The Benefits of Training at a Martial Arts School

By Mark Scott, 4th dan 

What is different about martial arts compared with other sports and exercises? All sporting activities have the benefit of providing exercise. Martial arts have more benefits that other sports don’t provide. The benefits extend and change across the different ages engaged in a martial arts school. Benefits for children might not be as important to an adult in martial arts. Similarly, the benefits that an adult receives might not be necessary in a developing child.

For the young child, the benefits are less about the fitness and self-defense, but focuses more on discipline and control. As described in this article from Colorado Taekwondo Institute (The Best in Preschool Martial Arts 2024), the children will learn most of the same techniques as teens and adults. Many of the same details will be enforced, but the focus for the younger children will be on body control, mental fortitude and self-discipline. The younger student will gain self-confidence and benefits in their grades at school and behavior at home.

One article from the Colorado Taekwondo Institute website (Morgan, H 2016) details the eight benefits children can get from martial arts classes. As martial arts require practice to get better, martial arts encourage physical activity to get better and progress. Martial arts also increase self-esteem and encourage social interaction and teamwork which are important to the development of a child as they grow up. Martial arts also helps children learn respect and the ability to focus and concentrate as needed. Another important benefit is non-violent conflict resolution. Learning to control anger and find ways to solve problems outside of fighting. And especially at Colorado Taekwondo Institute, the benefit of the educational development through the stages of progressing with the training and reaching goals.

Martial arts also benefit kids with ADHD. In the article by Michael Lara, M.D. (Lara M, n.d.), found that kids with ADHD involved with a martial arts school finished more of their homework. The kids were better prepared for classes in school. The kids showed improvement in their grades. Other improvements were seen as they tended to break fewer rules overall and jumped out of their seats less often than before the martial arts classes.

Adults are looking to get into shape, to learn self-defense skills or joining a martial arts class to try something new. Some might use exercise as a means to relieve stress, but those in martial arts classes have a proven method for stress release.  In one study (Johnstone, A 2018) adults who participated in martial arts for three to six months were shown to have reduced depression symptoms, reduced levels of stress and higher self-esteem.  The adults were also able to manage stress better after prolonged martial arts classes.

Another important benefit found in practicing at a martial arts school was found in the same study. Practicing martial arts increases the ability to retain and restore memories. The martial arts students were found to be able to memorize and recall complex sequences better than the control groups. As martial artists have to memorize many moves and sequences as part of training, it would make sense that a martial artist would excel in this area.

Many studies (Naves-Bittencourt 2015) detail the effectiveness of classes at a martial arts school as engaging the brain in ways that enhance the physical and mental abilities. The effectiveness of martial arts as an exercise has an increased health benefit over other forms of exercise. The studies indicate a better level of stress management and overall better quality of life.

 

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The Best in Preschool Martial Arts 2024, Colorado Taekwondo Institute website, accessed 20 May 2024, <https://coloradotaekwondo.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-best-in-preschool-martial-arts.html>.

Morgan, H 2016, 8 Reason Your Child Should Join a Martial Arts Program, accessed 10 May 2024, <https://coloradotaekwondo.blogspot.com/2016/02/8-reason-your-child-should-join-martial.html>

Lara, M n.d, The Exercise Prescription, accessed 10 May 2024, <https://chadd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ATTN_06_12_Exercise.pdf>

Johnstone, A 2018, Martial arts offers brain-boosting benefits for all ages, research finds, accessed 20 May, 2024, <https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/martial-arts-physical-mental-benefits-health-exercise-tai-chi-karate-a8342756.html>

Naves-Bittencourt, W et al 2015, Martial arts: mindful exercise to combat stress, accessed 20 May, 2024, <https://www.eurjhm.com/index.php/eurjhm/article/view/355>

Your Local Martial Arts School

By Khristin Paisley, purple belt

Most often when people not associated with martial arts think about martial arts or martial artists they automatically think of pop culture icons from the Karate Kid movies, Kung Fu Panda, Bruce Lee, and Chuck Norris to name a few. Their perception of martial artists is based on these things and there is an almost automatic connection with board breaking, and yelling like a banshee while we go about kicking and punching. It is hard to see beyond the Hollywood construct to the benefits that are inherent to our art, and the unique benefits that adults experience as a martial arts student at your local martial arts schools. 

Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo is amazing at helping to improve adult fitness, however, the benefits aren’t just physical and to say that it is the primary benefit of our art would be painting it with a broad paintbrush with too little paint. The physical benefits are impossible to deny because we ask our bodies to perform feats that many would balk at and without proper training aren’t possible or safe for the average person to perform. We learn poomse, patterned movements against imaginary attackers.  We learn kicks, punches, and blocks; all while improving our physical fitness. Martial arts lessons take a person from average to something more and like any art, the more of ourselves we give over to it, the better we and it become. The physical benefits are not the whole picture. We learn to do things we couldn’t do before, we benefit from the practice inside and outside the dojang.

In Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo nothing ever is just one sided. When we kick with the left leg, our right leg is also involved as well as our hands. Through this we learn balance and gain an understanding that this also includes and requires balanced movements; not just the physical balance required to perform these tasks. We gain a real life understanding of for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, this is apparent through a balance of movement.  A good block doesn’t just begin and end with your arm; it requires whole body and whole brain involvement. This is why physical fitness is a secondary benefit and comes naturally with everything else we do.

Much of what we do involves cross body movements which has been linked to things such as improved cognition. In learning poomse we make our brains work in incredible ways that they likely have never had to before. Keeping one part of your body still, while moving another independently and with intention, requires a great deal of heightened cognition, focus, and determination; as well as mastery of the aspects of moving and breathing.  That is just the surface of it because once you have the basics of the what, you learn the nuances that make it better. Martial arts lessons are a mental workout.

Eventually we realize that when we apply these lessons to whole body and whole brain involvement, we see that we gain a better understanding of ourselves and achieve a greater mastery of our whole self. We learn that no matter how good we are, we have the ability to achieve more, to learn and improve more, and to become more. We never lose the sense of awe either, it goes from "I could never do that," to "I just did that."  It is cyclical.  

The secret is our goal is to keep setting bigger goals. Intermediate goals, belts, are always close enough to keep us going, to keep us pushing and determined; yet just far enough ahead that we are hungry and strive to reach for them. The benefits are vast, varied and nearly limitless. This is perhaps the greatest benefit of all, because we learn to keep pushing which can never be secluded to Taekwondo. We learn to give respect and live respectfully and balanced. Through Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo you become part of a team and part of a family and that is a benefit unto itself. I highly recommend the Colorado Taekwondo Institute when you are looking into local martial arts schools.