7 Things I have learnt about life from being a Martial Artist.

Posted by Ben Lumley on Mar 24, 2010 in Geek, Success, Think Differently | 25 comments

Note: This is not a post about encouraging everyone to start up taking Martial Arts Class. It's more about sharing my experiences with you so hopefully you can take something from them.

I've done various Martial Arts over the years. From Judo and Kickboxing, to MMA and most recently Tang Soo Do. But whatever style I've tried I've always found that, when taught well, they foster the same principles that can help in every part of your life. I have been blessed to have an amazing instructor in my Tang Soo Do teacher, Master Baldantoni. He has not only helped me to learn the technical aspects of the style but also the mental and spiritual side of things as well. Below are the 7 things that I have learnt about life from the practice of Martial Arts. Control One of the most important parts of Martial Arts is control. From the controlled nature of the movement of our bodies to the control of the strike that allows us to defend ourselves, control is a key component of what we do. A proficient Martial Artist uses control not excess force. But life is also about control. Examples of this are the control you have over the way you think and feel or how other people have control over you. Another way is the control over your actions when all you want to do is send one last tweet but you know you should go to bed instead. If we can learn to develop control we can be more precise with our lives and reap the rewards from

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Know Your Worth by Finding Centered Truth

Posted by Ben Lumley on Mar 9, 2010 in Think Differently | 43 comments

photo credit: C-Ali

Today’s post is by Marc Winitz. Marc is a VP of large information technology company I the US, a Personal Development blogger and a black belt in Karate who can be found at Black Belt Guide. You can connect with Marc on Twitter @marcwinitz or if you liked this article then why not subscribe to his RSS Feed?

Do you know what your worth is? I don’t mean this in financial terms. I mean on a very personal and human level. You cannot have richness in life unless you first understand what your own self worth is. Do you know what you mean to yourself? What defines you as a person and why? What are the values and principles that drive you? I think very few people really do know this or spend time thinking about it. As a long time student of martial arts and a teacher in traditional Japanese karate, I have had a unique view on what the term “personal development” means. Most of this art form is about fighting. Not with others mind you, although that is a common view. It’s about the fighting that occurs inside of you. I have met and trained with many people over decades who all ultimately have wanted the same thing ; to have confidence. They view training in a martial art as a way to build confidence. It achieves that, but gaining confidence is just a coded way of saying that they want to understand themselves or to be happy with who they are. And to help find meaning in their lives.

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