Why do you train?

[Guy Preston]

What is it you like about Martial Arts, and why to you train?...

There could be so many answers to this, self defence, confidence, love martial art movies, fitness, stress relief, competition, rank and recognition, friendship, community, the clothing....etc...

For me, it started with Bruce Lee & Ninja movies in the 80's, but then became more an interest in learning.

I love learning new things, or more the case nowadays, learning new things about things I already know - I find the martial arts fascinating, for me currently it's the Japanese arts that hold that interest, but I have also practiced Chinese arts and travelled to China to train, and am fascinated by that.

It's all the little things I like, the small tweaks that make something that looks very difficult, very easy - the many ways in which the human body can be manipulated.

Self defence has never really been a reason for training for me personally, although it's an added benefit. For me it's all about the arts themselves, learning the kata, techniques, understanding the meaning of kata names, the multitude of applications from each kata, learning the reason for certain traditions, etc....

How about you guys, what do you get out of training...

 

[SacredCoconut]

I watch lot of anime and have alweys been interested in martial arts movies, when i was younger i alweys wanted to watch them. I as well did not realy think about learning martial arts because of SD or practicality. It more like i want to be able to do those cool things with my own body. It as well gives me something worth while to do and i have to get my self in shape.

 

[Xue Sheng]

To crush my enemies, to see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women....that and to strike fear in the hearts of my fellow man

 

[sfs982000]

What first got me interested in the martial arts was watching old martial arts movies, as a kids I would always try to mimic their moves afterwards with my friends. When I first started studying I realized there was so much more to the martial arts than I ever thought. I got hooked right away and have been studying off and on for years having to often take breaks over the years due to finances, moving, schools closing, etc.... I've been back studying regularly for the past 5 years and still love it as much as I did the first day I started training.

 

[Giant Marshmallow]

For FUN!

I am old and fitness was never fun for me and as I have gotten older it has gotten harder and less fun.

I have also recently been forced to admit that I am a very competitve person. I never thought I was since I don't have to win, but it's true, I love to compete on just about anything (as long as it stays fun) and now I have one more area where I can compete and the only person I need to beat or rely on to do well is myself.

This might all seem rather shallow, but my life hasn't been easy and something that is so much fun and is so good for me is just an unbeatable combination. (the fitness part is a bonus in my book...in fact, I am working so hard now to get into shape so I can do the karate better)

 

[Kenpojujitsu3]

When I started I just wanted to learn cool stuff like I saw in movies. I was just a kid. As a teenager I wanted to learn more cool stuff and how to better defend myself. As a young adult it became my job so I wanted to learn all the ins and outs I could, all the nuts, all the bolts, all the small details that people expect from a great teacher. I also wanted to learn to fight better.

Now, the arts are a bunch of things to me. Martial arts are fun and intriguing, always something new to experience and learn and I feel good and happy when I'm training. Martial arts represent the components of an equation. Every time I'm proficient in one area and have the 'answers' I look to other areas for more 'questions' and find the part in the arts I know that address these questions or I seek out other arts to answer the questions I found. The arts are something I can teach and enjoy the 'Ah ha lightbulb' when it goes off in a students mind and you see their face light up as well as the joy of watching them progress over time.

Simply put, they were something to do when I was younger. As I got older they became some of many things that define me and a way of life.

 

[jks9199]

What else would I do on Monday?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tames D]

To crush my enemies, to see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women....that and to strike fear in the hearts of my fellow man

I know this to be a fact as I have been crushed and driven down before Xue in the presence of my women on many occasions.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I know this to be a fact as I have been crushed and driven down before Xue in the presence of my women on many occasions.

:lol:

 

[UrbanChino1]

I used to be a basketball player, but i went to racist schools all throughout elementary and middle school. I would always get ALOT of ***** from people just cause the way i looked since if you didn't look black or white then you would get made fun of but nearly the whole school. Sooo i'm a junior in highschool now but in 9th grade i got tired of it all, I quit basketball to focus more on martial arts which i started in 8th grade, Fighting has been pretty much the only thing i have ever done where the color of your skin didn't matter. It was about the things you did not what you're born with.

 

[chinto]

self defense first, then the enjoyment of training and the people at the dojo.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

To one day finally be able to get vengeance on Xue for crushing me down and being forced to hear the lamentations of my women, and eventually strike fear in his heart and make him cower in fear from me...so far no luck

 

[ks - learning to fly]

One of my favorite things is that when life tells me I can't, TKD tells me 'I CAN!' - I also like the honor of the endless pursuit of perfection - plus the feeling of family at our dojang...

oh, yeah, and I'm in the best shape of my life!

