Can Courage be taught or cultivated?

[Hardball]

Can you teach someone courage? What is the best age to teach courage? What skills does one need to acquire courage? Is it hereditary?

Umm, I wonder?

Disclaimer for spelling and grammar--Word Perfect generation.

[Tom Yum]

Nature vs. Nurture

People seem to have their own level of courage as they grow up. I suppose it can be cultivated.

[Blue Wave Gym]

easy solution

just get your ass in the ring or in a combat zone, no compairson between the two btw, and you'll find out the only difference between a "hero" and a "coward" isn't the fact you're afraid, but what you do with it, got that from some boxing thing/guy on tv, real life example see/read> black hawk down

[Sensei Saki]

RE: easy solution

Where can I get your ass in the ring or in a combat zone no compairson between the two btw and you will find out the only difference between a hero and a coward is not the fact you are afraid but what you do with it got that from some boxing thingguy on tv real life example seeread> black hawk down?

[Blue Wave Gym]

What????????

dude wtf? are you like challenging me to a fight or something????

[Hardball]

dude wtf? are you like challenging me to a fight or something????

It's artificial intelligence. The computer is talking to you. LOL

[Hardball]

Sensei Saki is artificial intelligence. LOL

[AlphaZeroNiner]

Courage may be taught as a child is taught to speak. -Euripides

[LoneHusky]

dude wtf? are you like challenging me to a fight or something????

lollercoaster

[Sircnay]

I'm sure it can be cultivated. I used to be the biggest wuss ever when it came to standing up for myself. In some respects I'm still a big wuss. But after being thrown in the ring and getting my ass whopped and then whopping some ass, I'm better now.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

I find that confidence in ones self is related to courage.

[Uke]

I think that courage is nothing more than a reacting to a personal value system in a disadvantageous situation. Think about it. Courage is standing up for something in a situation where you either stand to lose face, money or get your @ss kicked. It wouldn't take courage if you didn't stand to lose something. So I guess it depends on what means something to you. Most people wouldn't have to learn courage to stand up for their children, while many people lack the courage to think independently and challenge any knowledge that they receive for fear of being ousted from their peers.

IMO, a better question would be can you be trained to tell the difference between courage and overconfidence. Courage is born out of necessity, while overconfidence is born out of inexperience and underexposure. Most people who go into a situation overconfident don't prepare for contingencies, which means that they really aren't prepared, just equipped to deal with one part of a situation.

So learning the extent that you're prepared will give you a good idea of what you need to strengthen, which will add to the confidence in your own abilities. This will also add confidence in that you will feel like you have a safety net because you did your homework.

The difference is like using Cliff notes to study for a test and failing because the teacher purposely patterned the test to stump those who used Cliff notes. If something is important enough, don't take shortcuts. That way you know that your confidence is based on being well versed and rounded, and not just on having a "kick-@ss" attitude.

[Blue Wave Gym]

what about arrogance(personal experience here)

it's a big prob for some people, especially people who have been given physical gifts via fighting but act like complete jerks anyway, don't worry 2 and 1/2 years of injury hell via crutches, wheel chairs and some cool pain will teach your ass a lesson, since you didn't get it the last 9 times god bailed your ass out of trouble, but you still ignored him anyway and didn't change your life, a lesson learned finally, sorry to rant.

[Tom Yum]

The difference is like using Cliff notes to study for a test and failing because the teacher purposely patterned the test to stump those who used Cliff notes. If something is important enough, don't take shortcuts. That way you know that your confidence is based on being well versed and rounded, and not just on having a "kick-@ss" attitude.

Well put. One of the best quotes I've gotten here is that the hard way is the only way - I believe it was Southpaw who said that one.

There's no such thing as Cliff's notes for the hard sciences or technology much less martial arts.

Either you know it or you don't, whether you are trying to prove something mathematically on paper or making it work real-world, real time or both.

If your system can function with real world laws of physics and does what its supposed to, that's a quick boost of confidence. Murphy's law is allways there to keep you from being over confident. Very humbling.

[GQchris]

When I think about Courage, I think about Love, I think about God's love for Man when he gave it all up and became a Man and suffered and died on the Cross.