The impact of martial arts on young people's mental health: 

Best practices in sports that contribute to mental well-being

Dr. Brian Moore (Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong, Australia)

The idea that martial arts training can contribute to positive mental health and wellbeing of young people is not new. Of the many popular views regarding the martial arts, a dominant stereotype is that martial arts training promotes mental health (Burke et al., 2007) and personal development (Trulson, 1986). It's common to hear claims about the mental health and wellbeing benefits of martial arts training, and consumers of martial arts are often attracted to the practice due to claimed psychological benefits.

My practice of martial arts began from a similar place. I wanted to provide a structured activity for my son who has attention issues. I was aware that my colleagues (i.e., psychologists) frequently referred clients to martial arts training for a variety of issues. And once my son’s training commenced, I would often hear the martial arts school instructor/owner talk about the benefits of martial arts training for mental health and wellbeing. So I decided to review the research literature on the subject. 

The research examining the psychological outcomes from martial arts training is limited (Moore et al., 2021). Studies reporting on the psychological outcomes from martial arts training mostly report positive effects (Vertonghen & Theeboom, 2010), but this needs to be considered cautiously as the research examining the psychological effects of martial arts training has significant methodological problems. These include conceptual and definitional issues, use of weaker research designs, small sample sizes, self-selection effects, reliance on self-report measures without third party corroboration, limited use of follow-up measures, not taking gender differences into account, and issues controlling for the role of the instructor (Moore et al., 2024). 

So if there’s limited scientific evidence, where does the idea that martial arts training can contribute to positive mental health and wellbeing come from? 

A seminal story regarding the history of the martial arts refers to the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma introducing the martial arts to China from India in the 6th century CE, establishing the Shaolin Temple (Li & Du, 1991; Lorge, 2012; Moenig, 2015; Reid & Croucher, 1991). While this narrative is accepted by many martial artists and some scholars (e.g. Li & Du, 1991; Reid & Croucher, 1991), others propose it is an invented tradition (Lorge, 2012; Moenig, 2015). According to Lorge (2012) Chinese history does not support the Bodhidharma narrative as the origin of Chinese martial arts. One of the earliest named Chinese martial artists is a woman known as Fu Hao from the Shang dynasty, 12th century BCE and there are extensive written records of the martial arts in China predating the Bodhidharma narrative (Lorge, 2012).

Irrespective of the truth of this story, the example illustrates an important point. There is a long association of the martial arts with different religious and cultural traditions where the martial arts are considered as having a pacifistic philosophy that promotes mental health and wellbeing benefits (Zivin et al., 2001). Whether real or not, the idea that martial arts training promotes mental health and wellbeing is strong. 

Recent experimental research that I’ve conducted with colleagues has addressed many of the problems with earlier research and provides some support for martial arts training improving adolescents’ resilience (Moore et al., 2021) and self-efficacy (Moore et al., 2023), although the results did not support martial arts training reducing aggressive behaviour (Moore et al., 2024). However, even with more rigorous results caution should be exercised in making broad statements about the positive or negative impacts of martial arts training. 

While it has been suggested that martial arts training exhibits similarities to psychological therapy (Burke et al., 2007; Fuller, 1988; Weiser et al. 1995) and has specific parallels that develop self-understanding and self-actualisation (Burke et al., 2007), caution should be exercised when comparing martial arts training to psychological therapy. Generally martial arts training does not incorporate informed and intentional application of psychological principles.

So what is good practice and what should be avoided when thinking about how martial arts training might promote mental health and wellbeing? Let start with what should be avoided:

•     Don’t offer services you are not qualified to deliver;

•     Be very careful delivering mental health education (especially if you’re not a mental health professional);

•     Be careful (or better still avoid) making claims about the mental health benefits of martial arts training;

•     Be cautious about using activities like meditation. Meditation has a strong body of evidence supporting its benefits, but can be problematic for people with mood issues; and

•     Be very cautious about (or better still avoid) promoting the potential benefits of martial arts training to manage aggressive behaviour.

Good practice for using martial arts training to promote mental health and wellbeing include:

•     Building positive relationships with students (this is arguably key);

•     Providing opportunities to develop mastery of technique across varied activities – this is an excellent approach for developing self-esteem and self-efficacy; and

•     Collaborating with mental health professionals if you want to engage in the mental health and wellbeing space. 

References

Burke, D., Al-Adawi, S., Lee, Y., & Audette, J. (2007). Martial arts as sport and therapy and training in the martial arts. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 47, 96–102.

Fuller, J. (1988). Martial arts and psychological health. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 61, 317–328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1988.tb02794.x

Li, T., & Du, X. (1991). A guide to the Chinese martial arts. Foreign Languages Press.

Lorge, P. (2012). Chinese martial arts: From antiquity to the twenty-first century. Cambridge University Press.

Moenig, U. (2015). Taekwondo: From a martial art to a martial sport. Routledge.

Moore, B., Dudley, D., & Woodcock, S. (2023). The effects of a martial arts-based intervention on secondary school students’ self-efficacy: A randomised controlled trial. Philosophies, 8(3), 43. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies8030043

Moore, B., Woodcock, S., & Dudley, D. (2021). Wellbeing warriors: A randomised controlled trial examining the effects of martial arts training on secondary students' resilience. British Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12422

Moore, B., Woodcock, S., & Dudley, D. (2024). Martial arts and school violence: Examining the potential of martial arts training to reduce or foster aggressive behaviour in schools. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 6, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100313

Reid, H., & Croucher, M. (1983). The way of the warrior. Methuen.

Trulson, M. (1986). Martial arts training: A “novel” cure for juvenile delinquency. Human Relations, 39(12), 1131–1140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872678603901204

Vertonghen, J., Theeboom, M., & Pieter, W. (2014). Mediating factors in martial arts and combat sports: An analysis of the type of martial art, characteristics, and social background of young participants. Perceptual & Motor Skills: Exercise & Sport, 118(1), 41–61. https://doi.org/10.2466/06.30.PMS.118k14w3

Weiser, M., Kutz, I., Jacobson, S., & Weiser, D. (1995). Psychotherapeutic aspects of martial arts. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 49(1), 118–127. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1995.49.1.118

Zivin, G., Hassan, N., DePaula, G., Monti, D., Harlan, C., Hossain, K., & Patterson, K. (2001). An effective approach to violence prevention: Traditional martial arts in middle school. Adolescence, 36(143), 443–459.

※ Views expressed in this article are those of the author