The Important Benefits of Martial Arts

When we talk about martial arts, often most people think that it's all about fighting and hitting people. But in reality, this form of art/spot has many other benefits. Of course, as most people think about self-defense, and it's only one on a huge list.

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Let us go through some of the most important benefits of martial arts, however, the list is not limited to but also includes the below points.

1. Selfe defense

As mentioned above, this is one point that people most often think about as a benefit of martial arts. Regardless of the style of martial arts you learn, all of them ultimately teaches self-defense as one of the important reason for learning martial arts. No matter how perfect the world around us is, violence can happen anywhere and anytime. And it can affect anyone around which includes innocent people. So knowing self-defense techniques is important for everybody regardless the gender, age, culture, and geography.

2. Focus

The focus is an important aspect of martial arts. the instructors use repetition and respect to establish the focal points that lead to sharper and more focused minds. Martial arts include physical as well as mental instruction. You will be provided with specific techniques that allow you to focus and sharpen your mind.

3. Listening

Anyone is capable of listening but to truly hear is the greater wisdom of the warrior, the warrior must see, hear, and feel his surroundings. In addition, listening to one’s instructor, or whoever is speaking to him or her, shows a great deal of respect, and martial arts are based upon this concept. The improvement gained during practice and training will show in a variety of other aspects of one’s life, ranging from social, financial, and emotional. Not to mention, the memory will be sharpened and heightened, the complex array of movements that are associated with the practice of martial arts will become first nature to the student who learns to listen.

4. Teamwork

Teamwork is necessary for any young child to develop. It is at this stage in their life that they develop an understanding and confidence in their ability to work with others. If you have a problem with someone in your group, talk to them about it. Letting bad feelings stay will only make you sour and want to isolate yourself from the group. Not only does it feel good to let it out, but it will better for the team in the long run. Teamwork in martial arts depends on everyone feeling comfortable enough to calmly discuss differences. Many times you will find that negative feelings are the result of a simple misunderstanding, and once you and your teammate have a discussion it will clear the air. Individual sports and martial arts are unique in that they often require an immense amount of teamwork to build a successful individual performance or development. This concept is unique in individual sports because in the heat of the moment only one person is responsible for the success and failure of the battle. However, to prepare and execute in battle it takes an entire team to do so. In life, just like in these individual sports, there are individual responsibilities that contribute to the success of the entire group. The ability to recognize your individual responsibility and contribute to the team is essential. This contribution might come in the form of being a leader, a follower, a silent voice of action, or mustering people together with your words and action.

5. Positive social interaction

This study described sports from the perspective of social psychology, particularly in terms of social interaction. Martial arts involve direct physical contact with social interaction partners. These contacts are an essentially direct relationship between one and another individual. This study seeks to investigate the quality of social interaction between martial art athletes. Judo and karate are among the many martial arts that are characterized by full-body combat. The objective of this study was to describe the quality of social interaction between martial art athletes. To this end, questionnaires were addressed to the samples who were all students of the karate and judo unit at the Indonesia University of Education in order to find out the quality of social interaction between karate and judo athletes. This study is expected to motivate athletes and coaches and to educate society in general that martial arts can contribute positively to the quality of social interaction.

6. Self-control

The ability to control our emotions, our desire, and our reactions can be a huge asset both in personal and professional life. However, it is very difficult to attain this state of balance and control; but with the regular practice of martial arts, it is indeed possible. Martial arts for men and women is not just a way to improve health or to learn self-defense. Of the many mental benefits, this skill imparts is the ability to develop and maintain self-discipline in life itself. Martial arts are all about control although it does not teach the practitioner to focus on overpowering or gaining control of the weaker opponent. What it does impart is the ability to use one’s own skills, strengths, and perseverance in a fully controlled manner so that the battle of self-defense scenario can be won as much with strategy as with strength. The controlled movements of martial arts, the need to think before acting, and the conscious act of honing one’s response to the surroundings with situational awareness- these all help improve the self-discipline that the practitioner has. A professional martial arts instructor will instill these basic fundamentals.

7. Decision Making

Decision-making is the process by which one chooses the most favorable course of action given a particular set of circumstances. Your daily life is filled with such instances, from choosing what to eat for breakfast to negotiating the fine points of a romantic relationship and managing everyday work problems. If you think about it, you will find that most of the weightier decisions you make are relationship-related matters, and the outcomes of the choices you make in this realm will likely impact your life the most.

8. Balance and Posture

A good posture is one in which the body is aligned with gravity, walks tall, and moves with freedom in the joints. Posture in the martial arts is vitally important as I will go into this post.

