Martial Arts

Nix

Nix

🤪
Joined
Feb 6, 2002
Messages
11,817
Age
53
Location
A little village in the UK
Sineya
My daughter has her first grading in Karate on Saturday. It got me thinking...

Do you do a form of martial arts?
What do you think of martial arts?
What age do you think is good to start?
 
Old Master 3.0
Old Master 3.0
Lots of luck for the wee one. :)
How cool that your daughter does Karate! Good for her!

I think learning a martial art is so valuable, especially at a young age. It teaches discipline, self control, self respect, and of course how to protect oneself. It also teaches that the greatest fighter is one who avoids a physical confrontation whenever possible. Such valuable lessons!

I used to do Tae Kwon Do as a kid but nothing these days... I don't know what age is best to start, but I'm sure any good instructor wouldn't let someone start too early.
 
"Do you do any form of Martial arts?

I have a 5th Degree Black Belt ranking from the Kukiwan (the international headquarters for the World Tae Kwon Do Association) in Korea. In addition to Tae Kwon Do, I hold rank in Hapkido, Judo, Chang Moo Kwan, and Dim Mak Kung Fu. I began studying the martial arts (Judo) when I was 19 in college 41 years ago. For the past 21 years, my son, wife, and I have operated Roman Martial Arts in Rome, Georgia (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roman-Martial-Arts/123041927789522)

What do you think of martial arts?

Short answer, it's been a large part of my life for almost 40 years, so I would say that I think quite highly of it.

What age do you think is good to start?

If you have looked at our Facebook site by now, you will notice a young man in an orange uniform. That is Mr Addicus (Spike) Bradley,my grandson, age 3. He has been enrolled in our Tiny Tigers Program for the last year, and loves it. In answer to the question, with proper instruction from well trained instructors, in a safe, caring environment, as long as the student actually wants to study, the earlier the better. The key is, the student has to want to study and be willing to be instructed. No one should ever be MADE to study martial arts.
 
Awesome thread!

I love martial arts. Love them. I got into martial arts years ago after becoming a big Batman fan and have been studying a variety of them off and on ever since.

The ones I'm most familiar with are American boxing and Krav Maga. I box recreationally (to me there are few things as fulfilling, in a physical sense, than a great boxing workout) and it's been a blast. I've gained tremendous self-confidence through boxing, both physically and mentally. It's a martial art/sport where you can really see your improvement (a lot like working out), and I know for me, it's made me a better problem solver.

Krav Maga is something I've gotten into more recently, although with being away at school I've had to take a sabbatical from it. It's very, very intense, and not really for kids. It's an Israeli martial art designed for pure practical purposes. There are no belts, no ranks and no sparring. It teaches real-world techniques while taking into consideration things like adrenaline, environment and natural human reactions. They cover everything from basic fighting to what to do if you're mugged to handling situations where knives and firearms are involved. It's not for everyone, but if you invest yourself in it, it's something you can get a lot out of.

Even if your goal isn't to become Batman, martial arts are great. I can't recommend getting involved in them enough.
 
I box! Well I just started boxing at least. I suck at it. But I'm trying!


My son (who is 6 now) is in Judo, and LOVES it. He really gets a kick (no pun intended) out of going and grappling with the other kids. I love the fact that it gets (some of) his energy out and teaches him discipline. The gym we go to is really great. My husband does judo and jujitsu, as well as boxing. I think it's a great fun way to get physically active and is way more fun than a treadmill.
 
I hold a First Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and have studied Hapkido. It develops flexibility in joints and muscles and unlike muscle tone, one you have flexibility, you keep it - you don't have to continue working on it like muscle tone. It also develops ability to lead a class - all the senior belts in our club were expected to be able to lead classes. Some never did but I was running classes at least once a week.

The other thing I have found is worries seem to disappear. It isn't a specific thing like knowing what to do when under attack - it just seems that all the nameless, faceless anxieties of life stopped bothering me.
 
I like martial arts and I would love to learn some one day. Unfortunately, it is far from cheap and I can't really afford it.

I think kids can start really young, as long as they like it. It's just like any extra-scholar(sp?) activity. as long as the kids like it, they can keep going 🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom