Why do you train?

[gojukylie]

Something that I have been thinking about as a teacher and as a student. Why do we train in karate?
I would love to hear why you enjoy your Karate training.

 

[axioma]

Hi,

I started karate to learn how to defend myself. That was the main reason in the beginning, but not any more. I see my karate as an excellent exercise for the body, and I feel utterly satisfied every time I come home from training. So I also practice karate because I feel good afterwards.

cheers,
:asian:
axioma

 

[tshadowchaser]

Mental disapline, excercise, corodination of mind and body, self defence,
A way of loseing myslef (my mind) from the rigors of every day life.
For me the martial arts have bome part of what I am. Without practiceing the arts (for a period of time) I am different, somehow, in the way I act,behave, and look at the world.

 

[jfarnsworth]

I started as a supplement for wrestling during the off season. After my first class it's been almost 15 yrs. later. Now I have a really pretty 8 going on 9 year old and the boys already call and have started coming over. Now I'm shifting gears to stay at least 3 steps ahead of them by the time she hits her teen years.

 

[RCastillo]

To :
Keep my mind, body sharp.
Be prepared for idiots.
Enjoy the art aspect, and it's discipline.
Be a step ahead of people. :asian:

 

[gojukylie]

You know it is quite funny how things turn out. I have to admit that I first started training because I thought that Karate was kind of funky and I saw movies when I was a kid that inspired me to learn how to defend myself. After a few years training I realised that Karate was so much more than I had ever imagined. I started feeling better physically, I felt fitter and more flexible and I felt brighter. I became aware of my surroundings and my confidence increased at work. I have been able to control my emotions when things get rough and when the pressures on.
I guess in summary, Karate helped mould me into a person that I wanted to be. It is proof that to truly understand something and its benefits you must allow yourself to explore it. :asian:

 

[axioma]

I hear what you're saying. But don't give all the credit to karate. You became the person you wanted to be because of you, the karate is just something extremely helpful.

cheers,
:asian:
axioma

 

[tshadowchaser]

You became the person you wanted to be because of you

Thats a true statement. The martial arts may have helped by giveing a venue for you to : blow off steam, focuse on a positive, help focuse your mind,etc., but these things may have been attainable through baseball, football, etc.

I do know people who say that entering their first dojo changed them and helped save them from a life of crime and gang warfare, but I'm not sure this could not have been accomplished through other means also. They simply found the Martial arts first.

 

[Rick Wade]

In my answer I am going to lump training and teaching in the same answer because I get allot from teaching thus it furthers my training. Do you ever see that spark in a student’s eyes as if to say, “I get it wow that’s awesome” That’s why I train. It gives me great joy to open people’s eyes as to what I know. I know that feeling when I finally understand that or explore a new technique and the whys and different ways to execute that technique.

Respectfully

 

[Gentle Fist]

For me it makes the world go round. Getting pounded in training, learning a new form, studying history of a system it all keeps me balanced in day to day life...

 

[KempoShaun]

The simple answer? Because I can :idunno:

 

[goju.glenn]

I continue to train in Karate because it is a place to get away from everyday life.

No matter what is on my mind at the time, once I step into the dojo and start to put on my gi, my entire existence goes into that moment of training. I start thinking about what I want to focus on today in my training.

I know it's been a good lession when the two hours training passes in the blink of the eye (which is nearly 99% of the classes :boing2: ).

 

[brandon]

I first trained in karate because i found it amazing how they could control there body and the show of strengh through kata when i first started i did not like sparring i just wanted to learn the kata and forms,this is how you can truly show art with your movements,but now i love all aspects of karate sparring included

 

[Chizikunbo]

I dont know, I just love the art, and somthing keeps drawing me back...:asian:

 

[hippy]

after reading all the above textbook answers, mine will seem silly/inadequate.

i started aged 10 because all my friends, who lived on the same street, went to it. the club had only been going for 4 weeks, before i joined. and after watching star trek the next generation on channel bbc2, i was quite bored on wednesday nights.

after a few years, my friends stopped going, i got other friends. i graded higher and higher....

 

[gyaku-zuki queen]

well i started karate about 8 years ago, because my brother was in it and i thought it was 'cool'.
about yellow belt i got really bored with karate, but i kept going just so i could get higher belts.
now i train outside of class pretty much only for the tournaments. (kumite) i'm a brown belt and working towards my black so i have to do kata's, but the main thing is to keep up my kumite so i can hold my status on team, and get better so i can qualify for bigger tournaments (like the world championships)

also, since i have been in it for so long, (more than 50% of my life) i cant see myself not in karate.

 

[kempojack]

I started in karate because my son was taking it and I thought although we wouldn't be in the same class it was something we could do together. We practice at home together and push each other when we feel those times when you would rather stay home than go to the dojo. He gets a real kick out of it if he learns a new technique before I do. My seven year old daughter has Downs Syndrome and she just earned her yellow belt last Saturday. She had a smile on her face that was so big it lit up the room. I will continue to train because of the way it brings me and my children together.

 

[thepanjr]

i train beacuse i like karate that is why people train or to defend

 

[Yeti]

I train because I can't not train. It's as much a part of me as anything else.

 

[thepanjr]

I started training beacuse i watch those bruce lee movies and my parents encouraged me to go to karate. and i went looking for karate place and i found one perfect karateplace for me in 5 years