There are a lot more things to obtain from enrolling yourself in a martial arts class other than learning how to perform roundhouse kicks or throw karate chops. Whether your goal is to learn to defend yourself or get in shape, or both, becoming skilled at martial arts enables you to enjoy all of these awesome mind and body benefits:
Confidence Outside of Your Home
Martial arts is primarily a traditional combat system that enables you to counter an assailant’s attacks. In this day and age where threatening situations pervade the streets, learning a little self-defense can be advantageous. Knowing the right moves, you can keep yourself from being the helpless victim of a crime.
Improved Cardiovascular Health
All the fast-paced movements you will have to perform during martial arts classes are a great workout for the entirety of your cardiovascular system. Doing martial arts increases your heart rate and strengthens the heart muscles, and improves blood circulation throughout your body.
Eliminated Unwanted Calories and Pounds
Just a few minutes of doing martial arts will already make you sweat a lot, which is a sign that you are engaged in a superb form of exercise. Carrying out all of those chops, kicks, blocks and dodges helps you burn excess calories. In other words, enrolling in a martial arts class helps you shed off unwanted pounds effectively.
Toned and Stronger Muscles
Other than keeping excess weight at bay, doing martial arts also helps tone and strengthen your muscles. This allows you to attain an attractive figure. But more importantly, having those muscles worked out by means of martial arts helps increase both your strength and endurance.
Enhanced Flexibility, Coordination and Balance
Engaging in martial arts can give you better flexibility, coordination and balance. You might think that gymnasts and tightrope walkers are the only ones who need to have those things enhanced, but you are definitely wrong! A lot of your everyday activities rely on good flexibility, coordination and balance — from washing your car to shopping.
Accelerated Reflexes
Because martial arts is all about learning to defend yourself in times of crises, your reflexes become better and better. There are numerous perks to having fast reflexes other than being able to counter attacks more effectively. From safely driving to your workplace to acing video games, having faster reaction times is advantageous.
Improved Way of Life
Learning martial arts is all about discipline — and it’s not just while inside the studio that you need lots of it, but also outside of it. For instance, you will be inclined to make healthier food choices and stay away from smoking and other bad vices just to be able to perform very well during your martial arts classes.
Lowered Levels of Stress
We all know that stress, especially if it’s the long-term kind that is left unmanaged, can cause many different health problems. Luckily, there are many ways to combat stress, and one of the best is performing martial arts. That’s because it causes you to put your entire focus and attention on those various martial arts principles and moves.
Reduced Feeling of Being Down
Engaging in martial arts is a wonderful form of exercise, and everyone knows that exercising is a phenomenal defense against depression. During your martial arts class, your body releases more endorphins or more commonly known as the “happy hormones”. What’s more, being surrounded with like-minded people can help you forget your problems.
Increased Sense of Achievement
Last but not least, learning martial arts formally can give you a sense of achievement. Aside from the fact that it arms you with some excellent self-defense moves, it also gives you the opportunity to climb up the colored belt ranking system. Nothing can make you feel more accomplished than becoming a black belter!
Sources: usnews.com
