When did you start your training?

[Sean O]

?????????

[YODA]

I started in 1977 - I was 14

[Martial Sloth]

Bit of a late starter, only started in my early 20s...wish I started much earlier though :(

[pgm316]

Should have started while you was in the womb :p

I was about 8 or 9, was still at infant school, 1983 ish

[stump]

Started when I went to Uni, i was 18. Always wanted to do it before then but between parents who generally disapproved of the martial arts and teen years spent in bording school i never got the chance. Though rugby made an interesting substitute MA!!!!!

[big e]

16

[Cain]

Originally posted by big e
16

Same here

|Cain|

[morphus]

Well......28yrs old i was, though i did karate for five mins as a kid..played football(soccer) mainly and some rugby, baseball(thats welsh baseball not the US stuff) tennis, squash.....i love sport(participating that is):D My love is now MARTIAL ARTS!!!!

[TkdWarrior]

15
-TkdWarrior-

[pesilat]

I started in 1979 ... age 8.

Mike

[Joe karate]

last year i started MA when i was 15. Wrestled from when i was 13 till last week. Had to stop as it got in the way of Kempo(although i would much rather quit school:>)It was fun while it lasted

[Mike Flanagan]

Hey Yoda, Snap!

I started in 1977 too. I was 11.

Unfortunately I've had a few breaks over the years. Going to university didn't help for a start. But lets just say I lived life to the full as a student.:)

Mike

[Fuzzy Panther]

I started when I was 18 (2000).

Fuzzy Panther
:Angel:

[r4bid]

I took karate for a year when I was 4
I took Chung Mu Do for a year and a half when I was 8
I am now taking Kenpo and I am 17 (have been taking it since I was about 16)

[LilBunnyRabbit]

Age 10 in Choi, dragged along by a friend.

[darlph]

Originally in "73 in college for 2 years. Went on an Adventure and returned in my late 30's and am not in my mid 40's. :)"

[Pacificshore]

Started at 14 in Kajukenbo, but then moved around a bit until I finally settled down.

[khafra]

23 and counting, still haven't seriously started yet. Anybody have a reliable but cheap car they need to get rid of?

[Saz]

I started in 1991, when I was 10. Then I started again just after my 20th birthday

[Brad Ellin]

Started when I was 14 (1974), with Tang So Do, then dabbled in anything that anyone would teach me until meeting Stephen Hayes and Hatsumi Sensei in 1982. Then budo taijutsu became the prime focus.

[harpo]

I've recently started Taekwondo at the age of 20. My only regret is not starting sooner!

[asangria]

Started in my late 20's mostly because of work & other activities I didn't get into earlier.

[c_storm51]

I studied Shotokan Karate for 2 years when I was 12 and I just started TKD last September (I'm 22). Really wish I'd started earlier...so I'm having to make up for lost time!

[TkdWarrior]

welcome cstorm n asangira to the forums
-TkdWarrior-

[c_storm51]

Thanks TkdWarrior!

[grandmaster mat]

i

[grandmaster mat]

i started when i was 15, im nearly 16 now, i do tkd at the moment but im gona start another when i finish school, thinkin of startin wing chun, what does everyone else think? is that a good one to start, i know a bit of it already, and when im older im hopin to go to china or thailand or somethin to study a martial art, might sound stupid but hey,its my dream! :)

Grandmaster mat

[TkdWarrior]

no Mat u don't sound like stupid... i m too planning to go :D
tho i m 21 yr old ;) i think England is still a nice place to learn decent MA...
n welcome to the forums...
-TkdWarrior-

[pesilat]

Originally posted by TkdWarrior
no Mat u don't sound like stupid... i m too planning to go :D
tho i m 21 yr old ;) i think England is still a nice place to learn decent MA...
n welcome to the forums...
-TkdWarrior-

<g> In actuality, there are good MA to be found all over the world ... and good MA *from* all over the world. And there are good MAists all over the world.

Personally, I want to travel to as many places as I can and meet and train with as many different martial artists as I can :)

Mike

[gingerninja]

Start when I was 9, then again at 13, 16, 19, 22 and a few in between

[Stuman]

I did some karate when i was 9 or 10 , for a few months. Also a little wrestling when i was even younger. Dont Remember hardly any of it. Last year i got very interested in the martial arts and started some informal ninjutsu lessons (when i was 15). Took some kenpo karate this fall. Just started a Kung fu class which i like very much so far. i continue to take ninjutsu from time to time which is also very excellent.

