Although I'm not a martial art-ist, I do agree with the notion of focussing on hitting a pad to release stress. I had my first go at boxing last week, and admittedly my first few girly punches were tentative, but once I got into it I managed to punch out a huge amount of pent up stress.

I couldn't move my upper body at all the next day, but that shouldn't detract from how good it felt at the time!