Does Martial Arts Make You Violent? Self-Defence vs. Offence

With the rise of combat sports becoming widely injected into the masses and its influence on a growing generation, the question remains: does martial arts make you violent? 

For outsiders to the sport, it’s not hard to see  why people can perceive martial arts to be violent. After all, martial arts is all about using physicalities to fight. However, as you will soon understand, by fostering the right environment with the appropriate teachings and values, martial arts is much more about discipline, strength, and self defence, than violence.

Table of Contents

• Philosophy of Martial Arts
• Martial Arts for Offence
• Competitive Platforms – Showcasing Discipline and Mastery
• Martial Arts for Self-Defence
• Choosing the Right Martial Arts School

Philosophy of Martial Arts

At its core, martial arts is a means of developing character. In fact, it can be deduced that it quite works against committing acts of violence as, at its core – the ultimate goal is in controlling aggression. It's about building confidence and control and teaches care for one another.

A study conducted in the form of a meta-analysis in the United States found that – from a variety of martial art styles that included karate, taekwondo and aikido, the combined data from 507 patients (where the ages lay between 6-18 years) suggested that martial arts could, in fact, reduce aggressive tendencies.

By channelling that aggression or anger into a controlled medium, it allows children to develop their self-confidence. As they create a sense of identity as an individual, these aggressive tendencies tend to decrease as they no longer need to "prove themselves" and their abilities.

Martial Arts for Offence

Shifting the perspective that challenges martial arts as a violent sport can be pretty tricky. As previously mentioned, one of the primary components of martial arts is controlling aggression. Fighters can learn the true essence of the discipline by controlling their aggression and applying the skills and teachings of martial arts in a controlled environment. It's important to note that aggression – primarily associated with violence- involves fighters using uncontrollable means to defeat an opponent. This is in stark contrast to the discipline of fighting sports like martial arts as it focuses on strategy, timing and precision. 

Competitive Platforms – Showcasing Discipline and Mastery 

One example that uses martial arts as an entertainment mechanism includes competitive platforms like The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a leading MMA organisation, it provides the perfect platform for competitive combat sports like martial arts to test their skills and aggression in a controlled medium. Modifying the sport and adding rules to protect fighters presents the perfect space where martial arts can be revered, thus attracting a wide demographic of training enthusiasts.

UFC may project a certain violent theme, but it's essential to highlight the perceived violence and the rigorous discipline that is hidden in each match. With each fight, audiences can develop a deeper appreciation of the art of martial arts and its strategic and technical mastery – allowing them to further understand and embrace the discipline. 

Martial Arts for Self-Defence

Although it can be seen as encouraging violence, the violence depicted in the sport blinds the true intention of the art – self-defence. Control plays an essential factor in shaping martial arts for self-defence purposes. By reshaping our mindset of martial arts as a tool of protection rather than aggression, we can truly appreciate its depth and purpose.

Choosing the Right Martial Arts School

In the end, it’s all about shifting the perspective of martial arts from looking at it through a lens of appreciation and understanding rather than through a lens of violence. As martial arts can be described as an art that needs to be constantly refined and fine-tuned, the act of “violence” within martial arts can be seen as a journey to build personal strength and confidence which can be passed on to others. Sharing and growing with others is what sets the foundation of most martial arts training.

At UMF Academy, we see martial arts as a medium to refine technique and strategy rather than a platform that promotes violence.

UMF is Townsville’s only licensed provider of the industry’s #1 Character Development System. This underpins the teachings and values that make’s UMF as the #1 Choice.

Under the guidance of our experienced instructors, our classes not only focus on educating our students about the art of martial arts and its compliance with the rules, but we also hope to reduce any negative nuances surrounding martial arts by reducing the level of hostility and instead sharing our values in hopes of building a community of respectful, disciplined and well-rounded students.