I am now 16

[speed_dragon]

well i started when i was five stopped when i was 8 (moms got sick) i was moved around alot so i cvouldnt find a school and when i had the inspiration to do it again i didnt have th emoney or the transportation..but the thigns i lerned way back then i still have..now i win fights that i have wit combo of street- and/or
jung fu... depends on the size of the opponent..if taller i use martial arts if shorter i use karate/street..depends on opponents toughness and skilll....

[TkdWarrior]

<depends on the size of the opponent..if taller i use martial arts if shorter i use karate/street..depends on opponents toughness and skilll....>

Mind explaining this part. i can understand change in strategy but it's unclear...
-TkdWarrior-

[TheStudent]

I started in 1991, I remember because that was when my little brother was born. I was 8-years-old. Than I ended up having to stop about a year afterwards but started back up again when i turned 12.

[alnesstsd]

Started at the age of 28 and still going strong!

[KickChick]

Started in 1992 at age 33 ... still at it!

[Acekicken]

My training Started in 1978 i was 2 years old
& My Father Started Me Then 27 now i will be 28 in March

[Joseki]

I started in 1985 when i was 9

[JediMasterChris]

7 years old officially. My grandfather has taught me before that though.

[Jamo]

I started in 1973, at the age of 3. My father was my original instructor, and he held his Dan grade in Isshin Ryu. I joined a formal karate dojo in 1983.

Jamo

[WhiteWizard]

i started when i was 20

[wayofthedragon]

Age 15 is when I started in the year of 1997..............

[Jazman]

started some Hapkido 5 months ago when I decided to drop in on one of my friends class. lovin' it and hope to be doing MA's the rest of my life.(17 now)

[KarateKid1975]

I started when I was 24 (turned 25 shortly after).

[grandmaster mat]

sory i ment i started when i was 14, yea tkd warrior england is a pretty nice place, when u move over let me know

[Knight_Errant]

Depends what you mean by 'training'- I learned a few skills in my secondary school note: this is not playground scuffle material. Some of the guys I fought were karateka, soldiers-to-be, etc. Wado ryu at 15 was my first experience of systematised training.

[YODA]

Don't worry mate - we won't hold it against you :D

[Kwan Jang]

-I began daito-ryu aikijujitsu at age 6 in 1971. I trained under my father's partner(my Dad was a cop at the time, and is ex-special forces, so he knew the value of MA). After my first teacher left the force, I trained in kenpo until that school closed. Then in 1977 at 12, I began training in tkd. I kind of lucked out in that it was a school just a few miles from my house that just opened. A few years later, one my instructors there was inducted into the BLACK BELT HALL OF FAME as instructor of the year. Our team, the West Coast Demo Team became the #1 martial arts team in the world, and many of us became champions in forms, Olympic tkd, or kickboxing and a few went on to successful movie or TV careers.(Ernie Reyes, Jr. KJN Ernie, Sr., Cynthia Rothrock, ect. BTW-I can't act). I've stayed under the same instructors ever since, but have also studied with many others.(something my instructors always encouraged-I know this is taboo for many people).

[Topher]

I started Karate when I was 6 even though you had to be 8 at the school. After a few months the instructor though it was best if I came back when I was older cos I would imitate the black belt students, thus distracting them from their training. Well i never returned to MA’s until about a month ago (I’m 18. I did though maintain a massive interest, mainly through films...Lee/Chan anyone?) Not continuing martial arts when I was younger was a big regret cos I would have been at 1st or 2nd Dan by now had I did.

Anyway, I’m now taking Tang Soo Do :)

[booksie_girl]

I started at 15, earlier this year. Will keep going for a long time though, best thing I ever did was start TKD. Should have started sooner.

[JediMasterChris]

welcome to the forums booksie_girl. :D

[ashy_knux]

i started boxing at age 13, influenced by relatives.
and i remember doing tae kwon do when i was 6 but that only lasted three or four months

[Kinjiro Tsukasa]

I just started a couple of months ago. I don't even want to mention my age. Suffice it to say I belong in the "Adult" category.

[Goju]

I started training in goju-ryu karate-do when I was 13,, last year,, 2002,, I'm moving to hamilton ont when i go off to university and ill continue training there at the goju-canada association and at the same time (if im not to busy) I would like to start ninjutsu in Toronto or if theres a dojo, in hamilton.

[Seminosukei]

well i have been born and raised in martial arts started at 3 and im now 18 you do the math....but i wouldnt have it any other way its unreal i live and breath Kung Fu and i love it

[dmiller575]

I started Aikido in 1973 at age 22, paused in 1987, started Tai Chi Chuan in 1992, restarted Aikido in 2001.

