BENEFITS OF MARTIAL ARTS
Martial Arts provide much more than just fitness-oriented benefits. Martial Arts can help improve your mental strength, change your outlook on life, allow you to adapt to different situations, and improve your social life.
Physical Fitness
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says only 1 in 5 adults meet physical activity guidelines set to improve well-being. Just as you’d think, physical activity has far reaching benefits. It can help control your weight, reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and more. The 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 practiced for many years. See our Blog posting around WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KIDS DON’T EXERCISE.
Mental Strength
A successful practice of martial arts requires a large amount of mental fortitude. Some of martial arts’ most traditional tenets - such as indomitable spirit and perseverance - stress the importance of fighting through preconceived limits. Discipline might be the biggest trait that leads to success in martial arts. Knowing you have a challenge up ahead and developing the discipline needed to achieve that is an important life skill that will translate to many other areas of your life. See our Blog posting around MENTAL TOUGHNESS OR GRIT.
Another important aspect of martial arts is feeling, accepting, and controlling your emotions. By practicing martial arts, you will feel anger, fear, frustration, and anxiety, at some point. The way you deal with these emotions will help you grow mentally. This will also help in everyday life with how you deal with others, from workplace discussions to family disagreements.
Mental Health
The issues of mental health are becoming more apparent and our understanding of them is growing as well. Many issues of mental health are helped by fitness alone, but martial arts add a lot of benefits. Martial Arts can help with addiction, ADHD, and autism; Martial Arts can also help bring on a sense of purpose. Being goal-oriented and exploring that side of our human nature is important for our happiness and developing feeling a sense of purpose and success. The motivation that can be built by practicing Martial Arts can help power you through your fitness goals, as well as your life goals. See our Blog posting around HAVING THE RIGHT MIND SET TO IMPROVE IN LIFE & SPORTS.
Social Life
In adulthood, it can be very tough for some to find peers with mutual interests and outlooks. Martial arts are a great place to meet new people, from all walks of life, and the shared dedication to their art can help bond with new people. Lifelong friends are made all the time at Martial Arts gyms; going through difficult trials - such as belt testing - can really help create social bonds between mates.
If you’d like to learn more about Martial Arts, check out our videos at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCspB-QdbOKl2DbLN-T7F_7w/videos
Finally, come check us out at https://limitlessmartialarts.ca
We may the right school, the right program, the right team to help you begin reaping the benefits of Martial Arts.