Karate / Self Defense

THE FITNESS BENEFITS OF KARATE

Karate is a discipline, a fitness regimen, and a form of self-defences that's useful for all ages. Research shows that Karate offers a myriad of benefits for the body and mind. While the physical benefits and advantages of Karate are apparent, the mental benefits can't be discounted.

The first and obvious benefit of Karate training is that it'll allow you to defend yourself better in a dangerous situation. Like other types of martial art, Karate training gives you tools and techniques that could probably save your life if the situation arises. Karate prepares you to defend yourself from aggressors by giving you the senses to react quickly and effectively in dangerous or life-threatening situations.

What you’ve learned in class can easily be applicable in real life. You will not just learn about ways to defend against an attack on the street or in other situations, you will also learn attitudes and strategies for avoiding the worst-case scenarios.

From a practical point of view, Karate will teach you punching, kicking, blocking, evading and evasion techniques that will transform your whole body into a dangerous weapon. The majority of people are not aware of the many varieties of fitness benefits that are associated with learning and training in Karate.

Karate offers a wide variety of exercises that are excellent for fitness! Karate is a high-aerobic activity that utilizes virtually every muscle group in your body. Your endurance, muscle tone, flexibility, sense of balance as well as your overall raw strength will all improve through the practice of Karate. Karate offers a complete full body workout, helping with weight loss and overall health and fitness.

1. TOTAL BODY WORKOUT
2. IMPROVE CARDIOVASCULAR
3. IMPROVE COORDINATION & REFLEXES
4. IMPROVE MUSCLE TONING
5. IMPROVE STRENGTH & POWER
6. IMPROVE STAMINA & ENDURANCE
7. IMPROVE FLEXIBILITY
8. IMPROVE AGILITY
9. IMPROVE BALANCE & MOBILITY

1. TOTAL BODY WORKOUT

Almost considered as a fitness and weight loss program, Karate provides a full-body workout that targets improvements in cardiovascular capabilities, muscular toning, and stamina. There's no denying that Karate is one of the best total body workouts around. It combines cardio, endurance training, and muscles toning while burning excessive fat.

What's very impressive about Karate training is not only how effective it is regarding self-defense, but also how rapidly it will transform your whole body. Imagine who powerful a one-hour training session with nonstop punching, kicking, blocking, dodging and moving can be. During a high-intensity Karate class, you'll constantly be moving. Through the training, your heart rate will be raised significantly, which means that you'll burn calories in the process.

2. IMPROVE CARDIOVASCULAR

One of the most significant benefits of Karate is the effect it has on your cardiovascular system. Karate exercises will get your blood pumping and will put a specific demand on your heart, allowing you to improve your heart health.

Karate training works on major muscle groups of the human body. The practice will improve your heart rate as well as increase your oxygen intake. Karate is without the shadow of a doubt, an excellent option for conditioning and training your complete cardiovascular system. With better heart health, you will decrease the risk of heart-related diseases and stroke.

3. IMPROVE COORDINATION & REFLEXES

The most distinct and beneficial aspect of consistent training in any martial arts style is its effect on coordination and muscular communication. As you grow in experience, more and more movements and techniques will require and develop greater general coordination as well as hand-eye coordination. Research has demonstrated that by practicing Karate, you not only significantly improve your reflexes in the dojo but also during daily activities, such as driving.

4. IMPROVE MUSCLE TONING

By participating in Karate, you can tone and improve the amount of muscle mass you have in your body. Karate training will strengthen and develop almost every muscle in your body. Trust me. By doing lots of pushups, abdominals and training positions like the horse stance (kiba dachi) or the front stance (zenkutsu dachi) will definitely help you gain some muscles mass which will in return lead to an increase in your overall agility, thereby preventing the risk of falling as you age.

5. IMPROVE STRENGTH & POWER

Karate will help you develop a healthy, strong and powerful body.

Karate training not only increases muscle, but it also builds functional strength, power, and muscular endurance in a way few other training method do.

Karate stylists often practice exercises such as push ups, crunches and a variety of other body-weight activities designed to promote increased muscle strength, but it is their striking training that truly pays dividends in the long run.

Staying low in a horse stance and throwing punches for an extended period will lead to substantial increases in overall power by strengthening the glutes, quads, core, and shoulders.

