My name is Claire. I was active on this forum years ago (more than a decade) when I was in college. I have tried a couple of martial arts classes: a TKD class and a few months of a home-brew kung fu class. I dropped out of them for various reasons. I live in North Dakota. I'm not really looking to join a martial arts class. I don't want to learn it for self defense or fighting, for mental toughness or the social aspect (def not the social aspect) or competition. I just want something fun to do on my own that is a good workout. I enjoy the movements and how I feel good after doing some punching and kicking and swinging a bokken around (I am horrible at all of these). Kickboxing is too crazy. I need something I can study and do at my own pace, mostly because I am a bit slow at learning physical things and also I get injured easily when they push me in the classes. I am fascinated by martial arts topics and the history. Other hobbies include: LEGO, video games, comedy shows, D&D, cartoons (favorite is My Little Pony), and fitness/health. I used to read a lot but not so much anymore.
Hi Claire, I feel like I understand your position. I simply enjoy the training. I push myself pretty hard, but that is a personal choice and I feel people need to decide for themselves how hard to push, based on what they want to gain from it. I am confident that the training gives me viable self-defense skills, but that is definitely not my motivation for training. It’s more like a happy coincidence. Ive been thinking about starting a training group in my area. If you ever move to Northern California, get in touch and I would be happy to see if we can work together. I think you would enjoy Tibetan White Crane.
Hey thanks for the offer. That is interesting and a lot different than what we have around here. I am just trying to pick up some karate/kenjutsu things as it is what I am most familiar with.
Welcome back! It's scary seeing someone say they were a member over a decade ago and realising how long I've been around here I know what you mean about wanting to do something just for the enjoyment of it rather than any of the "traditional" reasons for getting into martial arts so I hope you find something that suits you.
People train for their own reasons, and there is nothing wrong with your reasons at all. I would like to sound a note of caution though. It's really easy to injure yourself if you do some techniques poorly. I see personal trainers with little to no MA experience getting clients to throw roundhouse kicks into pads, shouting words of encouragement to hit harder and faster. All the time the client is failing to pivot on their supporting foot and stressing their standing knee again and again and again. A good, qualified instructor will ensure you have correct technique, not just to deliver more power, but to stop you injuring yourself. It might be worth seeking one out for some basic training at least.
Hey Mitch, I've had a number of lessons so have some basics. Although I don't feel comfortable doing some things without someone watching out for me, so for now just doing basic punches and gentle front kicks. I think without an instructor I have to keep it very basic.
Could you fill us in a bit more, in terms of how much training you actually have and what was covered? It is good to be cautious as a beginner, but at the same time I always encourage people to practice at home what they have learned in class. You can grow in that way, even with little formal curriculum.
Hey, sure. As a young teen my mom found me this really old "Korean Karate" book. It got my interest, I studied it and tried a few things. I demo'd a tae kwon do class for one session and didn't go back. Later I joined a highly americanized home brew kung fu class. It was ok, I dropped out because they pushed me too hard and I got hurt and they didn't seem to care. I think I was in that for 3 or 6 months. So we did basic punching and kicking, a basic form that I don't remember, bo, aikido sword, didn't get much into kicks but did some basic throws. That's all I really know and most of it is forgotten, that was in college over 10 years ago and I didn't practice much after.
Ok got it, sounds like enough time has passed that youve forgotten much of it anyways. Well do what you can until you are in position to get some more instruction. Enjoy the ride.
Welcome back! Echoing what Mitch has said, if you end up with a PT make sure they're actively training, or have experience in, martial arts, alongside the qualification if they're having you hit stuff. It's laughably easy (I did one online padwork CPD in ten minutes) for them to be qualified, but competent is another matter. Honestly, even though I have both martial arts experience and fitness qualifications, I always recommend going to a proper instructor or club where possible, and I wouldn't include any of it for my clients if I stopped training myself. Good luck with the training