Running & Fitness

How Martial Arts Benefit You and Your Children

by Matt Orlando
Matt Orlando
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Martial arts is already a great way to keep yourself fit but cross-training martial arts with running can be a great way to improve skills and to learn new ones. Combining the two will definitely take your fitness to a whole new level, and running is one of the best cardio workouts you can do. Running long distances will help your cardio for fights, and performing endurance training can build a strong cardio foundation.

5 Ways Cross Training with Martial Arts Benefit You

Joints & ligaments will become stronger

Running particularly strengthens the ligaments that help support joints, making them more stable and less vulnerable to sprains and strains, which is useful for any martial artist whether you’re doing Jiu-jitsu, Taekwondo, or Judo.

Increase weight loss and burn fat

Running is one of the best form of exercise that can help you lose weight or burn fat and it’s the easiest cardio to perform. When you want to step things up it’s easier to push yourself harder because you don’t need to learn any particular technique. For best results with fat-burning, it’s better to go for longer runs at a lower intensity, around 25-30 min, rather than shorter more intense runs.

Increased cardio-vascular efficiency

Your aerobic cardio helps you last through long belt tests while your anaerobic cardio helps you cope with the quick, bursts of activity when doing things like sparring or grappling. Doing a combination of low intensity running/jogging and sprinting allows you to cover both these forms of fitness. Having good cardio fitness helps you perform your best for longer.

Strengthens muscles and bone density of your legs, hips and back

Running strengthens your muscles without making you bulk up to help stay lean. This can improve your stamina in fights and also the constant impact that happens during running is great for increasing bone density, as long as you follow a healthy diet.

Improve breathing

Cardio-vascular fitness helps your blood get air and nutrients through your system when needed for activity. Running helps strengthen your lungs and increase your lung capacity. As you run more and your lung capacity increases, you’ll find it easier to keep your breathing smooth when sparring or grappling.

5 Ways Martial Arts Benefit Your Children

Martial arts is definitely recommended for all ages including kids and they can benefit from this practice as they grow up. Martial arts practitioners strive for harmony, but also learn effective self-defense techniques. Not only is it a way to keep fit, but children who get involved in martial arts can take away very valuable life lessons.

Fitness

Fitness plays a huge part to all martial art classes, especially where children are involved.  The techniques of martial arts itself often challenge your muscles and cardiovascular system. Martial artists are known for being toned, flexible and physically fit, and your child will be no different.

Self Defense

Most martial arts use self-defense as a foundation of the entire program. The precise methods will vary from discipline to discipline, but you can be certain that with regular practice, your child will learn to defend himself in a variety of different ways.

Self Discipline

Martial arts help instill mental focus in your child, giving her the ability to concentrate on a task and see it through to its conclusion. The discipline that is taught through martial arts can then translate into other areas of life, including school and household chores.

Respect

Martial arts are all about respect. Children will learn to treat other students as they wish to be treated. Quality martial arts instructors press upon the respect issue regularly and instruct students to practice respect for self, parents, teachers and peers at every opportunity.

Self Confidence

A child who is involved in martial arts will gradually grow in self-confidence. Working through the martial art belt ranking system gives children measurable goals to follow that are realistic to achieve. The sense of accomplishment a child feels by mastering a new technique or graduating to a new belt gives them a true sense of accomplishment.

This post was provided courtesy of Martial Tribes:

Creating the first martial arts social networking website for enthusiasts and teachers to connect on one platform from anywhere in the world, Martial Tribes decided to take Martial arts to the next level.  Covering a wide variety of martial arts, the platform is used to where masters can be truly seen and recognized for their art. It also allows students to interact, learn and train from the best, wherever you are.