Why do you want to train in martial arts?
Over the years I have asked many people why they started training in Shinseido. The answers that I have been given have been many and varied:
- As a self-defence against aggression and violence
- As an entertainment
- As a sport
- As a hobby
- To make friends
- As a social activity
- As a therapy to avoid and cure sickness
- To get fit
- To alleviate stress
- To increase body strength
- For the discipline
- For the artistry of movement
- To improve co-ordination
- As an art
- For a study of the scientific applications
- For the philosophy
- To gain an understanding of self
- To gain confidence and self-esteem
- To become more supple
- To learn how to overcome a physically stronger person
- As a means of overcoming my own aggression and violence
- To accompany a friend or relative who started training
- Do not really know why
- Because I was inspired by a film or TV programme.
It is important to remember why you started training in Shinseido because the longer you seek to understand the your new art, the greater will be the effect on your whole life and way of thinking. Without doubt, whatever your reasons for embarking upon the learning of this difficult art, the reasons why you continue to pursue its study will evolve as time goes by.
There is an old saying in the martial arts, that once he or she has embarked upon a study of this fascinating art, the initiate will never be the same again, and this is certainly true. The changes that can occur can be profound, it is always worth remembering how you felt about yourself when you started training. Some people have written down a short account of their personal fears and feelings at the start of training at looked at them some years after starting, unable to believe they ever thought and felt the way they did.