Did you know that there are mental benefits of martial arts aside from feeling amazing after a workout? Most people see martial arts as a purely physical sport…. But to be successful at it, you need quite a bit of mental stamina and self talk. We help hundreds of people in our Campeao United Jiu-Jitsu community build confidence and self-respect through the power of martial arts and self defense. Here’s how:
Confidence is a Huge Advantage of Martial Arts
There’s probably an area of your life that you already feel confident in, like your performance at your job or your ability to be a supportive friend. You might already feel confident in your body and even work out regularly.
But how confident do you feel in your ability to protect yourself? If it came down to it, would you know how to defend yourself against an attacker? Would you know how to save the lives of the people you love?
These are scary questions, but they’re necessary, and fear can sometimes motivate you to act appropriately- nothing worse than not knowing self defense in an emergency and wishing you did! Learning how to protect yourself and the people you love is so important.
It’s why we want to teach EVERYONE in Kingsport how to defend themselves against an attacker. It’s not just because it saves lives, either: imagine how much more confident you could be if you were sure you could handle any physical situation that came your way. That knowledge of self defense would just be one more thing for you to feel confident about. It’s a huge mental benefit of martial arts.
Self-Respect: A Little-Known Benefit
So we all want to be confident people – but why is self respect important? Well, once you learn to respect yourself and your body, you begin making better choices. When you decide to take martial arts classes, you may notice you feel more energized.
You may start to want to eat healthier and think, “My body doesn’t feel so great when I eat pizza- maybe I’ll choose a salad tonight instead.” You may also find yourself wanting to take a walk in the afternoon or finally making time to teach your kid how to play soccer.
Then you become even more confident because you’re doing right by your body, you have more energy to do things that benefit you, and you feel in alignment with your best self. The voice in your head saying “Let’s eat better” or “Go for that run” is finally being heard.
Also, and this is huge – when you respect yourself, you start to treat others with more kindness and humility because you see and respect them, too.
This makes OTHERS more confident because they feel your kindness, and then they pass that feeling on to others… and there’s a compound effect in the community. And then the world becomes a better place. It’s all because of this ancient practice we call martial arts.
How these Mental Benefits Change Lives
Picture this – a new student will come in to start training, and within months, they’ll get a promotion. Or negotiate a better salary. They may even get the courage to ask someone out on a date. Or speak up for themselves in an unhealthy friendship.
These are not coincidences – they happen because martial arts classes build confidence and self respect. Period. When you respect yourself, you also start to respect other aspects of your life as well. You begin realizing that you deserve better treatment from others, professionally and personally, and you find the courage to stand up for what you want.
Do you see now how the mental benefits of martial arts can really change your life? Just these two benefits- the mix of self respect and confidence- can help you realize that other people’s judgments can’t hurt you.
When YOU know how awesome you are because you leave your martial arts class feeling super accomplished, you’re not going to shy away from creating awesomeness in your own life. You feel empowered to take risks, embark on exciting new adventures, and do the things you never thought you could do. It’s awesome!
One last thing. In the classic mental health sense, the benefits of martial arts are endless. Staying active, being a part of a community, achieving new goals each week- these are pieces of the mental health checklist that every martial arts class checks off. Your mood and health can improve tremendously right alongside your mindset.
Confidence & Self Respect- Join Us to Learn More!
So, to conclude- some of the biggest advantages of martial arts classes are the improvement of your mental health, the boost in your confidence and the surge in your self respect. If taking your workout to the next level, learning a life-saving skill and transforming into a more confident person sounds good to you, come by the studio and see these benefits in action. Check out our Campeao United Jiu-Jitsu Adult Martial Arts classes that Kingsport is raving about- you’ll love them.