Who should take a martial art?

The martial arts are for everyone.  Everyone can benefit from the lessons learned training a martial art, from the physical conditioning to the mental discipline.  There is something valuable to learn in training a martial art.

Close your eyes and think about the martial arts.  What is the first thing that comes into your head?  Big guys pounding each other senseless?  Skilled practitioners doing seemingly impossible acrobatics?  A lone monk meditating on a mountaintop?  You might think the martial arts aren’t for you because of those images.  You see the extremes and say to yourself “I could never do that, I’m not like that”.  Between the extremes, however, is a place for you, a place that is non-threatening, a place where you can learn how to become a better person and expand yourself in any way you wish.

You might say you aren’t skilled enough, or not coordinated enough, or lack the discipline or are too old to train a martial art.  Those things are not a requirement to begin training, but rather something you develop and improve because of training. I was never expected to possess those things in my first class, and I never expect a student of any age to walk in their first day and do that either.  The martial arts should meet you where YOU are, and help you climb to a higher place.  Whether that means breaking a board, or doing 100 push ups, or learning to meditate, your training should lift you up and help you exceed your goals.

I remember my first experience with Poekoelan class at Lewis and Clark College.  I was not skilled, or athletic, or very disciplined.  I felt like the most out of shape person in that room.  No one laughed at me, or told me I wasn’t good enough, instead they encouraged me and helped me do better each time.  The only reason I stuck with it is because of that encouragement, having other people tell me yes, I can do it, even if I didn’t think I could.

What you need to know is that that the martial arts are for everyone.  People of all ages and abilities can learn something valuable from taking a Tai-chi class, or Judo or Poekoelan class.  Each martial art offers different things and has different philosophies, and they all offer something of value to those who train them.  I won’t say that any martial art is better than any other martial art because fundamentally they all teach important things.  My challenge to you is to go out and try a class, open the phone book and pick one that looks interesting and go DO.  Who knows, you might be the next Bruce Lee.

~Robert Hean

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