Now practicing both.

I dabbled with Shotokan Karate and some Judo when I was 18 but I don't count those as they were very brief false starts.

[Kwajman]

40, 3 years ago, wish I had start at 15 or so......

[spartan]

done tae kwon do when i was around 8-9 for half year.
stopped than started kung fu when i was 13 or 14.

[Mike O'Leary]

I did as most did, tried a few different things as a kid. Karate, Judo, boxing, and then in my 20's did a few years of Kung Fu and kick boxing. In my late 20's, and this is when I figure my official start date came about, I studied again Kung fu for a few years. In 1982 I began studying Isshin Ryu karate.

I'm still doin it. I'm 53 now.


Mike O'Leary

[senseisknowing]

I started in 1990 when I was four. I've always enjoy the martial arts.

[Twimyo Jirugi]

Does 3 weeks of Kempo when I was 7 count?

[Anth]

First was a year of karate when I was around 6-7, then started again at my old club at 14

[JohnnyX]

Started Karate at 41. :)

[oneninja]

Started ninjutsu at age 9 that was in 1966,and still training today.

[kajupaul]

I started Kajukenbo at the age of 4 but was kicked out for being uncooperative.I again started training at the age of 6 in 1978.

[Furikuchan]

*holds up 4 fingers* I was this many old!
Yay for having a pair of martial arts parents and a big basement.

[BuffBuffy]

I'm a newbie... started taking karate in the fall of 2002, added in self defense for about six months, but that was too painful... about 8 months ago I added in Tai Chi Ch'uan, and last semester I took Aikido and Tae Kwon Do :D

[Timmy!]

I started judo when I was about 9, did that for a few years then started in muay thai at the ripe old age of 21 :D

[mcbain]

i started martial arts from age 8 and up.

[Judge]

i started when i was 16, about 9 months ago

[Shisochin]

started at age 12 in Shotokan.....now am a Goju guy..

[Frodocious]

I started Ninjutsu when I was a teenager (I think I was 16 / 17) and have been training in various styles on and off ever since.

[Athleng Nordic]

Started in '86 at the age of 19.

[itfengland.com]

was aged 9 i think and started in 1992

[Alexander]

Started at the age of fourteen in 2000.

[alex_000]

at 1998. I was 18.

[axelb]

I can't remember when I started, my Dad taught me Karate when I was young, so I've put 5-10 in.

then did Judo from 11-18, went back to Karate for a bit, was suggested by some friends that I did kickboxing, but it didn't interest me,
after a lot of research my interests were in kungfu, so started that at 20 :)

[shootodog]

?????????

1980. i was 8.

[Chojin]

Offically started at 9 doing Judo! Got punched once ran off crying and never went back! Then started back up seriously addicted aged 15 doing Budokan Karate!

[Keikai]

Started Bujinkan at the age of 14, 17 yrs later still only a 3rd kyu!! :cry:

[gaz shaw]

i started at the age of 9 but wish id started as soon as i could walk, im 15 now and started because i was being bullied. :woo:

[judoboxer]

I started when I was three for Judo and I was 12 when I started Kick boxing.

[Xue Fang]

Three months ago - 16

[gemtkd]

started tkd when I was 6 - quit done Karate, judo, kickboxing and boxing. Then at 18 went back to where I started TKD!

[rtkd-badger]

Started in March this year

[Kev63]

i was around 4-5 cant really remember but i started with karate :)

[punchfast]

I imagine most of us started more than once, so I FIRST started in College, and got side tracked. Then began again in my late 20's for a few years. Then began again in my mid 30's. Then began (again) in my late 30's, and completed BB at 39. I've got a friend who recently got his 1st degree BB, and he is 57.

Perhaps another question could be: When did you END your training ....and why.


PF
put a little Rhythm in YOUR workout.

[Scarlet Mist]

Started at 15 with Tae Bo j/k :D . Though I did actually do Tae Bo.
Started in 2003 with Choy Li Fut and Doce Pares. I was 17

[samuri-man]

i started as a preteen

[munkiejunkie]

same as samuri man

[Kangaroo]

I started in the early 1990's during the big Ninja boom.

