Advantages of Martial Arts
It Heals You . . .
Hi everyone! Today, I want to talk about the advantages of Martial Arts. I, personally, love all martial arts — whether it is Taekwondo, Karate, Kung Fu, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, etc. But my favourite is MMA — Mixed Martial Arts. It involves everything. I love watching MMA fights. And I also like to learn a little bit of Martial Arts. And here are some things I found that make me better as a human being when I practice Martial Arts.
Improvement In Health
Martial arts involves a lot of physical activities that help you improve your health. Just like people go on a run, or go to the gym, they can also practice martial arts. When you learn martial arts, you have to stretch, run, and exercise. Even in sparring, you move yourself around — thus, burning calories.
Helps In Self-Defense
Most of the self-defense techniques out there are trash. You cannot go to a self-defense class once or twice and then actually defend yourself in a real life situation. There are self defense teachers out there who can’t even defend themselves in a real life situation. And the adrenaline rush in a real life situation is very different. However, when you learn Martial Arts — especially MMA (because the rules are that you can use mostly everything) — then you get stronger reflexes, your fight IQ increases and you know how to defend yourself.
Makes You Tougher
Martial Arts involves getting hurt by someone. When you get hurt, you slowly learn to embrace the pain. You slowly learn to take hits, you learn to deal with pain, and you get tougher — both mentally and physically. It helps in life as well — to deal with tough times.
It Teaches You Respect
Martial Arts not only involves getting hurt but also involves hurting someone. Martial Arts teaches people to be respectful to their opponents. It teaches people that the opponent is not their enemy but just an opponent. It teaches people that Martial Arts is not to destroy, but to ensure peace. It teaches people respect — because fighters know how hard it is to train and then find out that you lost. It teaches people to be peaceful. Most martial artists will not engage in fights because they do not want to beat up the other person.
It Gives Confidence
Martial Arts gives you confidence. At least, it has given me. Well, sometimes, I used to wonder, what would happen if I were to get in trouble on the street? What if I was hanging out with my sisters or my friends or my parents and someone tried to do something? I was a skinny kid who anyone could bully. And that is part of the reason I got into Martial Arts — to protect my people and myself. It gives me confidence now — if someone tried to harm or do something to my people, I have the confidence to face them.
It’s Fun
And lastly, it’s fun. It is very fun. If you don’t agree with me, then just go and spar with someone. It is very fun. My friends and I spar sometimes and I love it and so do my friends. Some may not like it, though. However, when I spar with my friends, I do so with the intent to learn, get better, and have fun. My intention is never to harm them.
It is a big misconception that Martial Arts is bad because it promotes violence. NO! It is a power that people have to earn and learn to use it mindfully. It does not promote violence but respect, peace, confidence and strength.
