INTP being athletes

[Pyropyro]

I know INTP's are not exactly the sporty type but do you think we could excel in this field as well?

After years of being inactive, I've enrolled in a Taekwondo class. Due to my lack of activity I'm not as fast nor strong as the other students who have practiced years.

However, I think INTP's may have an ace up their sleeves: Insane analysis skills (mostly achieved by being insane).

Anyways, if I sparred that student or watched said student while they spar, I tend to "memorize" their tendencies. No, I don't list their moves but when I get a cue in their movements I could block their blows and deliver a counter.

My theory is, with proper motivation and training, an INTP would be a beast in the ring.

 

[Spirit]

Yes, played basketball in high school and college. I loved analyzing game tape and players.

 

[Synthetix]

If we want to we can

 

[BridgeOfSighs]

Analyzing could be a great skill in team sports or one-on-one type sports that cause interaction directly with an opponent.

But what about solo sports? I wouldn't think long distance running would be a great sport for INTPs simply because it lacks a challenge after so many runs + courses. Shot put, long jump, etc. may become boring after a while simply because they tend to run more on strength and stamina rather than analytical skills.

 

[Pyropyro]

Analyzing could be a great skill in team sports or one-on-one type sports that cause interaction directly with an opponent.

But what about solo sports? I wouldn't think long distance running would be a great sport for INTPs simply because it lacks a challenge after so many runs + courses. Shot put, long jump, etc. may become boring after a while simply because they tend to run more on strength and stamina rather than analytical skills.

Yeah, I only run/jog as a means to an end. Jog = more stamina = more staying power

 

[GYX_Kid]

Tiger Woods is an INTP, isn't he? The insane analysis applied to formulaic golf, plus all that other sexual exploration (which could be a realistic intense world of fascination for an emotionally screwed-up or absent INTP)

Yeah, I did some Taekwondo as well. Gained so much speed and strength while I was actually doing the class, which lasted a month. I only wanted to do it to be able to fight someone though, which wasn't able to be organized in reality

 

[crippli]

Sailboats, sailplanes other types of aviation.

Here is a pilot(amongst the more successful) that I am confident is an INTP.
http://www.flyozone.com/paragliders/en/team/people/luc-armant/

I see no reason why INTPs shouldn't excel in sports if there is stuff to think about.

 

[Cheeseumpuffs]

I have played baseball, basketball, and currently volleyball.

Not only was/am I not bad talent-wise in all three sports, but I did/do tend to have that analytic approach towards the game. In baseball (I usually played center field) I'd be able to judge by the timing of the batter as well as his general swing style about where the ball was going. I also was fairly decent at choosing the proper pitches to throw when I was on the mound in order to trip the batter up (To my great satisfaction, in my many years of pitching I've only given up two home runs and had a lower than average ERA). In basketball I was always able to find the open spot/man and move the ball there. Also, about noting others' habits, a couple friends of mine who I've been playing basketball with for several years are now hard pressed to score on me because I'm usually able to spot their primary moves and stop them (Eg: My friend Kelly has this weird pivot thing that's designed to get the defender off his feet but it never works on me since I've been playing with him for so long). Volleyball is much the same. Finding the proper spot for defense around the block, knowing where to hit/when to tip or roll.

I don't mean to sound cocky or anything (in case I do). I still have a lot to learn and improve on but I feel like if everyone where able to look at a game the way I can and see how it all flows then just about every sport would be much more competitive.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I love playing basketball but suck at it.

I'm built for american football (mesomorph and I run pretty fast) but I don't have the interest nor energy.

I love running(it's the adrenaline / freedom), but I don't put in the effort for endurance training.

 

[Pyropyro]

I have played baseball, basketball, and currently volleyball.

