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What is the best martial art to study if you have PTSD?

I suffer from freezing. Im not sure if that narrows it down. But based on how many martial art disciplines you studied do you recommend any discipline to help beat this particular symptom?

slugster
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David Tonne Jr
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  • What is your PTSD from generically? – mutt May 25 '17 at 12:47
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    And what sort of symptoms do you suffer from? – Macaco Branco May 25 '17 at 12:47
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    "best martial art" will be closed as opinion based. Question is also on the borderline of seeking medical advice. Beyond all that, the advice to PTSD is the same to everyone choosing a martial art - choose based on the teacher. Teacher matters more than art/style/lineage, etc. A teacher who understands PTSD is more important than the style. – MCW May 25 '17 at 12:50
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    Even though it's not quite the same thing, I think my answer about highly sensitive people might apply in this case: https://martialarts.stackexchange.com/questions/5034/how-to-deal-with-an-anti-violence-instinct-during-sparring/5035#5035 – Steve Weigand May 25 '17 at 13:11
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    As for PTSD, it's different for everyone. Different triggers, different presentations, different coping strategies. You really ought to be seeing a competent, trained clinical psychologist for this. – Steve Weigand May 25 '17 at 13:14
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    First, what are your goals in studying a martial art? Exercise? Sport? Self defense? Add this to your question. Second, are there things your therapists have recommended as things to avoid or things to engage with that might affect your training? – Bankuei May 25 '17 at 13:19
  • Want to walk back my earlier comment - I hope you find a teacher who can fulfill your goals. There are couple of good answers about how to pick a martial art; I'm just very cautious about providing medical advice. – MCW May 25 '17 at 16:24
  • Attempt to clarify at https://martialarts.stackexchange.com/questions/7530/hi-regarding-previous-question-you-answered that his primary problem is "freezing". – Macaco Branco May 26 '17 at 22:48
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    Not everyone has the same triggers for PTSD. Without any idea of what your goals are in martial arts, or what would get in the way of your training, no one can give good advice. I have a friend whose trigger is literally stuffed teddy bears since his trauma hit when he was a child. Other people have things like "people yelling" or "loud noises". No one can meaningfully answer your question without further ideas of what you are looking for and what limitations you might face. – Bankuei May 27 '17 at 15:27
  • i appreciate all the feedback. i apologize if i broke protocol but i have gotten conflicting advice from professionals and i thought this forum would be ideal for answering question. ive read freezing is common for people with or without ptsd. but based on feedback ive gotten enough info to inquire about training. thank you – David Tonne Jr May 28 '17 at 13:21
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    @DavidTonneJr: It's an interesting question to be sure, and as I said below, I'm not convinced it's off-topic, although you do need to provide relevant information in your question as per the follow-up queries for what sort of issues your PTSD entails. And you erred a bit in doing a new question instead of editing the old one, but I think you learned from it. – Macaco Branco May 30 '17 at 10:54

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My immediate impulse is that you're going to want to avoid styles that are high-stress or emphasize more combative practices. Your ideal martial art might be something non-contact, practiced individually. My first recommendation would be Tai Chi. It's a soft style, generally doesn't involve fighting an opponent, and is often reputed to be good for stress.

My second recommendation would be Capoeira, particularly if you can find an Angola group. While Capoeira is a bit more physically active, it also has very strong play and musical components. The "sparring" in the roda is competitive, but it's generally played without contact, and the emphasis is on demonstrating skill rather than scoring points via contact, so when you're faced with a superior opponent, the odds are that they'll be using their skill to mesh with your movements to make the game look more impressive rather than beating you down to show how superior they are.

Based on the clarification you gave here that your primary problem is "freezing", I would recommend Tai Chi. There, there's very little external pressure, and the worst that could happen if you freeze up is a pause in the form versus possibly missing a dodge or falling from a precarious position.

Macaco Branco
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