TRAINING TIPS 1

5 Reasons To Consider Martial Arts Training

Determining Your Training Goals
The first thing to do when considering taking a martial arts class is to determine what you hope to gain from martial arts training.

Everyone has a reason for their interest in the martial arts, and it's important to know your options and goals so that you can really get the most out of your training and have a postive experience. Below are some common reasons for studying the martial arts and some examples of styles that fit those reasons.

Fitness/Fun Related Interests
The most common reason for training that I hear is that people want to have fun and get in better physical condition, whether that is losing weight, getting stronger or just getting more active. Martial arts is a great way to get in shape and can be really fun to learn. It will improve endurance, strength, flexibility, speed, coordination, balance and helps with overall stress levels.

While all martial arts training involves some amount of physical training, these styles are great to try for overall physical fitness:

Tae Kwon Do
Karate
Kung Fu
Brazilian Ju Jitsu and other Grappling Arts
Capoeira
Non-traditional martial arts schools that feature fitness as a large part of their overall direction.

Self Defence
The second most common reason for studying martial arts is self defense; a very valid and important reason for learning. The following arts certainly aren't the only ones who teach self defense, but they are known to have self defense as their main focus:

Hapkido
Krav Maga
Various non-traditional systems which are organized solely around self defense, often specializing in either law enforcement training or women's self defense. Many of these programs are offered by martial arts schools in addition to their core curriculum.

Interest In Traditional or Cultural Arts
Many people take great interest in the cultural or traditional aspects of martial arts training. They enjoy the discipline, traditions and methods of very traditional arts. A traditional style will features very structured training, and many people love that aspect as well. There are many traditional martial arts styles out there. Contact the classes and schools in your area to learn what is available to you.

Shaolin Kung Fu
Shotokan Karate
Kuk Sool Won
Iaido
Wing Chun
Bujinkan

Full Contact/Combat Sports/MMA
With the success of such promotions as UFC, Pride and K1, there has been a surge of interest in training of this nature. The following arts have a full contact or combat sport focus and many times aren't traditional asian arts, but rather a mixture of multiple styles.

San Shou
Muay Thai
Schools that focus on "mma" or mixed martial arts. These schools teach a combination of grappling/ground fighting such as Brazilian Ju Jitsu or catch wrestling, stand up fighting like boxing or kickboxing, and throws and submissions.

Sport, Tricks & Competition or "Xtreme" Martial Arts
Thanks to an increased presence in movies and television, a rapidly growing reason for training is for the flashy and acrobatic "Xtreme" martial arts, which combines martial basics with difficult jump kicks, flips and speedy hand combinations, done primarily for competitions. Schools that have a sport focus usually teach either a traditional or modified version of a traditional art, and simply have more of a sport focus than other schools. While competition is probably not the main feature of these schools, it can be a large part of what they do. Sport or Competition schools will teach things like traditional and creative forms or katas, gymnastics or trick martial arts techniques as well as light to medium contact sparring. Some styles where you will see this focus include:

Tae Kwon Do
Many otherwise traditional schools, most commonly Karate schools.
A new breed of schools created specifically for teaching sport martial arts, run mostly by current or former champions. Hard to find, but they are certainly out there.

Once you know what you want to get out of your training and your goals are clearly defined, it will be much easier to pick a style and a school. You won't be so overwhelmed by the variety of martial arts schools available, and you will make the choice that you will be happiest with in the long run.

Weight Loss With Martial Arts
Obesity, or being over weight, is a condition in which having too much fat in the body may pave the way for other diseases. Obese people have a high risk getting various diseases like heart disease, diabetes and arthritis.

Obesity is nowadays a serious public health problem. The United States has the highest rate of obesity in the world. According to the latest statistics, 32.2% of people who were above the age of 20 years were over weight. The number of obese people is increasing at a steady rate and showing no signs of stability. There are many causes of obesity like lack of activity, lower relative cost of food, increased food production and changes in lifestyle.

Doctors say that losing body weight will help two out of every three people in the United States. Losing body weight can put many diseases away. Obese people always have greater risks of getting a heart attack. Being over weight increases the amount of cholesterol in the blood. This cholesterol gets deposited in the blood vessels and narrows them, so that blood does not flow to the heart properly. Due to lack of blood, the heart is deprived of oxygen and eventually fails to function. This causes heart attack. Taking the negative effects that being over weight can cause, it is very advised to take measures to decrease body weight.

Exercising for about 20 minutes a day helps to burn out the excess fat in the body. Exercise can involves light jogging, running or aerobics. During exercise, the cells of the body utilize the fat for producing energy and so the fat gets depleted resulting in body weight loss. Controlling the diet is also very much important. Junk food should be avoided at all costs as these contain a large amount of fats. Changing lifestyle is the best solution to obesity.

Martial arts have been known to be very effective in reducing body weight. Martial arts involve a variety of techniques to overpower an opponent and learning these techniques involves a lot of physical exercise to the body. Joining a local martial arts club may be very effective. It is very a necessity to be physically fit to learn martial arts. Physical fitness will be acquired during training. Regular training in martial arts like judo, karate and jujitsu will improve agility and make one perfect. They are also known to improve confidence and will power. Confidence and will power are very much necessary during the weight loss program. So martial can be an effective means of losing body weight.

This is the place for you to pick up a few tips from some of Australia 's leading martial artists. Here is my first tip. Always have fun when you are training even if that is just gasping for breath, thats fun isn't it. We have added a few funny videos here I hope you like them too. Guys you do have to be a member to get them so just Login over to your left.
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