 

[Big Don]

I had always wanted to. Then, when I started, my very first session of sparring, I had my forehead split open, just above my eye, just like in a Rocky movie. I was hooked. My sifu is one of my best friends, and we have a great bunch of people. For a while, I trained to prove to someone that I could make it, that I could get through it, that I could earn my Black Belt. Now, I train to prove to myself that I can be better tomorrow than I am today.
Edited to add:
Oh, and to crush my enemies, see them driven before me and hear the lamentations of Xue's women.

 

[K-man]

For FUN!I am old and fitness was never fun for me and as I have gotten older it has gotten harder and less fun.

I hate to correct you so soon after you have joined MT but .. you are not old! :s81: 'Old' is a state of mind. You wouldn't have started martial arts if you really were old. I didn't start my aikido until I was 58 and I've been picking myself up from the floor ever since.

 

[K-man]

I started karate when my 8 year old son expressed interest. He only lasted 5 years and I kept on, had one break because of work then came back. I train for many reasons not the least that training with younger people keeps you young. Then you have the added benefits of fitness, flexibility, reflexes etc without even considering the security of knowing that in a nasty situation you will most likely be able to care for yourself and your family if physically threatened.

As an added bonus, through martial arts, I have many good friends in far away places including a number of friends on this forum whom I am yet to meet in person. :asian:

 

[Giant Marshmallow]

I hate to correct you so soon after you have joined MT but .. you are not old! :s81: 'Old' is a state of mind. You wouldn't have started martial arts if you really were old. I didn't start my aikido until I was 58 and I've been picking myself up from the floor ever since.

lol I was old before I started, but I am much younger now!

Start the new class tonight...hopefully there will be people who if not in my age bracket are at least as tall as I am (had short teenagers/pre-teens in my last class, and I was the only adult---so I did feel old, and oddly younger at the same time)

 

[Mauthos]

Forced to train in karate when I was 6, hated it, hated the forms etc and eventually quit after just over a year.

Fast forward to age 14, saw Bloodsport, said I wanted to be able to do what Van Damme was doing, sought out a kick boxing class and was hooked.

Strangely enough though that kick boxing class eventually led me to having an almost obsessional lust for everything martial and I wanted to learn more and more and eventually took up both Tang Soo Do and Hapkido alongside Kick boxing as I wanted to know more about the traditional martial arts.

Colour me addicted and hooked even more as this has led me to train in several different martial arts and considering that kick boxing was my passion and my main martial art for many years, I still find it odd that I now consider myself a Kenpo man through and through (although I still slip in the odd kick boxing stuff into my teaching sessions ).

 

[MJS]

What is it you like about Martial Arts, and why to you train?...

There could be so many answers to this, self defence, confidence, love martial art movies, fitness, stress relief, competition, rank and recognition, friendship, community, the clothing....etc...

For me, it started with Bruce Lee & Ninja movies in the 80's, but then became more an interest in learning.

I love learning new things, or more the case nowadays, learning new things about things I already know - I find the martial arts fascinating, for me currently it's the Japanese arts that hold that interest, but I have also practiced Chinese arts and travelled to China to train, and am fascinated by that.

It's all the little things I like, the small tweaks that make something that looks very difficult, very easy - the many ways in which the human body can be manipulated.

Self defence has never really been a reason for training for me personally, although it's an added benefit. For me it's all about the arts themselves, learning the kata, techniques, understanding the meaning of kata names, the multitude of applications from each kata, learning the reason for certain traditions, etc....

How about you guys, what do you get out of training...

Primarily, SD and improve my fighting ability. I've been in the arts for over 20yrs, and I enjoy it very much! I've had the opportunity to meet and train with a number of talented and skilled people, many of which I still train with to this day. Of course, what I call the side benefits, are also important too, those being the fitness, the 2nd family that you make, etc.

What I enjoy most, especially about my current school, is that I"m pushed each and every class, both physically and mentally, to perform better. My teacher doesn't sugar coat things...if you suck, he's going to tell you. If you're not pushing yourself, he's going to tell you. He cares about his students, and cares about their progression. Unlike other schools, that tell you what you want to hear, while they're collecting your money, he's not like that. I enjoy the hard work and the demanding classes. Makes you feel good to walk out feeling totally exhausted, soaked with sweat, but at the same time, leaving with the feeling that you got a hell of a workout!

 

[Dobbelsteen]

What is it you like about Martial Arts, and why to you train?...

There could be so many answers to this, self defence, confidence, love martial art movies, fitness, stress relief, competition, rank and recognition, friendship, community, the clothing....etc...

Well... Most of these actually :uhyeah: except for the rank & clothing.

The most important reasons; I just really like the training, and also the people training at my club. Usually when I do something for a long time, at some point it will start to get boring. Martial arts training is one of the few things what I can do for years without it becoming boring. It doesnt really matter what martial art I train in, I liked most of the ones Ive tryed. There are still a few other martial arts wich I want to try out for a couple of lessons, when I have time for it. But taekwondo is the style that I will keep training in. Mainly because I like the people in the club. Several have become my friends, who I also see outside of training.