It's reasonably well known that practicing martial arts can provide a number of health benefits, and is seen as holistic in nature because these extend across physical, mental and spiritual aspects. However, given the nature of the various disciplines and techniques involved it is also essential that consideration is made in training to minimising the risk of potential injury.
Health Benefits of Martial Arts
Physical
Through practicing martial arts you can improve general fitness and cardiovascular health, improving heart rate while increasing blood flow through the body. This also strengthens the heart muscles and helps keep blood vessels flexible and open. Benefits can include reduced blood pressure, improved circulation and increased stamina. A weak cardiovascular system can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness and lethargy.
Regular training can also help you lose weight, build muscle, strength, improve flexibility, agility and reflexes. Through practicing some of the key fundamentals explained under the Eight Principles it is also possible to improve co-ordination and posture. In addition, being able to channel energy correctly through the body shift weight easily and smoothly will result in a much improved sense of balance, with ability to change directions quickly and easily. An improved state of 'body awareness' is therefore one of the key benefits.
Mental
In the Eight Principles we also talk about 'Mind' as one of the key fundamentals and how constant awareness or mindfulness can help improve levels of focus and concentration. This 'body and mind' exercise regime can also help to greatly reduce levels of stress. Self-discipline is also an essential component of martial arts and it can help you maintain control over yourself and your environment. It teaches you to handle emotions, stay calm and have the willpower to stay focused.
The process of learning a martial art is also a great self development tool and can help to build confidence and self-esteem. This is especially relevant for kids, where martial arts training can also help build not only self-discipline but also respect for others (helping to address issues such as bullying etc). It can also help build socialisation skills and getting people to work outside of their comfort zones can be a highly effective way to build character.
Spiritual
The spiritual benefits of martial arts like T'ai Chi are also well documented. Many soft arts are deeply concerned with Chi, the vital energy that flows through the body and aim to bring balance to body, mind and spirit. The Chinese believe that a blockage or interruption to the flow of Chi can cause sickness (both mental and physical), and one of the first principles of the soft arts is to prevent such blockages and to help the Chi flow freely.. This is achieved through natural deep breathing, relaxed and controlled exercise and through sustained concentration. Many of the position and moves in the arts are designed to affect the movement of energy, to help it travel around your body and nourish you internally and externally.
Minimising Risk whilst Training
Health Benefits of Martial Arts
Physical
Through practicing martial arts you can improve general fitness and cardiovascular health, improving heart rate while increasing blood flow through the body. This also strengthens the heart muscles and helps keep blood vessels flexible and open. Benefits can include reduced blood pressure, improved circulation and increased stamina. A weak cardiovascular system can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness and lethargy.
Regular training can also help you lose weight, build muscle, strength, improve flexibility, agility and reflexes. Through practicing some of the key fundamentals explained under the Eight Principles it is also possible to improve co-ordination and posture. In addition, being able to channel energy correctly through the body shift weight easily and smoothly will result in a much improved sense of balance, with ability to change directions quickly and easily. An improved state of 'body awareness' is therefore one of the key benefits.
Mental
In the Eight Principles we also talk about 'Mind' as one of the key fundamentals and how constant awareness or mindfulness can help improve levels of focus and concentration. This 'body and mind' exercise regime can also help to greatly reduce levels of stress. Self-discipline is also an essential component of martial arts and it can help you maintain control over yourself and your environment. It teaches you to handle emotions, stay calm and have the willpower to stay focused.
The process of learning a martial art is also a great self development tool and can help to build confidence and self-esteem. This is especially relevant for kids, where martial arts training can also help build not only self-discipline but also respect for others (helping to address issues such as bullying etc). It can also help build socialisation skills and getting people to work outside of their comfort zones can be a highly effective way to build character.
Spiritual
The spiritual benefits of martial arts like T'ai Chi are also well documented. Many soft arts are deeply concerned with Chi, the vital energy that flows through the body and aim to bring balance to body, mind and spirit. The Chinese believe that a blockage or interruption to the flow of Chi can cause sickness (both mental and physical), and one of the first principles of the soft arts is to prevent such blockages and to help the Chi flow freely.. This is achieved through natural deep breathing, relaxed and controlled exercise and through sustained concentration. Many of the position and moves in the arts are designed to affect the movement of energy, to help it travel around your body and nourish you internally and externally.
