Athletes in combat sports come in all shapes and sizes, complete with different likes and dislikes…and different personalities.

Examples of combat sports include fencing, silat, karate, jiu jitsu and taekwondo.

So it’s not wholly true if you’ve heard something like “you need a certain personality to enjoy combat sports”.

Instead, the full adage is really “you need certain characteristics to enjoy combat sports”. One of those characteristics, if you’ve watched fencing or taekwondo in the Olympics, is an indomitable will. Another is the self-discipline needed to keep training religiously, through thick, thin and what athletes and coaches refer to as a “plateau”.

The willingness to keep learning, as well as adapt to different opponents on the field of play and surrounding environment, are other characteristics.

For instance, fencers have been known to state that the thrill of figuring out and outsmarting an opponent is what drives them, not aggressiveness or a drive to simply fight.

Moreover, sports such as taekwondo do not necessitate physically sparring with another person – athletes have the option to specialise in poomsae, a choreographed sequence of movements that are judged based on rhythm, speed and power.

So when someone says “[this combat sport] is for everyone”, they mean it, so give it a try!

Victoire Morier