Your art and your personality

**Wyllie** · Posted On: 3/12/2004 10:53pm

On another forum there was a discussion about how your chosen martial art can tell a lot about your personality.

Do you agree with that ?

If so, please make a co-relation between them

Quoted his example :

Aikido
= Blending with opponent, redirecting force, no initial attacks
= Diplomatic personality, negotiation abilities, good investor

**manchuria** · Posted On: 3/12/2004 11:09pm

I think that someones personaluity will define their style, not vice versa, if you take an agressive martial art it does not nessicarily follow you are naturally aggressive, but if you are naturally aggressive i would say your game will reflect that to a degree.

**Wyllie** · Posted On: 3/12/2004 11:13pm

Originally posted by manchuria
... if you take an agressive martial art it does not nessicarily follow you are naturally aggressive ...

But wouldn't you become more agressive if you stick with it for a period of time ?

**Toby Christensen** · Posted On: 3/12/2004 11:15pm

Grappling=
Angry, Angry, Angry

**manchuria** · Posted On: 3/12/2004 11:23pm

"But wouldn't you become more agressive if you stick with it for a period of time ?"

In pretty much every martial art ive seen first hand there is room for having a more offensive or defensive style, i guess you would conform to your surroundings in part, but i would argue this depends as much on the feel of the individual dojo as the art itself.

**by-the-throat** · Posted On: 3/12/2004 11:28pm

I concur. The type of people that are attracted to different martial arts make it so that your choice of art reflects your personality. Take someone who is very nonaggressive and demand that they take a hardcore MMA class and act like tigers and they'll more than likely drop out. Granted there are exceptions to every rule, but the softer the style, the more laid back the person.

**nasty_totoro** · Posted On: 3/12/2004 11:37pm

thats not quite true ... some of the more "aggresive arts" such as wrestling or judo have some of the nicest people you'll ever meet ...

**by-the-throat** · Posted On: 3/13/2004 12:02am

"Nice" does not necessarily mean "Laid back." Arts such as wrestling or judo which are very intense physically and mentally often scare away practicioners who are not very aggressive to begin with. Granted, there are exceptions to every rule as I said, but I stand by that as a general principle, the softer the art, the more laid back the practicioners tend to be.

**nasty_totoro** · Posted On: 3/13/2004 12:18am

everybody ive ever met in judo or wrestling is more laidback than any other martial arts i've known ...

except for taichi =D

**Won Dom Fok** · Posted On: 3/13/2004 12:50am

I really believe that this is true. I don't criticize anyone's art, but I know many of them aren't for me. There is one art in particular that is very well marketed all over the United States. It never appealed to me even though it is readily available. I do not mean that it isn't right for some people, but not for me. The balance of kenpo with boxing, trapping, low line kicks, take downs, and grappling, blended with animal forms, fit my personality perfectly. I think that the type of body a person has, has a lot to do with it. I like to watch the Northern Shaolin forms, but even as a young man, I didn't have the body build or flexability to do them well. One nice thing about studying martial arts is that there is something for everyone. The cane as,a martial arts weapon, is gaining in popularity for individuals who are getting on a bit in years