Why do you train?

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by Grass hopper, Feb 19, 2014.

  1. rabid_wombat

    rabid_wombat Valued Member

    I started training as a kid for self-defense, later for the art. Now I train for fitness and the camaraderie that I found. We've become great friends that are as close as family. One of my fellow BJJ players said it best, "When I walk into this place, it's like I walked into another room of my house."
     
  2. aka The Clerk

    aka The Clerk Valued Member

    I come from a long line of short, awkward, anxiety filled individuals. After years of being tormented and bullied at school for various reasons, my parents decided I had to do something physical to make me not so awkward and anxiety filled (still haven't found a cure for shortness, lifts in my shoes just hurt my heels.)
    I was horrible at sports, couldn't catch, throw or hit any form of ball to save my life. Finally I asked about an ad in the Yellow Pages I'd seen for something called Yoshinkan Aikido. From then on I was hooked. I only studied a short while before making a move to Karate because I wanted an art where I could get a little more of the aggression out and I haven't looked back since. I'm soon (so I've been told) to grade for my Nidan in Karate and have just recently taken up Yoshinkan again not to mention the other styles which I've been introduced to (via seminar, etc.) Not to mention martial arts also got me interested in the idea of fitness something which I'm now also passionate about.

    To make a long winded story short (thank you to those who have stuck it out thus far): I originally started training because I was a young man angry at a world that I thought was against me and wanted to learn how to fight it. I then learned through training that I was mad at myself for not being taller, less awkward and less anxious. I now train because it makes me happy, feel fulfilled and has taught me to stand just a wee bit taller than I used to.
     
  3. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    Yeah, I was really into the whole "if you are not training to break someone's head apart, then you are not doing MA" thing. I was really obnoxious about it.

    Now I don't care about that. I'm more interested in how long I can do a handstand for :D

    Edit: and those "internal" systems are looking mighty interesting these days!
     
  4. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    That's another thing I'd be curious about - what arts did people start with, where are they now and why?
     
  5. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    i started with krotty. then i trained krotty in my tai chi class, then shaolin class, then in mantis, and then i did some krotty in my capoeira class. why? because iconoclasty is fun.
     
  6. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    I would laugh, but as a guy that practises karate in a kickboxing class and used to wrestle people in karate, I'm probably just as guilty :p

    I went Wado Ryu karate-do, Tenchi Ryu Aikido, Goju Ryu Karate, Wado Ryu Karate-do, kickboxing. Brief, brief stint with Yang style Taijiquan and about a month with Aikijujutsu (injured wife stopped me going initially, but the club wasn't that good).

    TBH, unless I find a good Goju Ryu/Kyokushin/Uechi Ryu dojo near me that focuses on physical conditioning and pad work as well as the finer parts of the art, I probably won't go back to karate. Taijiquan wasn't quite my thing though I have a deep appreciation of the art. Aikido is a strong possibility later on, but impractical right now. Apparently there's an MMA club within 1/2 an hour (and another about an hour away) which is a strong possibility once I can drive again, but not right now.
     
  7. Rhythmkiller

    Rhythmkiller Animo Non Astutia

    You've studied a few systems dude. I was supposed to start BJJ to run alongside my TKD but it fell through due to a change in my work, basically i wouldn't be able to make the class on time. So for the foreseeable i'll be doing my tried and trested TKD.

    Baza
     
  8. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    Dabbled would probably be more appropriate, life likes to throw curve balls it seems :p

    The Wado instructor is the same one from when I was a kid (but due to my health, travel and personal preferences its' not for me right now - the guy has an insanely good dojo though), the goju guy was crap, the Aikido I only stopped as I moved town and I don't really count the Yang style or the Aikijujutsu.

    Nothing wrong with TKD - sounds like you're progressing nicely in your art though :)

    I love the idea of BJJ, the idea of joining a BJJ club is something I find really exciting (I've always had a fondness for grappling over striking, ironically) but if it turns out the MMA leads are non-existent, then I'm sure I can find a judo club instead.
     
