Can a fighting style lead to anger management issues?

[rutherford]

So, I've heard several people describe a teacher as very scary.

Several more have mentioned feeling of barely suppressed anger coming off one of his students who is an instructor now.

I've trained with an instructor who is a 3rd generation in this lineage and felt the same thing.

Is this a case of Like attracts Like? People train with teachers with whom they relate well and can form strong bonds.

Or, do you think that a particular fighting style and / or training methods can lead to anger management issues?

 

[BlackCatBonz]

i think that one of the purposes of martial arts training is learning how to control yourself. i think that some people can develop superiority complexes when they start to develop a little bit of skill. someone that has anger management issues might start to become more cocky or angry than they were before. ive met a few people like this in the martial arts.
ive also met people that went through some very tough training both mentally and physically, these people seem to be the most humble and restrained.

 

[Sam]

thats sort of strange. I would be one of the people you might describe as having "anger issues" but if anything studying martial arts has helped, rather than make the problem worse. Where I might have kicked a hole in the wall before martial arts when frusterated, wishing it was the person I was angry with, I now go to group class and train hard and no longer have that frusteration in me - and because I can get free of that I can look back and instead feel sympathy for the person I would be angry with, because they just don't want to understand and never will - and because of that will never be happy.


that was a bit of a tangent, sorry. If a person with anger issues joins the martial arts and uses it as an end to increase those issues instead of taking advantage of it to make you a better person, that's on them. I wouldn't blame it on an instructor, even if they were the same way, because no one can make you do anything, in the end it is your decision.

 

[searcher]

I think it is all with whether or not you are pre-disposed to having "anger Issues." If you are already struggling with a temper problem then you will always seem to have the anger issue bubbling under your skin.

The reason why I think most people feel that somebody is "scary" is that the level of skill and knowledge difference makes them feel inferior or at a disadvantage. Nobody wants to considered a weakling or a push-over. We all want to feel strong and like we can take care of ourselves. JMHO.

 

[Bigshadow]

People train with teachers with whom they relate well and can form strong bonds.

Regardless of anger management issues, I think this statement is true. I think it is a natural progression to form a bonding with your instructor. There is a relationship between the instructor and student. This relationship also involves trust. I think through that process a student has to identify with that instructor before a trust can be established. Just some thoughts.

Or, do you think that a particular fighting style and / or training methods can lead to anger management issues?

I think those people had anger management issues BEFORE they started martial arts and that Martial Arts and Anger Management are two totally unrelated things. I seriously don't think they are related. If anything the training should be therapy for them. I have never met anyone one like that and I hope that I don't. Most every martial artist I have met has been nothing less than respectable people.

 

[Andrew Green]

FIghting style no,

Training style can effect peoples personalities though. Look at the military as an example, the training is designed to bring out certain personality traits and behaviours that are needed for combat.

It all depends on the coaches and the team mates, they can effect your personality in positive or negative ways. And what is positive and what is negative are not the same for everyone.

Combine that with the fact that people tend to gravitate towards people like them, doing the things they want to do and it just builds on that.

Resulting in different styles being associated with different personality traits, which of course, don't represent every individual practitioner, but do represent all of them as a whole.

So we could do a study and produce stats on different personality traits and how common they are to BJJ and Tai Chi practitioners, and there would be differences. There would be some overlap, and some people that don't fall within the standard deviation of the curve for there art. But I'd say its very clear that different arts attract and grow different traits.

 

[chinto01]

When I hear this I think of the karate kid when Mr. Miyagi say "never bad student only bad teacher. Teacher say student do." I believe this might be the case here also. The style does not give the student anger issues but if you have a teacher/ instructor who has some they may be past on to the student. After all we are all reflections of out teachers/instructors. Now on the other hand some of these students may come to you with some anger issues and that is another conversation.

In the spirit of bushido!

Rob

 

[DavidCC]

everybody gets angry.

somebody who is a passive couch potato may have never felt the release of tension that comes from vigorous exercise until they get into MA. Now their exercise is "hitting stuff". Feels good to hit stuff. Relieves stress. Nothing too wrong with that... in thje dojo or gym.

Then former couch-potato turned MA hobbyist gets angry. Anger is stressful. He's learned a new way to relieve stress... he's learned to stick up for himself, and be assertive, be agressive. But he hasn't learned to control his new-found emotional outlet. He has developed "anger management issues". Eating potato chips used to be how he dealt, now he punches walls.

Is this plausible?

 

[evenflow1121]

I wouldnt say so much a fighting style as the person that is teaching you.

 

[Grenadier]

It's not really the fighting style. It's the person teaching the school that matters. The apple does not fall far from the tree, after all. For the most part, it's not unusual to see the student become somewhat like his teacher.

Of course, there are some exceptions. After all, Count Dante / John Keehan, turned out to be rather... unusual, compared to his teacher (who never had anger issues, IIRC).

 

[Adept]

Part of any effective martial art use is the effective application and focus of aggression. Even when just performing patterns/kata, one should be strong and aggressive. It's important to encourage this aggression. I think that what can happen is that some people are, for whatever reason, angry people who have a very short fuse. I know I can be one of them, if I'm having a bad day. This, coupled with the necessary targeted application of aggression during training, can make some people seem more aggressive and angry than they are, and can also simply exacerbate anger management problems people might already have. I wouldn't think this happens in any one style or discipline than another.