The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Martial Arts

Have a robust Emotional Vocabulary

Did you know that only 36 percent of people are able to intelligently  vocalize their emotions?. When you are unable to clearly identify your emotions and triggers, it makes it that much harder to find a way to overcome them on your own, or through your teacher's guidance. Does getting punched in the face make you angry, or does it make you frustrated, make you feel inferior, or what? These are all different situations for which you may collectively say angry. But is it truly? Getting to the true nature of your dilemma allows you to make a better strategy to overcome the dilemma.

You’re Curiosity in Everyone Around you Helps you to Learn and Grow

Be curious about everyone's techniques; how to do it, how to escape it, variations, etc. I literally learn something new from all levels of students every single class, and that is a fact.  

Embrace the New

Throughout your martial arts journey you will have to adapt. 20 years ago the world had to adapt to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and now the world is adopting to crazy Capoeira kicks.  You will have to adapt to new movements, new breakthroughs, new escapes and positions, and if you don't, those who do adapt, will surpass you.

Know your Strengths and Weaknesses

You have to KNOW what you are good at and what you are terrible at. Know what frustrates you, and don't let those things get to you, nor let your weaknesses hold you back from going 100%. 

 Develop your Ability to Read People

Social awareness, the ability to read other people, know how they think and play the chess game, is what martial arts is all about.   This will eventually make you an exceptional competitor and an excellent judge of character over time.  You will be able to strategize with the best of them. 

Make it Difficult for People to Take you Out of your Game Plan

Firmly grasp your emotions and people will find it hard to knock you off center.  This will give you the confidence to push through the hardest opponents and tough times towards your goal. 

Know How to Say No

You have to have self-control.  You will learn to delay gratification and avoid impulsive action, which is generally a trap in martial arts. Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no to yourself, the more likely you are to be stressed out.  You can get stressed out trying to win, burning out in competition too fast, and even becoming depressed enough to pull yourself out of martial arts for a while. Say NO, and stick to your game plan.  This will also keep you healthier for a lot longer, resisting the urge to go one more round, when your body said you were done 2 rounds ago. There is a difference between mentally giving up, and you body saying "that is enough for today." The latter will keep you out of a lot of injurious situations. 

Let Go of Mistakes

Don't dwell on mistakes. Take note of them and turn them into goals. Improve on those mistakes so you are not doomed to repeat them forever. However, if you dwell on your mistakes over and over, like many of us do when competitions or fights have not gone our way, then we are wasting time that could be used to improve. Dust yourself off and train, don't let a set back continually kick you while you are down.

Don't Hold Grudges

Don't hold grudges or your opponent has already won. Grudges automatically raise your stress levels and will cause you to eventually make the wrong decisions.  Just think of villians who always end up losing because of their long winded monologues. Be quiet already and whoop some butt!

Neutralize Toxic Martial Artists

High-level martial artists are able to diffuse emotional opponents with ease (which is why you don't want to be over emotional). They are able to work with the aggression, anger, depression or whatever emotion is controlling their opponent at the time, and turn it into their own favor; successfully subduing the opponent. 

Don't Seek Perfection, Perfect your Ability to Learn

Don't spend so much time seeking perfection. Rather seek to perfect your ability to listen, to watch, take notes; to learn. 

Stop Negative Self-talk

The more you ponder negative thoughts, the more powerful those thoughts become. They are just thoughts not facts. You may not see yourself growing, because it is a process. Do you watch plants grow? No, you just come back every once in a while and notice that the seed became a sprout and that sprout became a sapling; the sapling a tree. You don't always lose, you don't always win. Absolute words like always and never are defensive words, but you need to go on the offensive to overcome these mental barriers. 

Don't Let Anyone Ruin your Training Session

You will definitely encounter characters and situations along your martial arts journey, especially some crazy instructors, that may start to suck the joy out of your martial arts. Don't let it happen. If that means moving to a new training location, or speaking with the person who is ruining your training if it is a student, then so be it.  Training hard and competing is fun, so make sure nothing or no one stands in the way of your fun. 


Benjamin Moriniere "Sensei" "Instrutor Foguete"
Capoeira Academy Okinawa
Capoeira Zoador | Yudansha MMA | Caveirinha Jiujitsu | Ladies Kickboxing
www.capoeira-okinawa.com