Karate food for thought...

Found this on the Karate Underground forum, thought I would share it... I have copied the original post here without the references as they are very long. The post is somewhat a summary of the findings of the studies referenced. Thought you would find it interesting, the link to the original forum topic is: http://www.karatethejapaneseway.com/karate_underground/viewtopic.php?t=8407

Enjoy!


"The following is a brief summary from the referenced research.

Research has shown that child and adolescent problem behavior can be a precursor of adult criminality but that the peer tutoring and coaching of Karate have a significant effect on positive social behaviors.
One survey examined the aggressive tendencies of participants at seven different martial art schools of Karate, Taekwondo and Jujitsu. The survey evaluated the importance of meditation, the amount of respect the students showed towards the sensei, the dojo, and each other, the level of contact allowed to vital areas of the body, and the relative importance of Kata. Based on this, they classified four of the schools as "Traditional" (more meditation, respect and Kata, less contact to vital areas) and three of them as "Modern". Beginning students in both traditional and modern schools had similar scores. More advanced students in the traditional schools showed lower scores for aggression than beginning students.
There was no change in the scores of the students at the schools with the "Modern" emphasis. Other surveys have shown similar results. Traditional martial arts students increase their self-acceptance which does not occur for students with a Modern emphasis in training.
Most research supports the idea that it is the training environment and style of instruction which influences these differences. One study has shown the possibility that it is the sensei or coach who acts as a role-model and "leads by example". It has been shown that there is a positive correlation between an instructor's aggressiveness and his/her student's aggressiveness. Conversely there is a negative correlation between an instructor's Traditional characteristics and his/her student's aggressiveness. One interpretation of this is that the student models the behavior of the instructor.
Karate is a complex psychomotor activity that enhances perceptual and motor skills. Karate encourages self-regulation and executive skills through self-discipline, self-control, self-respect, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-knowledge and self-improvement. It has been shown, when properly taught using a strong role model, peer group and value system, to be a effective method for problem behavior reduction. A significant improvement in temperament scale scores of intensity, adaptability and mood regulation is shown throughout the many studies carried out since the 50's. Some of the psychosocial benefits seen in martial arts studies probably originate from the physical activity itself. Exercise in many forms can promote psychological well-being amongst the practitioners. However, research which directly compares martial arts with other forms of physical exercise shows that a martial art produces positive psychosocial changes that are greater and more far-reaching than those produced by many other physical activities. These changes may have different cause and are probably due to other non-exercise-related aspects of Karate."