A perpetual student of life but primarily focussing on interpersonal conflict, its causes, and its solutions. As a result, I am a lifelong student of the martial arts (or perhaps it's the other way around) having studied karate and a plethora of other arts since I was a child.I am also a qualified firearms instructor trainer and certified Master Use-of-Force Instructor and spent the best part of two decades researching and teaching in these areas.And finally, I am an Aspie and as a result I have a Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies and have developed and deliver an industry specific course for teaching martial arts instructors how to teach martial arts to children on the autism spectrum.
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong eviden... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong evidence that the participation rate is ever increasing. This article considers whether this is a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole. A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. The Positive Benefits of Traditional Martial Arts Training: What Does Martial Arts Training Achieve for the Individual? Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story and popular culture abounds with such stories and case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg...
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Fo... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Ford (2001), Sport & Recreation Queensland (2000, 2000a) and Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002, 2002a, 2002b) the participation rate is ever increasing. Is this a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole is the question posed by this article? A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story. The case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as most of the psychosocial benefits of martial arts...
There is a growing body of literature relating to the phenomenon of restraint related death. Unfo... more There is a growing body of literature relating to the phenomenon of restraint related death. Unfortunately, there is little consensus in the scientific literature concerning the causes of death proximal to the use of restraint (Mohr & Mohr, 2000). Over the past two decades healthcare and law enforcement have been running enquiries and subsequent parallel research into the phenomenon. It is only in recent times that there has been overlap of the two areas.
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Fo... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Ford (2001), Sport & Recreation Queensland (2000, 2000a) and Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002, 2002a, 2002b) the participation rate is ever increasing. Is this a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole is the question posed by this article? A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. The Psychosocial Benefits of Traditional Martial Arts Training: What Most Instructors Know but Can't Articulate. Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story. The case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as most of the psychosocial benefits of martial arts training are very subtle and not at all overt. Traditionally martial arts instructors tend to primarily advertise the physical benefits of martial arts: fitness; coordination; self-defence skills; balance and so on. Some add self-esteem, self-confidence, and improved social skills to the list of benefits. This gives the impression that the only benefits are physical and that martial arts are 'rough'. This emphasis on the physical, combined with the movies and images of popular culture, has lead to a misconception of the realities of long term martial arts training and can create a perception in the uninitiated that martial arts promote violence and violent behaviour. Indeed, according to the research of Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) in their famous Bobo doll study, martial arts training should actually increase aggressive behaviour because it aggression is supposed to be learned through the imitation of violent behaviour. The theory of Bandura et al. seems to support the intuitive response to the perceived violence of martial arts training and this has lead to many martial arts instructors experiencing difficulty in having martial arts training accepted in schools as part of the curriculum. The purpose of this article is to investigate if the theory of Bandura et al. (1961) is correct and that martial arts training promotes aggression or if the contrary is true and that it not only decreases violence and aggression but promotes other, albeit invisible, positive outcomes of good martial arts training by a professional (at least in attitude) martial arts teacher. Traditional martial arts training is not to be confused with the competitive fighting skills that are glorified in popular culture and are increasingly taught in many eclectic martial arts schools. Traditional martial arts have Buddhist/Taoist philosophy and ethics, as well as specific training methods and goals. Traditional martial arts training is an effective way of
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong eviden... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong evidence that the participation rate is ever increasing. This article considers whether this is a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole. A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story and popular culture abounds with such stories and case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as most of the psychosocial benefits of martial arts training are very subtle and not at all overt. Traditionally martial arts instructors tend to primarily advertise the physical benefits of martial arts: fitness; coordination; self-defence skills; balance and so on. Some add self-esteem, self-confidence, and improved social skills to the list of benefits. This gives an impression that the only benefits are physical and that martial arts are 'rough'. This emphasis on the physical, combined with the movies and images of popular culture, has lead to a misconception of the realities of long term martial arts training and can create a perception in the uninitiated that martial arts promote violence and violent behaviour.
