I have been readnig many post on about why to study martial arts and why not too. I have heard you sould stick with just one martial art until you master (of course I then ask can you really master an art) and I have heard you study numerous martial arts to handle many situations. Well let me tell me of my situation and just ask you all if this is the right reason or not. I study a year of ninjutsu when I was in college (I am 36 now if that tells you how long ago) and I loved it. Well time passed, wife, work, and now 3 kids never was able to get the time. Well my daughter asked to study something so we found her a Shaolin Kung Fu class to take. I took her and was very impressed with the Sifu. I loved how he taught, his explanation of the history of the art and how it came to be in it's present form. Well I am now taking Kung Fu with her now. Now I am interested in taking other martial arts to learn about other styles. The history of how they came to be, the history of the culture. Martial arts to me is a great hobby I love. I love learning and gaining more knowledge. Is it my lifelong goal to be master of Kung Fu or whatever martial art, not really but I do intend to continue bettering my knowledge and skill of the art. I am taking a steady pace. I have a found a Bujinkan Taijutsu dojo nearby and visited and found that very intriguing. I have looked into Akido and Kendo and someday down the road would like to study those arts also. I have to admit I also like the fact that since I am not a traditional team sport person (baseball, basketball, etc.) and never been interested in playing those sports. Martial arts is something that has got me off my butt and being more active. What are your peoples opinions on reasons to study martial arts? Or studying more one martial arts at a time?
I see nothing wrong with your reason. All MAists have their own reason for following this path, whether it be power, protection, the ability to protect others, fitness, etc. My own reason is simply that I love martial arts. Everything else that comes along with MA are perks. I follow you completely. I have never had an interest in team sports (or any other sport for that matter). Before I became involved in martial arts I was fairly overweight. Martial arts definately helped me get off my butt. In my opinion, as long as you arent' studying your MA to learn how to beat the *shamrocks* out of someone for fun, then you have a good reason.
yeah I agree with Yuku, doesn't matter which art you take or how many you take, as long as you enjoy them and learn something you like... then you and your daughter can learn together and you can even help her out along the way...family bonding in the MA's anyway, good luck with your training in the future
I'm actually impressed with your honesty. Your motivation for studying martial art is perfectly legitimate and frankly refreshing. As long as it's purely a hobby, your instructor knows you're studying MA as a hobby and you have no silly dilusions (I'm creating a new style, I'm going to be the ultimate fighter, etc.) there is nothing wrong with studying more than one style with your instructor's permission. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck. (my eldest is 11 btw) Martial art is a beautiful road. It's best to walk slowly and enjoy the scenery.
My reason is because I wanted to be a really bad actor in martial arts films. I wanted my lines to be dubbed into English even though I speak English. I want to yell no and extend it for 2 minutes like Van Dam does.
i train because its fun, good exercise, helps me relaxe, gets me out of the house, helps me meet people, and teaches me how to protect myself.
My reason: a) or "the political correct reason" - I train to keep in shape, to have fun and to meet new people. b) or "the not at all political correct reason" - I train because I find it fun to kick ass! c) or "the ebil, world-domination scheme reason" - If I didn't someone else will become world leader. With MA I've got a good chance to kick their ass first, and then stomp on their heads till they're gone, and HEY, WHO IS THE GUY WITH THE WHITE JACKET???
I had no control over starting M/A, I was taken with a friend to something called Taekwondo, he never started and I loved it, still do. Started doing Muay Thai 3 years later as the TKD at the club I trained at was mostly patterns. Started JJJ 2 years after that because I was invited by someone in the club Love them all!
Darth Cyrus, Your reasons for studying MA are the right ones so long as they are the right ones for you! So long as you are doing what you want to do, enjoying it, and getting benefit from it then it is all good. My only qualification to this (for anyone) would be that they don't have any unrealistic expectations of their self-defence capabilities as a result of their doing MA. So long as they don't have an exaggerated assessment of their ability to defend themselves in a dangerous situation, then I'd say it's all good. As for doing more than one MA, I personally think that it's generally better to concentrate on just one thing and work hard at becoming as good as you can be, rather than dabbling in a number of styles. But if you want to diversify then I'd say do two arts which complement each other with the minimum of 'overlap' - e.g. do a striking art and a grappling art, rather than two grappling or two striking arts. Personally I do one which incorporates lots of different elements - striking, locking, takedowns, weapons, etc. (although the groundwork side is less comprehensive.) Whatever you decide, I hope it goes well for you and yours.
Growing up in Detroit,I got beaten up alot,I started Martial Arts training for self-defence.19 years later ,it is a way of life,learning not to fight.I too have a 10 year old daughter that trains,The reward is great,watching her progress. Fred
I started doing MA's to learn to beat someone up but somewhere I lost my way and started to study it for the "art". Luckily I started doing MMA and rediscovered the original calling again before it was to late.
Originally I justed wanted to fight. Not to hurt anyone, burt rather for the one on one competition. The higher in rank I went the less it became about fighting and more about history and the beauty. (even at 40 I still love the sparring though)
For me, it all started when a friend of mine was about to graduate, but didn't have his gym credit. So, he decided to dual enroll for it and take Uechi-Ryu karate at a local community college. I said to myself, "Man, why haven't I been doing martial arts?" Later that week, I went down to a local shotokan karate club. I was swiftly hooked on it ^_^.
Thanks all for your replies. As long as I am getting out of it what I want then that is the right reason. Thanks all, put my my mind at ease.
Honestly/ When I started doing MA I used to dream about beating the snot out of 3 bullies I had in school, luckily I never tried to actually do it as I would have got my ass handed to me (Picture out of shape nerdy sport TKD kid vs County under 21 Rugby player with lots of experience of hurting people). These days I tend to just think about beating up anyone and everyon which just shows how I've grown emotionally, I'm much more open minded than I used to be
