First thing you wanted to learn

[Kung Fu Wang]

What is this "enter" and "finish" thing? Enter where, finish what, the fight? I'm honestly asking, I don't know what those terms refer to.

"Enter" is to pass the

- kicking range without being kicked. This include fast footwork, correct angle to move in, catch the right opportunity, have good timing, ...
- punching range without being punched. This also include to pass your opponent's wrist gate, elbow gate, and reach to his shoulder/head gate.

"Finish" is as simple as

- fist meets face,
- ground meets head,
- arm meets neck,
- ...

 

[dan.jaret]

"Enter" is to pass the

- kicking range without being kicked. This include fast footwork, correct angle to move in, catch the right opportunity, have good timing, ...
- punching range without being punched. This also include to pass your opponent's wrist gate, elbow gate, and reach to his shoulder/head gate.

"Finish" is as simple as

- fist meets face,
- ground meets head,
- arm meets neck,
- ...

LOL thanks, I get it now.

 

[Balrog]

I started because I was bullied horribly in high school. I said never again. It came true.

 

[ernst]

Life is a marathon not a sprint


Rolling, rolling, rolling..

In school we had some judo lessons, and a friend of mine practiced it as a sport he would drag me around alot.

When i was about 15 i started doing aikido, and (sadely) red about a technique to prepare your body & mind for the ¨fight¨:
it was telling to clentch the teeth firmly and put the tongue on the upper side inside your mouth. After many years of mindlessly practicing this technique /wich did help me get across the street\ my teeth are kinda worn down and the inner side of the nerves are a bit overexhausted. So beware of what you learn and keep an open mind to other techniques !

dance, wrestle and relax

 

[Marlene Morga]

When I took my very first martial arts class at 5 years old, I wanted to learn how to be emotionally stronger. At the end of the day, I learned how to respect people.

 

[Hakkan Mordrake]

How to embrace the grind.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I was really more into developing my reflexes when I started taking lessons. I thought it would help me stop being clumsy.

Welcome to the site!

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Personally, the first thing I want to know about is the history of martial arts and how it actually started. This is actually because it is amazing to see that it is popular around the world for several decades now... and the reason why a lot of people are willing to learn it. Well, I understand that it is for the purpose of self-defence. Other than that, I have also notice that there are a lot of people who made variants of it. I honestly think that it is a great way to get healthy and to learn how to protect yourself.

Are you referring to a specific martial art, or martial arts in general? Because if it's martial arts in general, your 'several decades' idea is underselling the length of martial arts quite a bit...

 

[Deleted member 48484]

When you started your Martial Arts journey and you were the excited newbie in the class, what was the first thing you wanted to learn. What was it that you just couldn't wait to be shown. A certain kata? A technique? what?

When I started Karate I wanted to learn katas really really bad. I thought they were so cool!

First thing I wanted to learn when I started martial arts ever.. As far as I remember it was arm bars and kicks.

 

[Damien]

The first thing I specifically wanted to learn (although I knew it would be a while before I had enough experience to do it) was the Guan Dao; Dynasty Warriors may have had something to do with that!

All this time later and I've still not actually learnt a Guan Dao form! Although I love the idea of the weapon and have played around with some basics, I've yet to find a form which I think really looks satisfying or a teacher who is well versed in it. A lot of the forms are overly showy and lack the martial application aspect.

It's been a long time since I've really looked though. Maybe one day.

 

[TenHands]

Saw some guy doing Naihanchi Cho Dan during my first few weeks of Tang Soo Do. The punch-low/highblock-hammerfist sequence right before the leg sweeps really fascinated me. This is actually what got me interested in kata/hyung to begin with.

 

[KenpoMaster805]

I love learning the techniques.

 

[MadMartigan]

At 15, my legs were very weak from several years with knee injuries.
I wanted to get stronger and learn how to kick. That was over 23 years ago.
Still trying to learn how to kick

 

[Urban Trekker]

Saw some guy doing Naihanchi Cho Dan during my first few weeks of Tang Soo Do. The punch-low/highblock-hammerfist sequence right before the leg sweeps really fascinated me. This is actually what got me interested in kata/hyung to begin with.

Is that what you guys call it? That's what we call it in Okinawan karate. Mainland Japanese styles call it tekki, and I thought TSD was an offshoot of Shotokan? Even then, don't you guys still have a Korean word for it?

 

[TenHands]

Is that what you guys call it? That's what we call it in Okinawan karate. Mainland Japanese styles call it tekki, and I thought TSD was an offshoot of Shotokan? Even then, don't you guys still have a Korean word for it?

