Did you know that there are mental benefits of taekwondo aside from feeling amazing after a workout? Most people see martial arts as a purely physical sport…. But to be successful at it, you need quite a bit of mental stamina and self-talk. We help hundreds of people in our D3 Martial Arts community transform into the best versions of themselves through the power of martial arts and self-defense. Here’s how:
Confidence is a Huge Advantage of Taekwondo
There’s probably an area of your life that you already feel confident in, like your performance at your job or your ability to be there for your spouse when they need you. You might already feel confident in your body and even crush it on the treadmill. But do you feel confident in your ability to protect yourself? If it came down to it, would you know how to defend yourself against an attacker? Would you know how to save the lives of the people you love?
Self-Respect: A Little-Known Benefit
These are scary questions, but they’re necessary, and fear can sometimes motivate you to act appropriately- nothing worse than not knowing self-defense in an emergency and wishing you did! Learning how to protect yourself and the people you love is so important. It’s why we have the goal of teaching everyone in the Palm Harbor community how to defend themselves against an attacker.
It’s not just because it saves lives, either: imagine how much more confident you could be if you were 100% certain in your ability to handle any physical situation that came your way. That knowledge of self-defense would be one more thing for you to feel confident about. It’s a huge mental benefit of martial arts.
How These Mental Benefits of Taekwondo Can Change Lives
So we all want to be confident, but why is self-respect important? Because once you learn to respect yourself and your body, you start to make better choices. Once you start taking martial arts classes, you may notice you feel more energized.
You may 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 take a walk in the afternoon 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 your kindness, then 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 ancient practice we call martial arts.
Confidence & Self Respect- Join Us to Learn More!
This happens all the time – a new student will come in to start training, and within months, they’ll get a promotion. Or negotiate a better 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. Period. Again, when you respect yourself, you also start to treat yourself better. You recognize that you can push yourself to new limits in martial arts classes, and you gain bravery and confidence you never knew you had.
Do you see now how the mental benefits of taekwondo can really change your life? Just these two benefits- the mix of self-respect and confidence- can help you realize that other people’s judgments can only get to you if you let them.
When you know you’re awesome because you’re kicking major butt in your martial arts classes, you won’t shy away from creating awesomeness in your own life. You feel empowered to take risks, embark on exciting new adventures, and do the things you never thought you could do. It’s awesome! One last thing. In the classic mental health sense, the mental benefits of taekwondo are countless. Staying active, being a part of a community, and achieving new goals each week- 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.