Physical structure from a kung fu point of view involves a little bit more than just good posture. It takes that good posture and adds to its internal connections so that your whole body learns to move as one fluid and powerful unit.

All of the most highly respected martial arts in China know the absolute importance of good physical structure. Each of the main internal arts: Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, and Baguazhang emphasize structure from the beginning. When I spar with someone for the first time the first thing I look for is a good structure, do they have it or don’t they. If they do then I know a lot of techniques I could try simply won’t work. On the other hand, if their structure is poor or non-existent then pretty much everything will work and I know they will go down with no real effort on my part. Good structure is almost invisible even to the trained eye although good structure or lack of it can usually be felt as soon as you make contact with your opponent. Put simply good structure is the way you connect the different parts of yourself together internally so that they are aligned with the forces acting on your body.

9. Problem-solving

One could easily say martial arts is all about solving problems. It isn’t uncommon to hear people compare styles like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to chess – which is one of the most recognized games of logic. That’s because every technique you perform is a response to a particular set of circumstances.

If an attacker is charging recklessly towards you, going for a takedown is a good way to use the person’s momentum against them. If your sparring partner is going for submission while you’re mounted, that’s a good time to bridge and roll since your partner becomes off-balanced when shifting his/her weight.

You’re constantly being showed different scenarios when you train, and your job as a martial artist is to figure out the most efficient way for you to deal with what is going on around you. What works for one person won’t necessarily work for others. Every martial artist eventually develops their own personal style over time.

Things are turned up another notch when you spar. You still have to come up with the most efficient way to deal with anything your sparring partner does, but, this time around, you have a limited amount of time to react to things. You’ll also eventually get tired when you spar, which means you now have to solve complex problems while being out of breath.

That’s a lot tougher than any decisions you have to make at work.

Learning how to make good decisions while performing physically tasking activities will pay dividends while you’re at work.

10. Memorization

To successfully advance to the next belt level, students must learn a variety of techniques, skills, forms, and philosophies. While testing in martial arts schools differs significantly from testing in a classroom, the amount of memorization required can help students learn better in school. Martial arts students also gain a lot of experience when demonstrating their knowledge on the spot. This further aids in recall and helps them to better prepare to succeed under pressure.

11. Self-Discipline

While practicing martial arts is an excellent way to improve your physical health and learn self-defense maneuvers, its greatest advantage is arguably in its ability to help finesse self-discipline skills. The ability to maintain control over responses, thoughts, and emotions is of tremendous value, both professionally and personally. It is the foundation for forming a healthy sense of self. Here are three ways that martial arts can help promote self-discipline, thereby providing the building blocks for integrity, perseverance, and inner calmness.

Living a disciplined life entails living life according to particular guiding principles. This is not learned overnight. In martial arts, you have intrinsic motivation to achieve higher ranks. Rather than aim for the highest rank immediately, students must set smaller, attainable goals. To achieve these goals, they must establish a set routine for growth.

The art behind martial arts is its reliance on self-control. While the focus of martial arts isn't on dominance or gaining control of a weaker opponent, it is on centering a person's body in a fully controlled manner. To win a battle, it should take strategy just as much as strength. A martial arts instructor instills the fundamental need to continuously stay aware of surroundings and respond accordingly.

Martial arts rely on following certain rules. Being able to follow rules, even if those rules aren't something you agree with or helped establish, is key to self-discipline. For example, students are taught that when the master says something, the appropriate response is, "Yes, sir." A martial arts instructor does not need to put up with disrespect or people who refuse to follow the rules, so people quickly learn the importance of adhering to rules.

When you set out to learn martial arts, the instructor guides you through the process step-by-step. It is through incremental goal setting that success is attained. The discipline required to achieve small goals is imperative to growth.

12. Responsibility

The quest for honesty also includes a focus on how we act. The discipline of learning a martial art will teach the importance of taking control of our actions. Making excuses or blaming other people means we are failing to take responsibility for our actions. This is a character trait that is very often found in those that fail to succeed at anything. Martial arts involvement demonstrates a student's responsibility for training and practice. Part of the process of growth that occurs as a student progresses through the belts is learning that while an instructor can offer guidance and support, they cannot do the hard work for you. If you choose to do something else with your time when you should be training, then you cannot blame anyone else if you fail to succeed. Once we begin to accept total responsibility for our actions, we will often find we can more easily overcome the difficulties life throws at us. Parental guidance plays a key role in ensuring children succeed. At Tring Martial Arts we will work with you to help educate and motivate your child, so they can reach their goals in all areas of life.

13. Physical Fitness

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says only 1 in 5 adults meet physical activity guidelines set to improve wellbeing. Just as you’d think, physical activity has far-reaching benefits. It can help control your weight, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and more. Physical activity alone can help improve your mental health and mood, strengthen your bones and muscles, and improve your chances of living a longer, healthier life.

