How did you hear about us?

[Tripitaka of AA]

When you first began training in Shorinji Kempo, what had been your introduction. If you saw an Ad, then watched a Demo, then spoke to a friend... put the one which clinched it for you. Which method actually got you through the door?

[Tripitaka of AA]

If there is a Moderator in "da house", could you add an option to the poll please;

"My Mum/Dad made me do it"

Thanks

[James Hales]

None of the above for me, It was a Kenshi spreading the word and telling me what Shorinji Kempo was all about that convinced me to come along.

All the best

James

[Tripitaka of AA]

James, was he marching up and down Oxford Street in a Hoi, banging a taiko drum? Sounds like job for Tony K :)

[James Hales]

Hi there,

Not quite, it was at a "Freshers Fair" an ever fertile recruiting ground! After the Kenshi in question had explained to me what SK was all about he told me to try all the other styles of Martial Art the university offered and then to come and try SK.

Perhaps he was hoping I would stick with one of them...:D

[Robdawson_]

Gassho,

I joined with my girlfriend when one of my hallmates in my first year at uni dragged us along. At Southampton we do this thing where if you introduce a new member, you get two free sessions, and so we provided Tracey with a load of free training. Liked it and got hooked. There are quite a few people in our club who joined this way, and i think they tend to be the ones who stay. Out of curiosity, how do most the people in your clubs join? I am at a university club so we get freshers joining each october, then people being dragged in by friends, people from womens self defence courses, and others who turn up randomly. Is this a common pattern, and if not, how does your club get most its members?

Kesshu,

[Anders Pettersson]

Originally posted by Tripitaka of AA
If there is a Moderator in "da house", could you add an option to the poll please;

"My Mum/Dad made me do it"

Thanks
Done.

[Sunndew]

Like I said in a previous post, our Dojo is in our local YMCA. We not only have a buliten board there, but have fliers at different locations around the Y. We are also an option for P.E. credits for kids that are homed schooled (we actually had 3 students from this and one stuck with it and is very very good).
Another way that we get new students is one of our instructors is a Chiropractor and he will bring students in. Its kinda funny, most of us have some type of injury from differents accidents and are all gimped one way or another.
Latley we have grown enough that we are about to get to big for the arobics room at the Y. Not sure what we will do when this happens but it is a good thing.

[David Dunn]

Rob, in my experience that's the way recruitment goes in University dojo. A load of Freshers, then random interest the rest of the time. Other dojo have just the latter, unless a publicity drive or a demo is planned.

I started Shorinji Kempo because I went to a class of a 'new' martial art. It was Cailey's very first class at Southampton University, and I thought I'd stay for some more. The truth is that if I had plans for that night I may never have gone. Never thought of martial arts before. My mate saw Cailey's flyers and asked if I'd hold his hand for the first lesson. So someone from Cailey's very first class is still training. I nearly put 'table tennis room, So't'on Students Union' as worst venue, but that would be wrong because I've got good memories of it.

In other words, there's not an entry in the poll for me. "By chance".

[Tripitaka of AA]

Results so far suggest that word-of-mouth from a trusted friend is the way to attract members (at least, that is the method selected by members who have been around long enough to sign up to E-Budo). So Jee Sensei sending us out to hassle all our friends and acquaintances was probably right on the money. It also reminds me of Gary Dolce's statement (was him, wasn't it?), that the most important benefit of giving Demos is for the participants, and well worth doing for that reason alone.

[Tripitaka of AA]

111 views so far, but only 8 responses to the poll itself. Not going to be all that representative, is it! Oh well, another Headline based on a bit of statistical analysis made up from dodgy source material, hey-ho, I could get a job on a National newspaper at this rate.

[jonboy]

I started because I'd always wanted to do a martial art, but was not too impressed with the one I started in my 1st year at university. Then I started SK in my 3rd year after I got fed up of a couple of mates twisting my wrists and stuff. Well not quite, but they did convince me to try.

After the freshers' fair I think bringing friends along makes up for a big proportion of membership. For example, in my first year there were eight people in my year, from my course doing SK. I also know of more people (around five I think) from my course and year had also previously attended at some point.

