Why "this" art

[Aefibird]

I fell into Shotokan through a friend who had just started and showed me the stuff she learned in her first class. It looked good so I went along and so began my love affair with martial arts and my life-long journey of training.

I also trained in a Shotokan/Goju hybrid, reaching 2nd Dan, starting that class for several reasons, mainly connected to a big upheaval my original school was going through at the time.

I started Aikido because I wanted to round out my MA knowledge. I loved/love it and would still be training in it now if it wasn't for the instructor having to close the club because of injury (it just wasn't the same with the guys who took over from him and the school eventually folded).

Because my Aikido training was rudly taken away from me I started then at a school that taught Arnis, Ju Jitsu, Wing Chun and Taiji (one instructor for Arnis and JJJ and another teaching WC and Taiji). Although the mointhly fee entitled me to as many classes in any of the styles that I wished, in the end the monthly training fees for there were too much along with dues for karate and other bills as well and I had to stop attending.

I kind-of fell into TKD by accident. Once I stopped training at the Wing Chun school I was at a loose end on a couple of nights. A TKD-instructor friend that I knew through meeting at open tournaments and seminars held a multi-style open MA class for any martial artist on a Thursday night. I saw him not long after I stopped WC training and he suggested I go along. So I did.

The class was open to any MAist, any style, any rank. Each week people were invited to demonstrate something from their style (if they wished) for others to practice and discuss.

One session Mark (my friend) was showing us some TKD patterns and demonstrating applications that we worked through. I enjoyed them so asked him if he'd show me some more after class. He suggested I come along to one of his TKD classes as he held a specific pattern training class each week. From there I progressed to going to more and more TKD classes as I enjoyed the people at that club and wanted to go somewhere where I could just train instead of being involved with instructing and the organisation politics that were surrounding my karate dojo at that point.

A couple of years ago I had a bad accident and ended up severing some nerves and tendons in my left hand. It's taken me a long time and a lot of operations and physio to get over it (it's still not right). I finally got the all-clear from the docs to start training again, so I was eager to re-start. I'd not seen my TKD instructor for ages and popped down to his dojang a few weeks ago to say hi and let him know I was good to go again. He wasn't there but I managed to find out that the club had ceased. Sadly, I found out that he'd had money troubles from his self-employed business (his 'day job') and had decided to close down the TKD for the forseeable future until he got his business back into shape.

A friend of mine, who worked with an ex of mine, trains in TKD at an independent school so when she heard I was ready to re-start training she suggested I start with her club. It's further away than the places I've trained at before, but is a good dojang and the people are friendly. The instructor is knowledgeable and has had many years of experience.

I've started training again at white belt, which is just right for me. Alan (my new instructor) offered to let me keep my previous TKD grade of 2nd kup but I felt I wanted to make a new start and white belt allows me to do that.

I'm still undecided as to whether to resume karate training. I'd love to train again at my old dojo but don't want to have to go through some of the crud that happened in the months before I had to cease training. I have no problems with my instructor but it's the organisation politics and the way that the head of the org is that has prevented me from returning yet. I couldn't even join another Karate dojo as the ones in my local area are belt factory types or have zillions of kids and no adults or both.

Anyway, sorry for the essay on "My life (so far!) in martial arts".

 

[hkfuie]

I needed an easy class for the summer so I could keep my free membership to the on campus weight room. My husband encouraged me to try the TKD class, though I thought I would not like martial arts. That was 15 years ago. I moved over to training at my instructor's studio. And have been in TKD ever since.

Funny thing was, I was sore in a different muscle group after every class...too sore to go to the gym and lift weights! LOL! I remember telling people, "no. Don't make me laugh today! My abs are killing me!"

I have also done KF, but it always felt like a foreign language, tho I am glad I did it. Dabbled a bit in Kenpo.

And now I'm learning judo/jj. It feels natural to me, fit with the TKD and I am learning alot of really great stuff. Love it.

 

[me0u226f]

I did wing tsun for about 2 and a half years at uni because it was cheap. Unfortunately I took the approach of "anything will be make me kick *** if i do it long enough".