Although different martial arts vary in the levels of rigorous physical activity, nearly all of them will improve conditioning and fitness. With obesity rates as high as they are, more and more adults need to find a physical activity they enjoy, to keep their health in check. Martial arts can provide a source of fitness that is enjoyable, life-enriching, and can be maintained for many years.

14. Healthy living

Those who are looking to lead healthier lifestyles should look no further. Martial arts is the perfect catalyst for getting the most out of life physically, mentally, and spiritually. It teaches you to discipline yourself when it comes to making decisions on nutrition, rest, and recovery.

Because it is such an intense physical workout, martial arts encourages you to eat clean. Improving your diet becomes second nature because your body will require more energy in general, just to perform many martial arts’ various techniques. Secondly, martial arts improves your mental health because it teaches you how to meditate and draw upon your spiritual energy.

Through physical exercise and proper breathing, the body releases a healthy amount of endorphins, and we feel stronger, fitter, and healthier each day. In this way, martial arts benefits your life whether you want to shed some unwanted weight or reach the desired fitness goal.

15. Coordination

This isn’t a skill that we often talk about in martial arts, and still, it is a fundamental one that is a natural outgrowth of practice. Martial art training helps students to become aware of their bodies – how they move, how they function, and how to control them. In martial arts both gross motor skills like kicking, punching and jumping are developed, as well as fine motor skills like hand and foot placement and vital point striking work.

Good coordination is key to building confidence and improving performance. It’s also a skill that transfers out of the training hall and into real life. Improved coordination helps reaction times in an accident, provides injury prevention, builds confidence, and more. The skills that feed into coordination are things like spatial awareness, judging distances, changing speed and angle, etc., all of which are fundamental to martial arts training.

What’s perhaps most fantastic about coordination is that it’s a skill that can be improved through practice and training. Though it’s a common assumption that grace and controlled movement are natural abilities, most people are actually able to make vast gains in their coordination with martial arts! That’s because martial arts start off by teaching broad movements, then refine them again and again through repetition and instruction. During a training session, an isolated movement like the chamber for a kick or the angle of a fist might be practiced fifty or a hundred times or more. That repetition teaches the body how to move, and as combinations are added on, coordination improves.

16. Motor skills

Motor skills are another faculty the autism spectrum can have difficulty with. Motor planning can be a difficulty for many but learning the necessary body positions and techniques in martial arts can yield huge improvements. Martial arts classes have an external cue (instruction or a reaction to an attack or defense), in which a reaction undergoes internal coordination and motor planning. This helps develop the brain areas that are used for motor skills.

17. Personal Safety

Your personal safety is something you should take the time to learn about.
There are several dimensions to self-defense and personal safety.

First, find resources and safety services at your place of work, your school campus, or any other place you spend a significant amount of time.

Second, think about the places and times that could be dangerous. Take measures to avoid these and keep yourself, your family, your friends out of harm’s way. Third, help yourself, a family member, or a friend, leave an abusive relationship.

18. Self-confidence

Self-confidence is the ability to trust yourself and your abilities. For that, you need to first know what you are capable of physically, mentally, and emotionally. To know this, it is essential that you push your limits on a regular basis to see how much you can take. Pushing yourself just a little bit more each workout is the key to extending and expanding your capabilities over time. Since karate and some related martial art forms are essentially about self-improvement of mind, body, and spirit, training is a natural, reliable, and enjoyable way to gain self-confidence.

19. Respect

There are a number of key principles that underlie and unify traditional Martial Arts training programs. Most systems promote a culture of courtesy and self-discipline and invariably deliver to committed students greater self-esteem and improved self-confidence. However, there is one main principle that is fundamental and integral to all the others: respect – showing it and earning it.
Respect is a philosophical cornerstone of most reputable, traditional Martial Art training facilities.

In concept and practice, respect is key to how martial arts can help improve people’s lives. This is particularly true with regard to children and teen students, whose perceptions, attitudes, and interpersonal skills are being influenced and developed.

Traditional styles of Martial Arts generally offer programs for kids and teens designed to promote positive behavior both on and off the training mat. The considerate, self-controlled, active-listening, respectful manner in which instructors, staff, and students conduct training and interactions usually has a powerful effect on students’ outlooks and other aspects of their lives.
In quality Martial Arts classes for children and adults, students experience and contribute to an environment of mutual respect and self-respect. Seeing the behavior modeled in class is useful, but
the lessons are reinforced when parents demonstrate self-respect and courtesy for others in their daily interactions. Because kids usually do what they see, we must be mindful to make showing respect for all a natural habit.