Adult's Martial Arts

Martial Arts & Mental Strength

Martial arts, like Tae Kwon Do and Karate, isn’t just an intense physical activity, it is also an exercise of the mind, sharpening focus and improving concentration in you or your child. One of the many benefits of training martial arts is enhanced mental clarity. Not only will martial arts get you or your child in great shape, but it will also put you or your child in the absolute best state of mind.

Today’s world is fast-paced and incredibly hectic. So much is going on every day that it’s hard to keep up. It has become increasingly difficult to maintain focus and concentrate on various things we have to do with all that is going on in our everyday lives. Oftentimes, there is just too much peripheral noise that surrounds us, and it takes our attention away from matters that are truly deserved of our time.

One of the most important aspects of our lives to improve is our mental strength. By making our minds stronger, we are able to achieve more. Because martial arts, like Tae Kwon Do and Karate, deals a lot with putting individuals in the proper frame of mind, this makes training in martial arts a great way to exercise our brains.

1) It gives you a sense of calm and serenity.

2) It gives you self-confidence.

3) Improved physical health clears the mind: Sound body, sound mind.

4) Martial Arts enhances concentration and focus.

Tae Kwon Do & Confidence

Self-confidence is the ability to trust yourself and your abilities. For that, you need to first know what you are capable of physically, mentally, and emotionally. To know this, it is essential that you push your limits on a regular basis to see how much you can take. Pushing yourself just a little bit more each workout is the key to extending and expanding your capabilities over time. Since taekwondo, karate, and some related martial arts forms are essentially about self-improvement of mind, body, and spirit, training is a natural, reliable, and enjoyable way to gain self-confidence.

You can train your kids to practice pushing their limits from a young age, so they learn to give their best in every life situation. Get them started young, in their pre-school years if possible, to reap maximum benefits of taekwondo. These early, formative years are important times for developing bodies and minds. Parents appreciate the physical fitness, good manners, and new friendships formed by their children being in taekwondo.

Taekwondo, karate, and certain other martial arts involve progression from one level to the next, each level corresponding to various belt colors going from white to black. Each successive rank includes a number of simple and complex moves that must be learned and properly performed, with tests to be passed, to be graduated in rank and belt color. Classes also include free sparring in protective safety gear with peers and seniors to develop students’ self-defense skills. Advancements in rank and learning the ability to defend oneself helps boost the confidence in your children.

 

Kid's Martial Arts

Why Martial Arts is Better for Kids than Team Sports

1. Self-Defense

This is the number one reason why most people decide to study  martial arts, and Tae Kwon Do or Karate is a great way to learn how to defend yourself. Martial arts teach you the techniques to defend yourself, but also the way to think about defending yourself – anticipate and avoid potential dangers. Training also helps  build up the reflexes you need if you’re ever in a dangerous situation, and give you the confidence to stand up for yourself and fight back if needed – which brings us to our next topic…

2. Self-Confidence

As children become more proficient in martial arts, their confidence gets a big-boost. They become more self-assured and confident. Their teacher’s encouragement goes a long way to help them achieve this goal, but the confidence level will extend far beyond the Martial Arts Studio.

3. Belts and Ranking

Belts and rankings are a public recognition among peers for the student’s effort and progress. Martial Arts ranking system helps teach children to set goals and achieve them, to persevere and prioritize.

4. Discipline

Martial Arts training, such as Tae Kwon Do and Karate, is a physical expression of ‘practice makes perfect’.  In a class a student may execute a single movement  or series of related movements, hundreds of times. This teaches the student that the progress that always happens during small improvements in technique and stamina, flexibility or power – will come through endless repetition.

Even during sparring  – where the student shows how creatively he or she can apply their well-honed skills – there are still rules and protocols to be followed.  All of this teaches children to respect one another, their opponents and colleagues, and how to play games fair and square – lessons that follow them in their non-Martial Arts lives. It also teaches them to commit, to go to practice even when they don’t feel like it.

5.  Individual Achievement: No one sits on the Bench

Although there are many lessons to be learned from team and individual varsity sports, the ‘make the team’ model often favors the more physically developed players while alienating the late bloomers.

Coaches have access to a endless supply of players that renews itself each year, the big and strong get picked and get to  play while the less physically developed watch from the bench, this leads to a even greater disparity in skill development as the season goes by.

All kids get equal ‘playing time’. Naturally some kids develop their skills and physical abilities earlier than others but we personally find that many kids who start out with underdeveloped athletic attributes such as strength, speed and size, end up blooming onto some of the finest technicians we have in all of our programs.

If  your child is an athletic wonder who is able to stay ahead of the game with his or her natural talents, athletics may very well bring out the best in him or her. But if you want your child’s full potential to be nurtured through years of disciplined and diligent training look for a martial art school who offers a serious program taught by world-class accredited instructors.

6. Gender Equality

I am sure that while many parents would consider martial arts for their sons, not nearly as many would consider it for their daughters. However the martial arts are one of the few sports where both boys and girls can play together.

Martial Artist also gives brothers and sisters an opportunity to practice together and learn from one another as well (not to mention the convenience of having all of your kids in one place at a time).

7. Weight Control

Childhood obesity is a global epidemic and rising trends in overweight and obesity are apparent in both developed and developing countries (CDC stats).

The typical  martial arts class will often be comprised of warm-up calisthenics, teaching and practicing of moves and some sparring, as well as some active games. The warm up and practice comprise the bulk of the time, and for that time your child will be constantly on the go. The workout each child gets will not only assist in the natural development of his or her muscles but also help them build stronger Cardio-Vascular systems.