Got very fed up with wing tsun after a while (no sparring or competition). Started muay thai about a year ago enjoyed it lots but had a severe groin pull 2 months ago and wondering if it's really a long term martial art for me.

Now looking at everything (including wing chun) to try and find the right MA for me but as i'm still injured cant attend classes so cant genuinly tell what will be fun, competitive, but still low risk of injury.

 

[Aikikitty]

I always wanted to try martial arts since the late '80's and I was obsessed with the Ninja Turtles. I didn't get my chance to get into it until the summer of 2000, and my mom and I were literally forced to learn something where we could safely control my brother when he used to go "beserk". We discussed our situation with a dear cop friend at church. He knew we just needed to be able to control my brother without hurting him or getting hurt ourselves and he recommended we go to his friend's dojo. Neither of us had any clue what Aikido was and we were both extremely nervous when we walked in the dojo. Funny thing was, one of the first things I saw in the dojo was an autographed picture from one of the actors in the ninja turtle movies. That made me excited. Lol! Anyway, we both fell in love with the art and I was on cloud 9 to finally be able to do what I dreamed about for so long. My mom did Aikido with me up until summer '08. I'm celebrating my 9th Aikido anniversary this month. Yay! Many, many more anniversarys to come in the future, I hope!

Robyn :asian:

 

[Ken Morgan]

I was looking to get into sword smithing, and Kim Taylor puts on a seminar every year, http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/gsjsa_smithing.htm I went to talk to him after his iaido class and instead of making swords….I started practicing with them.

We practice MJER and ZNKR iaido as well as MSR and ZNKR jodo.

Kim has such a huge range of knowledge we will train in other arts once in a while too. We will routinely practice Niten Ichi-ryu, tanjo, and a handful of others that have slipped my mind.

He has always said that it’s all the same, and now after 10 years I understand what he means. There are only so many ways to swing a sword, just add in the frilly bits.

 

[Bruno@MT]

It was an accident. No, really!

Having done modern JJ in college, I wanted to get back into TMA now that my youngest daughter is not a baby anymore.

I saw this ad for a new traditional Genbukan ju-jutsu club, not 5 minutes from where I live. So I checked out the website, contacted the sensei, and agreed to come over for a try-out lesson. It was only then that I discovered they only taught ninpo, and not yet ju-jutsu. The confusion arose from the fact that the mother dojo taught both, and this new club was just starting so they limited it to just ninpo for the time being.

Queue the mental images of ninja LARPers, the kind of which I met in my college MA years. At that point I really felt like not going, but I had given my word that I would drop by, so I did. After all, I could still say afterwards that it was not what I was looking for and bow out politely. The try out lesson was great, and I decided to stick with it. Haven't regretted it once.

If they add ju-jutsu I will start doing that too.
I like ninpo a lot because of the traditional aspects, and the fact that the curriculum is so broad. And I feel at home in Genbukan, so that is where I will stay.

 

[Shinobi Teikiatsu]

I started up with jiu-jitsu when I was in sixth grade because it was relatively close to where I lived and went to school, and I saw that it was a school where nobody I knew went (something that was a plus for me, since I was the subject of much torment at the time). I lasted for about a year, but had such a difficult time getting the feel of it that I eventually quit.

Fastfoward about a year, I found a Bujinkan school in my area, one that I'd actually discovered several years prior (when I was about eight), but was dissuaded from joining on account of the age requirement being 18. I decided to press my luck now at 13, so I sent the instructor an email and told him how adament I was about joining the class and that I would do whatever it took to join. It's been three years since then, and I've loved every minute of it. Now I hope to start finding other MA's in my area willing to start sharing their knowledge with me.

