Martial arts can be many things. It can be a system of self-defence, an exercise, a practice or even a sport. All these things involve the physical body, and as such martial arts have many physical benefits both in terms of your level of fitness and your overall safety and physical well-being.
Fitness – Fitness can be measured in terms of strength, aerobic and flexibility.
Strength – While each of our martial arts styles is designed not to require great use of force in self-defence situations, the training itself will help to improve your strength as you train against your own body weight as well as resistance exercises with partners.
The benefits of strength training are numerous – especially as you get older. It can help reduce or prevent symptoms of chronic disease including osteoporosis, diabetes, back pain, arthritis and even depression.
Aerobic – Training in the martial arts also helps to improve stamina and aerobic fitness. Part of conditioning for a self-defence situation is to ensure that you have enough energy to ward off an attacker and then escape safely.
But there are many other benefits to aerobic fitness as well including improved immune system, better mental health as well as improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Flexibility
Flexibility is overlooked in many fitness programs but tight muscles can lead to health problems down the road. The flexibility developed in martial arts training can help by reducing back pain, improving circulation as well as helping to prevent injury.
Safety and Physical Well-Being – In addition to fitness, the physical benefits of martial arts training extend into other areas. The most obvious of these of course is the ability to defend against a physical attack. But other physical benefits include improved posture as well as the injury prevention that comes with better balance and knowing how to fall.
Self-defense – In a physical attack, you only have seconds to respond in order to prevent yourself from being injured or worse. Learning the proper techniques and training so that you can do them instantly without thinking is paramount.
Improved Posture – Body awareness is a big part of training and learning correct movements and stances. All this can result in better posture in your day to day life which can help to improve your breathing and help to prevent back problems later in life.
Improved Balance and Knowing How to Fall – Balance naturally improves as well as you’ll become more aware of body position and weight distribution. But even if you lose your balance, knowing the proper way to fall can help prevent injuries. Understanding the proper way to fall is especially important in a self-defence situation in which a fall could seriously impede your ability to protect yourself if you become injured.
You only get one physical body, so it has to last you for a lifetime. Staying fit and free of injuries is one of the best things you can do to help keep your body strong and healthy throughout your life. And training in the martial arts is a great way to do that.