Mental Health Benefits of Martial Arts

When it comes to Martial Arts training the physical benefits often overshadow everything else as it's often the main reason people get into a discipline. These benefits such as increased cardiovascular fitness, reduced cholesterol/weight reduction, better range of motion/mobility, increased muscle mass etc, are regularly studied, documented and discussed in all corners of the world.

But more than ever we are seeing Martial Arts being a powerful tool in improving mental health. Mental health is often hard to measure being internal and intangible. Many individuals struggling with mental health problems can often feel isolated and can quickly lead to a domino effect in other areas of life (physical/social/family/financial).

Recent research suggests martial arts training is an effective sports-based mental health intervention that can reduce mental stress and encourage the feel-good chemicals in the brain to become more active during high intensity training.

Chemicals such as endorphins and cannabinoids in the brain help to lift your mood and provide a mental boost which can often lead to:

1. Improved sleep (deeper rest)

2. Positive mindset (getting out of a funk)

3. Mental Alertness (clearing the mind fog)

4. Self confidence (better self awareness)

Any form of high intensity training can help you get to this point but there are certain benefits unique to Martial Arts training:

• Martial arts film director Ronny Yu describes the process of learning a martial art as "a spiritual one, not a physical one", and it's this experience that leads to the improvement of confidence and the redirection of negative energy into something that is good for the whole body.

• Martial arts often embody a system of moral values, commonly the respect of property, the importance of being faithful and sincere, and an emphasis on exerting oneself to improve character with self control and discipline. These values often carry into different other areas of life and have a positive impact (e.g Help someone who has previously felt victimised feel more in control, feel inner peace and be able to set healthy boundaries.) It also helps many people with low self-esteem and social withdrawal, with some studies showing it can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medication, without the side-effects!
  

• The power of community and people (in our case, the pack!). Martial arts is uniquely an individual journey but also engrained into a community made of individuals with a similar mindset and attitude towards life. Training an art will quickly get you connected to a group of people with the same interests and goals to keep you motivated and encouraged.

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Are you looking for the mental boost (and more) that Martial Arts has to offer? Come and check out the real Mixed Martial Arts experience (Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA) today at Wolves Den Perth! Australian guidelines recommend adults do at least 30 minutes - 1 hour of moderate to intensive physical activity on most or all days of the week. What better way than ticking that box with our pack our fun and friendly classes! We have a loaded timetable ready to get you moving, join the pack today!

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