The mental benefits of martial arts are actually endless, but two important ones you may not know about are confidence and self respect. Most people see martial arts as a purely physical sport…. But it actually requires quite a bit of mental stamina and self talk. We help hundreds of people in our D3 Martial Arts community build confidence and self-respect through the power of martial arts and self defense. Here’s how:
Confidence is a Huge Advantage of Martial Arts
There’s probably an area of your life that you already feel confident in, like how you handle tough situations at work or your ability to be there for your spouse when they need you. You might already feel confident in your body and even hit the gym every day.
But how confident do you feel in your ability to protect yourself? If push really came to shove (literally), would you know how to defend yourself against an attacker? Would you know how to save the lives of the people you love?
These questions are not fun, but you know what’s less fun- not knowing self defense in an emergency and wishing you did! Learning self defense to keep yourself and the people you love safe is so important. It’s why we want to teach EVERYONE in the Palm Harbor community how to defend themselves against an attacker.
It’s not just because it literally saves lives, either: imagine how much more confident you could be if you were sure you could handle any physical situation that came your way. Knowing how to keep yourself safe would just be one more thing for you to feel confident about. It’s a huge mental benefit of martial arts.
Self-Respect: A Little-Known Benefit
So we all want to be confident people – but why is self respect important? It’s because once you learn to respect yourself and your body, you start to make better choices. When you decide to take martial arts classes, you may notice you feel more energized. You may start to want to eat healthier and think, “My body doesn’t feel so great when I eat pizza- maybe I’ll choose a salad tonight instead.”
You may also find yourself wanting to bike instead of drive up the street or finally making time for a hike with a friend. Then you become even more confident because you’re doing right by your body, you have more energy to do things you love, and you feel in alignment with your best self. That little conscience in your head guiding your decisions is finally being heard.
Bonus – when you respect yourself, you start to treat others with more kindness and patience because you see and respect them, too. This makes OTHERS more confident because they feel understood, and then they pass that feeling on to others… and there’s a compound effect in the community. It’s kind of great, isn’t it? And it’s all because of this little old sport we call martial arts.
How these Mental Benefits Change Lives
We see it all the time – a new student will come in to start training, and within months, they’ll get a promotion. Or negotiate a higher salary. They may even get the courage to ask someone out on a date. Or speak their mind to a disrespectful colleague. These things don’t just happen out of the blue – they happen because martial arts classes build confidence and self respect. Plain and simple.
Again, when you respect yourself, you also start to respect other aspects of your life as well. You begin realizing that you deserve better treatment from others, professionally and personally, and you find the bravery within to stand up for what you want.
Do you see now how the mental benefits of martial arts can seriously change your life? Just these two benefits- the mix of self respect and confidence- can help you realize that other people’s judgments can’t touch you. When YOU know you’re awesome because you’re kicking major butt in your martial arts classes, you’re not going to shy away from creating awesomeness in your own life. You make bold decisions in your life, embark on exciting new adventures, and do the things you never thought you could do. It’s awesome!
One last thing. In terms of textbook mental health, the benefits of martial arts are countless. Staying active, being a part of a community, consistently accomplishing new goals each week- these are the basic building blocks of mental health that martial arts classes can provide. Your mood and health can improve tremendously right alongside your mindset.
Confidence & Self Respect- Join Us to Learn More!
So, to conclude- some of the biggest advantages of martial arts classes are the improvement of your mental health, the boost in your confidence and the surge in your self respect. If taking your workout to the next level, learning a life-saving skill and transforming into a more confident person sounds good to you, come by the studio and see these benefits in action. Check out our D3 Martial Arts Adult Martial Arts classes that Palm Harbor is raving about- you’ll love them: Adult Martial Arts