Practice or Confidence?

[sensei8]

In your opinion...

What's more important? Practice or Confidence?

I'd say...Confidence! Even if you practice a lot, if you lack confidence, all of that practice is pointless. Don't misunderstand me, practice is extremely important to any MAist who's serious about their MA training. I believe that one's confidence must be able to drive the practice effectively.

Your thoughts!!??

Edited September 1, 2014 by sensei8

[Harkon72]

I totally agree, you can practice and practice for hours and hours but unless you have the confidence and courage to act on your acquired skill then it is worthless. Do not fear a man who knows 100 kata, fear the one who knows how to apply 1 kata with confidence.

[DWx]

Interesting thoughts Bob.

But to play devil's advocate, can one not have too much confidence and overestimate their ability? Overconfidence in one's ability might lead a student to not practicing as much as they should and could get them into situations they are ill-prepared to face.

[Kanku65]

Good question!

The confidence is definitely needed to better drive yourself in practice, however, I do believe you need a certain amount of practice to achieve the next level of confidence. If you achieve a confidence level too early on in your training without the abilities to back it up, you will develop a sort of unfortunate arrogance which is not so good. For anyone.

But in my opinion confidence is a must, in all aspects of life! So much can be achieved from something so simple!

Nobody should let confidence get the best of them though.

I say, equal parts confidence and practice. Practice cannot come without confidence, and confidence will become stale without proper practice.

[Nidan Melbourne]

i say both. you need to practice to become better but also have the confidence to use it when required.

If you lack confidence you will get hurt. But if you are confident but don't practice then you will get hurt.

so it is a balancing act that every needs to have

[chrissyp]

This is a hard one to answer I think...Confidence and sometimes be borderline cockyness.

I'm gonna go with practice on this one, though having the confidence to use you ability can limit fear and make your skills applied more efficently, enough practice should also build the confidence to do so also. One leads into the other I think.

[mazzybear]

I agree, confidence is a MAJOR part in one's MA ability. During a class last week one fellow student was on the floor performing Pinan Sandan while the rest of us sat ready to give any critique on his performance. While most students focused on how he was doing a particular move wrong or his stance was incorrect, I told him to have some self belief in what he was doing, while he had other issues as the others correctly pointed out, his lack of confidence made his kata look very. very weak. I think once the confidence is there, then yes, practice is more important.

Mo.

[Wado Heretic]

I would argue that confidence should come from practice.

Everyone is different, but the following are some scenarios I have encountered in regards to confidence building;

1. Someone who is not tested enough, but is successful at what tests exist, may have confidence but may also be arrogant.

2. Someone who is thrown into the deep end too often, may actually be relatively good for their level, but as they are always up against a wall may lack confidence.

3. Someone who has confidence due to only being faced with unrealistic tests, that do not test their limits.

4. Someone who attributes success or failure to factors outside their control, and is given a reason to by nature of the test, will lack confidence.

Now; some people will walk in with confidence, and from day one will have this attribute. They will be realistic about their progress, and will be focused on realistic progress. Other people will walk in with no confidence, but may come out of their shells over time. Other people will walk in with confidence, have unrealistic goals, and keep pushing themselves to the wall until all confidence is drained.

The major hurdle I find; is giving people the confidence to self-manage their own training. I feel confidence in the self is important to truly experience the martial journey; there comes a point where practice is hinged on confidence. Where without confidence, practice will get one no where. For one will not experiment, test boundaries, and find new ways to test the self without it.

So, developing confidence starts with practice in the dojo or the class. However, outside that environment, confidences becomes the underlying energy needed for progress.

Practice in the dojo has to be realistic, and test people according to their abilities. It should generate self-confidence if it is realistic, yet should be a humbling experience as well. It is a difficult dance for both the instructor and student; I have no dance instructions.

So; in short, training at the dojo should help in developing confidence, and confidence should provide a student the energy to move forward in their personal journey.

[IcemanSK]

I'm not comfortable with the idea of "either/or" in most things. I'm more of a "both/and" type of guy. I certainly appreciate your point about if one has no confidence, training matters little. However, confidence alone can produce folks like this guy.

[Archimoto]

I'm not comfortable with the idea of "either/or" in most things. I'm more of a "both/and" type of guy. I certainly appreciate your point about if one has no confidence, training matters little. However, confidence alone can produce folks like this guy.

Totally right !!!

I get the point of the question but at the same time I don't see how you can be a true martial artist without both confidence and practice. I simple can't think of a solid argument for picking one over the other.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut...if a gun was to my head and I had to pick one, I would pick PRACTICE because PRACTICE can build CONFIDENCE !