Martial arts training: Does it build character, or does it reveal character?

It is often said the martial arts develop character, self respect, self discipline, etc. I happen to disagree with those statements. You will find statement similar to that in practically every martial arts web site. It is my opinion that those are listed because they are great marketing ploys to attract parents to enroll their children.

Character is who you really are. Reputation is who others say you are. Training in martial arts does not guarantee that you are or will be a person of strong, reputable, and desirable character. Martial arts does not make person be self discipline. Yes martial arts art require a certain amount of discipline. However, the first word in that statement is self. This means it is something that you (self) has to do. You have to determine within yourself if you will be discipline or not. Hopefully you have a good instructor that will guide you towards being a better person and having respect for those that came before you. You must also have respect for yourself and all others.

I find that it that required the same discipline within me to learn to play the piano and the guitar. I needed it to play football and basketball. It was no different than training in martial arts. My morals were developed from what I was taught by my close family, mother, aunts, uncles, parents, and members of the church. As I matured I was able to form my own opinion based upon my person experience and studies. My integrity is built on those things not my martial arts background.

I worked in a urban school district. The children in the district have an high amount of respect of me. I had a new principal ask notice how the children respond to me and how calm I speak to the children. All of the other teaches and staff yell at the children. They may or often may not do what is asked of them. I will ask a student to do anything and they will do what I ask immediately. The principal asked if I spoke to the student so calmly because of may martial arts training and is that why they respond to me? My response was no. The respond to my because I respect them. I'm calm because I don't believe you have to yell to get a child to follow instructions. I have developed a relationship with all of the students. They know I care about them. They know I won't do anything to cause then harm. Children can tell when you are concerned about them.

Because this is my character and I hold fast to my integrity. I get the results that I do. I have transferred this to coaching basketball, football and to teaching martial arts.

This is a great question! Something of an enigma, like the chicken and the egg...

I do believe that people are born with an inherent character, but I also believe that they can change and or build upon their character through the things they experience in the course of their life. I don't really think that it matters child or adult for this particular growth, other than the time and experiences of life, may have greater impact one way or the other.

Character being something that we are all born with, whatever type it may be is shown throughout our daily lives, not just in the martial arts world. Every action is a hint or complete definition of our character; whether it's picking up or walking past a piece of trash, or brushing off or allowing a person's slander to irritate... or in the more extreme cases, a life or death situation.

I think that in children especially, their nature is more naive, and their moral compass is much more impressionable than it is with adults. As such, training in the martial arts with a more positive moral influence will cultivate the more honorable characteristics most people strive for and make cultivation of good character easier. Adults are more often jaded by their societal exposures and are more steadfast in their character as influenced by it.

I had a story to write which was a personal experience giving a prime example of why it is both, but it was too long and Y!A wouldn't let me post. eh. It's in my answers from the past anyway.

Speaking for myself, I believe it is both.

Martial art reveals your character and you then must decide whether you are satisfied or not with. If not, then you change or work to change it. In other words, you cannot fix a problem if you do not know or are unwilling to acknowledge that it exists. When you go face to face against an opponent, it does not matter how good you think you are. If you were not diligent in your practice or did not paid attention to what you were taught or you missed understood the idea, all that will quickly be painfully apparent.

It then becomes a question of coming up with the honesty or strength to say, "I'm not good enough and I need to do better." If the person has a sincere desire for martial art, then he/she begins the search or quest to re-make themselves.

I think there are some who are already well disciplined before they started martial art, but even so I think they stay because disciplined also needs constant upkeep just as a muscle needs to be exercised to stay in optimal condition. And the environment of structured training regiment would fit that need.

Hi there

I have always believed that a person’s character is developed by their life experiences and more often than not very early on in life. In children the rot is set in as early as 6 years of age. So do martial arts help to change this in children and adults? To be honest I don’t personally think it’s the art but the teacher. If a teacher has good values, life experience and more importantly is able to put this across then maybe they can inspire. But it’s not the art that does it. I also believe that a true person is born a martial artist. People often think because they train it makes them one. It doesn’t! That quality had to be there in the first place. The art just brings it out and allows you to express it. Beating someone half to death doesn’t create discipline. It creates fear. Discipline, determination, honour and respect all come from the soul and heart of the practitioner. There isn’t good in everyone regardless of how they train. Personally i really do believe that only people with good intentions should be allowed to train in any art. Today we show what was once a gift to anyone regardless of their character.

Best wishes

idai

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Interesting. Martial arts training should build character. But only if the instructor is instilling the right values, training, and attitude in the students. Some do nothing but teach technique. Students can decide to become better, more disciplines and responsible people, or not. Some people come to the martial arts with only the desire to learn to kick butt. Most of the time these are the losers. Losers in that they have no patience and often quit anything they start if they don't get what they want from it quickly. These people lack self esteem and discipline. They usually have a chip on their shoulder. I used to refuse to teach them at all. Then I started letting them train as long as they stayed within the rules. Most would quit soon after starting. A few stayed a long time. These people became more confident. They also developed self-esteem. They learned respect. More that, that they learned something that is lacking today in the youth of America. Today it is common for people to demand respect. But respect is something that other give you if they see something in your actions or character that they deem is respectable. Those that demand respect often examine everything those around them say or do. They are quick to take offense at anything they see as a lack of respect. Often this leads to confrontation,...etc. Those that demand respect act in a way that is not worthy of respect.

