What was your First Martial Art???

[TenTigers]

Many of us studiesd other arts before finding our present love-Kung-Fu. I was lucky (?) to have started in Northern Shaolin first. The question mark is because, for the life of me, I don't really know to this day, how much was real, and how much was made up. It was in 1973, and not alot of caucaisians were teaching Gung-Fu-so it becomes a bit suspect. However, every once in awhile, I learn something, or see a technique that my first Sifu used to teach, and I say,"Hmmmm, maybe it wasn't bull after all" Nonetheless, I did learn stances, sam-sing, loads of kicks,tornado kicks, flying side kick,sweeps, and weird psycho-spiritual stuff he called jin kan-I'm wondering if he was mispronouncing shen-kung?
Anyway-after that it was TKD and various other Karate,Kenpo,jiu-jutsu arts until I started Hung-Ga.
How bout y'all?

[fiercest tiger]

TT,

You said you was lucky??? hehehehe just kidding, i started with JUDO at 8, boxing at 10-12yrs, shotakan, wingchun, at 14 hapkido for 4 years as well kickboxing/kung fu. Started YKM at 16 yrs doing both hapkido and YKM heheh imagine hakka with high fast legs and jumping kicks..lmao Just started Wun Yuen after 20 years of YKM, EVERYONE NEEDS A CHANGE!


garry

[Yao Sing]

Judo, self taught from a book when I was about 10. I practiced the throws on my sister.

Years later in my teens I found a Jui Jitsu school nearby but my parents wouldn't spring for classes.

Late teens it was mimicking Lo Leih in Five Fingers of Death and Bruce Lee at the drive-in and fighting during intermission. Plus Bruce Lee as Kato on Green Hornet.

Had to wait until I was 21, employed and spent my teen years getting into street fights before I got around to formal instruction. That was Kenpo Karate.

I know Popeye was a heavy influence when I was real young. So much so that my mom wouldn't let me watch it because I got too riled up. Plus I was getting into fights at school.

On a side note when was your first fight?

Mine was in 1st grade. I started it with the biggest kid in class because it was fun and school was boring. It went downhill each year after that.

[hskwarrior]

I started with karate by the time I was 5. both my father and older brother were blackbelts with Rick Alemany. Some of my fondest memories are of my father breaking wood and bricks while they were on fire. To a 5 year old, my dad was the greatest after watching that.

I liked Karate, but it wasn't for me. So I learned some Tai Mantis shortly after that, but that fell short. Then it was Hung Sing Choy Lee Fut gung fu. I fell in love instantly and stuck with it until today.

hsk

oh, I learned a little Tae Kwon Do, but was asked to leave cuz i kept shin sweeping the blackbelts.

oh, thats right, i did learn some Judo, and Boxing at the Boys club too..

[David Jamieson]

Isshinryu Karate Do... some...oh 30 years ago!

yeesh!

[Ben Gash]

TKD

[Fu-Pow]

TKD at around 10 yrs old.

[Shadow Skill]

I took judo for a summer a long, time ago. I learned some stuff here and there from watching friends who studied various MA's I was fortunate to meet my Sifu when I was 18. It's been Southern Praying Mantis ever since.

[Yum Cha]

I was an awkward kid in elementary, but loved wrestling cause I could face all the obnoxious jocks. Did some self taught judo and "self defense" with a group of friends when I was around 10-13 and learned some Kenpo from my Brother at the same time, but really got going with the old favorite Tae Kwon Do when I was 13.

The instructor was a Korean Diplomat, military man, who taught on the Army Base near where I lived. Being a kid and training with Soldiers was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. The attitude was pretty hardcore, and I got the sh1t kicked out of me on a regular basis, until I learned to cop it sweet and return the favour. The first time I ever saw a protective vest, was at the US Army Europe championships, 74 or 75 and nobody used footwear or gloves.

Never made black belt, a little something below the belt started to take priority...

[Dale Dugas]

I started in Uechi-Ryu Karate when I was 11. Got my BB at 15, then switched into Hung Ga, and then Tons o Japanese arts as I was living on the main island of Honshu, and after being exposed to Neijia found that Bagua is my thing.

Be well,

Dale

[yutyeesam]

Sh1to-Ryu Karate at the Park District at age 12. Back then, the coolest martial arts pose was the Flying Sidekick.

[PlumDragon]

Rhee TKD when I was 10 or so. Took a couple years off, then Northern Mantis in HS. Took off again for military service and studied Pai Lum and Northern Shaolin after while attending College. Took a couple more years off after graduating and moving; I dabbled in several arts looking for the art to fill the void, where I was fortunate enough to find amazing instruction in both Jook Lum and Kali. I havent looked back since...

[k-no]

My first martial art was Kajukenbo. It was no-nonsense, there were a few silly movements but for the most part, it was grueling, bone against flesh bashing the crap out of each other (so is the CLF that I've trained, but less emphasis in actual parrying and dodging and just full on block and brawl with Kajukenbo). I remember sparring rough and tumble Guamanian guys who were huge but moved like lightning. It was good times and my late teen body was very forgiving. I had my rib broken then when I ate an elbow. I remember that it was almost cartoonish, I was back kicked by a stout muscular sparring partner one time and flew up against the wall like we were in a video game. Those were the days...

I dabbled a bit in TKD (very pretty kicks the instructor had but after the conditioning I went through, not enough KO power) and Ashan Tao during this time...now just CLF, some informal Muay Thai and Sub Grappling for me! Us working adults just don't have the luxury of time...

[neit]

the usual neighbourhood TKD. affordable, in walking distance, always came home feeling both exhausted and refreshed.

[unkokusai]

Wow, a lot of folks started with TKD, but few seem to have stuck with it.