[David Dunn]

Originally posted by Tripitaka of AA
111 views so far, but only 8 responses to the poll itself.

It counts multiple views by the same person David. There's no knowing how many have actually read it.

[Kari MakiKuutti]

I watched a demo ...

But it was not the normal public demo.

I was in a Finnish Army reserve forces training session on 20th May 1978 and met this guy (who later turned out to be a Shorinji Kempo kenshi)

He demonstrated how jump and roll over on a concrete floor without any apparent damage (later I found this to be maeukemi).
He showed how to kick somebody in a sensitive area (later: kintekigeri) without the victim getting any advance warning.
He showed some invigorating back massage (later: seiho). The subject was a (regular Finnish army) sergeant major, who was invigorated except for the broken rib he got in the process...

Needless to say I was quite impressed and started training the following week ...

Kari

[Steve Williams]

Originally posted by James Hales
Hi there,

Not quite, it was at a "Freshers Fair" an ever fertile recruiting ground! After the Kenshi in question had explained to me what SK was all about he told me to try all the other styles of Martial Art the university offered and then to come and try SK.

Perhaps he was hoping I would stick with one of them...:D

Added the option just for you James :)

Lets see you vote now ;)

[Steve Williams]

My vote was one of the many "friend started first" ones........

I wish I could do the "blokes in pub saying it was hard" one ;)

[RichD]

I joined after reading the Bristol uni website (here if you're interested http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Union/ShorinjiKempo/ )

Basically - I was thinking about taking up an MA and shopped around. I had done something before when I was younger which whilst not putting me off completely - at least made me think I wanted more than just punching and kicking whilst walking up and down the dojo.

Anyway narrowed it down to two choices. Went to the first S-K lesson and never looked back :) . Didn't know anyone else who did it before I went either.

[James Hales]

Originally posted by Steve Williams
Added the option just for you James :)

Lets see you vote now ;)
Thanks Sensei,

Your just a big softy at heart! I have placed my vote ;)

[tony leith]

This thread got me thinking about what did actually get me training in Shorinji Kempo rather than any other martial art. Basically I had wanted to do a martial art for years, but for some reason had hung back from committing myself. I had done a little wado ryu karate in my home town, and tried the university Shotokan club, but it seemed to involve even more relentless marching up and down the hall kicking the bejejsus out of thin air. The year before I started training properly I had also sampled Kempo, and thought it had more to commend it than anything else I'd seen. At the time though I was putting a lot of effort into weight training in an effort to increase my basic strength significantly (which incidentally worked - resistance training does yield dramatic results if approached with sufficient bloodymindness).

Anyway to cut my life story short (sorry), what got me coming back to Kempo was a friend called Iain Dewar. I mention his name because without his encouragement I probably wouldn't have become a second dan, wouldn't have met and trained with all the people I've met through Shorinji Kempo (including my fiancee), wouldn't have gone to Japan etc etc - hell you all know the drill - and because Iain died in a traffic accident about eight years ago. He was a ni kyu when he died, and at that point I had actually overtaken him as a recently minted brown belt(because god love him, he could be an idle shite). Nevertheless, he was one of my mentors, right down to coping with me getting him to spend the best half an hour teaching me how to tie a belt properly (told you I'm bloodyminded). I still miss him, but haven't remembered how much for a while. Thanks for the reminder.

Enough emoting (I'm Scottish - I don't do sentiment)

Tony leith

[mikko.virmasalo]

I saw an add on local newspaper... no pic or anything fancy on that one... just plain text Shorinji Kempo and training times and venues printed on it... And still it got my atenttion ;)

[Tripitaka of AA]

Hi Tony L

I am wondering if I knew Iain Dewar. There were a couple of Glasgow fellows that came to Abbey Dojo when I was there (Graham Neilson, was it?) and I seem to recall that one was an Iain.

With regards to grief, mourning and bereavement... yes, it is a strange process. I have been thinking a lot about my Dad just recently, as Sept 9th was ten years since he died. Echoes of conversations, recognising shared characteristics, sudden realisation of the true nature of situations as seen from the other side of the coin.