[Shadow_of_Evil]

Started TaeKwonDo when I was three. (1990)

[call_me_rizki]

can't remember when exactly i start to but i still remember my first training was when i'm still in a highschool.. :cool:
but i do start fighting younger then that.. know my bro practise TKD and he teach me sometimes at home -or i can said beat me!!- :D :D

[steven.bradbury]

Started when i 17 with weights at 20 lau gar kung fu.Then onto wako kick boxing.Now doing mhauy thai in derby england which i love. im now 41 so age doesnt really matter as long as you enjoy it. :cool:

[Kris x]

I started ninjutsu three months ago but i done other MA for two years before that.
beep beep x.

[incubus]

I started at 18 years old, first thing I did when I started working. Used to work past this MA club and walked in and loved it.
Dragged a friend from the office to get courage for the first time and never looked back from that day. Like most of us, I wish i started earlier of course :(

[Stormrider]

Didn't start until i was 21 (1996). Was too busy wrapped up with Track and Soccer. Wish I would have started sooner for sure.

[Gunjin]

I started in 1982 - I was 20

[Peter Bradbury]

started when my parents made me go to a karate class when i became obesed with power rangers :cool: and then picked up the fma through choice when i was 11 or 12, and am still going :D

[Cougar_v203]

Started and ended as a child then ended as a teen.

[rainbows]

Started kenpo at 11, started TKD just after turning 18.

[jabcrosshook]

Wrestling at 8 :D
Judo at 9 or 10
Kickboxing at 11

Still do Kickboxing and Judo

[Trinity]

In 1978 when i was nine I started Karate.

[Munen Mushin]

Back in '89. I was 18 or so.

[Stalkachu]

When I was nineteen. Second year university. Good time, I guess, but still wish I could have started earlier...boarding school, and all that though. Meh. Still got years ahead of me, though. ^_-

Take care,

Stalks

[firesprite]

Started TKD when I was about 14 in 1999 mainly to freak people out because it was so utterly unlike me :D, BJJ as of last october or so (age 21)

[Davey Bones]

most recent style, 32

first style, 23

[Martial One]

My uncle started my training when i was 2.

[Pete Ticali]

JUst kidding!

1963--- 13 years old

Pete Ticali

[tel]

1996 when i was 16

[Darkclownxx]

12-13 when i started Wado Ryu

[Damien Alexander]

72'....I was 6.

[Leo_E_49]

Started WTF TKD in '89 when I was 4. Started Jujutsu 2 months ago at 19.

[Jujitm]

when I was eight years old.

what can I say i'm addicted :love:

[KSprenk]

I started like two months ago... yeah.

[Jesh]

Started at 8 or so in Judo and some karate... then quit... now since 3 years back again :D

[furn]

I start at 8 years old, do it for 5 years of karate...so i stop at 13...and restart doing boxing at 16...i'm now 18

[Frenzy]

I will start traning next month. I'm 16.

[mylo1616]

I was 8!
mum made me start Taekwon-do for self-defence.
She actually ended up joining herself, she was a real late starter ;)

[iElix]

2003 i was 16

did some judo when i was 5 got a brown belt : ) so i guess that dosent count... it was fun though

[Giver]

I started mine when I was 8. I had to wait a little while though. My mom and dad wouldn't let me start any kind of martial arts until I was 8. But anyway, I'm 15 now, so that's 7 years.

[Playful Giant]

Just to throw the topic into a whole different dimension - does anyone believe in hereditary instincts?

The whole way that insects know what to do when they are born, etc.

Has anyone's parents been very good at martial arts and passed onto the children?

[kumikaze]

I started judo age 6/7, quit after 6 or so years. took up karate at age 15 and I intend to be kickboxing asap (20).

[sbaorion]

Started out when I was 29, so had just over a year of official training. Before that it was just an occasional thing where my mate wanted a punchbag. :)

[battlestone]

whell actually I was a heman and connan fan and was using swords pretty well at three( plastic swords,lol!)
But started trying martialarts at age 6. And had my first teacher at age 8. so most of my real trainning came from 8 and up.

[[T][K][D]]

Started when I was 15, but i sparred with my dad who learnt TKD and various boxing types in the army. (I got whooped ^^.) I wish I started earlier, but then again, i was busy with my drums, violin, rugby, basketball, tutoring and korean school. lol

[CQC]

I started to train seriously since four months ago. I'm still 20 by then.

[thepunisher]

I did shotokan karate for a year in 1990, grading as yellow belt. But then I stopped and played Volleyball instead for 10 yrs. so my serious training in karate only started last year at the end of August. Thats why I voted 20 or above.

