Hi, I’m a trainee journalist from the U.K. and as part of my degree I am doing a feature on how martial arts can be a confidence builder for women who have come from backgrounds of bullying, abuse, anger issues etc. I’m looking for women who would be willing to have a conversation with me about their history and reasons for taking up martial arts so I can use it in my feature. I myself do kickboxing, so I’m not completely out the loop! If anyone would be happy to contact me about this then please do not hesitate, it’d be appreciated and I could keep you anonymous.
Hi, I suppose there aren't many active women on this forum at the moment, so you may not get many answers. I wouldn't mind sharing my experience, but I haven't really experienced bullying, abuse nor anger issues, so I probably don't fit the profile, either.
Hi, thanks for responding. I’ve been on multiple forums and groups so the search is proving quite difficult (understandably due to the topics) can I ask your reason for starting anyway? Thanks.
Sure, thought it isn't anything special. I always thought martial arts were interesting and thought it might be nice to try one day. But I wasn't enthusiastic enough to go look for a club and try a class. One semester when I was signing up for classes at my uni, I found out there was actually Karate as a type of PE. So I was really fast about signing up there, since it was a very easy way to try and the class would be full of beginners. I thought Karate was a bit mainstream and so if there were other options, I might have prefered a different art, but as soon as the classes started, I enjoyed them very much and was looking forward to the next training all the time. I liked the teacher and his style and skills, too. So after a couple of months, I started taking classes at the his dojo as well and stayed there ever since Two years ago I also started learning Taiji when I saw a demonstration, which I really liked and thought: "Wow, I'd like to be able to do that!" There's no deep reason for me starting martial arts. I just want to have fun and I am happy it helps with my health, fitness, etc.
Nice, it’s great to hear peoples stories of starting anyway. I don’t think many realise how much they’ll get into before they start! Thanks for getting back to me.
I lost a lot of strength over a small period of time, but I used to love practicing hitting with my dad, so I decided I wanted to build my strength again and also my confidence. Got a bit fed up of looking weak so wanted to make a change. I absolutely love it now I consistently do it
