What Martial Arts Have Taught Me About Business

Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both… and surpass the result.

I started my journey into martial arts with Taekwondo when I was 13 years old. A fat, insecure kid from a small country town, just recently moved to the capital to start a new life, hopefully, a better one. What I really lacked at the moment was not just self-confidence, but also the feeling of belonging and community with like-minded people.

Now more than 10 years later, looking back through all that I have been through, I decided to share how my journey into martial arts helped me form as a person, made me much more mature and the lessons I have learned and applied into my professional life.

The list isn't exhaustive, but I will try to summarize the most important points.

1. Hierarchy

For a young person, it is extremely important to understand how the different types of hierarchies function in our society. Hierarchies have always existed since the dawn of mankind ( also in many animal species). In order to be a contributing member of a society, it is important to understand the rules of these hierarchies and ways of operating within them as soon as possible.

I'll never forget the first day I walked into the dojo. The sight was both awe-inspiring and humbling. There were so many people doing things that seemed impossible to me at the time. What I learned over the years was that it's important to respect the rules of growth of any organization, and to treat everyone who's been there before you with respect because they are the ones who will lead you to success.

2. Resilience

Black Belt — A white belt that never quit...

Resilience is important because?it gives you the power needed to process and overcome hardship. Those who lack that quality will get easily overwhelmed and may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms. To be resilient means to tap into your strengths and support systems to overcome challenges and work through problems when things get tough.

To be honest, there were times when I really felt like quitting for good. Especially stretching was very hard and painful for me at the begging of my journey. But with enough time I learned to overcome that and just go through it all. And once I started competing I understood why my trainers have put me through all of these hard moments.

Everyone can relate to that, even if he never participated in competitions. There are days at work when nothing seems to work and make sense. However, it is our preparation and resilience that gets us successfully through hard moments.

3. Integrity and Respect

When you are learning about martial art, it is about respect.― Jackie Chan

In martial arts, teaching respect is one of the first lessons?all students must learn and perform both on and off the mat. That means bowing to instructors and opponents at competitions, as well as treating every person with decency and kindness.

It also teaches you that it is better to lose with decency than to win by deceipt or an obscene act. This lesson is especially hard for kids, who are not yet used to the unexpected surprises of life. However, once acquired this mindset helps a lot in being a better practitioner, professional and generally a better human being.

This is also relevant in business as sometimes it is very tempting to literally embarrass a competitor or bring him to knees, yet in the end, we can win without making others lose or at least letting them lose with dignity.

4. Self-Mastery

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. - Marcus Aurelius

Self-mastery can be defined as self-control, the ability to exert a strong will against our impulses and to steer our future to one of our choosing. But this is only one aspect of the term. It also means being aware of our strengths and weaknesses, being capable of analyzing ourselves, embracing lifelong learning and many more.

The way martial arts have helped me a lot in that regard is that they have made me understand that the majority of my problems were just in my head. I'm generally very inclined towards the Stoic way of thinking and I think the philosophy behind many of the eastern martial arts is pretty similar in that regard.

To conclude, there are also many others benefits and lessons which martial arts have given me and maybe I will do a part two, where I will share some more. Oh, and just a fun fact - a lot of CEOs are actually practitioners themselves.