Be the Best
Page 4 of 8
Personality Traits of the Best
A 1978 study by Duthie, Hope, and Barker, Selected personality traits of martial artists as measured by the Adjective Checklist, found a number of personality traits that differentiate between superior martial artists and average martial artists.
Superior martial artists scored higher on:
- Defensiveness
- Self-confidence
- Achievement
- Dominance
- Endurance
- Affiliation
- Heterosexuality
- Exhibitionism
- Autonomy
They were scored lower on:
- Willingness to give aid
- Abasement
- Counseling readiness
The authors concluded that the differences between superior and average martial artists imply that martial arts training changed personal characteristics rather than the martial artists choosing to change.