Are fighters born or made?

Do you mean in general, or specifically in MA? (if there is a difference )

Both.

A bit of both, I guess...

I think that people feel their calling in life. A warrior can be anyone but only some people will feel that as their true calling. I think the natural intinct will be superior to a forced learned skill. But often, once people are guided to learning something, over time, even if they don't have a natural grasp to begin with the training/practise will allow it to be more natural to them.

So really I think even nurture will become nature over time so indeed a fighter can be both. It just means people start at differant levels of understanding. If one seems to be a natural, perhaps this will cause an acceleration in skill because a natural could become very good quickly and younger therefore more time to develope other ideas...

Thank you Mule, for starting this topic - its a good question.

I think all humans have a survival-fighter aspect to their nature, but how that is controlled, quashed or channelled changes things. At the same time, some people are going to be better fighters than others. I love the way MA channel that instinct in a positive and expressive way.

If I may, I'd like to add an aspect to this question - are some people born to be martial artists?

It's an 'age old' question really.

So many MA discussions end up being meaningless 'style vs style' arguements, when the individual is an important part of the equation.

If I was trying to answer my own question, I'd break it down a bit like this;

Individuals genetic makeup x%
Physical size, strength, intelligence.

Individuals upbringing x%
Cultural influence, exposure to violence in early years, parental oversight.

MA training x%
There are so many ways you can come at this.
I'm not entirely convinced that MA can make agressive people less agressive and passive people more so.

The percentile makeup is different for every individual, so everyone has to find their own answer I guess?

After 35 years of teaching I can assure you that it can be taught to anyone who has the determination to learn. You don't teach aggression as that's fear and burns too quickly, you increase determination, strategy and mental fortitude. The same training will calm aggressive people down, reducing their fear and raising their self esteem.

Steve Rowe wrote:
After 35 years of teaching I can assure you that it can be taught to anyone who has the determination to learn. You don't teach aggression as that's fear and burns too quickly, you increase determination, strategy and mental fortitude. The same training will calm aggressive people down, reducing their fear and raising their self esteem.
So have you had students who have used what they were taught in Self Defence?

Wow Mule - that's a really good way to explain it.

I also appreciate what you're saying Steve, about aggression and fear burning up too quickly (exhausting the adrenals!)

Its one of the things I've really had to challenge my own views about - 99.9% of the time, I'm a peace loving hippy, but I absolutely love the true martial side of MA! Some of my favourite aspects of training revolve around this, and in many ways my life feels more complete as I learn to move into balance with the 'fighting' aspect of my personality. In fact, most of my friends were either horrified or highly amused when I told them what I was doing.

I'm struck by how often people in MA describe this sense of 'coming home' to an art that truly works for them - I wonder how much of that is about finding an art-form of fighting that lets us channel this human quality?

Wu ming347 wrote:
Wow Mule - that's a really good way to explain it.

I also appreciate what you're saying Steve, about aggression and fear burning up too quickly (exhausting the adrenals!)

Its one of the things I've really had to challenge my own views about - 99.9% of the time, I'm a peace loving hippy, but I absolutely love the true martial side of MA! Some of my favourite aspects of training revolve around this, and in many ways my life feels more complete as I learn to move into balance with the 'fighting' aspect of my personality. In fact, most of my friends were either horrified or highly amused when I told them what I was doing.

I'm struck by how often people in MA describe this sense of 'coming home' to an art that truly works for them - I wonder how much of that is about finding an art-form of fighting that lets us channel this human quality?

I'm coming at it from the opposite end, because when I was younger in particular, I was very agressive and mean.
There were good reasons for that, or so they seemed at the time.
It's taken 20 odd years to realise the problems with my own ego and MA has been instrumental in that for me.
If anything, MA has made me less of a fighter, or at least that's one way of looking at it.
I'm not perfect though, there are still one or two people out there who don't want to meet me on their own.

mule wrote:
I'm coming at it from the opposite end, because when I was younger in particular, I was very agressive and mean.
There were good reasons for that, or so they seemed at the time.
It's taken 20 odd years to realise the problems with my own ego and MA has been instrumental in that for me.
If anything, MA has made me less of a fighter, or at least that's one way of looking at it.
I'm not perfect though, there are still one or two people out there who don't want to meet me on their own.

That's brilliant! There's a real place for an appropriate kind of aggression, I think - and actually you can get into a real pickle if you're completely devoid of it. I've still got a lot to learn, but I really don't think aggression is an imperfection.

I've actually had people try to dissuade me from getting into MA because of their misconceptions around 'fighting' in general.