Repetitive muscular training is the basis of Karate so, if you have the desire to get lean as well as increase power and strength, practicing Karate will possibly suit your needs.

6. IMPROVE STAMINA & ENDURANCE

Since Karate provides a full-body workout, it will naturally increase your overall stamina and endurance. Karate training methods, including striking, blocking and body-weight exercises, are designed to get the body to develop stamina as it requires a lot of energy.

Practicing lots and lots of repetition will help increase endurance in your whole body and will also improve your breathing capabilities. Within a few weeks, you'll realize how tougher and more resistant you are. You'll be able to last longer and feel less tired while training.

Increasing your stamina is essential for a healthy lifestyle as it can help lower your heart rate, blood pressure and help burn fat.

7. IMPROVE FLEXIBILITY

Generally, a Karate class includes about 15 to 20 minutes of warming and stretching exercises before every session. As you know, stretching is extremely important before any kind of exercise, including Karate.

Stretching, kicking and other Karate movements will help to increase muscle and joint flexibility so that you can do various postures, exercises and movements better over time. If you keep stretching, you will see gradual, but substantial, improvement over time.

8. IMPROVE AGILITY

It goes without saying, agility is a fundamental attribute to Karate. Through the practice of various Karate exercises, you will develop the ability to move quickly in several directions. You'll be surprised at how fast your feet will be able to execute complicated footwork.

Specific Karate drills greatly improve your speed, agility, and quickness, all of which are essential attributes for an effective Karate.

9. IMPROVE BALANCE & MOBILITY

Proper execution of any Karate techniques can't be done without balance. Balance and mobility are undoubtedly two fundamental attributes that many Karate movements depend on.

Training Karate kicks, kata, as well as kihon are a great way to develop balance and mobility. The better your sense of balance becomes, the more in tune with your body you will be, and the more effective you'll become.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF KARATE

Many practitioners can attest to the incredible health properties of Karate and will tell you that by training Karate, they have never felt as good in their entire lives. Karate will definitely help you with achieving your fitness goals and getting a healthy, flexible, agile and robust body. Karate consist of a series of dynamic offensive and defensive techniques using all parts of the body (fists, hands, elbow, knees, and feet) to their maximum advantage.

1. IMPROVE WEIGHT LOSS
2. IMPROVE STABILITY & POSTURE
3. IMPROVE SLEEP QUALITY
4. IMPROVE BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE
5. STRESS RELIEF
6. IMPROVE ENERGY & VITALITY

1. IMPROVE WEIGHT LOSS

Karate will definitely help you lose weight and get more fit.

If you are looking to get rid of some excess weight, get your health back in order, and eliminate a couple of inches off your stomach, then Karate training is very much for you.

Due to the total-body nature of Karate training, tons of calories are burned during every class. Karate engages the entire body with rigorous movements and develops speed and power in both the arms and legs. You will use your hands, feet, elbows, and knees, and each strike will engage your core abdominal muscles and offer an excellent full body workout.

On average, a one-hour moderate intensity Karate class can burn up to 500 calories, but if you participate in specialized training like sparring classes or pad work classes, you can burn up to 1000 calories during a one-hour session. Observe that undesired fat essentially dissolves in no time.

If you want to lose weight, exercise alone isn't enough. You also need to combine Karate with a program of healthy eating. Choose a diet plan that will work for you.

2. IMPROVE STABILITY & POSTURE

There are numerous reports on the beneficial impact of Karate on body posture and postural stability. Karate has been shown to improve both static and dynamic balance.

With Karate, your core is put to the test, as tension in the abdominals is required when performing punches or kicks, block, and even evasion and dodges. The result will be an overall better posture and increased balance. Good posture is beneficial for your health and can make you look and feel better.

Also, a good posture usually means less back and neck pain and more energy and vitality throughout the day.

3. IMPROVE SLEEP QUALITY

The regular practice of Karate will not only help you feel better as a whole, but it will also help you sleep better too. Making Karate an integral part of your weekly program will undoubtedly contribute to a healthier, more restful and uninterrupted sleep and may as well help correct sleep disorders such as insomnia.

4. IMPROVE BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE

Through regular and dedicated Karate training, you will reduce your resting heart rate and feel healthier. Practicing Karate that involves rapid and repetitive movements at high intensity requires a level of fitness that after a while may help to lower your blood pressure and heart rate.

