so i'm posting this cause i think some of you showed some intrest in it?? feel free to not read it, cause it is really long. anyway, here goes...230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgkzCvi1cy
230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LkBzhldXC
Martial Arts: Why People Start Training230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgf6mhN5dE
230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhJHyUlzem
Breathe in, breathe out. Take up your starting position. Bow, touch gloves. Slap hands, bump fists. Beep-beep. Spar. Roll.
Martial arts are something that has been around for centuries, both for fighting, self-defence, and sport. As I’ve been training, I’ve slowly watched my body become stronger, in many, many ways. I train almost every day, taking two or three classes per night, with Sunday and Tuesday being rest days. This rigorous training is only possible because I slowly built up to it. If you’re just starting your martial arts training, I recommend taking two, maybe three classes a week. Allowing your body to adjust to new sports is a complete necessity for you to be able to train long-term.
I have been training martial arts for roughly two years, in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), and Muay Thai kickboxing. BJJ is a grappling art. Think wrestling, not karate. There is no punching or kicking, but there are sweeps, throws, passes, and submissions, the things that make people tap out. Muay Thai is a striking art, with punches, kicks, and sweeps. The combination of these two arts has benefited me in more ways than I can count, by helping my body and mind become healthier, and by introducing me to a vast group of kids my age who also train and have a passion for the martial arts. Martial arts is one of the best sports to improve your mental, physical, and social well-being. Like any sport though, there are some drawbacks. But, with the proper time and care put into training, martial arts can be a life-long journey that you will never want to give up.
Now, I may know what you are thinking. ‘Martial arts are dangerous! You can get hurt, and they are so violent!’ That is true. Partially. With any sport, there is the possibility of injury, even more in contact sports. But, the people you are training with know this. Training is not meant to cause injury, though accidents, of course, can and will occur. Anyone starting to train martial arts must know that:
you may injure yourself while training in martial arts.
Hence when you’re working out, minimise the risks you’re taking.
That way, the odds of you getting hurt lower, and you’re keeping yourself safe.
Not only that, but by ensuring you won’t get injured, you’ll progress at a rapid pace. (“Pros and Cons of Martial Arts”)
In my two years of training, I’ve gotten dozens of bruises, countless burns from the mat and my gi, and a couple of scratches from sparring and rolling, which is the BJJ equivalent of sparring. As I write this, I have some gi burn on the left side of my jaw, a scratch that’s mostly healed from two weeks ago on the back of my hand, and a bruise on my right leg from checking (or blocking) a kick. There was a study done in 2005 that analysed the risk of injury in training martial arts. It found that martial artists with at least three (3) years of experience were twice as likely to get injured than students with less than three years under their belt (“Injuries in Martial Arts”).
There is one other possible con of training martial arts that not many people think about. They require a lot of time to learn, and “[a]lthough various fighting styles are [easier] to learn, they may take a prolonged time to get decent” (“Pros and Cons of Martial Arts”). With BJJ specifically, it takes a long time to learn the art, and even more time to become mediocre. Piecing together all the parts is incredibly difficult. Think of the art like a 10,000-piece puzzle. In your first two months of training, you get handed the 5th, 927th, 2038th, and 7193rd pieces. After two years, you’ve been given another dozen pieces and a couple of duplicates, but only have been able to put together a few pieces into the right place. Sometimes the pieces you’re given fall on the floor and you can’t find them when you need them, and some of them are from a completely different puzzle.
There are definitely arts with a smaller learning curve, such as Muay Thai, but there is something incredible about BJJ when the moves finally click and you think, ‘Oh, I can actually do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’. I’ve seen that moment occur with dozens of my peers, and it is truly wonderful. If you are looking for an easier art to start your journey with, though, BJJ might not be the best. Muay Thai has a smaller learning curve and it is much easier to put together the main moves. No matter what martial art you train, it “will require time and money to become good. Because of that, many people who started learning one may get quickly discouraged over not noticing the results they initially expected” (“Pros and Cons of Martial Arts”). There are quite a few possible negatives to training martial arts, but most people know those risks when they start. That way, it is easier to focus on the positives of training and all the ways it can benefit you if you put the time and effort into it.
Now that you’ve read all that, you might be saying to yourself, ‘Why on Earth would anyone want to do this to themselves?’ The answer to that is simple: the positives far outweigh the negatives. One of the most obvious positives of training martial arts is the physical benefits. According to almost every martial artist and probably most doctors, training martial arts consistently can improve agility, reflexes, balance, coordination, stability, flexibility, cardiovascular health, and promote weight loss and muscle gain (“Benefits of Martial Arts”).
