The image of martial arts and its practice is still steeped in mysticism in some circles, conjuring up images of strange rituals and strict etiquette, combined with brutal training methods. This was often true in the past in some countries and cultures, however in today’s more enlightened times Western societies are discovering many benefits of Eastern wisdom, not forgetting that the Chinese had widespread civilised societies before they came to being in the West. Aside from the obvious enhancement of self defence skills, martial art practice teaches respect for all, combined with enhancing the self respect of an individual, the most common complaint about behaviour in Western societies is the perceived lack of respect for others and poor manners, especially from teenagers and young adults, just compare any city in North America or Europe to a typical Japanese city. Japanese children are raised with strict moral standards and discipline ( mainly self discipline) which accounts for their world famous work ethic. It is no accident that both Judo and various styles of Karate are a part of the school curriculum. Mental focus is also a tremendous side benefit the concentration power of Oriental schoolchildren is also becoming the subject of many Western studies into reversing the often poor achievement records of some Western schoolchildren.
Hitting the headlines on a regular basis is the obesity epidemic in the West, the United States having the worst problems with the United Kingdom catching up, now labelled the Fat Man of Europe. Martial art practice gives the individual a means of enjoyable exercise with a purpose and a goal, the self esteem and confidence aspect together with such practices being an all over body workout that also challenges the individual mentally, with rewards for progression in the form of belts and gradings gives an incentive to stick with a program or club, as opposed to just aimlessly pounding the treadmill or shoving around weights surrounded by narcissistic Muscle Beach escapees. Our society has never been more stressful with huge work pressures, family commitments and the grind of the daily commute and often rude, ignorant behaviour contributing to produce record stress levels and incidents such as “road rage” becoming sadly all too common. A good training session especially when combined with striking a physical target, Muay Thai, Taekwondo and most karate and kickboxing styles that use pad and bagwork are excellent for stress relief as well as a hard physical workout ( see www.harderhitting.com ) this will enhance the mental focus and clarity of all exponents as well as the mood from released endorphins, contributing to a more successful work career and being simply a better partner and/or parent.
Kevin Ward has trained in various styles of martial arts and Western boxing in the Army, having learnt the hard way what works and what does not. Kevin Ward is owner of http://www.harderhitting.com, which will give a summary of the various styles and links to purchasing martial arts equipment.
Source: www.articletrader.com