5. STRESS RELIEF

Any regular exercise is scientifically proven to relieve stress, but being able to get that exercise surrounded by a supportive community - the dojo where you train - can go a long way to put you at ease. Stress management in Karate is manifested in several training methods and techniques which includes breathing and relaxation techniques. According to experts, these drills may help reduce stress and anxiety.

The training of Karate is filled with deep breathing exercises, similar to the techniques of yoga, that produce a calming effect.

6. IMPROVE ENERGY & VITALITY

There is one huge benefit of Karate that will benefit you in almost every aspect of your life: energy. Numerous testimonials have shown time and time again that Karate helps you feel more energetic and alert over time. I am sure you’ve noticed that Karate training creates an increased need for oxygen. As a consequence, greater intake of oxygen, our lung capacity also increases with training. After a while, with regular Karate training, your cardiovascular capacity will naturally increase, enabling your body to release a larger volume of oxygen to your brain and bloodstream, helping you feel a lot more vigilant, sharp, and ready to go. Regular Karate practice will make, without any doubt, a significant difference in your energy level and mood.

THE MENTAL BENEFITS OF KARATE

You will discover numerous physical and mental benefits to engaging in Karate. Karate will help to develop self-confidence, self-esteem, mental toughness, and resilience.

All these mental benefits can then be applied in your everyday life and will make you a better, well-balanced person. Secondly, Karate improves your mental health because it teaches you how to meditate and draw upon your spiritual energy.

16. IMPROVE MOOD
17. IMPROVE EMOTIONAL & MENTAL HEALTH
18. IMPROVE SELF-ESTEEM
19. IMPROVE CONFIDENCE
20. IMPROVE PATIENCE
21. IMPROVE HUMILITY
22. IMPROVE PERSEVERANCE
23. IMPROVE RESPECT
24. IMPROVE FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION
25. IMPROVE MENTAL TOUGHNESS
26. IMPROVE INNER PEACE AND CALMNESS
27. IMPROVE MINDFULNESS
28. IMPROVE SELF-DISCIPLINE

1. IMPROVE MOOD

This is obviously not only reserved to Karate, but exercising releases endorphins in the body, and makes you feel good! Researchers have found that participating in regular Karate classes is a great way to improve your mood.

Performing Karate is not only an excellent way to relieve stress and frustration but may actually help to make you happier. The endorphins released by your Karate training can be active in your body for as many as four hours after you leave the dojo.

2. IMPROVE EMOTIONAL & MENTAL HEALTH

Research shows the benefits of Karate extends beyond just physical well-being. Karate can help you feel stronger and better able to do daily activities. Karate is also known to help you feel better mentally and emotionally and can improve your overall quality of life.

For people struggling with mental health problems such as depression or anxiety, Karate training can help reduce their symptoms. Individuals who practice Karate two or three times a week are less sensitive to anxiety, less likely to panic and less likely to be depressed. Ultimately, Karate leads to a happier you.

3. IMPROVE SELF-ESTEEM

Karate instills confidence by teaching us our limitations, by overcoming fear and by improving our image of ourselves. By getting in better physical shape, you will definitely feel better about yourself and your body. By learning self-defense techniques and strategies, you are going to have much more assurance and confidence.This combination will unquestionably have an enormous influence on your self-esteem.

When you'll learn a technique and develop the capacity to apply it with your training partners, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment. This sense of accomplishment will empower you with self-esteem and confidence. As you can see, Karate will not only get you physically fit, it will also make you feel great about yourself.

4. IMPROVE CONFIDENCE

Sparring is an essential element that will help build your confidence.

Knowing that we can defend ourselves and being confident in our abilities is certainly an awesome feeling. The confidence of knowing how to defend yourself and your family is tremendously empowering. This confidence will make you a stronger, better person and will permeate into our daily lives, whether it is at the office or in the classroom. Self-confidence is an incredible by-product of Karate training.

5. IMPROVE PATIENCE

Technique is essential to every style of Karate, but repetition is necessary to master the method. Many martial arts schools require students to practice and perfect specific techniques before advancing to the next level of training. Practicing martial arts can teach students how to be more patient not only with learning and mastering forms and techniques but also with themselves and other parts of their lives outside of the dojo.

