The Way of the Warrior: The Effects of Traditional Martial Arts Training on Aggressiveness

Abstract

This study examines aggressive fantasy of students in traditional karate dojos. These data are of both theoretical and humanistic interest. The theoretical interest derives from the conventional wisdom that perceives such training as leading to a decrease in aggressiveness, in contrast to current theory which would expect such training to increase aggressiveness. Such an inquiry is of humanistic interest because it offers practitioners of nonviolence the option of acquiring defensive competences without at the same time becoming more aggressive. Interviews with 42 students at various belt levels found that longer training is associated with lower aggressiveness, in contrast to the theoretical predictions. Four plausible mechanisms of such a change were examined: self-control, self-assertiveness, self-esteem, and self-confidence. None of these was found to qualify as an intervening variable, though one subscale of self-assertiveness, "constructiveness," was found, like training, to be associated with lower aggressiveness. Further studies are suggested.