Alesia Kunz, an instructor at the San Francisco Aikikai Club for nearly two decades, first gained a love for martial arts when she saw some in New Mexico in 1978. The following year she went to live in New York, and she joined the New York Akikai Club. She got her Shodan and then moved across the country to San Francisco, where she started teaching Aikido at a school for women. She started teaching at the San Francisco Aikikai Club in 1992, and that is where she has been since. Below she discusses why it is wise to take up a style of martial arts.
Fantastic for Self-Defense
Self-defense is probably the main reason why people decide to start martial arts. It does not matter what type of martial arts you train in as most of them can be used to defend yourself. Martials arts show you the proper techniques that you need to defend yourself as well as teach you to always think about defending yourself, which is something that prove useful when it comes to avoiding potential dangers. Training in a style of martial arts will improve your reflexes, which are very important when trying to defend yourself.
You Will Get a Confidence Boost
They say that practice makes perfect and this definitely applies to any type of martial arts. During a martial arts lesson, you will need to execute particular movements time and time again. This will drill into you the fact that progression is only possible with improvements in technique and stamina. In order to get good at the style of martial arts that you choose, you have to be determined and committed and go to lessons even if you are not in the mood. Being humble and disciplined is vital with martial arts.
Improving your discipline is something that can be handy in all walks of life. For example, if you like to gamble at online casinos, whether you are playing slot games or table games such as poker, blackjack, baccarat, or craps, it is vital that you have the discipline to gamble responsibly. By responsibly we mean that it is important that you stop playing as soon as you are no longer having fun and that you do not continue to gamble in order to recuperate money that you have lost. If do not have the discipline not to do this, then you will just end up losing even more money. Furthermore, when you are gambling, you should set yourself a budget and have the discipline to stick to it. If you set a £50 budget for a gambling session and then go and spend £70, what was the point of setting a budget in the first place?
You Will Stay Healthy and Lose Weight
The majority of your lessons will have warm-ups, practice moves, and the more advanced lesson will include some sparring. The warm-up and the technical drills will take up most the time, while stretches and cardio will come at the end of the lesson. This is a rough idea of what will happen as things can obviously change depending on what style of martial arts you are learning and the instructor that you have. When compared to popular sports such as basketball or football, martial arts are more intense as you use your flight or fight response. Additionally, there are plenty of sports where you do not use every part of your body, but martial arts certainly do not fit into this category.
It Is Not Seasonal
The majority of team sports such as cricket or football, are seasonal, which means that you will have a part of the year where you cannot enjoy your favourite sports. However, this will never be the case with any type of martial arts as you do them inside. The constant availability gives you the ability to carry on improving your skills as well as your discipline. To add to this, the fact you can enjoy martial arts all year means that children can improve at quicker speeds than they can if they are participating in team sports.
You Can Learn Valuable Life Skills and Values
Life skills are vital, especially for kids. Martial arts are a fantastic way to shape your values such as focus, fairness, discipline, tolerance, and humbleness. If you can go through life with all of these values, then it is safe to say that you will go far.
Gender Equality Exists in Martial Arts
The great thing about martial arts is that anybody can do it – no matter how old you are or what gender you are. Martial arts really are some of the few sports where boys and girls can play together. It is an activity that gives brothers and sisters the opportunity to practice with each other and learn together.
Some final words from Alesia: “Learning Akido has taught me plenty about life. Not only is it a fantastic way to stay fit, but I am always humbled by the mental strength that is required. I never believed that would grow so much by learning Akido, but I am really glad that I made the decision to take up a style of martial arts all those years ago in New Mexico. It is safe for me to say that without Akido, my heart would be less full than it is now”.