Minimising Risk whilst Training
The very nature of martial arts is that there is inherent risk in practicing them. To a degree, as soon as you step onto the mats in the dojo, you have to accept these risks and train with them in mind. Importantly, this is not just the risk of you getting injured, but also of you injuring others. This is especially relevant as you get older - it's very easy to try to train as if you think you have the body of a 20 year old when in fact you are a decrepit old 43 year old (guilty as charged!). The reality is that as you get older you are more prone to picking up injuries which can then take longer to recover from (niggly finger, knee and shoulder problems have all impacted my training in the last year).
Self awareness is perhaps then one of the most important aspects of martial arts to enable you to train safely. This includes awareness of your body condition, in particular if you have any injuries. Listening to your body is key - in general if something hurts then you need to change the way you are training to accommodate or stop altogether until fully recovered. As the body ages it can also take longer to recover from intense training sessions, making both warming up and warming down a key part of any training regime. Flexibility is also one of the first things to decline as you age, so it's a good idea to try to supplement training with an additional stretching routine (yoga can be good for this).
The type of training you do may also need to change with age - 'more is better' may work when you are younger but with a reduced capacity for recovery when older, training must be approached more intelligently. This can include simply practicing techniques more (e.g. kihon or kata) instead of sparring. It can also mean not necessarily picking the toughest and strongest person in the dojo to train with who is always injuring people.
Reflexes slow with age, as well as reduced physical strength and speed. This is an additional reason why it is important to train 'smart' - using many of the soft principles covered in this research it is possible to develop your martial arts skills to replace out and out strength with subtly generated internal power; fast sweeping blocks kick and punches with much more effective smaller movements that can have a greater impact on an opponents body condition or enable you to intercept and absorb/redirect strikes.
Practicing your martial arts in a soft style also minimises the risk of injury to others. Many techniques, for example Chin-Na can be highly effective ways of disabling an opponent without major risk of injuring them.
Self awareness also means being able to recognise your state of mind e.g. if you are tired or having difficulty concentrating. Balancing the demands of work, family, friends and training can be challenging so it's important not only to try to maintain this balance but also to make sure things like diet, getting enough sleep and not drinking alcohol excessively are considered, which all impact both mental and physical condition.
Self awareness is perhaps then one of the most important aspects of martial arts to enable you to train safely. This includes awareness of your body condition, in particular if you have any injuries. Listening to your body is key - in general if something hurts then you need to change the way you are training to accommodate or stop altogether until fully recovered. As the body ages it can also take longer to recover from intense training sessions, making both warming up and warming down a key part of any training regime. Flexibility is also one of the first things to decline as you age, so it's a good idea to try to supplement training with an additional stretching routine (yoga can be good for this).
The type of training you do may also need to change with age - 'more is better' may work when you are younger but with a reduced capacity for recovery when older, training must be approached more intelligently. This can include simply practicing techniques more (e.g. kihon or kata) instead of sparring. It can also mean not necessarily picking the toughest and strongest person in the dojo to train with who is always injuring people.
Reflexes slow with age, as well as reduced physical strength and speed. This is an additional reason why it is important to train 'smart' - using many of the soft principles covered in this research it is possible to develop your martial arts skills to replace out and out strength with subtly generated internal power; fast sweeping blocks kick and punches with much more effective smaller movements that can have a greater impact on an opponents body condition or enable you to intercept and absorb/redirect strikes.
Practicing your martial arts in a soft style also minimises the risk of injury to others. Many techniques, for example Chin-Na can be highly effective ways of disabling an opponent without major risk of injuring them.
Self awareness also means being able to recognise your state of mind e.g. if you are tired or having difficulty concentrating. Balancing the demands of work, family, friends and training can be challenging so it's important not only to try to maintain this balance but also to make sure things like diet, getting enough sleep and not drinking alcohol excessively are considered, which all impact both mental and physical condition.
This for me is why principles of soft martial arts discussed in the research are so relevant. Through practicing these core fundamentals with discipline is is possible to still be a very effective, if not better martial artist whilst being able to minimise risks of injury to yourself and to others.
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