Asklemmy

I did a few years of karate in high school but didn't get much from it.

Then, like 35 years later, I started training kickboxing. Did that for a couple of years. Got to the point where I enjoyed sparring, even if I wasn't great at it. Then the instructor changed the schedule so his classes started at 6am and I started training Judo and BJJ instead. I've been doing Judo for close to two years now, but stopped the BJJ when the instructor left town. I've learned enough Judo that I can usually recognize when someone is imbalanced enough to require minimum kuzushi and then execute a throw. I can't take down any of the black-belt instructors, but I can throw other blue belts and brown belts often enough.

As for why, I need a reason to exercise. I am not the kind of person who will head to the basement every morning and lift weights for an hour. But if I sign up for a class and there's a group of people who know me and expect me to show up and it's something I like doing then I will be there every time I can. It's called a commitment device, and joining a group is the commitment device that works for me.