That's an interesting question. I never thought about that aspect of it. At this stage in my healing I don't think it would bother me. But if you asked me 6 months ago I would have said that YES it would have probably caused a flashback and some very uncomfortable feelings.

Good luck! Can't wait to hear how it goes.

Its interesting question I have been triggered by martial arts...In not so much a healthy way....

I love it anyways iut sometimes it has make more aggressive and wish I could get into a real fight....Which I supposed is not a good thing.

Sorry but it does make me more aggressive.............But I love it anyways.

When I was younger I would have loved to have the nerve to take up martial arts. It seems like it could be a healthy way to get some aggression out. I'm old and out of shape now. If I go down I'm not getting back up without my life alert button :-)

As far as answering your question, as per the norm, I got nuthin"

I'm not concerned about becoming overly aggressive. I don't think I have that in me. But I could be surprised!

I'm leaving in 45 minutes. My anxiety is high, though it usually is in the morning. Probably before we start they will ask if I have any health issues they should know about. If they do I'll just tell them I have anxiety and "If I start freaking out, I'm not having a heart attack - it's just a panic attack". I think that should cover it. I should add that it's difficult for me to speak during them, so yes or no questions are best.

Wish me luck!

well, in my first lesson it was just one on one, me and the instructor. Rather 1 on 2 - instructors. They taught me several choke holds but never put me in one and taught me how to get out. I'm not sure I like choking people. I'll have to think this over. And it's more expensive than I anticipated.

I found Kung Fu to be very helpful psychologically.
I believe Jiu-Jitsu has a lot of throws.
Throws are FUN.
...If you can afford it, it could be very helpful.
But you will need to make a money and time commitment, and also be prepared to practice at home.
......
A choke-hold is a less-dangerous way of taking down an attacker.

...I had a friend who was ex-special forces, he kindly taught me some of the more dangerous ways of taking an assailant down.
If you choke an actual assailant out, you're really behaving with a great deal of kindness, in my book.

I tried Jui jitsu not soon after my assault and yes it triggered me. It is a very close style of fighting. I would only work with the instructor and he was a male. i tried really hard not to get scared, but he would have to show me the pin in order to teach me the pin. so being pinned down by a man freaked me the hell out. So they switched me to Muay Thai. It was not as close. However, if you are able to do this and not trigger, I think you should! It is a wonderful way to relieve stress, learn to defend yourself and get in shape. Now that I am further along in my recovery i have been wanting to go back and try again. Both with Muay Thai and Jui Jitsu. The muah thai helped me get some aggression out as well as learn some great ways to defend myself. I quite enjoyed it. in the end i was able to spar with men twice my size without triggering or crying. However, the couple who owned the gym were also counselors who ran the combatives training s for fort Campbell. they also had a lot of knowledge with ptsd, and mst and assault. so by speaking to them first they were aware of my problems and were able to help me work through some of the tirggers while i was training.

He would show me the pin and then show me how to counter the pin, how to get out of it. Was a great instructor, He was from Brazil his name is isreal Gomez. great guy, but frustrating sometimes.

I've decided I can't do it because of the cost. During the free lesson I had, I did the pinning, they didn't pin me, so I didn't find out if it would freak me or not. I'm going to check prices at other martial arts places around to see if I can find anything cheaper. Maybe I just can't afford it right now, period.

What about a self defense class sonetimes if you get enough people together you can get cheap/free. I've heard good things, but never tried it. Like they were telling me about eye goudges and stuff. Blocking using their weight against them etc. I'm thinking of trying that again. Also ask about scholarship programs sometimes gyms do that. For me I cleaned mats twice a week for about two to three hours a day and hada family pass to most classes with that.