Kempo (Mar 20, 2007)

What got me started was no big story, in fact it is either funny or rather boring ... 

I was still playing baseball, but during the off season did not do much of anything to stay in shape. My sister asked me to attend her aerobics class, I eventually agreed to watch one. While watching all the folks jump up and down to music, I spotted a Karate studio just four doors down. Somehow, through my boredom, I wandered down to the studio and spoke to the sensei. He was rather young and spoke with a heavy Bostonian accent. During our conversation, it came to me that I may like this as I would not only be exercising, but would be learning something as well. This was a much better thought than the empty minded jumping around during an aerobics class.

The next day I went in and worked with the sensei. Having an athletic background, it all seemed to come easy to me. I started that day, signed, sealed and delivered.


----------



## kicksindabank (Mar 24, 2007)

Karate chose me. I had alot of anger and needed to get it out my system. My instructor attends my church and told me to come see him. I did and have been there every since. 

Karate has helped my journal into womanhood. Growing up, and basicly be strong in who I am, where I have been, and where I am going.


----------



## jtbdad (Mar 27, 2007)

My interest in Martial Arts in general  started because of Jay T. Will.  I however decided to study matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu because of the Sensei.  My initial instructor was Papa Joe Hayes.


----------



## Muwubu16858 (Apr 17, 2007)

I started in March 1998. I was 13, was getting beat up on a weekly basis, and my father wanted me to be able to defend myself. Then I met my teacher in 2001, a few months before my Cho Dan test. His first words were, "Your technique looks like s***! I've been training with him ever since, and havent found a soul worthy to replace him!


----------