Not only was/am I not bad talent-wise in all three sports, but I did/do tend to have that analytic approach towards the game. In baseball (I usually played center field) I'd be able to judge by the timing of the batter as well as his general swing style about where the ball was going. I also was fairly decent at choosing the proper pitches to throw when I was on the mound in order to trip the batter up (To my great satisfaction, in my many years of pitching I've only given up two home runs and had a lower than average ERA). In basketball I was always able to find the open spot/man and move the ball there. Also, about noting others' habits, a couple friends of mine who I've been playing basketball with for several years are now hard pressed to score on me because I'm usually able to spot their primary moves and stop them (Eg: My friend Kelly has this weird pivot thing that's designed to get the defender off his feet but it never works on me since I've been playing with him for so long). Volleyball is much the same. Finding the proper spot for defense around the block, knowing where to hit/when to tip or roll.

Yeah, in team games I think the INTP's role is to appear when we're least expected. Our detachment will make them think we're not much of a threat until it's too late.

 

[P.H.]

I grew up doing gymnastics and I have to admit I quite liked it. When there wasn't any room anymore for development (I had to go national for that and I didn't want to spend almost all my time on gymnastics) I stopped. After that I did ballroom and latin for three years, but I grew bored with that. The classes were really slow.

Now I don't do any sports anymore.

 

[Words]

I definitely excel (relative to the average person.) I've never won any awards but I've played in several schools and in different countries and have played with and against several kinds of people via several types of sports, and I usually score(and steal) the most and I also run the fastest. Ti helps but I think it's really Ne that gets my body moving and the mind tricking. But I know some INTP's that I think aren't so coordinated. I judge this based on how they move but I've never really seen them played. Also, I suck at non-real time sports like baseball. I do well in soccer, basketball, tennis, and other real-time sports.

I have two possible-INFJ soccer-enthusiast/athlete friends, but my experiences tell me that xxFx types(especially INFJ's) don't do so well. The others(xxTP's followed by xxTJ's) are probably on par. Not too sure about INTJ's.

 

[fxntyjhnretytc]

Apologies if this seems like I'm gatecrashing or flooding the airwaves ( it's only my second post).

I only mention this to cheer up / encourage burgeoning INTPs but I served in the Australian Army for seven years as a machine gunner and also spent three years as an amateur heavyweight boxer.

There are routines to be observed in these environments and ,hence, mnemonics to be devised and imbibed.

 

[Beholder]

I never played any real sports, but I have great coordination and fitness I'm sure I would be really good at almost any sport if I tried. I do run however, usually once or twice a week around 15-18 kilometres, it's fun because it's really easy for me, and it's just lots of time to do nothing but think, and then there's the runners high at the end, so that coupled with all the solitude and thinking is great for me.

 

[Santiago]

Ya I play water polo, but always try to avoid swim season as i hate the repetitive nature of that as a sport. I also like to free run

 

[Wormwood]

I was learning how to play golf relatively fast, until I became obsessed with this. I've always failed at other sports though.

 

[Dapper Dan]

I think Peyton Manning might be an INTP. Hard to tell though.

Personally, I love most sports. I played soccer from kindergarten through high school. And I probably would have been a great tennis player if I had ever thought to try it out. I like to play for fun, though. I don't get in shape to be better at sports. Rather, I see sports as a good fun way to stay in shape.

 

[snafupants]

Wherever chess, masturbation, reading, debate and acting like an arse are sports, the INTP is an athlete of unrivaled prowess.

 

[me_mill]

Yes, played basketball in high school and college. I loved analyzing game tape and players.

We have something in common. Although I didn't play for my school, I love playing hoops.

I also love watching hoops and I watch every game that I can, even the international ones. Are you watching the Rising Stars Challenge now? How about that Irving guy, eh?

 

[TriflinThomas]

I bike 7 miles a day to retain my sanity. If I stay home all day for too many days in a row (I don't have a job & it's summer), I start to feel odd. I also bike to keep my body fat percentage as low as possible because I enjoy cannabis and the less fat you have on you, the quicker the thc leaves your system (in case a job opening requires a drug test). I also love the feeling of working your muscles to their max, and I love the feeling of runner's high.

