I went into Okinawan Karate in the middle of junior high (I knew it as middle school), because I was being viciously bullied. It was funny that for some reason when I started, I was never physically abused again, but I never told anyone at school about it. Anyway, I was in it for over 6 years and made it up to 1st degree black belt when I finally decided to quit, because I wasn't being trained further and the whole system was being changed to the point where it became more of a business than a school. I was doing pretty good in tournaments, and I made state champion in my division in '98 before our grand master decided against state tournaments and we went to local ones. I most favored katas, weapons, and team demonstrations (I always play a bad guy getting pounded).
Anyway, after I quit, I wanted to stay in shape so I took Latin dance classes at this place that also did karate, cardio kickboxing, step aerobics, body conditioning, and self-defense. So I took dancing and cardio kickboxing for three years before I moved to go to culinary school.
Taking martial arts really opened my eyes to the world of martial arts, and I really delved into the spiritual aspect of martial arts. I'm trying to at least find a school here that teaches tai chi. To summarize it all up, I believe I wouldn't even be here if I hadn't taken martial arts and kept me around long enough for me to discover cooking.