These few things can completely change someone’s life. Before I started training, I wasn’t the strongest, or the most flexible. My reflexes were pretty shabby, too. But now that I’ve been training for almost two years, I can confidently say that I’m pretty strong. I’m much more flexible than I used to be, my joints strengthened from constant training. And my reflexes have improved more than I could have thought. Training has also helped me in the real world. I needed to use the physical aspects of martial arts to help myself stay safe. There is a move in BJJ called a fall break. If you fall or get pushed, you would use that move to take away some of the impact. Once, I was walking up the sidewalk and slipped on some black ice that I hadn’t seen. The fall would have been pretty bad, except I did a fall break. It hurt my arms a little bit but helped keep me safe and uninjured. Sure, I got a small bruise, but that is better than possibly breaking a wrist. That’s just one way martial arts has benefited me and can benefit you. If you thought the physical benefits were good, just wait until you hear about the mental ones.
The mental benefits of training martial arts don’t always cross people’s minds when they first start training. I know that I didn’t even think about it when I first started. But now, I can see the benefits reflected in my behaviour since the first month. Training martial arts can increase your mental health and strength. Some of the many, many mental benefits are reduced anxiety and stress levels, improved self-control, physical relaxation, better focus, improved memory, and peace and calmness of mind, both on the mat and off (“Benefits of Martial Arts”). Just those few things are enough to completely alter someone’s life.
Being able to have control over your mind, especially in a stressful situation like a fight, is one of the most important aspects of any martial art. Training consistently and sparring with good intentions are some of the best ways to start seeing those benefits. In a survey conducted in January of 2022, “over 96% of 590 people said that they feel training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has benefited their mental health” (“BJJ and Mental Health Online Survey”). And those people were right! Training does benefit your mental health and can improve your general mental well-being. Approximately 80% of the people who took the survey also said that they experience anxiety and depression, at least sometimes. Of that 80%, the vast majority said training helped them deal with their mental health. And when I say the vast majority, I mean 97% (“BJJ and Mental Health Online Survey”). These mental benefits can and will help you in the long term, and your mind will thank you for it. The last thing someone would want when they are sparring, are in a fight, or any stressful situation is to also be fighting to get their mind under control. Training consistently can help you work in tandem with your mind, not against it. So far, I’ve covered both mental and physical benefits. There’s one last category that also seems to be forgotten about quite a bit: the social benefits of training martial arts.
When I first started training, I didn’t have many friends outside of school. I didn’t have the confidence or social skills to make new friends, even ones with similar interests to me. Most of the friends I did have weren’t actually friends, more like acquaintances I made through my real friends. But as soon as I started BJJ, I was welcomed into a community of kids who all had one common goal: they wanted to learn martial arts. Now, I’m great friends with a lot of the kids in my classes, as well as some of the adults I see at the gym. The social benefits are one of my favourite parts of training. They are so obvious and have changed my life immensely. I am a massive introvert, and training BJJ and Muay Thai has helped me get out of my comfort zone a bit, by improving my social skills and forcing me to socialise and meet new, like-minded people (“Benefits of Martial Arts”). Generally, if I’m given the choice, I would stay in my room alone, for hours on end, reading or listening to music, or just zoning out. I am not a very social person and didn’t have a ton of friendships that I valued.
When I joined the martial arts gym I train at, I was introduced to plenty of kids who had something in common with me, and that completely changed my social life.
I have more friends than I can count at the gym, and I hang out with them before, after, and between classes. We try to get together outside of the gym, too. I went to a Renaissance faire with one of them, and I’m trying to plan a movie night with some of the others. I have group chats, and inside jokes, and a group of amazing people who stand beside me through everything. After I started to make friends in class, my confidence skyrocketed, as I saw that it was possible to make friends with my peers, even if I didn’t already know them. And that realisation changed my life. While it is easy to appreciate the mental and physical benefits of martial arts that everyone knows and loves, the social benefits are really what sold me on dedicating so much time to training. My new friends are amazing, and they make me a better person every time we work together. If you're reading this, you know who you are.
Your mental, physical, and social well-being are all greatly impacted by training martial arts and can improve all three immensely. No matter what happens when you’re sparring, if you do a move right or get caught in a submission, you’re still learning. The many physical, mental, and social benefits of training far outweigh the possible negatives, such as injury. Carlos Machado, an eighth-degree black belt (or coral belt) in BJJ once said, “The ground is my ocean, I am a shark, and most people don’t even know how to swim.” Anyone starting a journey into BJJ will start out not knowing how to float in the waves. But, slowly, they will learn how to float, and then swim. Then they will be small fish, until they become a jellyfish, and eventually, will become a shark. As long as they keep swimming once they learn how to float.
Breathe in, breathe out. Defend, or tap. Move. Too late. Tap. Breathe in, breathe out. Beep-beep. High five. Good work, you did great. Remember: no winning in rolling. Only learning, and finding a balance230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrtY8Jt6v9
