July 15th, 2009 | 
Author: People start training in the martial arts for many reasons. Some train because they saw a cool martial arts movie and they wanted to be able to do all those neat moves they saw the actors doing. Others may have seen a karate demonstration and thought that might be a nice activity to try, or maybe their friend or neighbor invited them to a class. Some are looking for a good way to learn self-defense, others for a way to lose weight and get into shape.
One of the families that train at our dojo (father, mother and two daughters) started with us close to three years ago. The father and daughters had some previous training; I don’t recall that the mother had any. Mom was a little on the heavy side and out of shape when she started, but much to her delight she has been able to lose 40 pounds! I don’t think that this was her main goal when she began, but it is a definite plus!
I think the family thought it would be a good family activity and they found all the benefits that one gets through training in the arts. They learned good self-defense techniques which enhances one’s self-confidence and self-esteem. They were able to overcome fears. In the mother’s case she was able to lose the weight and to get in shape. They started out as something to do as a family and now several members of the family is on the verge of testing for black belt. Now, that is quite an accomplishment!
Posted in Thoughts on Martial Arts
Hey John, good story. I bet every student has some kind of really interesting story like this, because martial arts training is just good for people in so many different ways. Makes me wonder if it might be cool to let members submit their own stories on how martial arts has benefited them in different ways.
Thanks Dennis. That’s a good idea! I’ll see if any of my students might want to write about their experiences and how the martial arts have benefited them.