How Do Martial Arts Benefit Us?

I am always gratified to hear from adult students how much they benefit from Seichou Karate^® training.

The reasons people come to us vary. Some people come to learn self-defense; others come to learn about Japan, for physical fitness or to relieve stress. Whatever a student’s initial motivation, the benefits are often more expansive than he or she considered before walking through our door.

Here’s why. In Seichou Karate^® class, we practice exercises and karate techniques that build strong, flexible muscles. So, right off the bat, our training will give you the power and endurance to study, work or play hard for long periods of time.

Next, Seichou Karate^® is rigorous. So, during class when your muscles will tire or you’re out of breath, you’ll want to take a rest. At those moments, your brain should override the natural tendency to quit. Your brain becomes stronger each time it overrules your body. This exercise of self-discipline reminds us how powerful we are and motivates us to push harder for the things in our lives that are important: family, friends, career, or whatever.

Finally, the path to developing great physical strength and powerful fighting skills at Seichou Karate requires us to receive mentoring from caring senior students and instructors. During this process, we cannot help but discover that although they are stronger than we are, they are gentle and totally committed to our personal growth. This example inspires us to be good companions, mentors and fiduciaries in all areas of our lives.

This is the most important way in which Seichou Karate^® and other martial arts benefit us. OSU!

Finding Ourselves through Karate

The other day the father of a student mentioned to me that he was impressed that students’ “real character” become apparent during Seichou Karate® class. I couldn’t agree with him more.

People come to Seichou Karate® for many different reasons. Some want to lose weight; some want to learn defend themselves; others are new to town and want to get into a group activity. These are all valid reasons and, in fact, Seichou Karate® welcomes any student who enrolls with a wholesome motivation.

However, by far the most interesting aspect and one of the most exciting facets of my life as a Seichou Karate® instructor is observing students refine themselves or discover a side of themselves that they never knew existed.

Free-fighting is one area in which students learn a lot about themselves because we punch and kick our partner and our partner punches and kicks us. Striking and being struck is unnatural and connects us with a primal need for survival. In this dynamic, newcomers confront new feelings and identify strengths that they never knew they possessed. The result is personal growth.

There are other opportunities for personal growth in Seichou Karate®. For example, every so often we get a new student who is an unusually fast learner. However, sooner or later, he bumps into a technique or movement pattern that is particularly challenging and – perhaps – frustrating. At that moment, he must let go of his inclination to race through the syllabus and, instead, take the instructor’s advice to slow down. By slowing the process down, he will master the troublesome technique and learn a valuable new skill that benefits him other areas of life. Again, the result is personal growth.

Here’s what fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto is getting from his karate training. We’d like to know what you’re getting out of your martial arts training. So, blog it out below. OSU!