Stress is an unavoidable part of life. As students, we might feel pressure from our peers or academics. As adults, we often have to strain to perform well in our jobs or take care of unexpected circumstances that come our way. With all this, it’s practically effortless to slip into tension and unease in our day-to-day lives. Luckily, it’s not too difficult to release worry in a healthy way by practicing martial arts. But how does martial arts help with stress? Here are some of its great benefits.
Physical Gains
Since martial arts involves some demanding exercise, it has all the physical benefits that you associate with an active lifestyle. Have you ever felt more energized after an intense workout than you did before? This is because substantial physical exertion encourages your body to release endorphins. Endorphins interact with your brain to make you feel good, help you to sleep better, and reduce pain. Martial arts can generate this bodily response due to how active you are while training.
Furthermore, regular martial arts practice can lead to an improved physique by strengthening your cardiovascular system and muscles. Not only will this help you to feel healthier and less stressed in general, but it may also help with weight control.
Mental Discipline
Pursuing martial arts means that you must learn many mental skills as well. To improve in the multitude of techniques that exist, you need to practice finding the perfect form and mastering the movement through a high volume of repetition. This forces you to remain patient and focused, as improvements will not come immediately.
The next step is to learn how to utilize techniques when sparring with others. As you move from knowledge to application, you may face new challenges. Many beginners find it difficult to make those learned skills a part of their instincts and find themselves unable to keep up with their opponent. This moves you away from a wishy-washy attitude and fosters decisiveness and mental fortitude. You will begin to gain a balanced mindset where you always try to push yourself to do your best, while not letting mistakes or losses keep you down.
This is useful for anyone, as we all inevitably slip up at times. Instead of getting hung up on these moments, an outlook refined by martial arts helps us realize that many of our blunders are not that serious and they help us to grow.
Relief and Reinvigoration
Finally, martial arts serves to take our minds off the daily burdens that weigh us down. As you train in martial arts, you need to focus on what your instructor teaches you. Seemingly small but important details, such as proper breathing techniques and shifting your weight, require a lot of your attention. There is not much room for your mind to wander or drift off, and because of this, you will find that you do not dwell on your stress. Your goal is to live in the present, which gives you a much-needed emotional rest even as your mind and body hone in on your practice.
For those that need a way to let off steam, martial arts can also redirect pent-up frustration to the controlled and purposeful pursuit of self-improvement. The kicks, punches, grappling techniques, and other skills can act as an effective stress reliever for many people.
With all its potential stress-reducing aspects, it’s clear martial arts training is a wholesome method of dealing with the daily pressures we face. If you’re looking to start practicing martial arts in Portland, Oregon, there’s no better place to go than Northwest Fighting Arts. Don’t hesitate to contact us today!