Karate Teaches you to Believe in Yourself

One thing that I love about my training is that karate teaches you to believe in yourself. I have seen this to be true for my kids, my husband and myself. Self-confidence is one of the priceless benefits of traditional Okinawan karate.

I’ve seen this to be true for scores of students as well. And that includes kids as well as adults. Karate teaches you to believe in yourself whether you are one of the youngest students or a full grown adult.

Young Karate Students Learning to Believe in Themselves

I’ve seen our littlest martial artists learn to believe in themselves as they made friends in classes where they learned the nuts and bolts of being nice to others. And part of their growth was learning to accept respect from others too, as they also became physically more strong and agile in class.

I’ve seen elementary-aged students learn that “if it is to be it is up to me.” These youngsters improved their grades and scholarly abilities with the urging and belief of their karate instructors and older dojo mates. The time-management skills expected at the dojo are one way that karate teaches you to believe in yourself. Youngsters benefit from the experience of making it to karate classes a couple times a week in addition to other activities, while keeping homework and school a priority.

Older Students: Karate Teaches you to Believe in Yourself

Teen students learn to believe in themselves with the positive support of peers and adults. One of the reasons is because they are treated as valued, able-bodied and able-minded young men and young women. They benefit from their adult dojo mates and instructors cheering them on. And it’s no accident that they are “the rock stars” of the dojo with younger students looking up to them. Karate teaches you to believe in yourself partially because others believe in you.

Then there are the full adult students who learn that karate teaches you to believe in yourself. One student showed it by finally standing up to an abusive spouse after advancing in karate. Another lost a commendable amount of weight and created his own healthier lifestyle. Speaking of which, another quit smoking in order to be able to excel in karate and the stamina required. And many of us have found lifetime friends in karate, which speaks volumes to our self worth as we value others.

Some Ways that Karate Teaches you to Believe in Yourself

You may notice that we went full circle there, from our littlest students making friends to adults doing the same as a way that karate teaches you to believe in yourself. Dojo involvement is and can be a highly social activity. But we each learn of the power that we have in our own lives and learn to believe in ourselves individually.

That may be because we set goals and achieve them, we progress and earn belts, or we work hard and feel ourselves becoming stronger and more physically able. It may be that we have a strong base of values in the Dojo Kun which we use to improve many areas of life. And there is no small magic in the ability to protect yourself and others. Karate teaches you to believe in yourself due to many different aspects of training.

-Jenifer Tull-Gauger