What have you got out of Martial Arts?

[Garth Barnard]

What have you got out of Martial Arts that you couldn't get out of other hobbies, pastimes or sports?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Take care,

Garth.

 

[kroh]

I get to legally and legitimately beat the living crap out of some one for no other reason than he is standing in MY spot.

On a more serious level, for me it is not a hobby as I can use the skills at one of the places where I work. I also feel that for the hobbiest, it has merrit as well. One thing we all should be getting out of it that you don't get from the average hobby is the ability to protect yourself should you come "under fire," assuming that the skill is trained correctly and with intent.

Can't get that from bowling.


Regards,
Walt

 

[Drac]

Self confidence and the ability to control ones fears..

 

[MJS]

What have you got out of Martial Arts that you couldn't get out of other hobbies, pastimes or sports?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Take care,

Garth.

Self confidence, self defense, self control.

Mike

 

[terryl965]

The ability to control ones anger and to remember to be humble in front of all mankind.
Terry

 

[King]

One of the most useful skill I've gotten out of Martial arts is breakfalls. By nature I'm a clumsy person; I'm so clumsy that I even trip myself on level ground. That one skill alone has made learning martial arts worth it. It has already saved me countless of possble trips to the hospital.

The second best improvement I've noticed is faster reflexes. Going back to the clumsy bit I also drop or knock over a lot of things. Having the ability to instantly react and catch a falling object (that I knocked down myself) saves me from constant embarrasment. Did I mention I was clumsy? I used to work in food services. I was picking up a 400F rack with tongs and it slipped off. Guess what happened next... I caught it with my other bare hand. Not the best sudden reflex action moment.

 

[Kacey]

I have to echo self-confidence and self-esteem.

 

[Kenpojujitsu3]

1) Self-Awareness - Martial Arts have taught me more about myself than any hobby or sport I ever participated in.

2) Discipline - The Martial Arts are the hardest thing I ever done, but I've been disciplined enough to do them for 20 years now.

3) Friendships - out of all the firends I've made in life none have been closer or stayed truer than the ones from the arts. How much more trust can I have in someone than putting my neck in their arms and letting them choke me to sleep in a Ju Jitsu class. That's LITERALLY my life in their hands.

 

[bydand]

#1 thing for me would be lasting friendships. While I know some people can develop these doing almost any type of "hobby", I don't make friends easily and I think the training, fustrations (at times), and helping each other work through these form a stronger, longer-lasting bond.

Plus I get to slam my local grocer every week while asking about higher prices, Throw my Plumber, kick at my welder, and they get to beat on their electrician (me). What more could you ask for? Then after class, we all get together to have a bite to eat and a cold one to drink while talking about what we just went over.

Second would be the self-defense/self-confidence aspect.

 

[tradrockrat]

It's a very interesting question and as I sat here thinking about a response I realized something. When it comes to my other activities:

I get self confidence from success in all the activities I participate in
I get knowledge from the time I spend reading and trying new things
I get fitness from my physical activities like hiking
I gain discipline from following the structure and rules of organized sports
I get friendships from the shared experiences and shared values of others I do these things with.

Also, I get a few specific things from specific pursuits:

I get self awareness and multitasking ability from motorcycling
I develop self control of my emotions from rock climbing


But I get ALL of these from Martial Arts plus I get self defense skills.

 

[MA-Caver]

Self confidence, self defense, self control.

Mike

Exactly that and more; good friends, good times, better self-esteem and mental clarity that comes from meditation. Better understanding of self, mind, body and soul.

 

[kroh]

Self confidence, self defense, self control.

Mike

aahhhh i see! It's all about you!
[wink]
Regards,
Walt

 

[matt.m]

After the Marine Corps I was lacking a sense of Camraderie with anyone. I have that in Moo Sul Kwan.

Friendships as well, everyone is humble and considerate. The Lend a hand and help is readily apparent.

Mobility: I wear two leg braces, so having the flexibility and doing the kick reps is so beneficial to me.

 

[lll000000lll]

strength, peace, confidence

 

[IcemanSK]

Others have mentioned self-confidence, & comradery. To me, those are very tangible parts of the MA experience for me. For me, other sports (past times, hobbies) don't touch.

I'd been training in MA for 20 years when I decided to train for & run in running races (5K, etc). I trained w/ a guy from church & enjoyed it a great deal. On race day, he asked me if I was nervous. I laughed & said, "No one is going to try to hit me during the race, all I gotta do is run." Like so many other things in my life that have come up, it doesn't compare to what I've acomplished in MA. I feel I take other things more in stride because of what I've done thru MA.

I've also not met people that I feel closer to than some of the folks I've met thru training. They are life long friends, indeed. Even when I hadn't talked w/ some for 15 years, I'd still reach out to help them if needed & vice versa.

 

[Rich Parsons]

What have you got out of Martial Arts that you couldn't get out of other hobbies, pastimes or sports?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Take care,

Garth.

One could say some inner peace.

But the inner peace came from learning how to enter into an altercation and learning how to control and hurt with out breaking and permanently damaging others. Not that I am opposed to that today, I just have more options available to me now.

 

[SFC JeffJ]

I'd have to say the camaraderie.

 

[Xue Sheng]

A broken ankle and various sprains, bumps and bruises, beaten up, knocked down and thrown to the ground. Hit with things that most people never get the chance to be hit with and some of those I hit myself with when I first started training. Oh and a plumber bill too. :whip: :duel: :boxing: :uhyeah:

But more to the point a better awareness of my surroundings and I am much more calm and centered, greater self-confidence, better balance, better health.
:yinyang:

 

[Garth Barnard]

Some excellent replies so far, which just goes to show how much MA's means to us all and the calibre of people who post on this forum.

For me, I've learnt more about myself, through MA's, than I could've ever possibly done so through my other hobbies.

To me, hobbies and pastimes can, and do, help with the stresses in life. Some hobbies help us through the bad times, when the brown sticky stuff hits the whirly thing, when we need that little something to take the edge off a problem. Hobbies will keep you going though hard and stressfull times, helping you to work through your problems, but this is where MA's differ. MA's teach/help you to confront issues, rather than work round them.

MA's mean different things to different people, but we are all fighters at heart and think the words 'bring it on!', when confronted with any situation, in any walk of life.

Take care,

Garth.

 

[RheaHS]

fitness, self confidence and respect, discipline and a better mentality.

And an amazing boyfriend who has made the same amount of impact on my life.