Benefits of Martial Arts?

Question

Please tell me what you think the greatest benefit of your Martial Art training has been other than any fighting skills you have acquired.

Ladies, I would really like to hear what you have to say!

Answer 1

I have to answer this because it is one of the few sincere questions I have read.
Fighting skills are actually several pegs down on the ladder of benefits in my opinion. I've been studying and teaching Shotokan Karate for over 20 years and I can tell ya that the "side benefits" are way more important than just being able to fight.
In my personal opinion, it is the self confidence I have gained through training that is the greatest thing to me. By this, I don't mean that I'm arrogant. I don't go around bragging about my ability, I don't go looking for fights, and I can't catch bullets with my teeth. What I mean is that if a situation does arise, I KNOW I can handle it.
You take on a different viewpoint when you know that you can really hurt someone...when you know that you could break bones, cripple or kill someone if you really had to. The question becomes "Was what this guy did REALLY worth hurting him that badly? Does he REALLY deserve that?"
So, when some loudmouth ticks you off and insults you or your siginficant other, you have the self confidence to walk away. You know you could go hand him his butt on a silver platter, but you don't HAVE to just to prove a point to yourself. When some immature clown says, "Hey, you take Karate...show me something!" you know you don't have to get into a sparring match just to prove to them that you are good.
You get to that point when you don't feel you have anything else to prove to yourself, and you certainly don't have to prove anything to anyone else. A sort of serenity sets in when you realize that life is not a competition where you win when you are the absolute best and everyone knows it. You're good.....you're good enough that you can deal with something BAD if it should happen. That's all that matters.

Answer 2

I first discovered the benefits of Yoga and some of the things it stresses like the different types of breathing while doing some of the poses and stretches back in the mid 70s. That helped immensely in my training for fighting as well as in martial arts. I know I had way fewer problems with pulled or tweaked muscles throughout my career in martial arts and fighting because of this. It is also one of the reasons why since day one and my participating in this forum I have recommended to those training to check out some of the things Yoga has to offer and can teach them. Just some of the simple things that it teaches about how to breath, depending on what you are trying to stretch can easily be incorporated into your warm-up and stretching routine without adding more than a few minutes to it. The benefits far outweigh those extra few minutes and so I would say take up Yoga maybe even just for several months. In that short of time you will learn some of the things I am talking about here and be able to take those with you then and incorporate them into your current and future training.

Answer 3

I took Kenpo and then ShotoKan Karate, back in the mid 1960s. Later I also took Judo and Aikido. ("Girls" didn't do such things then!) I had the ability to do 100 mens' push ups. My abdomen was so flat it didn't even 'give' in pregnancy (I carried very 'high' - in my waist) I actually did have to eat more to keep my weight up. My reflexes were highly honed! Even years later when I accidentally knocked a cup off the counter, I caught it, mid-air. When a mouse was in the kitchen, I caught it with my hands. THAT freaked my children out! They seemed to think I had 'cat' DNA. Thank heavens to a great extent those reflexes still remain. I believe it has helped me to be better at at lot of things in everyday life. Not to mention I still know the vulnerable spots in any opponents body. Even a 'poor old Grannie' can disable an unwary opponent.

Answer 4

Hummm, Guess a couple of things. The self defense skills tend to make me more self confident so that’s pretty cool. I really like the workouts they have toned my body and I feel much better body image wise. The ability to face the unknown, and the ability to make myself do things that I would never normally do has given me lots of self respect.

Hope that helps, guess I’m a poster child for martial arts.

Answer 5

I found that this varies from person to person. Some general improvements are fitness level and self confidence. The rest tend to vary from person to person. Some say that it calms them down, while it does the opposite for me. Actually made me settle all my old grudges. Sorry, I'm not a lady so my input is not as good.

Answer 6

Centering of the mind, teaching the mind to open. Physical fitness is great, self discipline and confidence are all major positives.

Answer 7

Besides self defense and physical fittness, my kung fu and judo have helped me to see life differantly, by helping me with anger problems and also helping me see that it is not wrong to set high goals for yor self, and of you you miss them you can try again.

i do apologize i am not a lady

Answer 8

respect, confidence, new Friends, better fitness, self discipline, and of course self defense skills.

Answer 9

Self defence so when someone attacks you, you can protect yourself and teach other people to defend themselves

Answer 10

it makes you calm. my 4th level black belt friend in Tae Kwon Do is the most humble guy I know