8 Exciting Health Benefits From Learning Martial Arts
Are you looking to improve your health while making new friends and developing life-saving defense skills?
Martial arts is a fantastic activity with a rich history that requires the participant to be physically active throughout its entirety.
However, it also happens to instil a sense of achievement as you progress through the ranks eventually earning a black belt. Even if you are someone without any prior experience in martial arts, you will be able to pick it up as a great activity to include in your exercise routine.
Here are 8 exciting health benefits that come with martial arts training.
#1 – Full Body Workout
If you are someone that is trying to find the ideal form of exercise to include in your routine, look no further.
Martial arts is a fantastic option to consider because it can provide you with a sweat including a workout that works your entire body at once. Consistently working out with martial arts can help you in a variety of ways by improving your mobility and improving your muscle mass.
According to leading massage experts, martial arts can be a proven fat burner. “Due to a lot of martial arts moves involving various muscular repetitions, you will be able to burn a significant amount of fat and build a significant amount of muscle. It is a fantastic way to really be able to increase your strength very quickly.”
#2 – Improved Flexibility
Another area it is going to help is through improving your flexibility. Because you will continually introduce various repetitive movements such as high kicks into your routine, it is going to maximise your flexibility.
Chiropractor Keith Maitland says that martial arts can create better flexibility in all areas of life. He explains “you will constantly be working on your footwork and working on low stances which can improve your bending abilities. Thus, it can help you become a lot more flexible and mobile in general.”
Flexibility has a lot of benefits on its own. Not only will it help improve your posture, but it can help you:
- minimise muscle soreness
- improve your ability to relax
- reduce your risk of injury
- and much more
Because Tae-kwondo for example requires multi-directional movement, it is the absolute perfect martial art for those that have a primary goal of enhancing their flexibility.
#3 – Better Overall Coordination
All types of martial arts will require coordination in order to move with another during the practice.
A lot of martial arts even require you to use tools along with it further improving coordination. These are all factors that you want to consider when you are looking to improve the coordination of your body.
Adelaide Osteopaths explain that “by implementing martial arts practices you will be able to effectively encourage your lower portion of your body to become a central base. Whereas, the upper portion of your body will be able to be manipulated and move as needed.”
This improvement to coordination is what makes martial arts such a great activity for kids.
#4 – Better Cardiovascular Health
There has been plenty of research that shows that one of the only effective ways to improve the health of one’s cardiovascular systems by putting the heart through its paces. You must stress the heart in order to improve its efficiency.
This is exactly what martial arts is capable of doing. Because it requires so much effort and because it causes the heart rate to increase throughout the entire activity, it can help improve cardio health.
#5 – Self-Confidence
Because of everything involved with martial arts including goal setting, respect for traditions, and positive reinforcement, one of the most significant benefits that you are likely to get from martial arts is boosted self-confidence.
You will become much more comfortable in a variety of situations because of it. You will be able to understand what you are capable of and that will push you to be able to handle more situations.
#6 – Better Reflexes
Another benefit is the fact that you will be able to improve your reflexes as a direct result. This is primarily because the activity requires you to react quickly which can have numerous benefits in your daily life when participating in activities that require fast response times like driving.
#7 – Improve Your Stamina
Research has shown that martial arts and other kinds of aerobic exercise can produce a physical change in the brain which can enhance memory and learning skills. The very same study found that it can also be a good way to prevent the onset of dementia.
#8 – Stress Relief
By practising a form of martial arts regularly, you will be able to reduce stress levels by a significant margin.
A lot of different kinds of martial arts practices emphasise a complete focus on your breathing and your ability to control your thoughts. Therefore, it makes it easier to control your emotions and to keep yourself from getting too stressed out.
When you are participating in martial arts, you are practising and learning a skill that can be applied to other areas of your life.
As a martial artist, you will be able to challenge yourself, learn when to be calm and how to react, and know-how to focus.
Participating in this type of exercise can have positive effects on your mood which can really help you become a healthier and happier person overall.
Are you ready to enjoy the exciting benefits of martial arts? Find out how to get started with the Institute of Modern Tae-Kwondo!
