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PatxiSan
25th July 2006, 19:30
Hello there,

Iīm a martial artist living in the Basque Country (NE of Spain and SW of France) and I would like to tell you all my experience with martial arts and at the same time widen your martial arts' knowledge telling you about the martial art I practise: KENPO KAI.

It all started o!n a cold February day, I was taking another difficult exam at University and I was f**king stressed, as usual. Sitting in the car I said... man, I canīt put up with this anymore! I've gotta do something to relax myself! As soon as I finish this bloody exams, I'm gonna try Yoga or Tai Chi! Is anyone coming with me? And a mate said... yeah man! I'll go with you! So, we had a deal, first exams and then we look for a school.

We did find a school, but being a university student means you have hardly free time, so having a look into our schedule there was o!nly o!ne thing we could take up, a martial art called Kenpo Kai. We where a little scared in the beginning, but we were told that the teacher was not strictly teaching Kenpo Kai, that he was doing a mix of several things including Yoga and Chi Kung. So, we said... let's give it a go! Soon after it and strange at it may seem, I fell in love with this martial art called Kenpo Kai.

Today, almost three years later Iīve got the 1st Kyu (Brown belt), and I still wonder why I train Kenpo Kai. I've never had a fight and I never get or look for trouble, I donīt live in a dangerous area, but the thing is that I just feel good when I'm doing it. Little by little I see how my skills improve and my mind feels more confident and how to say... in peace with myself. I don't know... I think it's a great martial art indeed, and Iīm glad to train with Shihan Vidal, who is the deputy chairman of the IKKO (International Kenpo Kai Organization) and a great master.

What I most like from Kenpo Kai, is that it's a very complete martial art. I mean, you learn to fall, to punch, to kick, to defense yourself, to fight in different ways, you learn to control your body and make plenty of tricks, you learn to use weapons, a phylosophy and loads of amazing things. The more I study this art, the more I like it. I even find its history really interesting, but of course I'm not gonna write about this now.

http://personales.ya.com/kenpokai/image/INDIA_archivos/image015.jpg
This is our shield

So, this is my experience and my martial art. What about you? Which martial art do you practise? How did you start? Why do you like it? I look forward to reading your comments.

Xabier Caraciolo




Mod Edit: Consider this your second warning, Xabier. Please use the sig. editor in your usercp to do so. Make it easy on yourself. Thank you, MarkF

Prince Loeffler
25th July 2006, 22:51
Please post your real full name or this post will be deleted and your account crushed by the Supreme adminstrator..

Amphinon
25th July 2006, 23:29
Oh, man! Trying to write out 31 years of Martial Arts, the various arts practiced, etc. will take a while...

MikeWilliams
26th July 2006, 00:03
Funnily enough, I started training* because I was thinking of taking up yoga, too. Me and the then girlfriend couldn't find a class to suit, so we decided to try jujutsu instead, I've moved on since then but never looked back.

(*I'm not counting the couple of terms of karate I did back in university)

JamesD
26th July 2006, 17:00
Since I kinda switched styles (and took about 5 years off) I need to do two stories.

The 1st takes place in Nashua, New Hampshire when I was on an internship. My Dad had told me to "get out there and do somethings", so I spent the first week there kinda walking about the city and literally walked past a Kenpo Karate studio where the Soke greeted me. After thinking it over I decided to join up. I had a lot of fun and remember after being there a month remarking that my pants were getting bigger and my shirts were getting smaller (and it wasn't because of my not being able to do laundry).

FAST FORWARD TO 2001!

I had just signed the agreement on my apartment and picked up a local paper to see what was going on on a regular basis in town (I was living with my Aunt and Grandma at the time).

Saw a notice on the sports page for "Martial Arts of The Samauri" (Arashi-Ryu, I believe the style was called).

Awhile later I observed a class and decided to sign up. The class itself went through a name change due to something external to the class, and disbanded.

So I went into the Dojo's Aikido curriculum, and that's where I am now.

Texasmic
26th July 2006, 17:34
I started in Judo when I was 10 because my mom thought I was too fat.

I turned out to be pretty good at it, and then as an adult got into Okinawan karate.

