How Martial Arts teaches strength
How Martial Arts teaches strength
I am sure you have heard at some point that Martial Arts is good for your kids to learn focus, discipline and respect. This is very true and easy to understand. What is more complicated is to identify a connection between a bunch of punching and kicking and how that can truly make a difference in your physical ability. Have you ever wondered how martial arts teaches strength?
How can Martial Arts achieve physical strength? How does it teach you anything beyond fighting?
Most people think of Martial Arts as a fighting arts. That is only a small part of why we practice. Martial arts has to do with way more than that. It builds your body physically, spiritually and mentally.
To better illustrate this point, I wanted to share the story of one of our students, Timothy. He is an example of how the martial arts can truly benefit your physical skills in other sports.
the story of timothy s.
This is the story of Tim, an 8 year old student from Orange County, CA, whose training of karate really improved his awareness in the game of soccer, one of his favorite sports. He loved the sport as much as he loved showing up to the studio to train. The relationship between kicking a ball and kicking a target was very much significant.
Timothy had been training martial arts for over 2 years. He started really young, and like many others, he came to us to improve his confidence and discipline. He trained hard for a long time obtaining the rank of Green Belt, before he had to relocated out of state with his family. Once he commented to me how training in karate had changed the way he plays soccer.
At the beginning I was unsure of what he meant. “Sensei, my soccer is so much better because of karate” he said to me.
He was referring to how karate taught him to stay strong and focus on his stances.
A side note: If you are not familiar with Martial Arts training you may not realize that one of the biggest things we work on is your stances. In karate, like in life, if you can’t stand you can’t run. We teach you first how to stand correctly and emphasize that proper stances matter.
Usually, when we are teaching a student a form, we focus first on this point. We want their knees bent and their back straight because having this particular structure makes most forms work better.
I learned to use my training to better my stances during the game. Now, no one can take me down.
martial arts and soccer
During one of his games, he was playing a match where most of his rivals were much bigger than him. Apparently they were playing a team of a slightly higher division. This team was playing hard, and they began using their size to side step other players on the pitch.
Plenty of them went down without many fouls being called. He realized immediately that he had to play much harder than he was in order to compete.
He remembered a class we had which was centered around his stances and how having good stances could make the difference. He was focused on that so much it was difficult for other players to take him down and was easier for him to play.
The game ended in a draw but like he said “we could have lost big”. He began to fill his mind and spirit with a resounding feeling of self confidence. This feeling is really why we teach martial arts.
Tim’s story is a real-life example of how martial arts teaches strength.
We are always happy to see a student succeed, and this was definitely a success for Tim. He took karate very seriously from that point on. He told me several stories about his games and how his skill improved because of his work in the dojo.
How Martial Arts works in a nutshell
Get a starting point
It doesn’t mattter if you are a beginner, if you are out of shape, if you have never trained before. A starting point is important, no matter where.
Set a Goal with your sensei
And allow your instructor to help you identify your good and bad habits. They will assist you to develop a plan of attack.
unlock the key to your success
As you begin training in martial arts, your body will change, your spirit will grow, and your body strength will increase. Never stop and you will see real results
inner strength vs. physical strength
I get questions from my students on which one is more important: inner strength or physical strength?
The truth is both of these are important. However, Martial Artists utilize inner strength first. The reason for this, it is much harder to develop and it takes more time to grow.
If every strong person was a black belt, every black belt would be a body-builder.
Focusing on inner strength allows us to grow ourselves internally, understand better what we want to accomplish, and focus on the plan ahead.
Physical strength is definitely important. During martial arts class we exercise plenty and do our best to stay in shape. You can tell you are working in a real martial arts studio when your sensei is focused on both physical and inner strength.
External Links with Important Info
Here are a few exercises you can use to develop your martial arts training. Click Here to see the article and learn more about how martial arts teaches strength.
For an in-depth look at how to create power while training, Click Here to see an article by The Martial Way.
How do Martial arts stances create strength
Regardless of the martial arts style you practice: karate, kung fu, jiu-jitsu, aikido, etc. your instructor will first teach you how to stand correctly to achieve maximum power.
That makes sense, but is that ever going to make you stronger? Simple – muscle memory. As you may know by now, muscles only do two different functions: they expand and they contract.
When we are training muscles do this hundreds of times. But one thing that is usually discounted is the fact that muscles also remember what worked and what didn’t work.
As you begin to train you will notice there will be some times that you execute a technique with speed, power and strength. When you do remember it! and most importantly, replicate your result. The more you do it, the more your muscles will remember what is a good move, and what is not.
Stances in martial arts are also very important. When you develop a strong stance, not only do you better your health over time, but also you create power. Your body remembers the stances it used to generate maximum strength, and once again, repetition becomes the key factor to develop this sill. This is why, if your instructor does not teach you about your stances during your first lesson, that should be a reason for concern.
Conclusions
Martial Arts can develop inner and physical strength by constant practice. Everyone, regardless of age and skill, can begin training at any time. The more you practice the stronger you will become. What is most important to note is that consistent practice is much more valuable than which style of training do you follow.
At our studio we follow the styles of Shotokan Karate, Kempo Karate and Japanese Jiu-Jitsue. Though they seem different, the basis of all martial arts is the same and it is rooted in its basics.
If you are interested in training at our school for 7 days free you can Click Here to get your training pass; and if you are interested in looking at our schedule, which also includes online training you can click here to see the schedule of classes.
Keep on Training!