 

[blindsage]

I used to study Kyokushinkai Karate and Small Circle jiu-jitsu years ago and I loved it, but when I moved across the country I decided it was a good opportunity to try out something different. I did Capoeira for a year, but decided it really wasn't what I was looking for. For a few years I dabbled in a couple of different things (Wing Chun, Northern Mantis, Muay Thai, TKD/Hapkido, Tai Chi) but I didn't have the time or the money to commit to anything long term. But I kept researching styles because of general interest and decided based on my understanding that my greatest interest was in 3 styles: 1) Baguazhang, 2) Silat, 3) Arnis/Kali/Escrima. When I started looking again because I finally had enough time and a solid income I found a Bagua instructor close by with 40+ years experience. I was sold.

I like Bagua because it's principle based, it has an incredible amount of technique available to it (striking, kicking, locks, breaks, throws, sweeps, trapping), it focuses on body alignment for control and power, teaches speed and power through relaxation, teaches incredible footwork, and has an extremely subtle and advanced approach to combat. Oh and cool weapons, too.

 

[BLACK LION]

My life experiences and my perception of reality have molded my martial prowess.... I learned early to absorb and dissolve and move on which is a neverending task...

 

[jarrod]

i love shingitai jujitsu because it is like the JKD of grappling. if it works, it's right.

i like enshin because it's a tough, bare knuckle style that allows throwing & sweeping.

i like bataireacht because it's a very direct, no nonsense approach to stickfighting, plus i'm interested in preserving some of the esoteric elements of western culture.

jf

 

[ap Oweyn]

Practiced taekwondo because, in the early 80s, it was just the local school. Style didn't really enter into it for me at that point.

Made a much more informed decision about FMA, which I still practice, in 1989. Based largely on readings about Dan Inosanto, the JKD/FMA relationship, etc. Ironically, it ended up being the FMA that really held me, rather than the JKD.

That said, after getting ranked in Doce Pares, I joined a JKD club. It focused (on the nights I attended) on kickboxing and kali. So I was sticking with the FMA theme, but expanding on my empty hand skills.

Throughout college, I did random "karate" courses for PE (one was actually a gung fu teacher, but the other was a dedicated Shotokan class), trained with various other stylists at my small liberal arts college, and learned a bit of fencing to try out my arnis with a blade. (Thankfully, they were mostly SCA types, so didn't terribly mind that I totally ignored most of the rules of competitive fencing. It was a great experience.)

I came back to Western fencing years later, with a school that was much more technical and competition oriented. Wasn't able to apply much arnis, but learned a lot of intricacies in timing and range that informed my FMA later.

Done a handful of muay thai classes throughout the years, very consciously. Muay thai seems like an ideal empty hand complement for me. I love the self evidence of it.

So there you have it. Mixed bag of 1) targets of opportunity and 2) informed decisions.


Stuart

 

[Kacey]

I was talked into trying TKD by a guy I was dating, and never stopped. That lead me to understanding the definition of a black belt: a white belt who never quit training. Twenty-two years later, I'm still training. If the guy had been in a different art... who knows?

 

[JDenver]

I'm with JADECLOUDALCHEMIST -

I also like Baguazhang because;

- the focus isn't on striking or breaking
- the Taoist philosophy of it
- the meditative and health benefits of circle walking - stillness in movement
- the importance of the standing tree work (the Zhan Zhuang), which gives me movement in stillness

 

[Flea]

There's nothing scientific about it for me. I've been practicing MA for a lifetime total of nine months. My neighborhood has gone way downhill over the past couple years, and so I answered an ad in my local paper for a Systema class. I've always been a closet Russophile, so that appealed to me.

Once I got there I felt very much at home, so that was it. I like the movement. It reminds me of my old love affair with folk and ballroom dance, and I'm very comfortable there socially too. Eventually I'd like to branch out, but I'm happy where I am. And it only makes sense to get proficient at one thing first.

 

[tallgeese]

I started training in my primary art because it was the closest school. As it turns out I was lucky, I wanted to focus on fighting skills, not alot of the stuff that's normally associated with practice and I actually fell into what I was looking for.

After that, I was more able to determine what I felt filled holes or weak areas in my age and could pick and choose what to work from there.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Once I got there I felt very much at home, so that was it. I like the movement. It reminds me of my old love affair with folk and ballroom dance, and I'm very comfortable there socially too.

