Although martial arts are a fantastic way of fighting, they’re more than that. They provide plenty of benefits, such as confidence and self-esteem. As a result, many people train them to experience said benefits. For me, they changed my life. Let’s see how.
- increase self-confidence and self-esteem
- reduce stress and aggression levels
- form of meditation
- have a rich history
- assist in dealing with ADHD
As you can see, training in martial arts doesn’t only teach how to fight. Instead, you’ll be gaining many benefits just by being consistent with it. Yet, many people are still ignorant of these facts. Next, I’ll go through each point and prove why they work.
If you want to learn more about this topic, follow the link to read how often you should practice martial arts. By not following this article, you may be overtraining. That can cause injuries and plenty of harmful effects.
1. Martial arts increase self-confidence and self-esteem
Although you’ll learn how to fight, you’ll also be overcoming many obstacles throughout training. Because of that, one’s self-trust and self-worth will rise over time. As a result, some say martial arts is a form of self-help. You’ll be bettering your mental health by staying consistent with classes.
Martial arts increase self-confidence and self-esteem because the trainees will be overcoming various obstacles throughout training. As a result, one will trust himself to a higher degree. For instance, if I win against an opponent I couldn’t beat before, my confidence will rise.
Yet, if I say it, it may be untrue. Therefore, I’ll cite a study that showed exactly that. In this research, one can understand why martial arts are a form of self-help. I assure you, if more people were aware of that, the rate of people training in fighting styles would immediately increase.
Training in martial arts has altered experiences of control and vulnerability, self-esteem, self-concept, fitness, confidence, and relaxation. As a result, some researchers characterize martial arts practice as a form of self-help.
(Columbus & Rice, 1998)
Today, such a trait is highly desirable. Many would do anything to have better self-esteem. Consequently, if you can increase yours by learning to fight, wouldn’t you jump on the opportunity?
Hopefully, you comprehend this benefit. Again, you can become a better version of yourself by staying consistent with training. Whether you’re training in Jiu-Jitsu or Judo, you’ll better your confidence with time.
Lastly, although that’s the case, one must work hard to reach such a trait. If you attend a few classes, don’t expect to trust yourself entirely yet. Instead, stay consistent and constantly invest the effort to improve yourself. Hence your self-esteem and confidence will correlate.
2. Martial arts reduce stress and aggression levels
Some people don’t have the resource to release the aggression and tension they’ve built in the last period. As a result, they’ll be more stressed. Because of that, finding this outlet is especially vital to become peaceful and stress-free.
Martial arts provide an outlet for their trainees to release aggression and stress. Because of that, people who learn such styles are more peaceful and don’t hold grudges. For instance, the Shaolin monks practice Shaolin Kung fu, and they’re stressless and capable of fighting.
If you want to read more about the Shaolin monks and how they remain calm by training Shaolin Kung fu, follow the link to an article of mine. Today, most people would love not to be stressed. Yet, they do little to change their current state. Martial arts have made me more friendly as I’m sure it’ll change your perspective as well.
Most schools that teach such arts provide the students with a non-judgemental environment. As a result, you’ll be able to be yourself and release all of the negative emotions you hold. As a result, not only will you reduce stress, but you’ll also become more friendly and less judgmental.
“Martial arts apprentices turned out to present a statistically significantly lower level of hostility and of the general aggression index than combat sports athletes.
(Source)
3. Martial arts are a form of meditation
Most martial arts involve some form of meditation. In Japanese culture, it’s called Qi. To be clear, that’s your soul. Now, you can develop it or do as most people do, neglect it. Learning a fighting style, such as Kung fu or Karate, will involve drills that develop your Qi.
Most martial arts incorporate training drills where meditation will take place. As a result, you’ll be able to become calmer and develop your Qi. Some martial arts do it better than others, for instance, Tai chi and Qigong. As a result, training in them is wise if you wish to learn introspection.
From personal experience, these martial arts involve better self-reflection than others. You’ll have plenty of time to think and be with yourself. In today’s constantly changing world, we’re not focusing on an issue for more than a minute. Our attention spans are lower than ever.
“In this paper, we provide evidence that training in Martial Arts is associated with improvements in the Alert attentional network.” (Source)
For that reason, martial arts are a fantastic form of self-development and meditation. You’ll be spending plenty of time introspecting and reflecting. As a result, your attention span will be better, and you’ll also be complete and peaceful.
4. Martial arts have a rich history
Throughout history, many stories introduced us to martial arts. Did you know that Karate started in Okinawa, Japan, as a form of self-defense? The people there constructed a fighting style to teach the citizens self-defense.
Martial arts have a rich history. As a result, one can use training to learn more about the culture and stories of the fighting style. Understanding the background behind your training will assist you in staying consistent. I highly recommend you read the legend of the Shaolin monks. It’s fascinating to learn.