 

[The Gopher]

I used to be a fencer... Exactly what you are thinking of. I did it for about 6 years before I got ill. I was like 11th in the state at some point. (our of like 17 that turned up) basicly I hit 6 to 16 against the guy that was state champion. I used to fence the national champion and someone that was 26th in the commonwealth at one point... Then I got sick... and fractured my wrist... and after that I kinda lost motivation.

Now I Unicycle! (Depressing I know)

 

[defghi]

I don't think personality type really has any effect on athletic ability, outside of some of the more introverted of us avoiding opportunities for practice because of the required socializing and networking.

I'm always great at any games I play, including sports, but I've only become truly top tier at video games at least in part due to the above^.

 

[skip]

I prefer non-team sports. I was a triathlete for many years.

 

[HDINTP]

Yes I did karate for 5 years and then table tennis for 6 but it got to the point where I started to be perfectionist and even if others told me it was really good I usually was not happy enough (at least it can always get faster, delivered with more power or put even more spin on the ball can't it?)

Now I am probably going to start stamina training

 

[The Gopher]

Yeah the perfectionist thing is a killer. ^^ I got quite good at fake drunk table tennis. Almost unbeaten but only casualy so you would probably beat me quite easy

 

[HDINTP]

Yeah the perfectionist thing is a killer. ^^ I got quite good at fake drunk table tennis. Almost unbeaten but only casualy so you would probably beat me quite easy

No one knows and that may be why I like it...

 

[oprah winfrey]

I was good at cross country running. not a team thing. I practised on my own, running around my neighbourhood.. at night. I did laps and cultivated motivational quotes to get me in the right mindset and to keep in mind when running. It was repetitive and mind numbing but really worth doing especially when I thought I couldn't do it. Was never the athletic kid, ever. I was always picked last for basketball games and such but that was the one thing I was good at in the physical realm. ..

 

[Milo]

I bike 7 miles a day to retain my sanity. If I stay home all day for too many days in a row (I don't have a job & it's summer), I start to feel odd. I also bike to keep my body fat percentage as low as possible because I enjoy cannabis and the less fat you have on you, the quicker the thc leaves your system (in case a job opening requires a drug test). I also love the feeling of working your muscles to their max, and I love the feeling of runner's high.

I do the same thing. Bike as much as I can. I love the intensity and the high you get!

I am a pretty athletic person. I am really good at paintball, and dodgeball. I am naturally strong, so I did really well in wrestling when I was in high school. I also was in track and cross-country. I enjoy lifting weights and can gain strength, but I never seem to gain mass. I have always been thin, yet really strong for my size.

 

[shortbuss]

I kicked a little ass in sports. I was a pitcher, and it was kind of perfect for me. It was a great way for a shy kid like myself to get praise and to learn how to perform in front of audiences without getting nervous. Anyway, when I got older and I was starting to get a little bad ass and awesome with my skills (shameless bragging) I developed a stoic temperament, and refused to show any emotion regardless of what was happening. If I was sucking, I would betray no emotion the same as if I were pitching a no hitter. Nobody could read me. I think I've mastered the art. I don't know if I would have learned this skill/curse of hiding my emotions like a pro without my experience in sports. I eventually quit because I got sick of having to prove myself to every new coach I had because people would see my lack of social confidence and equate it with my performance confidence on the field. Plus, I'm a girl, and nobody cares about girls sports- let's be real.

Being a girl in sports sucks. I have a lot of great stories about games and awesome plays and just amazing things I and my teammates did, but I feel like it's all disregarded because we are girls. The only thing worse than being a female pitcher is being a female catcher. Pitcher's get all the glory while the catcher digs your shitty pitches out of the dirt and destroys their knees to save the team from pass balls, and everyone just takes for granted how much work that takes. haha, fuckin' sucks. i always felt sympathy for the unsung heroes that were the catchers. that shit is hard.

 

[GeneralPatton]

I think Peyton Manning might be an INTP. Hard to tell though.

I went to Indy a couple years ago and watched him play. I sat in the third row on the 47 yard line, and was within earshot of him and Reggie Wayne. His analytics are second to none on the gridiron. Plus he seems disinterested in giving himself any credit in post-game interviews, it's always how the other guys did the work and he could have done better.

