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Level 2: Strategy

Exercises with kicking shield (?)
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Having a strategy in life is something that every child should know about (and also be working on) before they leave primary school. The more prepared your plan is, the better you are likely to do with anything in life. However, in the context of the martial arts, strategy is a little bit less long term, and more about using the fluidity of your movements to gain the advantage in a fight. After all, once the movements are easy enough to do without thinking about them, the real possibilities open up to you. Consider the nature of combat itself- it is unpredictable, fast paced, and can often be very dangerous to those who are willing to take a few hits.

When you still have to think about how to do the movements, you are not at level two- you need to stay at the first level of your training, until you have mastered the movements themselves. In time, you will become a lot better. But you might be wondering about what level two means, if not the mastery of the moves themselves. Remember our brief coverage of strategy, and then consider how that applies to the martial arts in general, and then to a fight itself in particular. In a fight, you want to have as much of a plan to win as you can.

After all, winning is about more than just having the right methods of attack. Rather like a woodworker who has the very best tools, even the best punches and kicks will not win you any fights unless you know not only how to use them, but also when they can best be employed. For the people who win fights as a general rule, being able to plan out (and recognize at a moment’s notice) when a particular type of attack will work versus when it will not is a vital skill. Any other kind of win is generally just luck.

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The Early Years: Training to Fight

When a lot of fresh faced youngsters first step in to a martial arts school, they are generally there for only a couple of different reasons. For some of them, their parents think that they need discipline. For most of the kids who first walk in, however, they are out to learn how to fight well. Maybe they want to be able to push people around (those kids rarely last very long in a formal setting), and maybe they just want to be able to push back when someone else comes up trying to bully them. But whatever the student’s initial reason for coming to the school, learning how to fight is the general result. After all, the movements that most martial arts teach involve punching, kicking, grappling and generally causing physical offense to another person.

Early on in your training, you learn a lot of different ways to do damage to another human being. And this is where most people generally stop learning all that much about the martial arts. For most people, there is no other element besides “how can I most effectively beat up somebody else?” Of course, more serious students learn other things besides that, such as self discipline and generally good health practices. But of course, most people learn little more than a few drills designed to attack people before they finally give up and figure that they have learned enough.

However, those who stick with their training will often find that the benefits of learning how to fight can move far beyond simply being able to defend ones self from external threats. For instance, there are great health benefits which may be gained from the practice of vigorous physical exercise, and the martial artists who train diligently often become both very strong and very healthy as a result of this training. Of course, as you progress onward and get somewhat older, the desire to fight will begin to fade.

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Forget Football, Consider Enrolling Your Child in Martial Arts

Rhee Tae Kwon-Do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Dan black belts
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Taekwondo is one of the most popular martial arts, and one of the best for children to learn. The art itself relies on kicks and punches, but the sport offers so much more to children, especially in their early development. The physical advantages are self-evident. Taekwondo provides physical fitness to children through stretching, sparring, and repetitive practice. Most exercises are not combat-intensive, but rely on mastering kicks and punches while developing correct form and gaining strength. The physical achievements become almost secondary to what taekwondo does for participants both mentally and psychologically.

The art focuses on specific ideals and tenets when teaching its students. Taekwondo teaches discipline and self-restraint. Students learn to defend themselves; not to fight other children. Taking ownership of one’s self and of one’s actions is a large focus of any martial art, but especially taekwondo. Taekwondo instills self-control, self-confidence, and self-respect in its students.

The world is always changing, and new dangers present themselves every day. Children have access to more information than ever before. Children deal with increasingly mature concepts and content thanks to the internet and television. Learning a martial art like taekwondo can give them the mental and physical abilities to handle the world more positively and responsibly. By having stronger self-esteem and self-worth, children are better prepared to handle pressure. Taekwondo teaches respect, integrity, and perseverance.

Sometimes parents may overlook martial arts as a positive sport for their children. This could stem from misconceptions over the violent nature of martial arts, or a fear of their child’s safety. With a little research, however, parents can find the advantages of martial arts over traditional sports. As children grow, potential politics or genetic differences start separating children from larger team sports. Children can continue taekwondo regardless of external factors, as the only person the children compete with are themselves. The self-confidence and self-discipline taekwondo teaches lasts far beyond the end of a child’s martial arts activities. The values stay with children throughout the rest of their life.

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The Health Benefits of Martial Arts

There is no question that the various forms of martial arts including Kenpo, Taekwondo, Karate, Judo, Tai Chi, and Kung Fu, are excellent ways to learn how to defend yourself. Did you know that they also provide you with extensive health benefits as well? As with many other sporting activities, marital arts provide your body with an all over workout.

Physical Fitness and Mental Calm

The aerobic qualities of martial arts raises your heart rate, increasing the amount of calories you burn. If practiced frequently enough, martial arts can be a great way to lose weight. For instance in one kickboxing session, an individual could potentially burn up to 1000 calories. Along with the direct fitness aspects, martial arts are also an effective way to reduce stress.

The repetitive nature of the techniques along with the attention to breath contribute to increasing your bodies endorphin levels and reducing the stress hormone- cortisone. Other physical benefits include improved brain functioning, decrease in blood sugar and blood pressure levels, and increase in blood supply to your cells and tissues. Overall these benefits can assist your body in fighting off diabetes, increasing heart health and preventing certain types of cancers.

Flexibility and Control

Yoga, an ancient eastern spiritual and physical practice is also widely touted for its increase in a person’s flexibility. Surprisingly enough most martial arts practices also offer an excellent way to warm your body while increasing its flexibility. Various stretches actually increase the effectiveness of marital arts techniques, tight muscles don’t’ have the range nor the preciseness in movement that limber ones do.

Overall, martial arts offer its participant’s way more than just the ability to protect themselves. A frequent practitioner of any of the various martial arts forms will discover that they are a leaner, calmer, and more flexible person than before.

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