10. Beyond the Dojo - How Martial Arts Can Shape Your Personality and Reduce Anxiety

The first time Marcus blacked out mid-grip wasn’t from a choke—it was anxiety. National qualifiers. Elimination round. His fingers were wrapped tight around the judogi when his brain screamed run. He didn’t. He fell. Got up. Fought again.

Judo is more than throws and falls. It’s a mental crucible—quietly remaking you from the inside out.

New research suggests that judo doesn’t just make you stronger or more skilled. It might actually make you more you: more focused, more calm, more curious. This post explores how long-term judo practice influences personality, emotional intelligence, and even anxiety.

Spoiler: it’s good news for aging judoka.

Throwing Anxiety to the Mat

If you’ve ever felt nervous before randori—or avoided competition entirely—you’re not alone. Anxiety is rampant in combat sports, especially in grappling disciplines like judo. Studies show that judo athletes tend to experience higher levels of interpersonal and phobic anxiety, likely due to the intense close contact and psychological cat-and-mouse of grips and attacks.

Emotional intelligence and anxiety disorder probabilities in grappling and striking combat sport athletes: comparison with regression analysis - ProQuest

Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

ProQuest, part of ClarivateMaria Merino Fernandez

One study notes that the moment before a throw—the “gripping time”—can spike anxiety because it leaves athletes hyper-aware of their opponent’s intentions. Ironically, this tension might be what trains judoka to better navigate high-stress situations.

So how do elite athletes deal with it? They develop emotional intelligence.

Emotional IQ: The Hidden Belt System

Researchers break emotional intelligence into three parts:

• Emotional attention: noticing how you feel
• Emotional clarity: understanding what those feelings mean
• Emotional repair: managing your emotions when they go haywire

High-level judoka consistently score better in clarity and repair, which helps them stay composed under pressure. In fact, elite athletes were found to have 40% less total anxiety than lower-level practitioners. The implication? Learning to control your emotions might be just as important as controlling your opponent’s balance.

Interestingly, female athletes report more anxiety overall—but they also tend to have better emotional attention. It’s a reminder that emotional strength doesn’t mean the absence of anxiety. It means knowing it’s there and choosing your response.

Frontiers | Anxiety and Emotional Intelligence: Comparisons Between Combat Sports, Gender and Levels Using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale and the Inventory of Situations and Anxiety Response

The present study compared emotional intelligence and anxiety between six combat sports of lower, intermediate and high-level female and male athletes. The s…

FrontiersCiro José Brito

Grappling with Personality

Ask Mari—a 63-year-old brown belt who’s been practicing for nearly two decades—if judo changed her. She won’t hesitate: “I used to panic if someone stood too close to me in line. Now I’m the one teaching breakfalls to college wrestlers.”

Science backs her up. A study of over 700 adult martial artists found long-time judoka score high in openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness. Neuroticism? Not so much. These weren’t born traits—they got stronger with years on the mat. Turns out, grappling teaches more than balance. It builds who you become.

As a reminder, here are the four out of five major personality traits that judoka scored high on:

• Openness: curiosity and appreciation for new experiences
• Conscientiousness: discipline and reliability
• Extraversion: social confidence
• Agreeableness: trust and empathy

They also scored low in neuroticism, the trait most associated with anxiety and emotional instability. And here’s the kicker: these traits were even stronger in practitioners with decades of experience.

What does this mean? Judo might not just select for certain personality types—it could be cultivating them.

Personality traits and levels of anxiety and depression among martial artists: a cross-sectional study - BMC Psychology

Background In recent years, fighting arts (e.g., Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, Boxe) have gained broader attention due to their multiple benefits, involving both physical and psychological enhancements for practitioners. Despite that, studies revolving around specific psychological characteristics such as personality traits are scarce. This study explored potential connections between the personality traits of practitioners and the specific fighting art they engage in, and investigated levels of anxiety and depression in fighting artists. Methods A web-based cross-sectional survey instrument was developed and disseminated across the entire Italian territory. Participants were eligible if adults (> 18 years old) engaged in any fighting arts for a minimum of one year, with no additional restrictions. The survey employed the Big Five Inventory (BFI) with 44 questions to explore personality traits using the OCEAN model, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to explore anxiety and depression levels. Results A total of 770 questionnaires were collected from July to September 2023. Participants were mainly men (M = 571, 74.5%; F = 199, 25.8%; mean age 45.2 ± 14.8), and most of the participants practised in the North of Italy (N = 493, 64.0%). The mean age of practice was 28.5 ± 14.9 years and the most practised fighting arts were Judo (N = 349, 45.3%), Karate (N = 272, 35.3%) and Jujitsu (N = 42, 5.5%). Personality traits were identified as openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism and the results were as follows: O) 40.1 ± 6.30; C) 37.1 ± 5.78; E) 28.2 ± 5.64; A) 35.1 ± 5.08; N) 19,8 ± 5,51. Anxiety and depression scored respectively 5.93 ± 3.14 and 3.67 ± 2.74. Conclusions Fighting artists exhibit elevated levels of positive personality traits, such as openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness. Conversely, neuroticism tends to be lower among them. Moreover, anxiety and depression levels among fighting artists are lower than the Italian normative values. Fighting arts, particularly Karate and Judo, emerge as promising avenues for adults seeking innovative or complementary strategies to foster positive personality traits (e.g., openness, conscientiousness) while mitigating anxiety and depression. Future studies could explore other personality traits, including Machiavellianism, and explore additional psychological characteristics such as aggressiveness to provide a more comprehensive understanding.

BioMed CentralGaia Leuzzi

When the Mat Becomes a Mirror

This theme is beautifully explored in the essay “Mental Strength in Judo, Mental Strength in Life” by Cedric Chin. In it, he describes how judo became a kind of psychological mirror—a space where he couldn’t hide from his instincts under pressure. His reactions during randori weren’t just athletic; they were revealing.

“Judo has a way of showing you who you are—especially when things go wrong.”

The piece underscores what research now confirms: judo doesn’t just train movement. It trains awareness—of fear, control, overreaction, and the ability to respond with intent instead of impulse. For many, this reflection process becomes the real value of practice.

Beyond Technique: Training for the Mind

Why does judo have this effect?

Theories include:

• The cooperative nature of uchikomi and randori
• The need to manage fear and aggression in close contact
• The philosophical elements (kata, bowing, dojo etiquette) that promote reflection and humility

These components combine into a “training container” that naturally fosters emotional growth. And for those starting later in life, this might be even more powerful. Long-time practitioners reported lower levels of depression and anxiety compared to national averages for their age group.

• Judo trains more than the body—it conditions the mind.
• Higher-level judoka show better emotional regulation and less anxiety.
• Grappling sports produce unique psychological stressors that can become strengths.
• Female athletes face higher anxiety but may have superior emotional awareness.
• Personality traits like openness and conscientiousness are elevated in long-term martial artists.
• The longer you practice, the stronger your psychological resilience becomes.

Final Thought

The most underrated judo skill isn’t ukemi—it’s adaptation. Falling well, sure. But also the ability to pivot, breathe, re-center. To be gripped by fear and still commit to the throw.

Every practice is a rehearsal for reality: messy, close-contact, unpredictable. And the version of you that walks off the mat? That’s the one learning to fall better—at life.