The first element that goes into being a good martial artist is physical ability.  This element of a martial artist is almost always the easiest to teach.  Of course, not everybody has the same physical tools or the same learning capabilities, but almost everybody has the potential to perform the physical aspects of the martial arts.  Look at it in the sense that everybody already has the ability to perform almost any form or technique, they just need to learn how to move.  Everybody can do the forms if they are shown how to step, or to punch, how to kick, and so on, as long as there is somebody to cut away the rough edges and refine the technique aspect.  It might seem awkward that this is the easiest part of the martial arts to learn and to teach when, to most people, this is the only factor that they can see separating martial artists from one another.  

Another point being, no two people will ever move, think, learn, and have the exact same ability.  There will always be things that other people can do better than you can, just as there will always be certain things that you can do better than others.  As far as being a good physical martial artist is concerned, that is just a matter of perseverance, spirit, and dedication.  Everything that is physical in the martial arts can be taken care of with hard training and never giving up.  No matter how many times you fail at performing a technique or a form you will never become a failure until you stop trying, and start making excuses.  

By saying that physical ability is the easiest element of the martial arts to learn and to teach is not saying that it is any less important.  But you must always remember that by no means is it any more important either.  Every single element that goes into being an open "true" martial artist will go hand in hand with every other element.  They will fit together like the pieces of a puzzle, and without even one piece will be incomplete.  

So, then how does someone with limited physical abilities, such as strength, speed, and coordination have a chance of becoming a "true" martial artist.  Or, even a competent defender of his or herself?  The important thing to remember is that you must always use what you can do best.  Use your strengths to your advantage.  Never stop looking for new techniques to incorporate for yourself, but never abandon the techniques that already work for you.  You know better than anybody your own strong points and, also, your own weak points.  

Perseverance is one element that you must always, always have.  As soon as you give up, then you cannot learn anymore.  As long as you continue to train hard and maintain your hunger for knowledge then you will always be learning, even through your failures.  Sometimes for people perseverance is the biggest challenge of all because once they have persevered everything then comes easy for them.  With enough practice and time and everything you will always improve.  Even when it's not right there will be improvement.  There will be times when you will feel frustrated and down on yourself because you feel like you can't get anything right, but with perseverance, you will eventually get it right.  Even if it takes you what seems like an eternity to get something down you will constantly be learning new things as you struggle.  

Nobody would ever be able to persevere without having good spirit.  Some people refer to spirit as energy level, enthusiasm, or attitude.  The reason why is because having spirit is having all those things and more.  Not only while you are training, but always. If you go to class all the time and practice hard but then get beat in a physical confrontation and decide it was the martial arts that got you beat, that your particular style is no good - then you have no spirit whatsoever.  You need to look at the reality of it and take it as it is.  Did the marital arts get beat, or did you?  Your spirit is your character.  It is the character that comes out of you at all times, and in all types of different situations.  When you train with the right kind of attitude and the right kind of enthusiasm, then what character and spirit do you think you will have, the same kind that you have and maintain in your training.  

There are going to be times when you don't feel well, when you are injured, or when you don't feel like training.   Is it going to benefit you to go train and workout when you aren't giving anything 100%?  Of course not.  That would be like training with the lack of enthusiasm and therefore no spirit.  You will, more times than not, be hurting yourself more than helping yourself.  Training with spirit and always having spirit in everything you do coincide, just as all other elements of the martial arts do.  Having good spirit in your training is doing things like not always quitting or stepping out when you get a little tired, or even very tired.  But instead, staying in class or continuing to work out while not giving up.  By no means should you ever train while you are too injured to do so, or if there are too many things that you cannot do because of your injury.  

Never, ever just step out of a class without either getting permission to, or being told to first.  It is too disrespectful to your instructor or your classmates to do something like that.  If you are so injured that you can't continue or if you are giving the impression of being hurt then your instructor will notice or tell you to slow down and take it easy, or tell you to stop training for that time.  If your instructor doesn't notice then you should explain your situation and ask permission to step out of class.  That will show a better attitude in your training and, again, good spirit in your training.  

Dedication is the third must ingredient to training with good spirit, without dedication, like perseverance, you will not get far in the martial arts.  Dedication is different than perseverance in the fact that you don't need to only be dedicated to your training, but dedicated to the martial arts in everything that goes into them as well.  You must be dedicated to learning an entire way of life, not just self-defense.  Your dedication needs to include your training, of course, but also your trust and devotion to your instructors, not only your instructors but all martial artists that have achieved the instructor level.  

There is certainly going to be other martial artists who you don't respect, regardless of rank, and that is okay.  But you must respect their belt.  If you don't like them as a person, then you just don't deal with them or associate with them.  But, I say again, you must respect their rank.  This is a factor in the martial arts that you will never get around and being dedicated to the martial arts is also being dedicated to the ways of the martial arts as well.  This kind of occurrence is rare and unfortunate, but you must be ready to handle it when the time arises.  Being a martial artist with good spirit will guide you through situations like these and better prepare you to handle other situations that may come up.  

The point of all this is that you don't need to be the best at forms, or techniques, or sparring to be considered to be a "true" martial artist, because that can all be corrected and improved.  No matter how well you can move, you will always, always have room to get better and better.  And, if you don't think so, then you are not very well developed in your character, are you?  There is just so much that goes into the martial arts that physical ability and the ability to move faster then, or stronger then somebody else is only another piece of the huge puzzle.  What is interesting is that the more you advance in the martial arts, the bigger the puzzle will get and the more pieces it will have.  As long as you are able to use what you have and use it well, as long as you always train hard and never give up, as long as you train with the right kind of attitude and dedication, then you will never have problems with your ability to perform marital arts.  

Always take a positive approach to learning something new because you should always be happy when you have a chance to learn something.  Never get down on yourself, because it will only keep you down, and never get too high on yourself because that will only bring you down faster.  You will always have a chance to learn even if nobody every teaches you again.  Remember, just because you can do a form or technique well doesn't necessarily mean you're a good martial artist, just as not being able to do forms and techniques very well doesn't mean you are not a good martial artist.  Everything will have two sides, not just when dealing with the physical aspects of the martial arts, but when dealing with any element of the martial arts.  Don't ever discount somebody's lessons or words just because they don't apply to or work for you, because they may work for you in the future.  Always remember, by somebody sharing with you, whether it be a technique or a lecture, it is meant to be a lesson, and to help you and better you, so take it as such.