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong eviden... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong evidence that the participation rate is ever increasing. This article considers whether this is a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole. A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. The Positive Benefits of Traditional Martial Arts Training: What Does Martial Arts Training Achieve for the Individual? Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story and popular culture abounds with such stories and case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg...
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Fo... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Ford (2001), Sport & Recreation Queensland (2000, 2000a) and Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002, 2002a, 2002b) the participation rate is ever increasing. Is this a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole is the question posed by this article? A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story. The case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as most of the psychosocial benefits of martial arts...
There is a growing body of literature relating to the phenomenon of restraint related death. Unfo... more There is a growing body of literature relating to the phenomenon of restraint related death. Unfortunately, there is little consensus in the scientific literature concerning the causes of death proximal to the use of restraint (Mohr & Mohr, 2000). Over the past two decades healthcare and law enforcement have been running enquiries and subsequent parallel research into the phenomenon. It is only in recent times that there has been overlap of the two areas.
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Fo... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and according to Dale & Ford (2001), Sport & Recreation Queensland (2000, 2000a) and Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002, 2002a, 2002b) the participation rate is ever increasing. Is this a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole is the question posed by this article? A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. The Psychosocial Benefits of Traditional Martial Arts Training: What Most Instructors Know but Can't Articulate. Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story. The case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as most of the psychosocial benefits of martial arts training are very subtle and not at all overt. Traditionally martial arts instructors tend to primarily advertise the physical benefits of martial arts: fitness; coordination; self-defence skills; balance and so on. Some add self-esteem, self-confidence, and improved social skills to the list of benefits. This gives the impression that the only benefits are physical and that martial arts are 'rough'. This emphasis on the physical, combined with the movies and images of popular culture, has lead to a misconception of the realities of long term martial arts training and can create a perception in the uninitiated that martial arts promote violence and violent behaviour. Indeed, according to the research of Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) in their famous Bobo doll study, martial arts training should actually increase aggressive behaviour because it aggression is supposed to be learned through the imitation of violent behaviour. The theory of Bandura et al. seems to support the intuitive response to the perceived violence of martial arts training and this has lead to many martial arts instructors experiencing difficulty in having martial arts training accepted in schools as part of the curriculum. The purpose of this article is to investigate if the theory of Bandura et al. (1961) is correct and that martial arts training promotes aggression or if the contrary is true and that it not only decreases violence and aggression but promotes other, albeit invisible, positive outcomes of good martial arts training by a professional (at least in attitude) martial arts teacher. Traditional martial arts training is not to be confused with the competitive fighting skills that are glorified in popular culture and are increasingly taught in many eclectic martial arts schools. Traditional martial arts have Buddhist/Taoist philosophy and ethics, as well as specific training methods and goals. Traditional martial arts training is an effective way of
The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong eviden... more The martial arts industry is currently undergoing unprecedented growth and there is strong evidence that the participation rate is ever increasing. This article considers whether this is a positive thing for the participants and society as a whole. A review of the literature has revealed overwhelming support for the positive aspects of traditional martial arts training and has reinforced the need for the traditional values and methodology to be maintained with the only negative results being from non-traditional schools. Most martial arts instructors who have been teaching for some time have at least one outstanding success story and popular culture abounds with such stories and case studies where the student turned his or her life around and owed it all to their martial arts training. In my experience, these case studies represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as most of the psychosocial benefits of martial arts training are very subtle and not at all overt. Traditionally martial arts instructors tend to primarily advertise the physical benefits of martial arts: fitness; coordination; self-defence skills; balance and so on. Some add self-esteem, self-confidence, and improved social skills to the list of benefits. This gives an impression that the only benefits are physical and that martial arts are 'rough'. This emphasis on the physical, combined with the movies and images of popular culture, has lead to a misconception of the realities of long term martial arts training and can create a perception in the uninitiated that martial arts promote violence and violent behaviour.
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