Simon R
3rd August 2006, 03:37
I started kendo two years ago for the juvenile reason that it looked cool, and I was really into samurai movies and anime-etc. I am still into those things, but luckily I stuck with kendo even when I (quickly) realized it wasn't what I initially thought it would be. My motives for practicing it have changed a lot, as there have been a lot of enjoyable, satisying and surprising experiences along the way. I've taken up MJER iaido since then, too.

knghtazrael
3rd August 2006, 06:03
Well for me I tried starting when I was 13 but at the time the only thing around my area was Tae Kwon Do. I trained in it for about 6 months before deciding I couldn't stnd my instructor and didn't really enjoy myself so I droped it. My instructor left such a bad impression on me that for quite a while I didn't try to find anything else, but still "played around" some with friedns who were taking various arts. Finally last year I decided to try again and enrolled in a dojo teaching japanese arts (I primarily train in aiki jujutsu). My instructor is great, I enjoy myself and feel good even when leaving the dojo so sore i can barely move. I've never been happier and wish I had more time to train.

AZ

PS. PatXiSan you said you live in Basque region of spain but not in a dangerous area. I was under the impression that the Basque region wasnt exactly safe. Dont get me wrong I respect the Basque they did a lot for allied soldiers in WW2 but I just heard it currently isn't exactly safe do to groups like ETA. Just wondering.


Mod Edit: You are long overdue in signing your full name. This is your last warning or you will end up in e-budo hell, your posts deleted. It really is simple if you employ your usercp. BTW: I assume your name is the same in your profile? If so, then you are really lazy. Please click on your usercp, then clik on 'Edit Sgature' put your name in the box and anything else you want within reason. If any member, moderator or not has to remind you again to sign your full name, you will go on vacation for a while. If you want to use an initial for your first name, that is fine, but really it isn't that difficult to do.

Ray Bellville

Prince Loeffler
3rd August 2006, 06:20
Well for me I tried starting when I was 13 but at the time the only thing around my area was Tae Kwon Do. I trained in it for about 6 months before deciding I couldn't stnd my instructor and didn't really enjoy myself so I droped it. My instructor left such a bad impression on me that for quite a while I didn't try to find anything else, but still "played around" some with friedns who were taking various arts. Finally last year I decided to try again and enrolled in a dojo teaching japanese arts (I primarily train in aiki jujutsu). My instructor is great, I enjoy myself and feel good even when leaving the dojo so sore i can barely move. I've never been happier and wish I had more time to train.

AZ

PS. PatXiSan you said you live in Basque region of spain but not in a dangerous area. I was under the impression that the Basque region wasnt exactly safe. Dont get me wrong I respect the Basque they did a lot for allied soldiers in WW2 but I just heard it currently isn't exactly safe do to groups like ETA. Just wondering.

REAL FULL NAME PLEASE ! POR FAVOR !

Jason Chambers
3rd August 2006, 16:41
Yeah... real name and you probably don't want to use to many more "f" adjectives either. Not a good idea...

knghtazrael
4th August 2006, 17:15
REAL FULL NAME PLEASE ! POR FAVOR !


Sorry about that prince loeffler. I normaly sign my name and thought i had. Must have gotten confused because i was doing more then one forum at a time. As for the delay i just hadn't been on here since i posted and the net was down. again sorry everyone.





Ray Bellville

Prince Loeffler
4th August 2006, 18:07
Sorry about that prince loeffler. I normaly sign my name and thought i had. Must have gotten confused because i was doing more then one forum at a time. As for the delay i just hadn't been on here since i posted and the net was down. again sorry everyone.





Ray Bellville

Thanks for acknowlegment Mr. Bellvile. Perhaps in the future to avoid having to keep signing your name. Just Click on user cp, click on Signature editor, enter signature and answer yes that you want your signature to show plus anything else you want in your signature.

Hope this helps.

powerof0ne
4th August 2006, 19:39
Saw my father practicing when I was 3 or so and he taught me a few things which I think were just zenkutsu dachi, mae geri, and tsuki. Always thought it looked cool so I trained in it. Was primarily in Shito Ryu and "crosstrained" in Aikido/aikijujutsu while I was in Shito Ryu but always wanted to do Kyokushin but no nearby dojo. Shito ryu dojo closed and couldn't find one that did the kind of kumite I liked so I ended up doing Muay Thai. Fortunately my first MT instructor also had won a Sabaki tournament and had done some Kakutogi fights(K-2 "gloved karate") in Japan so I got some private training with him in more knockdown flavored Karate. The rest after this is just progression but I think I the bottom line of me starting out in martial arts was because I thought it looked cool.

