There are many different reasons why people feel that learning martial arts is important. Some people get into martial arts because they feel insecure, others learn martial arts because they want to do something that is both healthy and functional. Whatever your motivation is for learning martial arts, most people find that their motivation changes as time goes on and they continue learning.
Personally, I came from a violent home. My parents, my brother and the kids I went to school with were violent towards me. I lived in a state of insecurity. I remember watching martial arts movies and thinking to myself how nice it would feel to be able to fight back and stand up to the people who had victimized me. I had taken karate as a kid, but found that it was largely ineffective. I went to a commercial school where we did point sparring, so when it came time for me to use it in real life, my distance was off and I tapped the people I was fighting. In particular, I remember one fight I got in school where some kid had taken part of my costume during Halloween. I ran up and executed a picture perfect side kick towards the kids chest. He just stood there and looked at me as I ran up and bounced off of his chest. I became disillusioned with martial arts at that point and it wasnt until later in life watching some Jean Claude Van Damme movie, Kickboxer, that my interest was rekindled.
From my previous experience with commercialized traditional karate, I knew enough to know that there where certain styles that seemed a little more practical for street fighting. Thai boxing looked very appealing to me. Problem was, it was the mid to late 80’s and thai boxing had yet to become the flavor of the month in the martial arts community. I eventually found a similar style, Burmese Bando, and learned from a guy who taught out of his back yard. I was hooked! What I loved about it, was that it was full contact. There was no mistaking how functional this stuff was. I remember the first day I was allowed to spar. It started off in this guys basement, and we even went outside to do some fighting in the snow.
Over time, as my skill increased, and I knew that I could fight, my motives for learning martial arts began to change. No longer was it about defending myself of being able to beat someone up. I found that there was something about moving my body and using it to control another that was very appealing to me. It wasn’t about violence, but more about feeling alive, exercise and recieving a bit of a thrill in the process.
Learning martial arts for me has become more about staying in shape, teaching others and enjoying the commoradery. There is an interesting bond that forms between people who train together. Somehow the physical act of training with someone shows you what the other person is made of. I find that I bond quickly with people who I train with (minus those who are too busy trying to prove something). As your path down the road learning martial arts goes on, you will find that your preconcieved notions about martial art, as well as your motivation for learning it evolves over time.