To be completely honest, when I was a little kid I took up martial arts because of media influence.
All those old tales of martial artists, both historical and new martial arts flick type, was very...entrancing. To me martial arts seemed like a search for greatness. To become strong and do things the body wouldn't normally be able to do, like a superhuman.
Superhuman may seem like an extreme word, but it's not just all the martial arts flicks and cartoons like Naruto, Dragonball Z ect. Many documentaries on martial arts show them doing unbelievable things.
When I saw videos of guys doing amazing jump kicks, breaking boards, cement and ice with their hands and various other feats, I was impressed. And I wanted to be a part of that.
There's also the spiritual element. Martial Arts was very mysterious because of the Dharmic(Buddhist) and Pantheistic Shamanistic philosophies behind it. The sort of things that drew me to Ireland in the West. :P
So yeah, there was something otherworldly and powerful seeming about Martial Arts. So rich in tradition, so amazing in what people did with them.
Oh, and the fact my cousin took Tae Kwon Do made me want to take it.