Strength Training and Self Defense

by Neighborhood Trainers Finding a trainer is a personal choice

The martial arts aren’t just good for the body, although they are undeniably that, they are also quite amazing for the brain too. Recent research here and the in the UK have shown that in addition to the physical benefits there is evidence of great mental effects too.

Improving attention

When you practice something, like a musical instrument you get better at it. This is called your attention. But there is another type of attention which is referred to as Attention State Training. When you practice a martial art, it is this AST which is engaged.

This boosts your alertness, and is also shown to give you a better attention to detail.

Reduced aggression

For one study, children aged between the ages of 8-11 were put into heated situations and tested for their reactions. The children who had some martial arts training were much calmer and reacted with much less physical aggression.

Personal trainers in New York have noticed the same effect when working with adults. People who work at a martial art learn how to manage their aggressions and control their tempers.

Stress management

Stress is prevalent in modern life, and none of us is immune to the effects. But martial arts will help an adult deal with stress. As you learn to control your physical and mental reactions in a bout, so you will develop the ability to see stressors as just stress triggers and deal with them in a much more positive way.

Your memory will get better

This was discovered by a group of Italian researchers and a martial arts personal trainer in New York who saw that the group who took up a martial art, in this case Karate, had better short-term memory than a control group against whom they were measured.

They were tested by being asked to remember series of numbers. The karate kids were able to remember more and longer sequences than the control group.

If this wasn’t enough your emotional well-being improves too

In a study that involved older adults, the oldest of whom was 93, two groups were measured over a six-month period - one with and one without karate. The group with karate showed significantly lower levels of depression perhaps due to the meditative effect, also perhaps because they were doing something.

Whatever your reasons for sparring, it clearly is good for your mental and physical health. Don’t wait any longer. It is time to take advantage of martial arts training.