What's All The Fuss About Martial Arts Courses And Self Defense

If you are keen and determined to learn or master martial arts then you need to be careful when you are selecting the martial arts courses. You should not take those courses which won’t be that suitable for you because everyone has a forte or a comfort zone where one should stick to. Here are some things that you should watch out for when taking martial arts lessons:

Watch the Classes First Before Taking Any Step

You can call this a form of ‘window-shopping’ as well and it is probably the best thing to do before taking the specific courses. If you’re not that sure or determined which courses you want to take then you can always sit out and watch the classes conducted by the instructors. In most good martial arts or MMA schools the instructors will let you watch how they take the classes and how well the students perform. If you follow some classes then you will probably have a good idea which path to take. 

Look For the Best Possible Schools to Enroll

When you’ve made up your mind to learn martial arts then it probably is best to search for a good martial arts school and get enrolled there. You see, usually the most accredited schools will take care of your needs in ways that the lesser schools cannot and this is one of the best things you will get if you can get into a nice martial arts school. If you are a novice and don’t have much idea on how these trainings go, then it’s highly suggested that you get into a good institution where they will teach you martial arts from the basics.

Get an Expert Advice                    

                          

You see, it’s always better if you can talk to someone who knows more about martial arts than you do. For years, people have been consulting the experts and getting good results following those advices and it shouldn’t be a different case for you as well. It will be even better if you can consult the martial arts instructors face to face about which course to take – whether you should master your self-defense skills or the aggressive skills and most likely you will get a good advice from the expert you talk to. 

Try to Improve and Use Your Peripheral Vision

Having a decent level of peripheral vision is a great bonus when taking martial arts courses. Talk to any expert on this and you will see that having a decent hand-to-eye coordination will greatly help you to avoid being hit when facing your opponents. So try to improve your peripheral vision to avoid more injury and pain and if you can do so then use it to your advantage in combats.

Martial Arts Equipment: Necessary for Winning the Fights

Martial arts learning can be a great fun and if you are using the martial arts equipment in your training then it becomes a wholly different experience. However, while it is fun to use these weapons in your training, it also becomes a responsibility that you should carry out properly. Here are some of the most primary andbasic things you need to know about these martial arts weapons and their uses.

The Most Common MMA Equipment


There are different kinds of MMA equipment available for you to choose. You can pick the weapons like the Single and Double Sticks, Nunchaku (famous Bruce Lee weapon), Kubotan, the Blade, Bokken, Telescopic Stick, Kris Swords and many more. Though you are free to choose what weapons you will use, but it is recommended that you consult your instructor what weapon you will pick because different martial arts technique usedifferent weapons.

How to Use These Weapons

While learning martial arts you can actually get to use the weapons of your choice. The most amazing thing about these weapons is that you can actually practice with them by yourself. Maybe if you are a novice or you have just entered the martial arts arena for one month or two,and then you should consider practicing with your instructor or your fellow MMA student – but never on your own. But when you have become experienced and you become sure how to use them properly then you can do it without a partner whenever you wish to.

When to Use These Martial Arts Weapons

Although weapons are meant for assaults and violent attacks but as a martial arts student you should never use the weapons to assault someone unless you are hit first. Martial arts is basically for self defense purposes – which means you should use your ability to protect yourself and the others around you. But of course, you must use them when you are fighting as a pro or using it to develop your skills. On the other side, you should also consider practicing with these weapons to develop your ability to take down your armed opponents which will be beneficial to your protection in real life situations.

What Skills You Will Develop If You Use Martial Arts Weapons

If you use martial arts equipment as per your instructor’s instructions – then you can develop some skills that may come in handy when you are facing hand to hand combats as well. Usually you can develop those skills such as superior speed, balance, power, natural flow, concentration, flexibility, control, body mechanics, coordination and many more. All of these abilities you can enhance if you use the weapons accordingly plus once you have acquired or enhanced these skills you can also use them in other areas as well.

The Everyday Benefits of Martial Arts Training

Martial arts has been practiced as long as 3000 years back from now which certainly makes it one of the oldest arts available in the human history. Of course everyone knows that it is about more or less physical activity and takes a great deal of energy out of its practitioners or students, but martial arts training can also enhance the mental health of these students as well. Several studies have shown that if you learn martial arts then you can improve your mental health in the following ways:

Martial Arts Reduces Aggression

Scientists have always thought about the effectiveness of martial arts and some studies regarding its effects on human minds have disclosed some wonderful facts. Well, taking martial arts courses can greatly reduce your level of aggression. In real life situations, you may get into problems where you might behave aggressively rather than taking well-thought actions and that might hurt you in times. If you can learn martial arts properly then it will help you keep your aggressive intentions in check in critical situations which can save your life in more than one occasion.

Martial Arts Reduces Impulsive Activities

Several studies have shown that learning martial arts properly can reduce impulsive activities of the students. It might come as a shock to you if you believe in martial arts only seeing those commercial movies based on it because in these movies the physical and violent side of martial arts has been focused to a great extent. But in reality, martial arts can help you to increase your self-control so that you can easily control acting on impulse when situation demands. 

