Blitz chess sharpens your teeth

In the discussions about whether blitz is good or bad for your overall chess level, many people argue that all you're doing when you play it are just superficial calculations, and that focusing so much on the clock is detrimental to that more long-term vision every good player should always try to be better at.

Whilst I believe there is some truth in that, I also believe that playing blitz can definitely help you become a much more dangerous attacking player. And I believe this for a reason: blitz is all about being the fastest to grab the initiative, and the road to get there is a much more tactical one than in a long game, where your plans can be follow more deeply strategical ways (although there's a big strategical component in blitz too, of course). From my own experience, I find myself applying a more aggresive approach to positions (even on long games) since I started playing blitz than before.  

Obviously the downside of this is the fact that you might become a sloppiest defender if you play too much blitz. 

Anyway, long story short, I think that blitz combined with tactical exersices can help you improve the way you attack, although this might come at some cost when it comes to the way you're defending.