Physical or mental does it matter in martial arts?

Question

Physical or mental do martial arts matter or is it down to just animal determination, I myself am a former jiu-jitsu coach, bouncer but my own father was a boxer and very successful street fighter and unbeaten so is the mental edge the main advantage inspite of training.

Your thoughts please !!!!!!

Answer 1

Physical fitness is the base, absolutely necessary part of any martial art. No matter how good a technical fighter you might be, if you're a skinny guy going up against a big opponent, you will probably lose anyway. That said, the mental edge is what makes the difference. Thinking your way through a fight could possibly win it for you, and for two people of similar skill and strength whoever can think the more moves ahead will usually win. There is also the matter of concentration and precision. But... that's all theoretical. Ultimately, streetfighters (successful ones anyway) have the advantage in most situations. Animal instincts can be honed as much as coherent thought but and built-in, so can be accessed faster. In the end, I think you need a balance of both. But if I'd pick just one, much as I hate to say it, I'd choose the physical side. Statistically, as far as I've seen, it seems to win.

Answer 2

Good question but can I add into the mix this little nugget: these things 'physical ability' and 'mental toughness' vary from day to day. As a martial artist I am learning more about what I don't yet know or can not do just yet, so have good days and bad days. Got beaten by two women in separate event last night, just when I was getting tired of this it happens again so strength and training did not count for much there, luck 'must be a factor in this' at least some of the tiem anyway

Answer 3

I think both are equally important. In all of my reading one of the things that clearly stuck in my mind is a quote from yagyu munenori (he wrote a good book on the etiquette of the samurai.) you must either keep an agressive mind and a calm body or a calm mind and an agressive body. If both are agressive you will be defeated if both are passive you will also be defeated. Martial arts are all about combining mind and body into a perfect unity. In a fighting situation you only have split seconds to react. If you want your body to react in time you need to keep a clear mind. If you want to analyse the situation you'll always need a clear mind. If you want to get the drop on your adversary and use the element of surprise (the most powerful weapon as far as I'm concerned) you'll again need a clear mind. the mind alone can not win a fight, but the body can not win without it.

Answer 4

In most Asian Martial arts, more emphasis is placed on the mental aspect of training. This can be seen in the training structure, which usually starts with discipline and enduance training. The reason why most westerners complain about the "spiritual' aspect of the martial arts is because most don't understand that it's needed to train an individual's mindset. Meditation and daily repetition of seemingly useless chores are actually part of training one's mind to match one's physical conditioning. The fighting spirit that's developed after years of training is what is referred to in sports as "Heart". The will to continue despite overwhelming odds, to fight on even with a broken arm or leg, to go beyond one's physical limit and prevail, this is what's lacking among most athletes and fighters today, the stuff that legends are made of. Our generation has not undergone the hardships that our grandfathers faced, the baptism of fire and forging of strong characters in the face of the hardship brought about by war. Anyone can train his body and condition it for war, but not everyone can train his mind and condition it for war.

Answer 5

i think to be in a physical sport you have to be both physically and mentally fit, i have started doing taekwondo and i didn't realise how unfit i was and how demanding it is on your mind, some might say im a typical blond and haven't got a brain so maybe this is why im find it mentally challenging as well as physically challenging..... im not going to give up i will over come my mental fears and will learn the art of hand and foot.......

Answer 6

I believe that mental endurance is more important and I have seen in it fights and other events over and over again. The person who wants it more will win, physical endurance helps but if you're mentally strong you'll keep going when you're exhausted and you'll push through pain.

If you go in thinking you'll win then you'll have a good chance, if you think you'll lose, game over. No matter how physically fit you are.

Answer 7

Early 20th Century Karate Master, and the main master of Shuri-Te lineage said, "superior conditioning can only be built on relentless effort. The size of one's body is irrelevant".
He was small, but never defeated in all his years of fighting. He's also famous for non-traditional belt ranking, like taking students to bars, geting them drunk and in a fight to see if their karate was good, even when drunk. He held mental aspects of martial arts as higher than physical. But, the mental trains the physical.

Answer 8

Physical fitness and a lot's of practise are important but the mental training is equally important. One cant work properly without the other

Answer 9

I think to achieve greatness in any physical activity, especially in one which is combatitive you have to have the right attitude and mental attunement! I think you make a good point about having a mental edge.

Answer 10

From my own experience and knowledge, it starts with the mindset of the person, it is senior to the body and technique.

I have seen very determined and confident people overcoming tought situations with no techniques.

However you still have to have technique and fitness obviously.

I would say that if you were to put to guys against each other and who did have the exact same technique level, same force, the one who would prevail would be the one with the stronger mindset, the strongest mentally.

So I draw from this that mental has the potential of handling things independentely of the rest