  9. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    K-1? I'd thought you'd have a yen for BJJ - gotta be a chance for a North-South position somewhere
     
  10. mattt

    mattt Valued Member

    I train to be able to defend myself from pointyshinyburn
     
  11. Southpaw535

    Southpaw535 Well-Known Member Moderator Supporter

    BJJ because the concept of levers and size not mattering appealed to me. I'm not sure if liking submissions over striking was that it looked less violend and more technical, or if I liked the power fantasy aspect of forcing someone to submit rather than just KO them.

    Then I moved to K1 because I wanted to learn striking and also because the coach looked very good and it felt like a waste not to at least give it a go. Once I started bjj at a good club (spent a couple years with a crappy attitude at a lesser gym that I didn't commit too and the same problem at an mma club. Same place I'm at now but when it was independant. Great club even then, but I was lazy and non commital) as well I'd become more interested in the competing side of things and I knew the K1 guys fought regularly and well.

    Now I'm in mma because I saw TUF very shortly after I first got into martial arts through a sport science show. Started learning some of the ground positions from it while I was waiting to turn 16 to attend the good classes. Then its always been the background end goal but I was too nervous to go hang with the top dogs of the gym. Then I started actually doing well at bjj and got my promotion so now I'm at mma. Still enjoy grappling more than striking, but I'm far more sold on competing now over cool concepts and self defense and stuff like that. Also I have to admit that having been a very introverted person for years, and still am to a lesser degree, the idea of competing in front of people is cool to me. I don't do well.with conversation, but I could still put on a show and be centre stage for some time.

    Lets be honest. Anyone who's competed in something they've grained hard for knows the feeling of getting their hand raised after is addicting and for that moment you get to feel on top of the world.
     
  12. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    I like this thread because it shows other people have been affected by changing priorities too. I felt guilty admitting to my coach and to myself that I didn't want to fight anymore. Competition sparring had always been the Holy Grail of martial arts (at least in my mind). I'm in a weird place right now because I'm having so much fun training but I don't really know WHY I'm training. It feels... "wrong"... just to be going through the motions, and actually enjoying it. The other replies here tell me not to be ashamed of it, even embrace it. :)
     
  13. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    For meself, it was purely as a way to motivate my kids - who I'd put in TKD, then BJJ and Boxing. Didn't wanna hear "but da, how come you don't train" when it was time to crack the whip and have them to do something that was difficult at times.

    If I had it to do all over again, I'd probably put them in different classes. After they moved into adult boxing, I'm not certain if the sight of their da getting beat up on a regular basis was much of a motivating tool or not and didn't do much for the "super-dad" image that we've to maintain.

    But they know I'm not afraid to work and suffer for the betterment of myself and hopefully that makes up for the other.
     
  14. Giovanni

    Giovanni Well-Known Member Supporter

    i like this thread very much also. i'm very interested in what people have to say about their own training. it's actually amazing to hear people talk about their training in regards to themselves.

    cheers!
     
  15. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    I very clearly remember a day when I was coming home from striking and I was miserable and I was even more miserable about the prospect of striking again in the next couple days and suddenly a light broke through the clouds and the voice of a thousand seraphic angels sang in perfect harmony "You haaaaate getting punched in the face." Felt very similar to how you feel, and I still try to make myself go every so often just so I don't completely forget what me mitts is for.
     
  16. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    Fixed it for ya :p

    So how often do you box/kickbox/whatever it is you do that gets you punched in the face? And I suppose I gotta ask, if you could have had your time again, would you have gone straight to BJJ or would you still have kept up with the striking stuff?
     
  17. Rhythmkiller

    Rhythmkiller Animo Non Astutia

    I lol'd when i saw this. My little girl does TKD also. She is of the opinion that no one can beat her dad. One day though she did see me get beat when she and her mum came to pick me up from training. I never seen anyone look so shocked, in fairness though it was 2nd degree.

    I explained to her that it was ok to fail as long as you get back up and try again. She lives by this now and i have kept my pride intact.

