Today’s post is a bit of a reflection on how my karate training has changed me as an individual. There’s no doubting that, in the six years since I began training karate at my current dojo, the Jason who walks out of there today is not the same version of me as the one who walked out the very first time. Describing that change hasn’t been as cut-and-dry as I thought it would be, though.

The challenge wasn’t deciding whether or not I feel any different – I definitely do – but rather in describing what’s changed. So what has changed in me?

My Appreciation of All Art Forms

When I was younger, I used to scoff at the arts; in my naïve eyes, I was a businessman, not an artist, and the two absolutely did not mix. I laugh at that viewpoint in hindsight… not only are the two not mutually-exclusive; they’re also complementary. Infusing the arts into my work has made me a better, more creative employee. By the same token, infusing an element of business into the arts has allowed me to make a side income by writing for other people.

This understanding has been bolstered and elevated significantly by my Sensei, who is not only a martial artist, but an artist in general: beyond martial arts, he is a gifted visual artist (that’s his painting at the top of this post!) and a musician, to name just a couple examples. Because of connections that my Sensei has drawn between and across art forms, I now see a common thread – this consistency, this rhythm – that exists across all forms of art, no matter what it is. It could be cooking, music, photography, dance, karate, writing or anything else… I view them all as one, with underlying foundations and principles that transcend form and medium.

My Sense of Self-Confidence

A common question many newer martial artists ask themselves and others is “What happens once I feel like I can defend myself?” I was once one of those students. To my less experienced self, I would answer that in one word: everything. Everything happens once you feel confident you can defend yourself; that’s where the real training begins.

Nevertheless, getting to that level of comfort with the physical side of our training is almost a prerequisite for being able to shift your focus more toward refinement – in your character as much as your physical technique. I am more self-confident now than I’ve ever been because I feel like I could defend myself in many situations.

That self-confidence has a permeating effect that has benefitted other areas of my life. I have used it to resolve multiple interpersonal situations at work that I previously wouldn’t have had the courage to tackle directly. It has driven me to volunteer my time in ways that I would have previously thought out of my reach. And it has affected the way others view me, and the way I view myself… all for the positive.

A Clarified View of Who I Am

That same self-confidence has also given me the courage to explore and reflect I who I truly am… and then evaluate how close the Jason who shows up every day is to that actual image of how I see myself. What I found was that societal and cultural pressures had created a gap between who I am and who I was pretending to be – a gap that still exists today, but that the confidence gained from my training has helped me close somewhat. Being my authentic self in a wider array of situations continues to be a passion project of mine, and this reflection will likely become a permanent part of my life going forward.

Let me give one example: I’ve been told before that I’m good at public speaking. However, I’m not a very funny speaker, and I’ve always admired those who can get up in front of a crowd and make them laugh. I used to try to work humour into my presentations, wanting to be more like the people I so admired.

The problem with that was that I was trying to be more like someone else, and less like myself. I’m passionate, sincere and earnest, less so on the funny side when it comes to public speaking – and that’s fantastic. People who think I’m a good speaker think that because of the passion and earnestness, and those things come through best because they’re part of who I truly am. I was a fool to try and ignore that, and my training has helped me come to that realization.

A Renewed Desire to Give Back

After earning my first-degree black belt, I slowly began to get more involved in instructing within my dojo. I find that I enjoy teaching other adults, helping individuals who are walking down the same path I’ve been walking, just a little further back. It tests my knowledge and allows me to practice many of the principles we espouse in my dojo, like compassion, respect and integrity.

Beyond that though, I’ve also begun volunteering my time with St. John Ambulance, a nonprofit organization whose values I feel to be very well-aligned with those of my dojo. I work hard to live up to those values, and to support others in doing the same, and while I’m not perfect, volunteering in these capacities has certainly been a rewarding step in the right direction for me.

Conclusion

Oddly enough, after saying all that, I actually don’t believe that training in a martial art necessarily changes you. What it can do, and has done for me, is give you the tools to become more of who you already are. If you were kind before, you will be kinder after. If you were compassionate before, you will find new ways to demonstrate that compassion – situations that may previously have provoked a different response from you – as a result of your training. And if you were arrogant before? Well, you probably won’t last long in your training, to be honest 🙂

Walking into my dojo knowing that, like it or not, others are looking to me as an example, and seeing those values nailed up to the front wall are both constant reminders of the person I’m trying to be… and those reminders carry forward beyond the dojo to all aspects of life. They are my constant encouragement to continue working to be the best version of myself that I can be.

Ultimately, I don’t feel like a different person as a result of my training; I do, however, feel liberated. I feel liberated from the expectations of others, liberated from a paralyzing fear of dealing with a difficult situation, and liberated from undue pressures and views that I placed on myself.

And maybe that’s actually the biggest change of all.