Why Learn Martial Arts?

by Antonio Graceffo

There are a thousand reasons to learn martial arts, and it is up to you decide which best fit you. Here are just a few purposes to get you started…

For me, martial arts are a way to keep in great shape without running on a treadmill. Martial arts train almost all of your muscle groups, but does so in a safer, more effective way than using free weights. Perhaps most importantly, martial arts will actually make you truly healthy, both inside and out.  If you go to regular fitness gyms, you will see a lot for mirror athletes: people whose muscles and bodies look great but who aren’t actually fit, or healthy, and cannot do very many functional movements other than picking up and setting down weights.

When I am training for a fight, I don’t do any exercises at all. I only do my martial arts training intensely every day very. Training this way, my ab muscles stick out over my belt line like three extra sets of ribs. But when I have gone to fitness studios in the past, I struggled with my body weight and gained body fat despite lifting weights and doing an excess of 1,000 stomach crunches per day. The key to strong abs (and overall core strenghth) is kicking. Your legs are heavy. In lifting your legs you are tightening your abs and strengthening your back muscles. One of the most common health complaints of people over forty is back pain. Although many people believe they need to strengthen their back muscles to prevent back injuries and pain, the root of most back problems is being over weight and having weak abdominal muscles. The stomach hangs over the belt and puts pressure on the back. Fighters don’t have this problem

I am well over forty years old. As we get older, our joints and muscles become less limber. We lose our range of motion, mainly because we stop moving. During the course of our day we have a very limited variety of movements. If you watch children at play, they run, climb crawl, jump, spin… You don’t do any of that as an adult. You spend a lot of house sitting and typing on a computer, watching TV, or working at a desk. And if you are a mirror athlete, you lift weights, moving your body in the same ways, along the same pathways everyday.

Attackers prey on the weak.  Confidence is the best shield against violence.  And I am not talking about beating your chest and making threats.  No, real confidence can only be attained through intense physical and mental training.  It cannot be faked.

In addition to the physical benefits of martial arts, there are emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects as well.

Martial arts are a sport where you compete against yourself. You learn to pit your own will, drive and determination against your own fears and weaknesses. The results can carry over into any endeavour or goal you wish to achieve.