It also enhances Your Self-Regulation

Another great benefit of learning martial arts is that it can enhance your self-regulation to a great deal. You see, the shaolin moral code has twelve ethics of which self-regulation is one of them. It is not easy to regulate yourself in situations where you might want to do something that you are not supposed to do and in those cases you will find that learning martial arts can be highly beneficial. So in learning shaolin you will also learn to regulate yourself in all phases of your life. 

Martial Arts is also Beneficial to Psychotherapy

Martial arts can also greatly help people in the field of psychotherapy. According to the famous psychiatrist who was in his top during the sixties, R. D. Laing regarded martial arts as a crucial helping hand in achieving effective psychotherapy. But it is not only Dr. Laing who found this profound connection between martial arts and psychotherapy – there were also some famous researchers like Nardi and Richman who found that martial arts and psychotherapy complement each other greatly. So you see,martial arts coursescan be beneficial in giving psychotherapy to the patients as well.

What is Mixed Martial Arts?

Learning the mixed martial arts (MMA) isn’t a real easy task and it takes a lot of toll on human bodies. If you are actually quite sure and have made up your mind that you absolutely want to learn MMA then what you must know is the amount of risks the task involves. You see,during the training a lot of people get injured and if you are not careful enough then you may join the list any time. So having a better idea on the kind of risks and injuries the MMA training includes can give you a healthy and long martial arts career.

You Can Have Skin Damages

When practicing martial arts you can be sure to get hurt at some point. As it is a form of combat training that requires a lot of physical fitness and activities in a regular basis and this is why you must be attentive and careful of the injuries at all times. The most common skin damages that you may have to face are the cuts and bruises. Almost every martial arts student gets some bruises and cuts on some parts of their bodies and you should be prepared to have yours as well. Just be careful to take care of those injuries immediately.

Beware of the Knee Injuries

Most knee injuries occur to those who are specializing in karate training. You see, karate requires a lot of kicking and that can take a toll on your knees. On the other side,you’ll see that most of the common martial arts techniques use a lot of feet movement and the bent-knee stance and those forceful kicks can really hurt your knees if you happen to misjudge it even for a second.

Think About the Ligament Injuries As Well

Even if you are going through a most effective MMA training, still there is a possibility that you can fall victim to the ligament injuries. The plantar fasciitis is a kind of common injury that can actually cause a lot of pain if you happen to bruise or overstretch the plantar fascia ligament. This is a common sportsmen injury.

Don’t Forget About the Dislocations and Fractures

This certainly is - as you will see - one of the most common injuries to the novice and inexperienced students but it can happen to the most efficient pros as well. Fractures and dislocations can include your body parts from your hands to your toes. Your instructor, if he is experienced enough then he can fix the dislocation of your arms especially, but the fractures are hard to pass and you may have to rest for quite some time according to your doctor’s advice.

Overuse and Strains

Overuse injuries are most common to those who use repetitive movements of their arms or limbs. So think about that when you’re learning martial arts. On the other hand, strains occur mostly when you have met a dead end and your movement has come to a rapid stop after using sheer force. So you should think about these injuries before learning any form of martial arts.

FAQ About Mixed Martial Arts

Learning martial arts is not a piece of cake, but of course you know that already! If you’ve ever craved to be like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan and beat your enemies out like anything, then you’re way out of touch with reality. However, if you want to become anything close enough to these legendary figures for real, then have a go at learning mixed martial arts or MMA. Like the other good things, learning this great art will not be easy but you can always find a well-known training center that will teach you how you can do it properly. But equally important is to have a clear idea exactly what are the things you’ll need if you want to learn MMA.

Find a Nice School for MMA

The very first thing you need to do if you’re serious about learning MMA, then you’re going to need agood martial arts school. Wherever you are staying it doesn’t matter, as it’s actually very much possible that you’ll find a good place that provides proper MMA training. Ask your friends, neighbors or family members and if they fail to tell you anything, then you can always search in the directories or on the internet. You see, whether in one or another you’ll always be able to find an institution that’ll suit your needs.

Plenty of Hard Work is the Key to Learn MMA

Learning martial arts is not a very easy thing to do. It requires a lot of hard work to get it done in a proper way. Think about the body-structure of Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, where do you think they got all of this? The muscles take a long time to build up and if you want to become a martial arts master, then you just have to work hard. Because every good thing comes through hard work and martial arts is a good thing to master. 

Learning MMA Requires Patience and Focus

Sometimes even hard work is not enough for some things. It is particularly true when it comes down to learning martial arts. You need to be patient and focused to achieve your black belt and you just cannot afford to do otherwise. Be on your guard and do whatever your master tells you to do. For the most effective MMA training, you will have a long list of stages to pass and without the proper focus and endurance; you won’t be able to learn anything at all.      

Martial Art is a Non-violent Art

If you are wondering whether learning martial arts may be a violent act, then be sure that it’s an extremely anti-violent art. Instead, it is like totally against violence and its main purpose is to protect the individuals from any kind of violence inflicted upon them. So don’t think twice about learning martial arts, as it will only protect you from evil, not sell you to the evil. If you do something bad using this art, then it’s up to you but it’s not the fault of the art.       