    Baza
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2014
  18. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    Uhh, this was a few years ago, but at one point I was boxing/kickboxing 2-3 times a week and doing MMA once a week. Nowadays it's maybe once every couple months, if that. I enjoyed it, but it was stressful trying to balance grad school*, an internship*, volunteer position*, job* and two (three?) martial arts. I'm sure I would be a better martial artist if I had kept up the striking, but for me, I enjoy BJJ more and that's what I realized it was about.

    *Edit: I can still hear my Sensei saying "Psht, sounds like excuses to me!" Maybe I misread your question - if you're asking about whether I would have skipped striking entirely and just done BJJ, I'd say no, it was beneficial to acquaint myself, even to a minimal degree, with striking.
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2014
  19. Zinowor

    Zinowor Moved on

    I started out with TKD when I was 8 or 9 I think. I quit when I was around 14. I injured my foot (kicked the elbow) in a regional tournament in the quarterfinals. The opponents all looked tasty that day, but then my foot got injured and I had to forfeit.

    My disappointment was huge and with my family not caring at all for martial arts, I didn't get much support either. So I quit and started doing EU Football again.

    It took a year or 2 before I started itching again. My best friend knew a guy who competed in boxing and he was a fun guy who didn't mind teaching a bunch of nutters what he knew about boxing. After a few weeks of that, I started going to his gym for a few months for some "honest" training, but when my parents found out I had to quit. Despite my powerpoint presentation... It wasn't until I was around 18 years old that I wanted to quit EU Football, again and take up martial arts, again.

    I took a few lessons in Wing Chun, but the style of fighting just didn't appeal to me. So I tried Muay Thai/K1 at a really good dojo and I stuck around for around 3 months before I cracked. I loved the intense training regimen and my conditioning quickly improved. But the atmosphere was really heavy and I noticed I was regressing in terms of having a short fuse with people. So I got really scared and I quit and as a big surprise I started doing EU Football, again. Of course at 21 I quit EU Football, again and started doing martial arts, again.

    This time I tried Karate. I was originally looking for a Shotokan school, as at that point I still thought the style was more important than the teachers. I couldn't find a Shotokan school I liked, so I tried a Wado Ryu school near me. Turned out they were absolutely awesome, they had just the right amount of everything to suit my needs. And their higher belts were really good. I couldn't do anything against them in spars, which made me really happy. It really felt like I returned home because it reminded my of TKD and TKD was the only sport I ever tried my hardest in. Which gave it special meaning to me, somehow though I was never interested in doing TKD again. I'm sure I'd enjoy it, but the idea of starting again felt like dragging a dead cow out of the water. :dunno:

    Actually I've been looking to join a boxing school. My parents can't decide things for me anymore and having to quit boxing like that left a bad taste in my mouth. Also because more and more did I begin craving more 'spirited' spars. I looked at my karate school's kickboxing class, but I always liked the punching part of kickboxing more than the kicking part. So boxing seemed like a logical choice.

    I love my karate-colleagues, but most of them don't like to spar all too intensely which makes it kinda boring at times.

    Anyway, I already found a good boxing place. Now I just have to heal my hamstring injury, get my blue belt (missed the exam because of awesome injury) and sign up for the boxing classes. Doesn't mean I want to quit karate btw.

    Did I mention that I'm doing karate to become a bit more stable? Going through the belts without failure or excuses seemed like a healthy thing for me. :D
     
  20. Heikki Mustola

    Heikki Mustola Valued Member

    I need it, I truly do. Mentally it might possibly be more important than anything else in my life.

    Also, it's a good way to be in shape.

    Fighting (not referring to street fighting) is fun. Whether it's MMA match, kickboxing sparring, submission wrestling competition etc... I suck at striking AND at grappling, but I still love it. And it is genuine love.

    Talking about genuine... Combat sports give me happiness. And I mean genuine happiness. And there are only few things left in this life that actually give me joy. Combat sports is one of them and very important one, too.

    It can also help in self defense situation, but I dont care / be worried about that too much.

    It has also given me motivation for healthier lifestyle, I eat way better than before (still lots of things to improve...), I drink less etc. Overall, I care about my health now.

    There are quite a few reasons, but those might be the most important ones.
     

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