Why did you start training in Taekwondo?

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do' started by kmorrisonnyc, Nov 16, 2014.

  1. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    You might actually have increased your taekwondo longevity by taking a break. I'm one of those who didn't stop training from childhood through to adulthood, but the last couple of years has seen injuries force me to take the biggest gaps in training I've ever had. Most of those injuries were not caused by martial arts, but there's no denying that 20+ years of constant training hasn't helped. I'll probably be forced to retire permanently long before someone who started, stopped, and started again.
     
  2. bud00

    bud00 New Member

    Yeah. Looking one day into a mirror and seeing additional 20 kg it's a bummer. It's like dragging a sack of stones. It's just calling to do something.
     
  3. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    I don't regret stopping. I went to university, discovered wine, women and song and spent years chasing after all those girls my mother had warned me about. It was flipping marvellous :D

    I got that out of my system, got back into TKD at just the right time in my life and have loved being involved with it in all sorts of ways ever since; I trained purely for me for many years, then started working on being a good TKD Instructor for my students, then branched out into realistic self defence training to give them a more rounded experience.

    Now I'm at the point where I do all that and teach my own kids, which is pretty great :)

    If I hadn't had a break I might have some more dan bars on my belt, but I'm not sure they're that important, and I wouldn't have a lot of (occasionally hazy) memories :D

    MItch
     
  4. Flatfish

    Flatfish New Member

    My four year old son needed to start doing something to get rid of his stick-in-the-mudness. I thought MA would be a good idea, so I started visiting a bunch of local MA schools until I found one that looked pretty good. It happened to be TKD. He liked it and got my daughter interested talking about it. While watching them practice the first few times, I felt like I was wasting my time just sitting around plus the kicking looked like fun, so I decided to join in. By now I'm definitely the one of us who is most enthusiastic about it......kids......sigh
     
  5. TheMadhoose

    TheMadhoose Carpe Jugulum

    a love of bruce lee movies in the mid 80's and a cousin of my dads being in the Scottish TAGB team back then kinda directed that tkd was where i went. could just as easily have been karate or judo as thats all the options there really were then.
     
  6. SuperSanity

    SuperSanity The Hype

    Started TKD about a year ago while I was in Korea. Been trying to keep up with what I learned there until I can find a school around here that's decent. May end up being TKD, may not. 0.o
     
  7. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    I drove through central Maidstone this evening and was stunned by the diversity and culture. The performance art, the street theatre, the poetry slams. Who knew?
     
  8. Indie12

    Indie12 Valued Member

    My first Instructor in TKD (family friend) was offering classes so I joined. 25 years later I'm a retired Tae Kwon Do Instructor, but I have over 25 years of wonderful experience and memories!!

    Oh and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles helped!! ;):love:
     
  9. CriticalDog

    CriticalDog Valued Member

    I had done Kuk Sool in my 20's, and then dabbled off and on with other stuff when I had the freedom, which was rare.

    Moved in 2006 and started TKD at my new location almost 4 years ago, and have been enjoying it. Great workout, even if my instructor is a tad unorthodox. :)
     
  10. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    I was in the park at the weekend and saw a poster for "Secret Garden Wassail", so yes it appears we've elevated cider drinking in the park to a cultural event.
     
  11. Seji

    Seji New Member

    Years ago I started ITF TKD because of the location. I kept it on until blue tag because I loved the challenge and the tournaments brought their rewards. Then I gave it up for a number of reasons. One of them was that the management of the organisation suddenly struck me as chauvinist. I'm not some crazy feminist by any means, but I noticed it even at that age and the will to practice just kind of seeped out of me then. Also, I wasn't too sure about the militaristic style of it - it kind of lacks a soul in that sense: It seems to propose discipline before self-discipline. It has that oath at the beginning of each class, but not much more that would help character building, which I think has dangerous consequences.

    All of that said, I regret giving it up, because I could have been better and fitter than I am now. I'm going to see about taking it up again though, because it can be a tremendous amount of fun and the sparring is just priceless. I'm going to check out my uni club. I'm optimistic. Wish me luck :)
     
  12. kmorrisonnyc

    kmorrisonnyc Valued Member

    Good luck! I hope it works out for you!
     
  13. Seji

    Seji New Member

    Cheers! ;)
    Oh, and in line with the rest of the discussion, alcohol played a role too, of course. Ha, ha!
     
  14. thanson02

    thanson02 New Member

    Wow. Lots of TKD folks. Not that I should talk. My brother and I got interested in martial arts because of the Karate Kid and we had friends who trained in TKD. Our mother was against it (thought it bread violence, she was religious) but we played in the woods behind our place and watched movies to get what we could. Then a 2nd Dan moved to our school in middle school and we started hanging out with him. So for 6 years, we did WTF TKD kick boxing in his basement and played ninja in his back yard. Then there was a falling out, I left because of small group politics and drama. My brother stuck with it until he got his 2nd Dan, then dropped out himself.

    I took 5 years off from martial arts and went to college, had tons of fun, did the whole “discover oneself” which included a ton of drinking and spending time with members of the opposite sex. :)

    Towards the end of my time there, I ended up joining up with Hwa Rang Do, mainly because my friends were into it. That and it had weapons and meditative practices, which TKD didn’t. Not to mention throws and takedowns.

    I will say the path I ended up walking has certainly been an interesting ride. Not what I expected, but I did end up with an awesome community here in the Mid-west because of it.
     
  15. imagineflying

    imagineflying New Member

    Whoaaaa I feel soooo young looking at your ages (at least at those who have written it). Im 16. I don't know why I started (TKD WTF) but I know it has been love at first sight. I started very young, at 6 years old. Black belt (well, actually 1st Poom) at 13, I really grew up with taekwondo and his taeguks and training and phylosophy. My teacher (dont know the english word, maybe Master?) has become a great friend of mine. i really really appreciate what taekwondo has given me. Last year I also got depressed and stopped doing everything I liked before I could understand what I was doing. I closed myself in myself, did nothing all day, I only cried. I really regret stopping. But after thinking and crying a lot (and talking to a psychologist) I understood that I HAD to move. Now Im back, getting always better and better. I still have some self-confidence problems (thats why Im still 1st dan), but hey, that MA practicly saved me. It's a big part of me. im not gonna stop, that would mean loosing the bet I made with myself.

    If you haven't understood, I LOVE taekwondo.
     
  16. Ninja01

    Ninja01 Becky

    I'm honestly not sure if I've posted here or not. :/

    I started when I was sixteen, always wanted to do martial arts but I was very shy and quiet growing up. i was kind of on and off, then stopped going because of school. I went back two years later, so my training really started then.

    I was training almost everyday for atleast three hours a day, it has become my life. I don't spar as much now days, mostly because I'm getting older and im already starting to feel the damage I've caused on my body, but I still train consistantly. I'm an assistant instructor but I really prefer to train..teaching is just not my goal in martial arts, though I've been helping for awhile.

    Sorry, I think I took that too far.
     
  17. rosalinda

    rosalinda New Member

    That sounds like the best PE curriculum ever!

    Anyway I used to dance various techniques but hadn't done any for 3 or 4 years and was really missing exercise particularly as a class. So I looked at what sports societies there were at my university and looked into some of them online. I liked that TKD is more centred around kicking. Watched a few youtube videos and then started going to classes.
    I had always enjoyed martial arts films and stuff but never really considered doing one until now!
    The society is actually run by a TKD (ITF) school in the area which is really good as there are more events and a larger age range and larger membership which has more benefits than if we were just students.

    I haven't been learning for long but I am really enjoying it.
    Hopefully, starting as an adult, I won't give up at least not for too long a time.
     

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