Christian

[Martial_Julez]

I started when I was 8, 6 years ago

[kayperTSD]

I just started last year at 37

[Alberta]

i started Karate when i was 12

[Carly_TKD]

started when i was 7 in 1994 i think. I'm now 18

[Never2Late]

Started Isshinryu Karate 2 years ago last November.
40th birthday present to myself.

[serakmurid]

I started Karate when I was 19.(1985) for a couple of years. Seriously started training when I was 24, in 1990.

[Vadla]

I started when i was 13 but this was just in the dojo and i didn't take it so seriously.

My real training just started 3 yrs ago when i was 16

[Cosmo Kramer]

i started in 2000 when i was 20 in TKD but got out for a few years, started hapkido in 2005. i wanted to start younger when i was a kid i asked my parents if i could join and they...mostly my mom...said it was too violent and dangerous to join karate

[builder777]

I started in 1970 with boxing, wrestling and Aikido (with my physics teacher) when i was 16, for only two years then stopped formal training (well no classes anyway, i still practiced on my own albeit a highly modified version) until i was 30 and then started Kung Fu, white crane style, now doing Wing Chun and Bagua and Tai Chi.

[CraigLeeJKD]

I started when I was 18. I done Tai Chi for 7 months, then decided it wasn't working for me, so last June I began JKD and Kali.

[franksv]

I learned boxing when I was around 8.I practiced this until my early twentys(off and on in my late teens&early twentys) and then I stopped martial arts all together until I was 25.I started tkd and have been practicing both ever since(Ill be 35 next month).I also was a wrestler in 7th and 8th grade.

[Shotochem]

I started when I was 30yrs old. The kid made me do it!!!! :D

[the hunting fly]

I started in 2003, when I was 14.
Before that I'd done everything my parents wanted me to do. Including 9 years of ballet and 6 of tennis. (Hated ballet with a PASSION)
Finally got to do karate and t'was great :D

[zetec-ems]

last march @ age 23

[Songi]

preteens for me. around the age of 12-13. I stopped for a while but then got back into it.

[kmguy8]

dad threw me in judo lessons in the fourth grade... then I moved to wrestling in 6th grade ... then went back to other arts in HS (while wrestling), college, all the way up to today.. now 32.. never more than 3 months without trainnig at least 3 times a week.. often much more...

[LizzieKen]

I began with taekwondo at the age of five and my only interruption was when we moved and I began some muay thai. We later moved back and I've picked up where I left off before. I'll be twenty in July.

[LongShot]

I started with Karate when i was round 7yrs for a few months... but had to stop after moving ... From 9 to 12yrs did Judo... Moved again to another place... and around 15/16yrs old started Bujinkan but onl lasted about 4months... then moved again... found kung-fu which didnt work out the teacher was a masochist... Then started Nujinkan again around 23/24yrs old... did for about six months... stoped due to time... but restarted once again last year (2005) untill 2 months ago which had to more or less stop because moved again.. but trying to train even alone now as there arent any Dojo's around... and thinking in taking up Judo and jujitsu while not being able to find a Bujinkan Dojo...

[ryanTKD]

14 and a bit...

[Gajah Silat]

Seven

[cnada]

I started in 1998. I was 17.

[Ma Bu]

I started in September 2005, I was 16, now 17, in kung fu (norther shaolin).

[Hapuka]

I started ITF Taekwon-do when I was 14

[Ragnarok2005]

Hehe. I was boxing as soon as I could walk! My first real martial art was when I was 7. Doing Judo.

[Angelus]

I wanted to start martial arts since i was about 9. My parents disapproved of it and suggested i learn piano instead. I gave up trying to convince them that it was good for me when i was about 15 because everytime i talked to them about training they acted like i had just said the most outrageous thing. I thought that martial arts was something i just HAD to do so when i was 17 i decided to start regardless of what my parents had to say.

[shendu]

I started at the age of 7
and after 9 and a half years jst started ninjitsu

[dizzyday07]

I started PKA Kickboxing last September when I was 38!!

[Randel]

I've been doing all sorts of martial arts over the years, but only for months, or even weeks at a time. Mainly becuase i thouht i could e Jackie Chan in a week or two, but also cause of moving house and the like. I properly started when i was 14 (about a year ago) for about 6 months, i had about a 6 month break then started at a club that actualy taught me what was worthwhile.

Ive been wandering for a while, if somone starts at 6, are they gonna be that much better when their 18 than somone who started when they were 14 or so?

[Cheshire Cat]

I started TKD when i was 12, got my black belt just before i was 15 then quit a few months after. Re-started about 3 months ago at the age of 16 and will be 17 soon. Yay.