Zen and Martial Arts complementarity

It is common belief that Zen practice will help someone progress in Martial Arts. 

Matsuoka Roshi, himself a black belt in Judo as written at length about it. Taisen Deshimaru even dedicated his book Zen Way to Martial Arts to this subject.

Tameshigiri

In an article about  Zen and Martial Arts the author writes : 

"The Samurai achieved perfection in martial arts such as kenjutsu, kyujutsu, and jujutsu through the practice of Zazen"

But I have met several Martial Arts Masters who reached  a high level of mastery without practicing Zen.

Even if it had a deep influence on the ways of the samurai class,  saying that Zen was THE basis of their spiritual training is a questionable generalization.

Now this being said, here is this week's question to you all :

Do you think the practice of Martial Arts can help someone progress in Zen ? 

I hope you had a happy thanksgiving and saved lots of money by not spending any during black Friday...