I no longer to TSD but yeah, they call it Naihanchi (or Naihanji if you do Soo Bahk Do). Here in Shotokan we call it Tekki. Hwang Kee's translation of stuff from Shotokan to TSD was weird:

-Hwang Kee translated Pinan to Pyung Ahn, even though the hyung themselves are the Japanese Heian versions.
-He retained the name Bassai instead of translating it to Chinese.
-Naihanchi stayed, even though it's actually Tekki (a noticeably different kata). Some schools call it Keema (from the KOREAN term Keema Jaseh, or Kiba Dachi).
-Jitte was translated to Sip Soo and is the Japanese version of the kata.
-Chinto was translated to Jin Do and is the Okinawan version, not the Japanese version.
-Lo Hai isn't even a Shotokan kata yet he included it anyway.
-Kong Sang Koon is a loose Chinese translation of Okinawan Kushanku, even though the kata is actually Japanese Kanku-Dai.
-Wang Shu is actually Enpi, not Wansu.
-Same story with Seishan; the name is a (probably incorrect) Chinese translation of Seisan but the kata is actually Hangetsu.
-Ji-On is the Japanese version of Jion, not the Okinawan version.
-O Sip Sa Bo is a weird mix of Gojushiho-Sho and Gojushiho-Dai with some original Useishi mixed in and distorted into an absolute Frankenstein of a hyung.
-E Sip Sa Bo is the Japanese version of Nijushiho but has front kicks instead of side kicks for some reason.
-Sochin/Unsu were translated to Sojin/Unsu and are, to my knowledge, largely similar to the Japanese versions.
-Chinte is practiced in most schools as Jin Soo and is the Japanese version. However, some actually call it Chinte for some reason.
-Jiin kind of exists, again as the Japanese version.
-Wankan isn't even there.

So yeah...Hwang Kee was all over the place in terms of translating both words and kata from Japanese/Okinawan to Chinese/Korean. In a nutshell, though, he basically took some Shotokan and some Okinawan Shorin-Ryu, translated some stuff into Chinese, some into Korean, kept some Japanese names, kept some Okinawan names, and then wrote his own history about each of the hyung and put his own spin on the techniques.

Yeah let's just say there's a reason I switched to Shotokan...

 

[isshinryuronin]

As a young jr. high teen, I felt (as I suppose many kids did) that I was different. I wasn't into the hippy or school clique scene, team sports or even the nerd group. Girls? Forget it. Life was boring. In 1966, karate was little known, even less than judo. I knew of no one who was involved in MA. Karate would be something different, unique, unknown - just like me, and just for me. I enjoyed physical exercise, so it seemed like a good match.

I knew it would challenge me out of my comfort zone and give me something to get excited about. It wasn't about sport, self-defense, learning any specific thing. It was just an intuitive feeling that it would be good for me. So there was no first thing I wanted to learn - I didn't even really know what the heck karate was - just that it would probably take me somewhere I'd never been. I was not disappointed.

 

[Buka]

I saw Ed Parker on The Lucy Show when I was a kid. That did it, I was hooked, wanted to learn Judo.
Because the name of the episode was Lucy and Viv Learn Judo.

I always wondered what Ed thought of that title.

Anyway, I was hooked.

 

[dvcochran]

Is that what you guys call it? That's what we call it in Okinawan karate. Mainland Japanese styles call it tekki, and I thought TSD was an offshoot of Shotokan? Even then, don't you guys still have a Korean word for it?

The styles of TKD and TSD I have been involved with all go by Naihanchi 1, 2, & 3. They are the only linear forms I have ever learned or have seen.

 

[isshinryuronin]

I saw Ed Parker on The Lucy Show when I was a kid. That did it, I was hooked, wanted to learn Judo.
Because the name of the episode was Lucy and Viv Learn Judo.

I always wondered what Ed thought of that title.

Anyway, I was hooked.

Yeah, people didn't know one MA from the other. To the public, karate, kung fu, judo and jiu jutsu were interchangeable terms. Ed Parker was just thrilled he was on TV (I think that was his first stab in show biz) and I doubt he minded the title too much. Actually, he was amused that people had such misconceptions of the art. He laughed that people thought karate was something like sushi. Perhaps a true sushi master does see some similarity? I know that after a workout I have a craving for raw fish. Mmmmm. I'm getting a craving right now. What were we talking about?

 

[Deleted member 39746]

Not going to lie, i had a obsession with knife hands for a bit, thats the only thing i would say i really wanted to learn. (blame Fairbairn) The rest has more or less been systems. Oh, im presuming its technique.

Since its been necored i thought i would join in.