Trevor Johnson
4th August 2006, 20:49
Grew up in NYC. Lot of violence around. Wanted to learn to defend myself. Did some TKD, which was all my parents could find that was close, when I was in junior high. After that I moved, didn't get back into training until college. TSD and a little BJJ mix for 3 years.

Moved to Saint Louis after graduation and immediately found a group which I loved. Karate, not korean, but not JKA. Lots to learn about all sorts of things, my sensei knows a lot of people in karate, in the koryu arts, and such, and really cares that his students grow beyond him, go out into the world, and carry on as his equals, even if they are junior to him. Practically no ego.

aphobos
19th August 2006, 04:22
I started with fencing when I was 18. I did that for two years, but I got bored with it and quit. Around that time, a friend told me about Walter Bushey's dojo, but I was skeptical about Japanese swordsmanship. I ended up training in kickboxing at his dojo a year and a half later. After watching the bukijutsu class, I joined up. I graduated and moved out of Lubbock after six months or so after I started. I curse myself for wasting that previous year.
I've been studying Zen Buddhism for a few years but I didn't feel that I'd found the right "dharma gate." Now, by my choice, I'm back in Lubbock and training with Bushey again. I find that swordsmanship combines the concentration, mindfulness, and letting go that I was looking for in my meditation practice. You can get away with daydreaming on a meditation cushion, but you can't with a sword in your hands.

mofokuban
30th August 2006, 17:03
The thing that wanted me to start training in Martial Arts was the first incarnation of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers children's show.

I don't exactly remember the year it came out, but after watching that, I knew I had to train in something.

I started out in Tae Kwon Do at my local daycare center, and if I remember correctly, that lasted all of three weeks.

A few months passed, and one of my father's friends recommended a dojo in the downtown section of the city that had a Children's Karate program. This friend trained in Yamate-ryu Aikijujutsu.

I started training in Genwakai karate-do around the age of seven or eight, and I'm one of the two students left from the first original Kid's Karate class.

Since then, I've learned and researched a good deal on Martial Arts, and plan to continue training as long as I'm able.

RazorFoot
1st September 2006, 15:33
I used to watch "Blackbelt Theater" as a child and it fascinated me. How could people be that fast, that flexible, and that deadly (remember, I was a child and did not completely understand movie magic at the time). I wanted to be able to do that too.

I asked my mother and she said no because she thought she would be making constant trips to the hospital. At 17, I started training on my own with a local Moo Duk Kwan school. I have since studied with a lot of great instructors in a few great arts. Sifu Anthony Goh, Profesor Joe Palanzo, Sifu Dennis Brown, Tom Kelly, Master Kyung Sik Park, Grandmaster Young Lee, and Thomas Clark have all been great instructors and incredible MA's.

That was nearly 25 yrs ago and I am still training and having as much fun now as I did when I started.

Coyne
2nd September 2006, 19:41
I started in 1989 at Chunk Norris studios in norfolk. V.A. I remember it took me about 6 months to work up the courage to go in,but once I did I never stopped.I mean the martial arts,I left chuck Norris studios when I left the navy.I also stopped for a 2 year period when i was in the police academy and right after when i was at my new command.I think back though and I can remember wanting to study the martial arts since I was about 6 and I saw Count Dante's ad in a comic book.Then when i joined the navy and was on my own I finally started my journey and I have been loveing it ever since.
Peace
Anthony Coyne

Sindrak
3rd September 2006, 06:40
I was bored so I went to the closest Dojo (kokoro ryu) and started training. My Styles: Jujutsu,Judo
-----------------------
Dale Marcon

JamesD
3rd September 2006, 23:33
I was bored so I went to the closest Dojo (kokoro ryu) and started training. My Styles: Jujutsu,Judo
-----------------------
Dale Marcon

As good a reason as any:)

Margaret Lo
5th September 2006, 21:13
I started training in karate because it was cheaper than psych therapy as in $70.00 per month for as many classes as you can withstand vs. $70.00 per hour! I guess I still need therapy. :)

M

X_plosion
6th September 2006, 06:03
I grew up during the kung-fu craze of the '70's. My uncles, who were karateka, suggested I try martial arts out. Started in 1984 and have been very happy about it.

Fred27
6th September 2006, 10:18
I kinda fell into the whole MA scene by accident as well.

I've wanted to start with some MA for ages, although prolly for the wrong reasons when I was younger though. I remember back in 1995 when I was 16 and wanting to start with karate, but something always got in the way. I was either too lazy or too embroiled in other stuff to care.