As to sports, yes we can excel in them. I played baseball (I have a room slap full of trophy's from age 7 to 27, and not those that they get nowadays for "participation") golf (4 year Varsity letterman in HS and was asked to play in college, which I declined due to their desire to tell me when and what I would do with my days) ran track (which was quite boring truthfully) soccer (which I have a bunch of useless medals from) and I messed around with football, though I wasn't quite the desired size for the game (only my fleetness allowed me to be involved)

So as an answer to the thread, yes we can excel at sports, and yes we do it quite analytically, which ultimately leads to our superiority in the games.

 

[Teohrn]

I tried karate at age 7, it was boring and repetitive, so I quit.

I joined the local football (soccer for a good deal of you) team at age 11. I was poor at it to begin with. My earlier participation in sports wasn't much to brag about. As I grew up, however, I gained some advantages. I became taller than most, and I still am. At this time, a new coach (who I also had, and at retrospection, still have much more respect for than the previous coach) came and decided to put me at the back as a center back. I had, as said, physical advantages, but I also think I had some mental advantages in that I could read the game well, which was an advantage in that position. Additionally, I was patient, meaning that I wouldn't act rashly. I stopped playing football as I got bored with it though. I doubt I could have made it as a professional, but I was good at that level.

 

[Sanctum]

I play Soccer and Wrestle for School but basically play any and every sport at a mediocre level with moments of "above par" performance. This does not include Soccer and Wrestling because i guess you can say I immersed myself into these sports and perform very well at them Intuition + Immersion = success for an INTP I believe. All the other sports I play are just for "Fun." I also have been following a workout regiment as well as a diet trying to get lean and obtaining a six pack (Ladies here I come) Simply for the fact that I have been consistent with this and a lot of other things for that matter is making me think i have become INTJ- ish or simply have less perception and more judgement.

 

[Manic]

I tried all the typical team sports as a kid. I liked them and had mediocre and erratic abilities, but I eventually learned that I was not cut out for team sports. I'm no expert on MBTI typing, and everyone is different, but it seems to me that an INTP would find it hard to fit in with a team in any sport as we are by nature solitary, non-conforming, and don't like authority--hardly a prescription for success in a sport that requires close cooperation. Some people no doubt learn to adapt to that. At any rate, I eventually turned to individual sports--boxing, golf, and various martial arts.

Someone mentioned golf and Tiger Woods before. On the one hand, golf seems to me to be the ideal INTP sport; although you are with other people, and you can be on teams in a manner of speaking, at its essence it is just you against the course. And the endless variety of variables you face on every shot is an ideal problem-solving activity for an INTP. It is truly a thinking-person's game where the mental aspect and strategy is everything. I think it is the greatest game there is. Then again, as someone also mentioned, the INTP perfectionist thing will drive you out of your fucking mind--it finally did me. It's all the worse because golf is a game that anyone, regardless of personality, can easily become obsessed with. Imagine what can happen to an INTP. So I finally gave that up.

Then I turned to MMA.

 

[x Loki]

I played baseball all the way through college and was very good at it...only reason I'm not still playing is due to injury.

I think that one of the major reasons I excelled at it was because of my analytical nature. Being a pitcher I was constantly at work understanding what the hitter was thinking and what I could do in order to best keep him off balance and get outs. The mental game was actually more fun than baseball itself for me.

 

[Master]

I have always quit because of schedule and authority. My best achievements were in volleyball (two medals, some unimportant regional league). I also like martial arts especially Muay Thai. I am natural fighter who can fight with great passion although I am avoiding conflicts since 15 or so and it may sound almost contradictory as I am very peacefull but I can still enjoy a fight (in a ring).

Nowadays I do bodybuilding as it reflects my INTP needs - I manage my own schedule and it is creative since I literally sculpt my own body. It keeps me good looking but my motivation is drawn from my warriors soul.

I think this amv displays my passion for fighting well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdwbgI_QSTk

 

[Bucca]

I am pretty good at laser-tag if that counts.

