What is your motivation for training in MA?

[Steve]

as much as i love the character development, philosophy, teaching, & competition opportunities involved in martial arts, i probably still train because i got picked on a lot as a kid.

just being honest.

jf

I got picked on a lot, too, but I don't think any more than anyone else. Texas public schools in the 70's and early 80's had more in common with Battle Royale than institutions of higher learning.

To answer the question, I train for health and fun. Mostly fun.

 

[bluekey88]

I , too, am a product of Texas public schools in the 70's and early 80's...I wonder if there a trend here?

Peace,
Erik

 

[Twin Fist]

me too, Dallas Independant School District.

My school had "beat up a white boy Day"

 

[Steve]

I , too, am a product of Texas public schools in the 70's and early 80's...I wonder if there a trend here?

Peace,
Erik

Erik... hmm... 38... Texas public schools... Erik... wait a minute. YOU'RE one of the dudes that picked on me!!!

Let's see. I started in Wichita Falls, moved to San Antonio, then Houston and then Austin with a little LA public schools in there, too. We moved to Seattle the Summer before I started 8th grade. In the South, because we moved so often, I was always the new kid. I had red hair and freckles, so stood out there. And eventually, they would try to put me in the gifted program, so then I was a nerd. I would inevitably sabotage that in an effort to blend in and get back into the regular classes, but by then the damage had been done.

 

[bluekey88]

Galveston here. I was a year or two younger than most of th ekids on my block. Getting picked on/in fights was an almost daily occurrence at times. Taught me how to take a hit. I remember we'd play football, someone would throw me the ball, then another guy from my team would pick me up and throw me AND the ball in for a touchdown...

Ah, the good ol' days

Peace,
Erik

 

[JBrainard]

I train primarily for self defense. Plus it is a place I can go and leave my troubles at the door, spend time with people who in essence are a second family, and train (which I love in and of itself).

 

[artFling]

cuz i was a little guy with a big mouth, thats why i got into it, why am i still in it?

cuz I am only a natural at 2 things and karate is the only one I can do fully dressed..........

Ok, now I could have gone my whole life and been perfectly serene, but you had to go and ruin it. Where's the shower?

 

[Aikikitty]

I always liked and wanted to do a martial art, but it wasn't until a personal situation at home that I HAD to learn self defense, and that became my chance to get into it. Looking back over the years, I see that I've had benefits in all aspects---fitness, character growth, spiritual growth, self defense, confidence, etc.

Robyn

 

[Zyaga]

Martial Arts has helped many factors of my life, but those are merely a side effect for the most part.

My reason is quite simple: I like to fight.

To me, there is nothing better than being able to go hard contact against someone that's around your level or higher, and then be able to both be cool with each other at the end.

Here's to minimal pads and hard contact sparring! :drinkbeer

 

[matt.m]

My dad,

That is how I got my start. I loved it as a kid, I used to get picked on. I always loved Judo, Hapkido, Wrestling because anyone could do it. You didn't need to be tall like basketball, bulky like football, I have always liked "Team" sports where individual achievement is awarded.

I am still doing it because that is who I am.

 

[Fuzzy Foot]

Off the top of my head.
-I like the historical connection.
-I'm a physical person so I feel good and more confident when I can perform well.
-I've met some great people.
-I've made some lifelong friends.
-As I get older I appreciate the fact I'm still healthy enough to continue and have lifelong learning.

Any one of these would be enough, but I'm sure there's more.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

As a child, self defense.
As a teen and young adult, to be able to fight better with the guys I regularly fought with.
As a parent and husband, the emphasis shifted to defense of family.

Now, it is self defense, defense of others, fitness, and a desire to teach it to others.

Oh, and because it was fun; that was all along.

Daniel

 

[exile]

As a child, self defense.
As a teen and young adult, to be able to fight better with the guys I regularly fought with.
As a parent and husband, the emphasis shifted to defense of family.

Now, it is self defense, defense of others, fitness, and a desire to teach it to others.

Oh, and because it was fun; that was all along.

Daniel

Great reply, Daniel!

For me, it's a combination of two things: love of problem solving, and serious interest in self-defense, particularly in situations where a weapon is unavailable or inappropriate.

I ski raced for a similar combination of reasons: the satisfaction of solving problems elegantly, using the fewest means to get the greatest effect (the problem in ski racing to be to find the shortest line you can travel without blowing out of the course), combined with the love of that flying sensation you get from skiing. In TKD, you're given a small repertoire of basic techniques, and certain restrictions (human biomechanics, skeletal anatamy type stuff—which joints can bend which way) that apply to any violent exchange between two people, and the problem is to incapacitate your attacker in the shortest possible time with the fewest possible risks, using the basic TKD techs under the constraint of the physical restrictions involved. It's like a potentially deadly chess game, and the elegant solution is the one that hurts them the most with the least risk to you.

As for the SD aspect... that kind of speaks for itself, and is probably the default amongst at least a large fraction of MTers.

 

[Panther]

I'm really happy you posted this question. It is something I've been asking myself lately:

For me, Pysical Exercise, Mental Exercise, and phylosophical discussions/learnings are all equally important reasons. Self Defense is a nice benefit, and fighting for sport is not a consideration at all for me. The aspect that I think warrents the most analysis is philosophy:

I feel that I, and maybe many others, have a need to philosophize about life and what is important to the world. Since I am not a religous person, there are not many avenues for such considerations in group on a regular basis. Therefore a philosophical aspect during my MA studies is important to me. Furthermore I think that my philosophical tendencies lean towards zen-budhism. I think this ignorantly as it is mostly based on Kane from the old Kung-Fu tv series. I've done a little reading about zen-budhism and the ideal that has stood out most is that of detaching oneself from possessions and close relationships. I disagree quite strongly with that concept. I don't want to be detached. I therefore will not pursue such a religion/philosophy. I'm sure there are other avenues into this philosophical element I crave, and I know there are plenty of other ways to achieve the physical and mental exercise that MA brings, but MA brings the 3 things together nicely.

And as others have pointed out in this post, MA is fun, and it is an opportunity to socialize with some great people.

 

[Guardian]

At first, it was for self-defense as part of my duties as a military cop and just plain survival for the first 3 years, then as it was so elegantly said in the last post here, all those other aspects started to filter in and it became a way of life.

After all these years, it's still survival and all those other things.

 

[SamT]

They always interested me, and I absolutely love how some of the self-defense techniques work, which is what helped draw me into Tang Soo Do. The other big thing was that my local dojang has a very big emphasis on the mental and philosophical aspect of the arts.



Ah who am I kidding. I just like to be able to open doors with my feet when my hands are full .