Exercise in general has a myriad number of benefits for your health and well being. Martial arts, which is an intense form of work out, enable you to achieve all those health benefits more quickly. Besides instilling discipline, confidence, and feelings of achievement, it provides several physical and cognitive health benefits.
This is why most athletes, sportsmen, and even actors take part in martial arts for improving their physical performance in their respective fields. Through improving one’s skills during practice, a student of martial arts will be able to reach his peak potential. To improve the shape of the body, it is the most suitable workout for people of all ages.
Since health and fitness are closely intertwined, let’s explore some of the most important and long term health benefits of martial arts.
Physical health benefits of Martial Arts
Helps in overcoming obesity:
Martial arts is the briskest way of losing extra fats on your belly and in the form of rings on your back. Martial arts, due to its intense nature, improve your metabolism very swiftly, which will contribute to weight loss. It can burn up to 500 calories in one class.
Losing weight will give tone up your body and give the best shape you desire. Moreover, when you practice martial arts, you tend to have low food cravings, and when you eat you intake healthy nutrition. This way you could maintain your weight at any level.
Improvement in cardiovascular health:
In today’s era, millions of people fall victim to the fatal disease of a heart attack. The main reason behind this life-threatening ailment is, not eating right and the absence of physical activities. Martial arts is the best workout for improving your cardiovascular health. As martial arts is a vigorous exercise, so, during its training, drills can help ramp up one’s heart rate, help you build cardiovascular endurance, and enhance the positive impact of your aerobic exercise.
Keeps blood pressure in check:
Hypertension is also a very common disease all around the globe and this disease can be controlled by practicing rigorous moves of martial arts. The agile and repetitive movements you practice in this intense workout aids cardiovascular health, slowing down your resting heart rate and lowering your blood pressure. Elite sports keep supreme quality gloves for your martial arts.
Improves your reflexes:
When you are in a martial arts competition, you have very little to react to an opponent’s attack or move. Fast reflexes are the core strength of practicing martial arts whether it’s sparring or fighting in a competition, blocking and dodging the attacks of your opponent. This is why you work on your reflexes with the help of different exercises and repetition of different moves during martial arts training. These improved reflexes will help you in your other daily activities too.
Enhances your Strength and Power:
Martial arts training makes your body stronger and more formidable because of its strenuous moves. Repetitive muscular moves like kicks, punches will strengthen your whole body over time. This strength will help you execute an effective move during martial arts competition.
Mobility:
Practicing martial arts moves regularly will surely improve your mobility. You will be able to move faster and efficient with martial arts workout. It will not only improve your performance in martial arts but in all physical activities including your house chores.
Stability and Coordination
When you are repeatedly practicing martial arts moves, you are increasing your stability and improving your coordination. These characteristics will help you in a successful attack and well-headed blocking against the opponent’s attack.
Improves your flexibility
Martial arts help people to improve their flexibility because executing moves like flying kick, double kick, throws, and dodging need a great form of flexibility otherwise if you have a less pliable body and execute these kicks, you are likely to get injured.
Mental Health benefit of Martial Arts
Martial arts have a great many cognitive benefits including release of your daily stressors, helping you overcome depression, inculcating a certain level of patience and discipline, helping you learn values and morals, and ameliorating your mood.
Besides the aforementioned mental benefits here are some other cognitive benefits of doing regular exercise.
Self-Confidence:
One of the many great benefits of martial art training is that it develops a good sense of confidence. Martial arts techniques require a great deal of time to master their moves. You have to remain patient and motivated through all this struggle, only then you will be able to develop confidence in yourself after the accomplishing in mastering those moves.
This feeling of accomplishment empowers a good deal of self-esteem and a high level of confidence in you. Martial arts motivate you to achieve your limits and discover the hidden defensive and attacking talent in you. The more we begin to learn about ourselves, the more confident we will feel.
Focus:
One of the great mental benefits that martial arts provide is an increased focus on our inner being. To get the most out of martial arts, we always pay attention to our state of mind. During practicing martial arts you do meditation, deep breathing, and practice high degree principles like courage, respect, perseverance, and honor in martial art.
This surely improves synchronization between your mind and body which in turn enhances your focus. As you practice vigorous training of martial arts, your body and mind will become stronger and healthier, making it easier for you to focus better.
List of some most famous styles of martial arts you can choose from,
- Karate
- Judo
- Boxing
- BJJ
- Taekwondo
- KickBoxing
- Muay Thai
- Aikido
- Tai Chi
- Ninja
Conclusion:
People have been practicing martial arts since 1300 for self-defense, physical and mental health. It is the most ultimate form of workout if you want to improve your health and well being. Even if you do not have any prior experience in practicing martial arts, it’s a great activity to pick up. You just have to wear some fine quality outfit and gloves before registering yourself in a martial arts class.
Nicola Holder