In early 2004 or so I was just browsing the web in general, just looking for some essays, sites, books about Japanese History which of course includes samurai and lots of fighting. (History was and is a great passion of mine.) At the time I had virtually no interest or knowledge about MA. I didnt do any kind of excercise at all and was a couch-potatoe.

One day I came across an article somewhere on the web, maybe a Wiki-article or something similar about some form of classical jujutsu and how jujutsu had involved into modern jujutsu (the latter which I knew existed in the local Budo dojo). So I started reading and eventually ended up in the Aikido information-section (via some Aikijutsu material). I was fascinated by the whole aikido thing and Morihei Ueshiba himself, as it was (is) quite unlike anything ever seen...by me that is. So I enrolled in the local aikido club later that year. I spent like 4-5 months reading through everything I could find about aikido and O-sensei, viewing literary hours of movies/clips of the Founder and aikido in generel.

First training was AWFUL since I was just like a rock with legs in terms of fitness. But I always came back :).
I only trained for 8-9 months however as I hurt my back quite early in the training. Through some rather fitting circumstance I got into Shinto Muso-ryu and Iaido instead. After about 6 months since I began with aikido, the aikido-section moved from the larger dojo (karate, jujutsu) to the smaller one where they trained Jodo and Iaido. At that time I had no idea what Jodo was eventhough we used the Jo in aikido, but I figured that since I had to take it easy in aikido due to my bad back I could try out Jodo alongside aikido as a good way to help loosen my limbs. The practice sessions was perfectly timed so I could train 1 hour of beginner Jodo then train aikido directly afterwards.

I never read anything about Jodo but simply thrusted myself into it. And the rest is, as they say, history. I couldnt return to aikido once my back healed since Jodo/Iaido and Aikido train at exactly the same time, and I became experienced enough to be put in the advanced class, and by that time I was already hooked on Jodo.

Thats my story. Sorry for long post.

trevorg
11th September 2006, 17:56
My life has been just been one long happy coincidence as far as ma is concerned.

I started amateur wrestling when I was 16 as a welterweight, and got regularly beaten up by a huge heavyweight UK champ called Mcnamara. After some years I stopped it and then did nothing until I wanted to get out in the evenings during my first marriage (dont go there) so I took up Kyokushin at the rather late age of 30, which is my abiding love.

To the side of my karate training I had the good fortune to meet Mike Finn sensei with whom I remain friends to this day. I trained under various teachers for about 6 years but they either decided to move well out of the area or died, so I just went it alone opening a couple of clubs in North Kent of a freestyle sort of nature, then became a ronin for many years after my divoce (surprise surprise) and tried my hand at various styles and just enjoying visiting different clubs.

For the past years I have enjoyed training with the sensational Master Michael Wong in wing chun a little tai chi, and some CQC. I also had the great privilege of trying out with Master Sken of Muay Thai fame.

Now, for the first time in 25 years, I have been asked to open a club at one of our local schools and tomorrow is my first lesson, 37 having signed up as part of the curriculum and I'm looking forward to it.

So life's a ball at the moment.

LVZen1
14th September 2006, 21:30
I started training MA as an after school program in Tae Kwon Do under a purple belt 'Instructor' who had been assigned to our school by his teacher, I stayed long enough to learn the first form, basically a form of Taikiyoku, which I cannot remember exactly.
From there I went into town and joined a Karate Dojo, finding out that it was a Goju Ryu Dojo in the lineage of Seikichi Toguchi and John Roseberry, I have trained in that system for fifteen years, with varied experiences in other systems here and there.
Now I am affiliated with Jundokan International.

Paburo
19th October 2006, 20:17
A liitle bit embarras to said this; but i started at 13 years old in a Ninjustu ryu not going to metion the name cause is controvertial but if it wasn't for that experience i would never have taken martial arts so deeply serious. for me MA was just kicking and punshing any stupidA$$ who had the Ding dongs to step in my face. jejeje.

mews
27th October 2006, 01:19
Took a self-defense class in the summer of 1977.

it was the damn first potato chip.... bottom of the bag has to be around somewhere =:D


mew

galo
30th October 2006, 18:39
Started as a child in Shito Ryu Karate, 'cause I thought it was far more interesting and cool than baseball. :p

Currently train Kenpo and Iaido. :)