Why do you practice MA?

A wee poll to see why people practice MA?

I am choosing a mixture, because i practice MA because it is good for my health and fitness, it is my favourite hobby, I have made good friends there, and I would like to go as far as I can in my style.

ik

 

I started in the early eighties because I wanted to be tough and to get a Black belt, as I got older the Black belt became less important and the self defence became my main aim to be able to handle any situation which might of arisen, by the time I achieved Black belt my fitness and well being became the most important and still is.

 

Probably a mixture of confidence, self defence, a hobby, fighting in competitions, fitness a generous dose of insanity, though I wouldn't say no to being a master
...so almost all of the above
also because I needed to do a sport for the duke of edinburgh scheme at school, and though I never finished the scheme I kept training

 

When I first started muay thai it was just the self defence aspect that I was interested. But when I started I realised just how unfit I was. I could lift big weights but had no stamina cardio fitness or endurance. So now instead of just focusing on one thing I am trying to bring all aspects of fitnesss up to a high standard. But the most important part for me is being able to look after myself, friends and familly.

 

I practice Ju-Jitsu for health, social reasons but mainly because I wanted to learn a TMA that was also adaptable and useful for self defence.

My aim now is to be as good a MAist as I can be and also be able to effectively defend myself and people I care about to the best of my abilities.

PS Lady_Calynne it's Edinburgh and not Edinborough. Apologies for being such a spelling nazi but I can't bear my home town's name being butchered like that

 

I began because it looked cool, like a lot of teens during the early 90's, thanks in part to the damn Karate Kid movies. After I reached the point where I realized, "I'm actually pretty good," I took it for self-confidence. Then when my first true serious harm test came, I realized my MA training as a self-defense method. That's when I started to cross-train, get my game to a decent level enough to defend myself. Learning from my cross-training, I finally than began fighting for competition, because after all the work, you realize how satisfying and how fun it is to, for the sake of a better word, fight.

 

kung fu

originally it was because of the70's tv show with David Caradine,I just wanted to be like him,in fact I still do.

 

I started Ryukyu Kempo for a few reasons. 1. I wanted to learn and be able to defend myself, family, and friends. 2. I wanted to become a good street fighter (just in case it was needed) 3. I want to become GM or high as possible.

 

fitness, self defense, and competition. I don't like team sports, and it doesnt get much more personal than in a ring.

 

I don't

 

I started to spend more time with my son, then started to see the health benifits. After each lesson I became more addicted. Now I have got the wife involved it is a family affair and we have met so many great people to go with it. Only regret is that I didnt start earlier.

 

For fun and to satisfy my urge to get hurt every once in a while.

 

On the streets officers need every advantage they can get..Studying the MA gives me that advantage..It also assists by instilling confidence.. A lot of the "bay guys" and sense if your if your just running your mouth or if push comes top shove that you will shove back HARDER....

 

My reason is very simple - I enjoy it. As soon as I stop enjoying it, I won't do it any more.

I voted 'mixture', because I also like the fitness benefits, and at uni I got a lot out of the social side of the club. Plus, I love the flashy stuff - its just a shame there are almost no clubs out that that focus on merely leaping around the room doing backflips and spinning through the air happily kicking away. It seems that MAs don't like to advertise themselves as anything other than 'the ultimate self-defence!' etc, whether or not they can actually back up their claims.

Also a shame that its nigh on impossible to find an adult gymnastics class. :cry:

 

I started for no reason at all, or I just can't remember. My local gym opened a Kickboxing class and I went. I really don't know why I attended the class, but I sure no why I continue to do MA. I like to work on my self, practice. I never feel I know something completely I always think I should practice more to perfection. When I reach a certain level I’m happy with I move on to something else and so on.

I will only be happy when I’ll have done a complete training of standup, grappling and weapons (more on the self defence aspect). I'm kind of done with stand-up so I'll move on to grappling this year. I have a long way ahead of me.

The only thing I can see from the list that expresses me is the I want to know how to fight option, and it’s the street aspect I care about. (Ironically getting in a streetlight where I live is very hard, you must be the one to start it and that goes against the most principles of MA).

All the other stuff , fitness, stamina , look and feel cool , hobby e.t.c are important for me but if I didn't do MA I would do something else for them.

 

I continue to train because if I stopped I would realise that I don't actually have a life

 

i do ma for health & fitness, for confidence, to socialize, to look good & feel cool , & for self defence... i plan on one day being a good comp fighter too

 

For me it started as a self defence thing (would say that self defence and street fighting are similar in terms of way of fighting)

Has lead to a lot more for me though,
I have done a few competitions, and I feel that how well I do in the competitions is a reflection on my confidence, and ability to apply techniques under pressure.

through that I have concentraterd on my health and fitness moreso than I have in my life.

I would like to say I would like to reach Grandmaster level - but being someone with a 9-5 job to support myself (more like 8-6) I don't have the time to do that much training, but I am pushing myself as much as possible to get as far as I can.

 

It's cheaper than beer and the company's better than clubbing.

 

Beer, maybe, but you can get pretty drunk on a £2.75 bottle of vodka...