Personal Development

Top 5 Resilience Lessons Taken from Martial Arts

Jason Maine
Written by Jason Maine

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Would it surprise you to know that the secret to martial arts isn't purely combat-focused? Rather, martial arts train both the mind and body, developing psychological traits as well as physical ones. Resilience is one of the greatest lessons you can take from training in martial arts.

What is so important about  resilience? Well, it determines how we adapt in various situations. It grants us the necessary strength to cope through hardships, mentally and physically. Through training in martial arts, you can develop these attributes and learn how to overcome anything.

5. Breathing Control

We're not always aware of how we breathe. In tough situations, breathing can be a struggle; we'll get too nervous and pant, losing focus and only increasing our heart rate. Martial arts can teach you a number of breathing techniques so that you always remain in control.

When it comes to resilience, proper breathing is essential. It helps calm your overall composure in addition to counteracting the more negative effects of adrenalin.

4. Resolve Conflict, Never Start It

Stopping conflict doesn't seem to fit with martial arts at first glance, but you'd be surprised at the lessons taught in martial arts classrooms. Although you gain self-defense skills, you're taught how to diffuse a harmful situation rather than make it worse.

You don't allow emotions such as anger or rage to control you. Those types of emotions are seen as a lack of control that makes an event worse. Martial arts can help you gain that self-discipline to remain calm to ease intense situations.

3. Identify and Control Stress Signals

A part of building resilience is having an understanding of stress signals in order to control them. These signals can vary, but common ones include increased heart rate, struggle to control breathing, and feeling paralyzed or on-edge. Do you recognize these signals? Many are usually associated with fear.

Martial arts training will expose you to fear-inducing situations. The likelihood of getting hit is high, so your stress signals are on alert. This lends itself as a good thing. Through consistent training, your body familiarizes with the signals. You'll become calmer and more assertive in your capabilities to handle situations.

Martial arts also teach a variety of techniques as fallbacks in case the first move fails. As such, you'll develop instincts to better adapt to changing events as well.

2. Less Impulse, More Patience

A good way to hone resilience is to understand when to stop and think before jumping. Impulsiveness and martial arts do not mix. The arts teach the value of hard work instead rather than instant gratification. You aren't just handed a win in competition or handed that next belt ranking.

Instructors and coaches fully expect you to work for everything, practice every move so that you truly understand the art. By training in martial arts, you'll learn the value of slowing down and thinking things through prior to making a decision.

1. Build Unwavering Confidence

Whether stepping into the ring to spar or just entering class for the first time, you may get that twisting in your gut. Once you start fighting though your focus shifts. All you can think of is remembering your moves and doing your best to succeed.

Martial arts training pushes past your limitations, encouraging you to take risks. As you "condition" your confidence, so to speak, you're not only using that newfound assurance in your training. That determination follows you through life. In terms of resilience, it gives you the courage you need to make it through any adversity.

Final Thoughts

Training in martial arts isn't just about learning to fight. You're training your entire body, mind and spirit just as well as your muscles. Through martial arts, you can gain the psychological fortitude needed to develop strong resilience that you can take with you everywhere in life.

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About the author

Jason Maine

Jason Maine

Jason Maine is the founder of FullContactWay, a blog dedicated to provide best martial art advice and information. Jason helps his readers with martial arts training by sharing tips and thorough research. Check out to get more about Jason's work. You can find him on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.