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Have you ever noticed when a high-level Master walks into the room, everyone knows it? Not because there are trumpets blaring and fanfare, but because of the aura around the individual, the quiet projection of power that is almost palpable. This is the most dramatic example of the personal improvement that is the hallmark of martial arts done right.

We all have our own reasons for entering the martial arts: self defense, get in good shape, social reasons. And these are all valid reasons to begin in the studies, but most who stick with their training do so because of what they learn that goes beyond the merely physical aspects. And this is the reason why my children are learning Tae Kwon Do, because martial arts are really about personal development.

As a kid I was a scrawny asthmatic bookworm. Not a 98 pound weakling because I wasn’t even that heavy. By the time I was in graduate school I had played in the Junior Olympics and competed for a National Championship in a different sport, and within a few years I had completed a marathon and competed in the US Mountain running championships. Not too shabby for someone that couldn’t even run around the block before starting martial arts. But the training physically changed me and drastically reduced my asthma to the point where I have not had an attack in two decades. That alone would be great development because my medicine as a kid made me a total spaz. But there are other improvements too.

The confidence that the Masters reflect is critical in business, especially in sales. Some of the guys I started in my career with failed out because they were afraid to call people. As my Master says about opponents (or potential clients): “They put on their pants same way as you.” And it’s not like these potential clients could do anything bad to me. I mean, they could yell, but that’s not a big deal. They could hang up the phone. They could call up the person that introduced me and grouse. But they couldn’t hurt me, and every time I did not get the results I wanted I would just chalk it up as a learning experience, like not blocking with your face or going toe to toe with 6’9” boxer. And I actually was much more successful percentage-wise simply because I was not afraid. This cannot be learned in a two-hour classroom seminar on sales but through thousands of hours in a training hall. And the economic rewards from success based on confidence are certainly nice.

Another personal development component to the martial arts is that as you climb in rank, the spotlight shines on you and others see and emulate what you do. As a newbie, only the Instructors care. But the instant you start getting some color on your waist and there are newer students, they are watching you and trying to be like you, just like you are trying to be like those that you see ahead of you. By having good role models and becoming one yourself, we are essentially creating a culture within our dojos of respect and excellence, of high personal standards and a reflection of the organizations and our Masters. As John Maxwell says in one of his many books on leadership “The greatest thing you can give your people is a reputation to uphold.” Every time I open my mouth, or type a word, I know that it will reflect back upon my school and every other student in it. Every action brings honor or disgrace in some increment to my Master. It is a large burden that becomes greater yet easier to bear the higher in rank you climb. With great power comes great responsibility.

So as you tie on your belt next time, think about what the Martial Arts have given you and remember that you are not only the beneficiary of those that came before, but an example for those that come after you. Thus it is not just an outcome, but a requirement, to develop personally to become an ambassador of your school and your Art.

Why do martial arts make you a better person?  The reasons are truly as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sands on the beaches, and every individual will have a plethora of unique outcomes from their experiences training in the Arts.  I want to boil it all down into three areas and give one reason from each that will have broad appeal in that the majority of us that have studied will relate to these.  The three areas are really the three components of Martial Arts that many of us have heard our teachers talk about repeatedly: Mind, Body, and Spirit.

The Body is the first component where we see direct improvements from martial arts training.  There are decreases in blood pressure, heart rates that can rival those of endurance athletes, and strength and flexibility.  The most applicable physical benefit to the rest of our lives just might be endurance.  As martial artists we get used to hard work over extended periods of time that we can directly translate beyond the training hall walls.  We can literally work harder and longer that our peers in essentially any field that do not train in martial arts.  It doesn’t matter if you are a trial attorney or a lumberjack, the constitutional improvement from the long hours of pushing yourself as a student creates a direct physical benefit in the real world that can be a deciding factor in success in that you can out work others, even with the time allocated towards training.

The second area is mental: focus.  The attention to detail while practicing and being physically exhausted improves our mental strength.  The ability to focus on a single goal over an extended period and through adversity, be it a tournament or perfecting a single technique, is something the outside world really does not understand nor appreciate until it becomes dramatically obvious.  The ability to block out distractions is one of the reasons why students of the martial arts tend to see improvement academically: our minds become trained much as our bodies do via repetition of forms and pushing through the pain of burning legs and everything else.  The ability to ignore the extraneous and focus on the target makes us great, in all walks of life.

And the greatest reason we in the martial arts become better people:  we train and understand our spirits.  The Art of War, one of the greatest books on leadership ever written, succinctly says “He who knows his enemy and himself shall ever be victorious.”  If you know your opponent (be it in the ring, or the office, or in the arena of life), and you know who and what you are, you are much better prepared than others.  This knowledge comes from pushing yourself past the point of giving up physically and emotionally.  It comes from reflection which begets understanding.  It comes from not giving up when it would be so easy, from the discipline of leaving the nice warm bed to train in the dark before dawn.  It comes from learning how to not hurt others, and the wisdom of understanding to teach and model the behaviors of those that taught us.  It is being better because we learn what better is and naturally evolve towards it.  By understanding ourselves we are better able to understand others.

This three fold improvements in Mind, Body, and Spirit interact to allow martial artists significant growth potential, the chance for us all to become better.  Better martial artist, and ultimately better people.