You always have to think positively to achieve any rate of success in every sphere of your life. As it has been mentioned earlier, MMA training takes a lot of hard work, concentration and endurance but you also have to be positive all the way to master it. Do you think Christopher Columbus could have discovered America if he had lost hope during the voyage? So don’t think that maybe you won’t be able to do it or something like that – just think that everything is possible!

Facts About Martial Arts for Kids

Most of the parents think that sending their kids and children to good schools is the most important thing to do, however it’s not that simple. What will happen if your kid gets into trouble of some kind and is unable to defend himself in that very situation? Don’t worry, as you can always find a martial arts school that is great at teaching martial arts to kids, as only learning it properly will help your kids to become healthy, disciplined and most importantly – self-reliant. 

Teaches Self Defense to Protect Your Kids

Martial arts can be the most ultimate source of teaching self defense to your kids. It’s not that you will find a good martial arts school right out of your front door, but if you search well enough then you will find a good one without much hassle. Your kids and children can learn how to defend themselves if you, as a responsible parent, admit him to a school where good martial arts courses are offered.  Such courses will help them to have the kind of training that can help them to protect themselves in any odd situations.  

Keeps Your Kids Strong and Healthy

As a responsible parent, you must always be watchful about the health of your kids. Martial arts can be a brilliant and effective way to keep your kids healthy, provided that they follow the daily routine. The lessons provided by the martial arts school contain lots of exercises and hard works which the kids need to follow in a regular basis. So these kinds of exercises can help to build your kid’s muscles strong without the fluff. Such lessons will also help the kids to avoid obesity and diabetes in early life and they will be benefited for this during the later period of their lives. Don’t forget that if you let your kid to learn martial arts in a regular basis, then the blood pressure of your kid will always be under the desired level. This can also help your kids to grow tall and healthy, thanks to the special diet that the instructors will recommend for the children. To make things short, learning martial arts will greatly improve the fitness level of your children and that’s a bet you will win if you make with anybody you know! 

Helps Learning to Work Together

Learning martial arts will not only help the kids to be able to defend themselves or to keep them up and strong, but it will teach them to value team work. Yes, your kids will learn how to work together in a disciplined. Plus, martial arts lessons will help them realize about their responsibilities, as the famous saying goes – with great power comes great responsibility!

It Doesn’t Teach Your Kids to be Violent

Whether it is kung fu, karate, judo or taekwondo – it doesn’t matter whatever style you prefer, but learning it doesn’t mean that your kids will go ashtray. Yes, martial art doesn’t teach violence rather teaches how to protect oneself against violence. Don’t you know that one of the main goals of martial arts is to protect oneself from any violent attack? So don’t worry if your kid is excelling in martial arts as it will not ruin him, but in fact it will help him whenever he faces any violence in the streets. 

All in all, learning martial arts is a great idea for those parents who are keen on keeping their children healthy, smart and self-reliant. So if you are worrying about the safety of your kids, then just get them enrolled in a good martial arts school where they will grow up healthy and strong with a great sense of responsibilities.

Making The Most Of Martial Arts Training, Having Fun

If you are looking for a way to boost your chances in law enforcement career, then taking martial arts courses can really help you a great deal. Take the example of Dan Marcou, an ex-SWAT Commander and Police Lieutenant and how taking martial arts training saved his life in more than several occasions in his career for 33 years. But the benefits of learning martial arts for the law enforcers don’t end here. Just read on and you’ll know why! 

Develops a Better Self Defense

Self defense is the first and foremost thing to develop if you are thinking of succeeding in law enforcement careers like the police forces. If your defense is good then nobody can do any harm to you no matter in what situation you are in. Taking martial arts courses regularly will help you to develop a better defense for your own safety. 

Great for Unarmed Close Combats

Imagine what would happen if you fall into a situation where you only have your bare hands to fight back? In situations like this, the only thing will help you is your martial arts training. Such training will prepare you in a way that you’ll not only be able to defend yourself in close combat situations but will also enable you to strike back without any extra weapons! 

Enhances Fitness Level

Like in any other exercises, martial arts can also help you to increase your fitness a great deal. Taking martial arts training in a regular basis will make you strong enough to carry on your duties without any hassle. Such practice will also greatly increase your energy levels so that you won’t have to think twice about carrying out duties for hours. All in all, your vitals will get stronger which means that you will be healthier than ever!          

Increases the Power of Judgment

Law enforcement career demands a good power of judgment from its officers. So if you are one or thinking about joining this career path, then you can already work on boosting your judgmental power. In this case also, taking a number of martial arts courses can help you to increase this power. Martial arts training require a clear focus during the training period which actually helps people to think quickly and accurately and judge from where an attack can come from. This helps to build and increase the ability to evaluate something accurately. So you can also take this benefit by practicing martial arts regularly.  

Last but not least, don’t forget about the necessity of discipline and patience in any career. Especially in a law enforcement career, you will definitely need a great amount of discipline and patience to pull it through. These are also valued similarly in any martial arts training. Martial arts will teach you exactly how to have immense patience and how to maintain proper discipline. Just start taking the lessons from a good school that teaches martial arts and the rest it will do for you!