Main reason people quit Karate?

crash · Orange Belt

why do people quit the gym, or why do children quit baseball or soccer after playing for 3,4,5, or more years. its an activity for most people, especially children who at some point will move on to other hobbies or sports. i dont think it is because its too hard for most, quite the opposite actually, ive seen other sports and activities that require much more physical activity from its participants, junior high and senior high football, even cheer squads or gymnastics squads can be brutal in training, it takes dedication and commitment and for the majority that will pass and other life interests willl take its place. a small majority, like us, will make it a lifelong interest, a life style and those will become the teachers and instructors of the next generations and the circle will continue.

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

I've had to deal with something in a similar vein with my oldest son this year. For the first time since he was 8, he isn't wrestling this season. He said he just wasn't getting enjoyment from it anymore. I didn't see a need to force him into doing it, because that doesn't do anyone any good. I let him make the decision, and it is his to live with.
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crash · Orange Belt

another thing to consider is that with a lot of people the goal of getting their black belt is the end game. task accomplished and they move on to other things they want to try to achieve. some will continue afterwards and see the lifestyle side of the arts but some will never go that deep and will move on to other ways of working out or staying in shape, which to a lot of people that is all this is, just a way to lose weight or stay in shape, not much different than cardio kickboxing class at the gym...lol... so there will always be those who drop the martial arts for the gym or other activities, im even guilty of that from time to time. ive taken 6 months or so off for just gym workouts, but i always return after a break, this is my roots, but for others it is just an activity

crash · Orange Belt

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

Spartacus Maximus · Black Belt

People quit karate and a lot of other things they might have been doing for years because life happens and other things become priorities at different points in their lives. It is no small fit to continue for years or a lifetime and only a very determined, stubborn and lucky few manage to balance their entire life around it. Jobs, love, mariage; careers opportunities. Take your pick. It really is really hard to do and takes a cast iron will with top notch self organizing skills.

RW · Green Belt

let's see.

I quit karate a long time ago even though I was 1 belt away from shodan because the instructors were very political (dojo politics, I mean): they heavily favored some students (and it wasn't even based on talent, it was based on who they liked or disliked personally) and they forced students to go to many tournaments, many of them out of state or even in other countries, and they conditioned belt tests on assistance to said tournaments (of course, that meant more money for the school!)

I quit kempo a few years ago because the dojo used to be a little bit of a mcdojo but then they decided to become a MASSIVE mcdojo right around the time I got my brown belt (I did get my shodan, though). The dojo politics were even worse (is this a trend?!), then after they embraced mcdojo status they began having kids and overweight middle aged people with a few months' worth of experience teach classes as "assistant instructors" or "associate instructors" all by themselves. I was about to leave, then COVID happened and it made the decision easier for me.

Then around the same time I quit Muay Thai because of COVID. My instructor was AMAZING and I had such a great experience learning from him, but I didn't want to risk getting COVID. I may come back to Muay Thai someday if he's still around, he was great instructor and I greatly enjoyed this art as well.

DarthPenguin · Pre-Black Belt

People can have many reasons, work/kids etc can all have an impact.

A lot of people nowadays are also conditioned to believe that they are 'special' and 'can do anything' so when they go for a while and don't instantly become a world class martial artist then they quit, since it is the styles fault not theirs.

Personally i prefer to work on what i am bad at : i started out in karate then fell away from it and when thinking what to go back to i thought that since my kicks were always weak i would go to a kicking based style (so went to a tkd offshoot with a particularly good instructor). Then i remember trying some groundwork and being absolutely destroyed by someone i must have out weighted by about 4stone (56lb for americans) and been about 6 inches taller than. That made me think that i should do some groundwork and i then spent years being crushed until you eventually manage to hold your own a little.

Not everyone likes that though, so it might be for the best for everyone if people leave rather than feel obligated to stay.

Also, some styles just don't suit everyone e.g. the stereotypical short, squat powerhouse might be better suited to judo than tkd etc

Sailor Sindbad · Yellow Belt

I think I can provide some insight on this: I'm 42 years old, and have only been doing karate for 2.5 years. I started just less than one month shy of my 40th birthday.

In my short time that I've been here, I've seen white belts that quit after 1 or 2 classes. Having been where they've been two years ago, I was badly out of shape (and still have some work to do) and I absolutely hated the calisthenics. I dreaded those calisthenics to the point where I had to work up the courage before going in to train. And I'd say this was the case for the first whole year. Even outside of the initial calisthenics at the beginning of class, karate training itself is a workout. And, unlike going to conventional gym to lift weights or use cardio machines, karate training is not at your own pace. You follow commands at the pace that they are given, and you are to keep up with that pace with your fellow students.

That's the first thing that had me considering dropping. But, eventually, I've developed myself physically to the point where that's no longer a concern.

But once you get past that hurdle, there's another: at around 8th or 7th Kyu (we have 13 Kyu ranks), there's a level of frustration that I've experienced with kata training days, in that we don't always get to add on to the kata that we're working on - and by the time we've got the hours, we don't have all the material we need for the upcoming test.

As a matter of fact, at my last rank, I had to learn two katas; and didn't even start on them until I had half of the hours necessary to test. And when I did start, it's because I brought it up and asked (I've heard that this is a no-no in some other dojos, and would have left if this was the case in mine. After all, I am paying customer). I was seriously considering finding a martial art whos training isn't based on curriculums and testing (i.e., most Western martial arts) because of this. This issue may be unique to my dojo (I don't know), but in my estimation, this likely affects some people's decision to continue once reaching that level.

aurik · KF Sempai

I've quit martial arts several times in my life.

At 19 I quit due to an injury that I sustained from "being stupid" - broke and dislocated my ankle and never did get back into it.
At 23 I quit when I moved from the awesome dojo that I was at and couldn't find a convenient dojo near where I lived.
At 45 I quit when I moved. I wasn't impressed with that school or franchise anyways.
At 46 I started at the dojo I'm at now, and I'm going on 4 years there.

So I guess I've "quit" a few times, but I keep coming back!
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