I also do/have done Taekwondo and the Grand Master said I had talent, but that could easily be a way to get me to stay into it and keep giving him money. I find it so boring.

 

[Trebuchet]

If you can, watch the documentary Quantum Hoops, about CalTech's basketball team. It is really enjoyable, even if you don't like documentaries or basketball. At least some of the team had to be INTP.

 

[Absurdity]

I did Taekwondo because I was forced to by my parents. Looking back on it, I'm glad they did. I learned a lot about discipline. I also almost knocked out a guy twice my size with one punch at a party recently. Useful life skill.

I quit because, unsurprisingly, I didn't like being told what to do. I think at this point though, I know enough to teach myself. I plan on getting back into it in the next few days and inventing my own fighting style. I'd also like to sample other martial arts at some point.

 

[Suraj]

If you're an INTP looking for an interesting sport, go for strategy. I play racquetball and it's all about anticipation and placement. I'm pretty good at it, too.

 

[Artsu Tharaz]

yeah I've wanted to do martial arts for ages.

I can jump pretty well, decent at a few other things. Was thinking today of going to a sports field with a sand pit thingo and seeing how my long/triple jump is nowadays. I couldn't get hi jump technique down but I think I'd've been aight at it.

Shit co-ordination, ball goes in totally wrong direction when I kick or bowl. That should be improving though I guess.

 

[Andronicus]

I used to play soccer from age 7 to 15. I was pretty good. But I found it difficult to interact with the rest of the team. The only sport I do now is surfing. It's nice being out in the ocean alone. With the angry waves, and the beautiful nature. making it to a near spiritual experience.

 

[NomadSoul]

Not sure type has much to do with athletic ability. I have played team sports most of my life and played a couple of them at representative level. I have also capatained and coached teams I have been part of. Also referreed a couple of sports. I think some of it is learned behaviour to interact as part of the team (have to overcome the introvert), but the base ability is more a physical rather than a behavioural one.

More recently I am doing individual sports such as running, swimming and cycling, but this has more to do with having young children and needing to fit exercise around their schedule. Being an INTP makes me feel comfortable about training alone, but certainly does not drive me to do so.

 

[JayBlessed]

Personally I performed pretty decent at sports..
Few of my accomplishments are: State Champion in Triple Jump (received a Division 1 scholarship), All-Metro and All-Conference in basketball ( When it came to basketball as with most team sports in retrospect I realize that I underachieved. I have a serious problem with questioning authority and my INTPness got me in trouble on quite a few occasions)

 

[Scott33]

This is my first time posting here even though I come here every once and a while. I normal find myself in the INTJ forum because they sure can bring up some interesting topics. But regardless has an INTP I can say are nature of analyzing can be a big help in sports or maybe even a limitation.

Because certain sports such has basketball, soccer, and football all require split second decisions so not all INTP's will find they fit their skill set. Some may find success in these sports but I assume most won't. But other sports actually benefit from are analyzing nature for example I can honestly say if you were to look up the names of former Kentucky state wrestling champions in the 161 or 187 weight class (depending on age group) you would find my name. Because I had a habit of looking at a wrestler and telling his weak spots at a glance which almost always allowed me an easy win. Though I did lose my first two matches because I was uneasy with the large crowd my school famous for wrestling drew. But after a speech from the coach on how I was wasting my talents and a suspension for more or less making the coach feel like an idiot, I got more accustomed to the idea. Or maybe I just realized if I keep winning I have nothing to feel uneasy about but regardless I did well from then on.

Though my habit of finding weak spots in my opponent actually made me feel rather bad at points. For example one time I noticed my opponent had a slight limb in his left leg, so I focused on it. Not knowing that he was just coming back from an injury I broke the poor guy's leg. His coach shouldn't have let him go up against someone he knew was one of the best in the state in that condition.

 

[Sigma Octantis]

INTP are like INTJs. they're both capable of doing anything.

problem with you lots is you decide to wander off and over think everything without doing anything.