It doesn’t have to be a while back for you to bond with the culture. When I learned Krav Maga, I studied the background of martial art. It turned out that it started in the Israeli community in 1930. They needed to learn to fight in close combat to protect themselves against the Germans.
Such knowledge provided me with a boost of motivation, as I was eager to learn more about the background of the fighting style. Consequently, I was able to stay consistent with training and invest more effort. Thus not only did I progress faster, but I also experienced the benefits flowing to me quickly.
From personal experience, learning about different cultures made me more eager to study even more. As a result, I now feel more connected to the process of training in martial arts. I believe it’ll have a similar effect on you.
5. Martial arts assist in dealing with ADHD
The main issue with ADHD is attention span. People who experience such effects won’t concentrate appropriately and may be hyperactive. Consequently, they can hold much tension and stress without an outlet to release these emotions.
Martial arts are suitable for dealing with ADHD because it provides an outlet for trainees to release aggression and tension. As a result, trainees will become fatigued post-session. For instance, Kickboxing will include punching bag drills, which emit plenty of anger.
I’ve looked into punching bags, and there’s one I specifically liked. I’ve seen success with it and I’m sure you’ll too. This punching bag is by Everlast (Amazon), and I highly encourage you to buy it.
Sensing ADHD effects correlate with high levels of stress and tension. As a result, one can decrease said symptoms by having an outlet to release anger. Learning to fight will provide a non-judgmental platform for its trainees to release their aggression.
Read more about the best martial arts for ADHD and how it helps in dealing with it by following the link to an article of mine.
Yet again, there’s more to martial arts other than learning to fight. As I’ve previously mentioned, it’s also a form of meditation. Therefore, one can become calmer and less stressed not by physical activity but by spirituality. Because of that, fighting styles, such as Tai Chi and Qigong, will be suitable for dealing with ADHD.
The martial arts I recommend you to train in if you want to deal with ADHD are the following.
- Jiu-Jitsu
- MMA
- Kickboxing
- Boxing
- Judo
- Tai chi
- Qigong
Are martial arts useful for fighting?
Martial arts, in their essence, is learning to fight. When they first started, their purpose was to teach people how to protect themselves. Today, they’re widespread, and everyone has at least heard of a couple of fighting styles.
Martial arts are valuable for fighting because they provide the trainee with many techniques and movements to protect oneself. As a result, martial arts trainees are capable of fighting appropriately. For instance, the Shaolin monks can use Kung fu to cause massive damage.
Today, most people who want to learn self-defense won’t study Karate or Kung fu. Instead, they’ll choose Krav Maga or MMA as their fighting style. What is that?
Because the world is dynamic, you need to learn to adapt. You won’t achieve that level by training in traditional martial art. Instead, you’ll do so by learning a modern one. As a result, Krav Maga and MMA are suitable for self-defense because you’ll learn to adapt in training.
I wrote an article explaining that issue in greater detail. I highly encourage you to follow the link to read it, as it may add to your knowledge. Read whether martial arts and fighting are the same.
I highly encourage you to check out these Boxing gloves and MMA gloves. They’re both fantastic products I found success with using. As a result, they assisted me to progress, and I believe they’ll help you too.
Why you should learn a martial art
Overall, learning martial art will provide the trainee with plenty of benefits. As a result, one can expect to experience many positive changes in his life by training in such an art.
Learning a martial art is wise because it’ll develop highly desirable characteristics, such as confidence, self-worth, work ethic, and humbleness. As a result, training in martial arts will provide plenty of benefits that’ll develop you to a high degree.
For me, it has changed my life, and I’m sure it’ll change yours. I learned a few styles throughout my life, and I cannot be more grateful for that. Yet, I wish my parents would sign me to a martial art school. That way, I would experience these benefits from an earlier stage in my life.
On my website, I wrote an article on the complete beginners’ guide to learning martial arts. I’ll go over whether you should train in one and plenty more valuable information. I highly encourage you to read it if you’re hesitant about starting to train in one.
Conclusion
Understand that martial arts aren’t the only way to fight wisely. You’ll be able to learn how to use the techniques for battling. Yet, the valuable benefits will appear once you stay consistent with training for a prolonged time.
You’ll be experiencing all the benefits suddenly flowing your way. All you need to do is invest plenty of effort into your training. Thus you’ll use martial arts as a form of self-help and self-development.
There isn’t a single part of my body that’ll tell you not to begin training in martial arts. You’ll be bettering yourself from the first session. Most people don’t know that. If they did, they would’ve signed up for a fighting-style school the day after.
Here are other articles you’d enjoy reading:
7 Most Powerful Grappling Martial Arts (For Self-Defense)
5 Best Fighting Styles for MMA – Full Guide
5 Most Valuable Black Belts in Martial Arts
7 Best Martial Arts for MMA | Which Is the Best?