What I'm saying is simply that the martial arts can build character. But only if it is taught to instill discipline and confidence. But the student can either embrace it or ignore it. It is the combination of proper training and proper values and attitude, plus the students desire to accept them and work towards becoming a better person.

Just my thoughts

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Character is revealed.

Easy to say because martial arts like any other art is the expression of emotion through a certain outlet or activity. The arts of war allow us to show what we are really like through our training and real life examples of fighting, about how we approach fighting and training as well as how we respond to our teachings. It shows what type of person you are and when it is obvious to you, it can be built upon. Look at those that prefer not to fight, but only in defense or those that respond aggressively to a potential threat. Once you know who you are then you can work to improve the person you are. Just my opinion, either value it or don't.

It wasn't until I started training in Bak Mei, a closed system that requires one meets a standard of moral ethics, that I saw it work both ways. In our branch a new student is accepted as a probationary member for 1 year before they are officially recognized as an affiliated student. It is during this year that the student reveals their character while training. It is because our style requires an active participation in the group dynamic (community) modeled off the traditional Chinese family styles that the student's character is revealed. The training is hard and some quit because they aren't up to the requirements, which aren't enforced by punishment but informally exist because if the student doesn't show progress then they aren't taught the next phase of forms (kata) and concepts. If they train hard it will show through their performance and they are moved along in progress, if they don't train hard then they are only shown the same thing over and over again until they do what it takes to make progress. If they make no significant progress over the course of the year then they are dismissed if they haven't already quit.

While the above illustration measures their level of self-discipline and motivation, it is not the only area assessed in their character. There are classroom discussions of all kinds of topics that are about the humanities and are relevant to establishing a moral stance when discussing such issues. There are social get togethers, work days (land scaping, house maintenance, and cleaning), and informal non-mandatory training lectures/seminars. A student is told about those events and given the freedom to make their own choice on whether or not to participate. And lastly, it is inevitable that a student's brothers and sisters in training may endure hardship and times of need to which everyone has an opportunity to respond and offer help and support. It is all of these things together that go into the full experience in training and studying a traditional Chinese kung fu. It is the interactions and relationships between all students that is the domain in which an individual student's character is revealed and assessed.

It is also through the above domains that a student training in our style is able to build their character. It is in the group dynamic that they learn the techniques, concepts, and applications of Bak Mei and learn about who they are in relation to others who share the common bond of training in our style. The practitioners of our style come from all walks of life; in our branch there is a mechanic, landscaper/wrestling coach, lawyer, accountant, entrepreneur, nurse, grocery store manager, two welders, two minors, an accupuncturist/herbalist who does contract tactical training for the police, four police officers, delivery driver, dentist, artist (painter), mathematics professor, musician/actor, construction contractor and IT Systems Tech. That diversity of experience is shared and each person brings value into the group dynamic. The diversity is even more complex since the above list is just labels related to their jobs. There are also ex-military, church going christians, athiests, doctorate college academics and high school grads with vocational training, and different representatives of ethnic groups and socio-economic classes.

Yes, it is probable that character is both revealed and built while training in the martial arts. As I contemplated the question I wonder if, perhaps, this is one of the reasons that McDojo's are so despised by some members of the martial arts community. Because at a McDojo the art is sold in neatly packaged chunks of time in exchange for a significant amount of money with no focus or obligation towards relationships and community within the school. Perhaps a student at a McDojo is allowed to buy their way out of any sense of duty or responsibility to their fellow martial artists, and fellow man, by paying such a steep monetary price for their training. I know that for me this lack of duty and responsibility to their students is the reason I despise McDojos.

It depends on the student's age I guess. For younger students, i'd suppose it can be character building since they're basically still learning in life and trying to find their own identity. For older students who just started at a later age, it can reveal whatever bad habits they have developed over the years before they took up MA training and a good instructor can work on that by focusing training on correcting those habits thereby building a new character over time. But that also depends on the student's willingness to change, some old dogs just can't be taught new tricks.

I would agree on both, here is why:

Someone who is not motivated to keep training doesn't have the character of will... Someone who sticks it out and trains 100% at all times gets that character revealed, but he will also be building on that because that kind of character does not stop building. Once revealed it multiplies. If it's not revealed then it won't be built upon, if it's not built upon then perhaps it was not truly revealed.

What I think what people refer to as "character" is a little misleading. Everyone is how they're gong to be. You can change yourself to an extend if you want, but bottom line: you are how you are. I think it goes just the same personal preference. What on person may find funny is foolish and unfunny to another. No matter what, that change has to come from inside you, not be drug out by someone else.

Martial arts gives a building block like nothing else can: fear. Fear of your own skill, experience, knowledge, strength... without fear there's no longer anything to develop from. This sort of fear, I've come to realize, isn't like an average fear, but more as an embrace of death. Sounds creepy, but that's the only way I know how to describe it.

That said, this is where I take out the modern styles from the classical, in training you discover who you are; your weaknesses, flaws, lack of concentration, etc, etc.. By discovering these and striving to bring them up to your strengths requires discipline. So yes, I believe martial arts does reveal "character".

By strengthening your weaknesses and disciplining yourself for it (killing off that ego telling you not to worry about it), you become stronger as a person. The path narrows just a little bit more and you have a slight more struggle on your way. However, by disciplining yourself, new weaknesses and flaws arise that need correcting, thus cycling the whole thing over again.

I think it does both, but as equal opposites. I think you stumbled on a yin/yang, in/yo thing.