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 it actually requires quite a bit of mental stamina and self talk. We help hundreds of people in our Cornerstone Martial Arts & Leadership Academy 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 how you handle tough situations at work or your ability to be a supportive friend. You might already feel confident in your body and even crush it on the treadmill.
But do you feel confident 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 protect 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 self defense to keep yourself and the people you love safe from harm is so important. It’s why our mission is to teach EVERYONE in the Arlington area how to defend themselves against an attacker.
It’s not just because it literally 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. Knowing how to keep yourself safe would just be one more thing for you to hang your hat on. 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 start to make better choices. Once you start taking martial arts classes, you may notice you feel more energized. You may start to want to eat healthier and think, “I wouldn’t be respecting my body if I ate this… I want to feel amazing so I’ll skip the chips.” 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 you love, and you feel in alignment with your best self. That little conscience in your head guiding your decisions is finally being heard.
Bonus – when you respect yourself, you start to treat others with more kindness and empathy because you see and respect them, too. This makes OTHERS more confident because they feel understood, and then they pass that feeling on to others… and there’s a compound effect in the community. Magic? We think so. And it’s all because of this little old sport we call martial arts.
How these Mental Benefits Change Lives
This happens all the time – a new student will come in to start training, and within months, they’ll get promoted at work. 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. Plain and simple. Again, when you respect yourself, you also start to treat yourself better. You recognize that you can push yourself to new limits in martial arts classes, and you gain a bravery and confidence you never knew you had.
Are you starting to see 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 only get to you if you let them. When YOU know you’re awesome because you leave your martial arts class feeling super accomplished, you’re not afraid to confidently create 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!
Okay, one more 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 the basic building blocks of mental health that martial arts classes can provide. 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 you’re ready to take your workout to the next level, learn a life-saving skill and become a more confident person, then martial arts is definitely for you. Check out our Cornerstone Martial Arts & Leadership Academy Adult Martial Arts classes that Arlington is raving about- you’ll love them:
