{"id":500,"date":"2016-09-22T17:11:12","date_gmt":"2016-09-22T17:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/?p=500"},"modified":"2016-09-22T17:11:12","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T17:11:12","slug":"benefits-martial-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/2016\/09\/22\/benefits-martial-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"Benefits of Martial Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As I was looking for ways to improve my own fitness I came across this list of ten benefits of martial arts. I have to say I\u2019m pretty impressed by these benefits and may have to take the time out of my busy schedule to take part.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Total body workout:\u00a0<\/strong>Martial arts are a high-aerobic workout that uses every muscle group in the body. Your stamina, muscle tone, flexibility, balance\u00a0and strength will all improve through martial arts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Healthy lifestyle:<\/strong>\u00a0Due to the total-body nature of a martial arts workout, tons of calories are burned during every class. However, you\u2019ll also find that your natural eating signals become better regulated, so food cravings will disappear and you\u2019ll eat less as a result.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Self-confidence:<\/strong>\u00a0Due to the goal setting, positive encouragement and respect for values that are part of all martial arts programs, the greatest benefit usually reported by martial arts students is greater self-confidence. You become more comfortable in all situations \u2013 whether you\u2019re in danger or simply doing a task that takes you beyond your comfort zone \u2014 and you\u2019ll discover you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Improved cardiovascular health:<\/strong>\u00a0Research has found that the only\u00a0real\u00a0way to improve the status of the cardiovascular system is by participating in activities that stress the heart, such as martial arts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight loss:<\/strong>\u00a0A one hour session of moderate intensity martial arts can burn up to 500 calories.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Improved reflexes:<\/strong>\u00a0Research has found that by participating in martial arts, you not only improve your reflexes while performing the activity, but actually experience faster reaction times during all activities of your life. This is very important in a number of daily activities, such as driving.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Focus and stillness:<\/strong>\u00a0As Bruce Lee pointed out, behind the punches, kicks and knees, a true martial artist learns to sit with himself and see where his weaknesses are. As a martial artist, your will learn what it is to be still, challenged and focused.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Teaches great morals and values:\u00a0<\/strong>Martial arts wisdom has it that after consistent practice, one becomes less impulsive and aggressive towards others. The Shaolin moral code for example comprises 12\u00a0ethics, 10\u00a0forbidden acts and 10\u00a0obligations. Patience, insight and calmness are considered pre-requisites of good Kung Fu. This reminds students of the right attitude, frame of mind and virtues to strive for inside\u00a0and outside the\u00a0studio.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Muscle tone:<\/strong>\u00a0By participating in martial arts, you can greatly improve the amount of muscle mass\u00a0you have in your body. The higher your muscle mass, the higher your metabolic demands will be, and subsequently the more calories you will burn each day, thereby helping prevent obesity\u00a0and promote weight loss.\u00a0High levels of muscle mass also lead to increased agility, thereby preventing falls as you age.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Better mood:<\/strong>\u00a0Researchers have found that participating in a regular exercise routine is one of\u00a0the best\u00a0ways to improve your mood. Performing martial arts is not only a good way to relieve stress and frustration, but may actually help to make you happier. The endorphins released by physical activity appear to be active\u00a0in your body for as many as four hours after exercise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I don\u2019t know about others but, I\u2019m pretty convinced. So, if like me you are thinking about taking up martial arts or if you are club looking for a venue, why not drop me a line and we\u2019ll see if we can\u2019t help each other out.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/09\/images-47.jpe\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-501\" src=\"http:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/09\/images-47-300x110.jpe\" alt=\"images (47)\" width=\"300\" height=\"110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/09\/images-47-300x110.jpe 300w, https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/09\/images-47.jpe 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I was looking for ways to improve my own [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[89,90,88],"class_list":{"0":"post-500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lettings","8":"tag-karate","9":"tag-kickboxing","10":"tag-martial-arts","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":503,"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schoolsplus.co.uk\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}