6. IMPROVE HUMILITY

From basic drills to sparring, Karate training will quickly teach you that there are lots of better, more seasoned Karateka out there. These can be great learning opportunities, acting as humbling reminders for students that there is always room for improvement and no place for ego. Karate helps us appreciate our strengths yet be honest and objective about our limitations, weaknesses, and areas which need improvement.

7. IMPROVE PERSEVERANCE

Excelling in Karate (or anything) is very difficult and demanding. It requires thousands and thousands of hours of training and commitment, encountering numerous challenges on the way to acquire new abilities and advancing in belt rankings.

Perfection is acquired with blood, sweat, and tears, through hard work and suffering. It is only through persistence that you will truly succeed in your practice. No martial artist begins with perfect forms and flawless technique; it is the persistence of spirit and determination to push forward that makes a martial artist great.

8. IMPROVE RESPECT

Respect is one of the main tenets of Japanese and Chinese martial arts, and Karate emphasizes the importance of respect in all aspects of training. Students must cooperate with the Sensei (karate instructor) as well as with other students throughout their training, they must practice respect during every class and are encouraged to apply this outside of their training as well.

9. IMPROVE FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION

If you were looking for a practice to help you increase your ability to focus, Karate might be precisely what you need. Like every Japanese art, Karate requires you to focus your mind and body on a given task to execute it properly.

Practicing kicking or punching drills, deflecting an attack or escaping a choke requires a considerable amount of mental focus and concentration resulting in a higher level of vigilance, stronger cognitive control, and improved attention. It might be important to note that the practice of forms or Kata requires a lot of attention to memorizing its techniques and movements. It will definitely help you develop great focus capabilities.

10. IMPROVE MENTAL TOUGHNESS

Mental toughness is something that is built over time by making yourself pushing through pain and discomfort. Through practices like sparring (kumite) or board breaking (tameshiwari), Karate will push you to your limit. Trust me, you will learn a great deal about yourself during training. From a spiritual point of view, these ordeal helps to develop mental toughness and spiritual strength in adversity. Because of the mental toughness, you'll develop with Karate, you’ll have the ability to deal with any challenge or obstacle and solve any problem that may possibly come our way. It'll also help you put our emotions aside and remain focused on the task at hand.

11. IMPROVE INNER PEACE AND CALMNESS

Practices like 'Mokuso' or meditation will help develop inner peace and calmness.

Historically and philosophically, Zen Buddhism (Chan) has had a strong influence on the development of martial arts of China and Japan. Basically, Zen Buddhism and Karate have the same spirit, the same essence. In Karate, during solitary practice or training with a partner, you will learn to concentrate on your own movements, to be fully present in the here and the now. It's is a powerful form of active meditation that leads to being in-tune with yourself and the world around you.

By experiencing every moment for itself and leaving the mind open to all experiences, you will find a feeling of great inner peace. Peace of mind and calmness are helpful in the face of physical adversity, as in a self-defense situation. It is also tremendously useful to other areas of life: at work, and at home. Most practitioner report that Karate gave them a great sense of peace and harmony, and that because of their training, they are less likely to allow things to become stressful and to lose their temper.

12. IMPROVE MINDFULNESS

Also finding its origin in Zen Buddhism, mindfulness is a crucial ingredient of Karate practice. During training, you must commit to being fully present in the now, as the illusions of both the past and the future do not exist. In Karate, victory or no victory is decided in an instant. You have to live now, it is now that life and death are determined. Additionally, mindfulness gives us a greater sense of mental clarity, focus, and fulfilment in every area of your life.

13. IMPROVE SELF-DISCIPLINE

When people think about Karate, or any other Chinese, Japanese or Korean martial arts, they think self-discipline. Self-discipline is the capacity to manage and control your emotions, impulses, urges, and behaviour. During a Karate class, you will be instructed on how to sit and stand properly, to adopt the proper posture during meetings and interactions. They all profoundly influence consciousness.

As you probably know, there is a fair amount of bowing (called Rei in Japanese) in Karate. Bowing is not only a way to show respect and gratitude towards others but is also a way to disciplines and your mind and emotions.

With regular practice of Karate, this state of mind will naturally and gradually become an integral part of you. Self-discipline will give you the power to stick to your decisions and follow them through, and it will make you a trustworthy, reliable person.