8. You can do it with them

Parents and children can take classes together. If you have the proper space for it, you can practice with each other at home, and learn from one another. This will give you a special activity to use as a bonding tool with your kids. You can also become physically fit together.

9. The Never-Ending Season

Many team sports, especially those primarily played outdoors, or in specific weather (think Soccer, Baseball and even wrestling) are seasonal. In Martial Arts we have classes year round. This consistency and availability also helps build upon discipline, and allows children to progress at a much quicker pace in the Martial Arts than in Team Sports.

Martial Arts Benefits for Your Child

Martial arts are an ancient method of training your mind, body and spirit to act as one. Martial arts practitioners strive for harmony, but also learn effective  self-defense techniques. Children who get involved in martial arts reap many benefits in several areas of life. Most martial arts originated in Asia and include karate, kung fu, jiu jitsu, aikido, tae kwon do, judo and muay Thai.

Fitness

Fitness is a crucial element to all martial arts classes, especially where children are involved. Warmups with stretches are common, and the movements of the martial art itself often challenge your muscles and cardiovascular system. Martial artists are known for being toned, flexible and physically fit, and your child will be no different.

Self Defense

The ability to defend yourself against an assailant is an empowering feeling. Most martial arts, such as at this school, use self defense as a cornerstone of the entire program. The precise methods will vary from discipline to discipline, but you can be certain that with regular practice, your child will learn to defend himself or herself in a variety of different ways.

Self Discipline

Martial arts help instill mental focus in your child, giving her the ability to concentrate on a task and see it through to its conclusion. The discipline that is taught in the dojo in regard to uniforms, customs and techniques often translates into other areas of life, including school and household chores.

Respect

Martial arts are all about respect. Punching and kicking are all secondary to the respect that is shown from the moment you walk into a dojo. Children learn to bow to the masters who came before them, and to their current instructors. They also learn to treat other students as they wish to be treated. Quality martial arts instructors, such as at this school, press upon the respect issue regularly and instruct students to practice respect for self, parents, teachers and peers at every opportunity.

Self Confidence

A child who is involved in martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do or Karate is generally a child who is confident in herself. Working through a martial art and the belt ranking system gives a child measurable goals to follow that are realistic to attain. The sense of accomplishment a child feels by mastering a new technique or graduating to a new belt follows him everywhere he goes.

Kid's Martial Arts Indianapolis

Health Benefits of Martial Arts

  • Total body workout: Martial arts like Tae kwon Do and Karate are a high-aerobic workout that uses every muscle group in the body. Your stamina, muscle tone, flexibility, balance and strength will all improve through martial arts.
  • Healthy lifestyle: Due to the total-body nature of a martial arts workout, tons of calories are burned during every class. However, you’ll also find that your natural eating signals become better regulated, so food cravings will disappear and you’ll eat less as a result.
  • Self confidence: Due to the goal setting, positive encouragement and respect for values that are part of all martial arts programs, the greatest benefit usually reported by martial arts students is greater self-confidence. You become more comfortable in all situations – whether you’re in danger or simply doing a task that takes you beyond your comfort zone — and you’ll discover you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
  • Improved cardiovascular health: Research has found that the only real way to improve the status of the cardiovascular system is by participating in activities that stress the heart, such as martial arts.
  • Weight loss: A one hour session of moderate intensity martial arts can burn up to 500 calories.
  • Improved reflexes: Research has found that by participating in martial arts, you not only improve your reflexes while performing the activity, but actually experience faster reaction times during all activities of your life. This is very important in a number of daily activities, such as driving.
  • Focus and stillness: As Bruce Lee pointed out, behind the punches, kicks and knees, a true martial artist learns to sit with himself and see where his weaknesses are. As a martial artist, your will learn what it is to be still, challenged and focused.
  • Teaches great morals and values: Martial arts wisdom has it that after consistent practice, one becomes less impulsive and aggressive towards others. The Shaolin moral code for example comprises 12 ethics, 10 forbidden acts and 10 obligations. Patience, insight and calmness are considered pre-requisites of good Kung Fu. This reminds students of the right attitude, frame of mind and virtues to strive for inside and outside the studio.
  • Muscle tone: By participating in martial arts like Karate and Tae kwon do, you can greatly improve the amount of muscle mass you have in your body. The higher your muscle mass, the higher your metabolic demands will be, and subsequently the more calories you will burn each day, thereby helping prevent obesity and promote weight loss. High levels of muscle mass also lead to increased agility, thereby preventing falls as you age.
  • Better mood: Researchers have found that participating in a regular exercise routine is one of the best ways to improve your mood. Performing martial arts is not only a good way to relieve stress and frustration, but may actually help to make you happier. The endorphins released by physical activity appear to be active in your body for as many as four hours after exercise.

Reference:  http://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/top-10-health-benefits-martial-arts/

Lose Weight Training in Martial Arts

Martial arts – classified as a vigorous form of activity by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – facilitates weight loss as a cardiovascular form of exercise. Like aerobic dancing, sports, running and swimming, martial arts techniques from tae kwon do to karate burn calories and increase endurance by engaging your entire body in sustained physical activity. Alongside a healthy diet, additional cardio and strength-training exercise, martial arts serves as an effective part of a weight-loss plan that caters to those with an interest in self-defense.

A 2002 study published in the Journal of Exercise and Physiology Online explores the variety of caloric costs of martial arts practice. After undergoing a typical routine of stretching, calisthenics, punching and kicking, a control group of novice martial arts participants burned anywhere between 138 and 846 calories per hour, depending on the intensity of the exercise. The study found that martial arts does serve as an efficient calorie-burning and cardiovascular exercise that is, due to the individual’s control over exercise intensity, suitable for both fit and unfit individuals.

Reference: healthyliving.azcentral.com