Martial arts is a great way to build key foundations for your life. We have all heard of the stories of when people were at their lowest, martial arts ended up saving their lives in more ways than one; not just by physically keeping them safe or by keeping them in great shape but with the key core values that a martial artist carries with them.
A lack of purpose can often lead anyone a stray and have them make regrettable mistakes in their lives. It is a natural part of being a human being. We must fall in order to appreciate the highs in life. My hopes in writing this post for you is not to make sales, my purpose in starting Artem and in writing this blog post is to improve the lives of anyone who may seem lost and disconnected. Know that you are the master of your faith and you are the only person who can truly change your life for the better. Wherever you are at in life I hope that this post encourages you to try a martial art so it may impact your way of living in the best way possible.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Confidence
Lets start with a core piece of personal development...Confidence in oneself. Having confidence that comes from internal strength is something that is invaluable to ones own personal life and must be consistently worked on. In a world that is riddled with anxieties and expectations it easy to lose sight of what your soul yearns for, and that is authentic expression of who you really are.
In my own personal experience i can tell you with full confidence that martial arts not only improves ones confidence but it helps re invent your perception of yourself which is perhaps the most critical component to living the life of your most confident and highest self.
You might be asking yourself, how does Martial Arts do that?
Martial Arts builds a lot of Strength in oneself, by learning how to fight on a physical and mental level. Just by knowing that no matter the room you enter you know that you can take care of yourself is a huge confidence booster and it is projected in ones posture, speech and even in ones way of walking. The process of sparring someone is also a big mental push, nobody really likes to fight and even the best of the best are still nervous when it’s time to fight. But just being able to go through something as scary as sparring is a huge mental win that nobody can take away from you, and the more mental wins you accumulate the more resilient and confident you become.
You start to realize that you are NOT what others say you are but you are what you make yourself out to be. The strongest people in life became strong because they know how it feels to be weak, the confident know what it’s like to be anxious and the heard know what it’s like to be ignored. Hardship is a part of the learning process, but if you can put yourself through something difficult and finish it all the way through you begin to realize that you are way stronger and more capable than you once believed was possible.
Direction & Core Values
A lack of direction can be a slippery slope. We have all experienced this feeling at least once in our lives, and for those who may be going through that know that you will find a purpose in life. But beware of waiting for it to magically show up in your front door because if you do, you will be greatly disappointed. You must take action in not only finding direction but in creating your own sense of direction.
Martial arts helps with finding that map to greater fulfillment in ones own life. By taking up core values you start to have something to stand on and carry yourself through life with a moral compass that will attract better people, situations and overall outcomes in life. Your focus will be zoned in on the values you pursue in life. Best of all, you begin to ask yourself the big questions... who are you, and what is it that you want out of life?
CORE VALUES
- Humility
Humility is often misunderstood as weakness or to be unassertive, in the martial arts this is far from the truth. In the martial arts we see it as a way of showing others respect and treating others with kindness. Humility is to be humble yet confident in your ability, remember that confidence is silent while ego is loud. We do not need to shout our victories to be recognized, we allow our actions to speak for themselves while carrying ourselves with a humble confidence. Remember that humility is not thinking of yourself as less, it's about thinking of yourself less. Read that again.
- Discipline
Discipline is important in whatever you may do in life, it's the mindset of doing what has to be done regardless of your feelings if you want to achieve the results you desire. " Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but do it like you love it" - Mike Tyson
Martial arts requires that of you, especially if you want to excel in your art. I am a firm believer that you should strive to be the best in anything you do, you’re already doing it so you might as well give it your all. Discipline is required if you want to memorize and understand complex forms and techniques. When it comes to combatives you have to make sure that you are staying conditioned to not just keep up but to also start dominating opponents. Remember that your progress is your responsibility, have the courage to commit and stay disciplined in the goals that you set out for yourself. Discipline is self love.
- Hard work
Being disciplined requires a level of hard work. In order to get the success that you have set out to achieve it will always require hard work. Martial arts is a great way to exercise the muscle of discipline & hard work. Martial arts is a direct expression of oneself and that goes for your forms, combatives and most importantly your work ethic. Remember that without work ethic greatness cannot be achieved. Success isn’t about greatness, success is about consistency.
