As the title suggests, have you noticed any differences in other areas of your life (weightlifting, physique, sports, self control), since you started your foray into the martial arts? I just started tae kwon do and am curious what benefits others have noticed.

I was the small skinny kid when I started muai thai at age 15. Pretty soon I was the small skinny kid who no one could beat up anymore.

I started not backing down. When you're skinny, people think they can push you around. They called me something, I called them something back. They pushed me, I asked them if that's all they got. They threw a punch, I dodged and hit them. A couple of years later, while drunk, it got me into a 5 vs 1 situation, the first fight I lost. I quit martial arts after that.

I recently started MA again, but at nearly age 30 I don't have all those youthful hormones raging around inside me anymore, I don't go places where people who are looking for a fight go anymore, and I've gotten very security conscious, so it's going to be different this time around

The confidence and security you get from becoming a good fighter is a big plus, that can turn into a minus. Other than that, it's just a sport, that's average on building strength and endurance, and excellent for flexibility, toughness and reflexes.

I never liked the traditional martial arts that are big on the mental aspects, focus on moves that are more gymnastic and aesthetic than effective, and so on. Practicing those perhaps gives you a different outlook.

It has affected all of my life, but the biggest part

I learned about eastern philosophy from an entirely different angle, thus the tibet, and "tantric" thinking.....if you know you know and if you don;t you don't. - that re-ignited my intimate life...

the arts have taught me the way.....

I have depth and spirit where once there may have been religion.

FF

Well, I don't have as much time to spend with other stuff, like studying.

But it has given me something to strive for. I might want to compete someday, and right now I SUCK. I've been at this **** for a month and I suck. I've been thinking a lot lately on what I can do to maximize my learning and fulfill some of this potential that's wasting away as I get older.

Ah, back on topic...when I trained gong fu and zen meditation a couple of years ago, I was...hmm...centered. I had a great grasp of eastern thought, primarilly zen buddhist. I guess the more pertinent lessons have stayed with me when I moved on to other things. I haven't practiced either of the two for a while because I'm too busy trying to take other paths to the same end. The gong fu was more supplimentary to the meditation and philosophy, and I still love it. If I could train it I would.

well ill be going into my eleventh year in 2008 training in budo kyokushin - karate.

id say martial arts has become a part of my lifestyle. it really isnt a sport. and when you have done it for so long you appreciate the "art" in martial art.
its taught me self-control and disclipline. besides the fact it has taught me to defend myself, and some very dangerous techiniques, we have always been encouraged NOT to fight and that the best way to defend yourself is not to get into a fight in t he first place.
its also conditioned my body as well as my mind, in a way i dont think anything else can.

Martial arts made a big impact in many areas of my life. I'm more flexible, I have more strength, and I can defend myself.

But most of the benefits, both mental and especially physical, have come to be because I don't stop training when class gets out. Some people don't care for the mental aspect of martial arts, but I assure you that if you can keep cool when somebodies got you in a rear naked choke. You stand a much better chance of getting out of it.

I don't play sports, so I can't tell you the effect that it would have there.

This is kind of on a side note, but the thing about martial arts like Tae Kwon Do is that you really have to think about what is useful and what is not. There will be a lot of things they'll teach you that won't directly apply to how things would happen in a real fight.

For instance, your poom se (form) will serve little purpose in a fight. It's mostly there to make sure you know all of the movements. The thing is, you have to learn your poom se weather it's useful or not to progress so you can learn more useful things. Kind of a catch 22.