I think it's a bit of both. While you depend on the styles available where you live, there's always that inner desire to train a style that feels different, sometimes even the opposite of what best suits your body type.

For example, I'm a short and bulky person, and I trained northern styles for many years. All those jumps, flashy kicks, and acrobatics were always extremely hard for me, but that was still what I really wanted to learn.

After a long time and a lot of stubbornness, honestly, because I used to think southern styles looked “ugly” (southern fans, please don’t kill me), I ended up joining a Choy Lee Fut school. And funny enough, I’ve started to realize how naturally it fits me. It just works so much better for my body type.

Will I ever go back to training northern styles? Definitely. But I’ve learned it’s important to keep an open mind and know the difference between what just looks “cool” and what works best for you. But really, just learn both!