I think this is an important aspect. From the very first lesson, I felt really at home in Genbukan, both socially (as a person) and because of the structure and curriculum (the MA itself). I always feel good about going.

 

[yorkshirelad]

My father was a JuJutsu student of Frank Rider in "The Budokan" in Leeds who was a student of Abe Sensei. I was always encouraged to train in JuJutsu. In around '89 I was training twice per week with Garside sensei in York and twice per week in an Aikido dojo in Leeds. I was talking to a guy in the Aikido class about the practicality of Aikido. I asked him what he would do if I just rushed him, He said "Go ahead" and I did. He dropped me with the technique 'Parting Wings' from EPAK. I was hooked. I found out that he was a 3rd Brown with the IKKA and after every Aikido class, we would stay behind at the sports centre and train in EPAK.

I trained like this for a few years and decided that I wanted to choose one art and go anywhere to learn it. In around '93, I wrote to various prominant 'masters' about their arts and for advise about study. I wrote about 30 lettes. Only one man wrote back, Larry Tatum. Not only did he write but he sent me an autographed copy of 'Confidence' and a patch. At the time I was 18 and living in a ****** bedsit, sharing a bathroom with junkies and had no money. GM Tatum's gesture gave me the will to get whatever funds I could together and move to a place where I could learn Kenpo fulltime.

I asked my instructor where the best place to learn would be. He told me So Cal. He knew, however that I would need a visa and that I would never be able to afford it, so suggested that I go to Dublin as Dublin was the seat of European Kenpo.

I saved 250 pound (just over $400) filled my rucksack with close and got the bus and ferry to Dublin. I found a studio on Leeson Street and trained there in Kenpo, Kickboxing and Arnis. I trained there fulltime for a number of years. I also wanted to continue Traditional JuJutsu but couldn't find a school that I liked, so eventually I began training in Sin Moo Hapkido, in Wicklow with Kwang Jang Nim Massan Ghorbani also.

It's been a great adventure.

 

[Tensei85]

Ok, this may be a rather long post. sorry...

I started TKD when I was 8, it was the closest M.A. and the most economical in realms of finances for my parents at the time. So really I have my parents to thank 1st and foremost for my venture into the Martial Arts and helped me find my way.

That aside, I was always curious as to what was out there in realms of Martial knowledge so I crosstrained quite a bit.

I trained TKD for around 8 years, during half way through my TKD training I wanted to try a few other systems. So I started 7 Star Praying Mantis when I was 10 for a while, but the classes were around half an hour away plus at that time I was dependant on my parents for transportation and partial tuition as well. So we decided to try something closer, so I started Wing Chun when I was 12 and have been doing it ever since.

Training in quite a few Wing Chun systems namely Yip Man, Chi Sim, Hung Fa Yi and a little amount of training in other systems of Wing Chun not enough to make mention.

So during the same time the local Kwoon I was at had other systems that they taught as well. So after speaking to my Sifu, he allowed me to train whatever was taught at the Kwoon a little later I stop taking TKD.

So at that time I started training BJJ, JJJ, Judo and Arnis I trained in those system for around 6 years. And half way during that time the the Judo, JJJ, BJJ Instructor talked me into taking Cuong Nhu so I trained in that for a few years and enjoyed it thoroughly. So at the same time period I started training in Aikido and Taiji, which I felt were beneficial.

Then still trying to find what I could relate to after studying all these for a long period of time, I started training in Bai Mei and rejoined the 7 Star Praying Mantis around the time I was 17ish. And a little later I started studying Bagua Zhang as well.

So all that jargon aside I felt I could really relate to the CMA, but all the cross training I had was very beneficial and sometimes I still roll around with BJJ guys and spar with Muay Thai & Karate guys etc... Its a lot of fun!

I also had some training in Muay Thai as well.

So all that aside what I train in currently is Northern Mantis, Bagua Zhang and "Wing Chun sometimes". I would like to start up Taij Quan again, however just trying to find the time is a little out of my power, but its better to dedicate yourself to a few arts or even better one rather than a dozen or so.

Just my opinion.