The greater the work ethic the greater the rewards for oneself. Martial arts will require this of you if you wish to master your practice. My Practice in kung fu and mma has pushed me and has elevated my work ethic in order to reach my goals both inside and outside the dojo. By working hard you will not just improve your life but it will be motivating for the people around you to do the same. Iron sharpens iron and that is a blessing to have in this life.
- Respect
Perhaps one of the biggest and most popular benefits that comes from studying a Martial Arts is the practice of respect. There is truth in the stereotype that learning a martial art builds a level of respect not only for oneself but for others around you.
I believe that Martial arts is perhaps one of the most humbling experiences anyone can go through and by being humbled it will usually start to build respect for others. The introduction of respect is often introduced from the very beginning, you learn how to respect your school, your teachers, and the people around you. Where i study kung fu we practice respect by keeping our school clean, by bowing on and off the mat and by bowing when we’re greeting each other.
Sparring someone is also a great way to build respect especially if you spar someone who is more experienced then you. it is not only humbling but its a great way of practicing sportsmanship and a great way of realizing that fighting should always be your last resort and that you truly have no idea who’s trained to fight. Even when you dominate your space you have a better understanding of the dangers of fighting. Once you’ve reached a level of fighting you start to realize that there is no need to prove yourself to others by starting unnecessary fights, a real martial artist knows that impulsive fighting comes from weakness and a lack of self confidence. It takes Strength to be kind and respectful, even if you know that if a fight were to occur you have the ability to come out on top. It’s better to be a warrior in a garden instead of a grander in a war.
Respect is also learned through your Teachers, As a teacher myself this is perhaps one of my biggest points i make when teaching someone how to defend themselves. It’s easy to disregard other peoples feelings and to disrespect, it takes real strength to be kind and respectful.
PHYSICAL BENEFITS
The physical benefits that comes with Martial Arts varies on what art you wish to practice but regardless the physical benefits are immense. One of the Key and universal benefits is strengthening your core strength. Martial Arts will push and development you core strength in order to hold stances, kicks, and to take a punch/kick to the stomach. Grappling also requires a lot of core strength if you wish to change positions quickly and effectively. From personal experience my physique has never seen such drastic changes until i started my martial arts journey, i have done sports all my life from Swim, Football, Soccer, Track and being active in the gym. I am now not only more cut but my muscles have grown and strengthened for practical use, not just for the aesthetic.
Striking will help improve a variety of muscle groups such as the shoulders, triceps, biceps and hip strength which in turn will lead to leg strength especially if you are practicing a kickboxing art. The hips are perhaps the main factor when it comes to someones striking power, you’ll learn and practice the ability to load your hips when delivering a proper strike. Loading the hips allows your body to stay connected and hit from the ground up instead of just pure arm strength, while your arm strength/conditioning is a factor... Its not everything.
Stances in forms and in practice is a phenomenal way to build leg and core strength. If you don’t believe me, try holding a proper 2 minute horse stance. Legs bent to a degree were you can balance a staff on your thighs and keep you back straight were you could balance something on your head. If you did it correctly you just saw how brutal 2 minutes of a simple stance can be. Practice this long enough and your legs and core will be on a different level of strength. Your stances will be required when practicing forms and technique’s. My grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong has a famous saying "your stances is your kung fu...you want good kung fu do good stances."
CONCLUSION
I firmly believe that Martial Arts has profound impact in the lives of those who practice an art. My mission is to spread martial arts in order to improve the lives of others, This is why i have started Artem. I will grow this brand to help communities in need and reach people with the arts in hopes that the Art itself changes the lives of others as it did mine.
Ultimately to reap all the benefits of practicing a Martial Art it’s up to the practitioner, I can lead you to water but its up to you to drink it.
If you’ve read all of this you’re already showing signs of someone who can practice long term gratification, a skill that is slowly being lost in todays generation. I thank you for reading and i hope this blog has motivated you or has giving you something interesting to think about.
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