The 10 main health benefits of training Karate

Karate is one of the most popular martial arts in the world. There are many reasons why this is the case and perhaps one of them is the number of health benefits that it promises. When people think of martial arts, they often think of fighting and ripped muscular bodies.

Although Karate will definitely help you on this side of things, it also offers an array of mental health benefits too. If you read on, you will also learn how the mental and physical side of things are actually both linked and often complement each other. In fact, this is arguably what martial arts is based upon; the evolution of the body and mind in unison. If ever you needed an excuse to train Karate then read on.

Promotes mindfulness

A big part of martial arts and Karate is the promotion of a healthy mind. Arguably, too many practitioners fail to look beyond the physical side of Karate which can be a little narrow-minded. Whilst Karate isn’t unique in offering a mindful activity, it’s certainly one of the more intense ways to become more mindful.

In short, mindfulness describes the act of living in the moment. These days with social media, it’s hard to think about the here and now and humans often look at the past or the future too much. So, when you’re training Karate, you’re definitely living in the moment. Imagine sparring and someone’s trying to kick you in the head.

Obviously, you will be focused on defense and the task directly in front of you. In this moment, you won’t be thinking about lifes stresses such as relationship and work issues. Being mindful is very healthy for the mind and helps fight off illnesses such as depression. Arguably, this is one of the most important ways to improve your mental health through Karate.

Improves flexibility

Thinking about the physical aspects of Karate, flexibility is one of the obvious areas that your body will improve in. If you require to perform any upper-body kick, then you will need to be more flexible as a result. Thankfully, Karate has a number of kata that will help you gain flexibility. Combined with a solid yoga routine, you’ll be able to kick head height in no time.

Outside of the dojo, flexibility is also important for everyday life. This is especially the case as we grow older and our bodies tend to lose flexibility. It’s no secret that if your body becomes too stiff then you will age worse and may lose some of your physical attributes as a result. With this said, flexibility is a good way to fight old age and will keep you active for longer.

Even if you only train Karate for a couple of years, the likelihood is that you will keep some degree of your flexibility gains for the rest of your life. So, although it’s nice to be able to perform an axe-kick, it also has wider consequences that help your body in the long run.

Increases strength

Another obvious physical positive of training Karate can be seen with strength improvements. Some studies actually claim that strength is one of the most important factors in fighting old age and is more important than flexibility. Basically, the idea is that if you keep a high core level of strength then your body won’t decline as quickly, compared to being physically weak.

It’s not just for old age either, strength is useful for everyday life and is a nice gift to have. If you need to do a physical activity then it makes life easier. Similarly, if you do happen to get into a self-defense scenario, then being strong certainly doesn’t help either. Many dojos will promote strength which is improved upon in the warm-up.

Here, some Karate schools are big on strength and conditioning, so you can be expected to do a mixture of press-ups, planks, and other calisthenic workouts. This will improve your baseline and will make you stronger for life. Remember, strength gains in martial arts are rarely physically seen. You won’t end up looking like a jacked bodybuilder but you’ll definitely become stronger than you look if that makes sense.

Improves your social life

Returning to the mental aspects of Karate, it’s fair to say that training will improve your social life. This is a pretty understated benefit of training Karate as it can lead to a new friendship group. Sometimes, you’ll see this in action when a loner turns up and is very shy and quiet. After a few months or years, they may open up due to having gained new friends in the dojo.

Whether you chose to hang out with people outside of Karate, or whether talking to them is enough to meet your social needs, this offers clear benefits. In modern society, you could claim that too many people live like hermits and don’t socialize compared to older times. So, in getting down to the gym – you will be forced into social interaction.

Even if you wish to remain an introvert, that’s completely fine. The point is that Karate will force you to interact with different people from all walks of life. The result is that you should naturally become better in social situations and become more confident. In terms of mental health, this is pretty important and will help in terms of your love life as well as your career. These changes may appear subtle, but can have a long-lasting impact on your happiness and wellbeing.

Loses body fat

One of the main reasons why people start Karate is to lose weight. By losing weight, we mean unhealthy body fat. Of course, we don’t mean that people start to lose muscle! Often, if you walk into a dojo you may see an overweight beginner. However, if you return months later then they may have lost a significant amount of body fat.

The reason for this is simple – Karate can provide a pretty grueling workout and compared to most mainstream sports it can be pretty tough. So, if you’re willing to stick with Karate, then you’ll most likely become leaner and will trim down on the body fat. This means you’re less likely to suffer from a variety of illnesses that obesity can cause, such as heart disease and diabetes among other health issues.

Losing weight also makes life easier in general. You’re more likely to be able to do physical tasks without feeling as tired. In everyday life, this is pretty important, as it means you’ll have more energy throughout the day and feel less lethargic. This should mean you’re more productive which may lead to feeling better about yourself. As you may have figured, mental and physical health can sometimes go hand in hand. It goes without saying that Karate is good for the mind, body, and soul.

Creates a positive routine

In the age of poor mental health and sedentary living, Karate offers a productive physical hobby that can create a positive routine. Arguably, this is very important as it means your life is more structured and disciplined. Without structure and discipline, humans tend to struggle – so making a good routine is imperative for your success in life.

This doesn’t just apply to training Karate either – it also has wider implications outside of the dojo. If you’re disciplined with how often you train Karate, you’re more likely to be disciplined in other areas too. For example, if you have a deadline at work, you’re more likely to do it on time and perform more efficiently. This is because you’re used to sticking to a routine with Karate, which can then be translated over to other parts of life.

Overall, this is a good example of how healthy habits in the gym can be used in your personal and professional life. Whilst this may not be the case for everyone, there’s definitely nothing wrong with getting into a solid routine. For those that lack structure in their life, this is a brilliant way to gain back some control.

Improves cardio

Cardio is undoubtedly very important when it comes to living a long and healthy life. Sometimes, people often attribute body fat to health which is only one indicator of how healthy someone is. In other words, you could look physically healthy on the outside, whilst being pretty unhealthy internally.

By training Karate, you’ll undoubtedly improve your cardio which is good news if you want to be as healthy as possible. As mentioned earlier, Karate often involves some pretty grueling warm-ups. Aside from this, you can test your cardio by performing kumite and even kata can get your heart rate going.

Put simply, Karate will force you to get active and will make you fitter as a result. For newcomers, this can be quite an eye-opener. Even people who think they’re physically fit can be gassed out after a fairly simple warm-up. One reason for this is that Karate works out the entire body which a lot of people aren’t used to.

Encourages problem-solving

As previously mentioned, Karate encourages problem-solving. This is a very useful skill to have and will form new patterns in your brain. In doing this, you should hopefully train your brain and become sharper as a result.

For instance, if you keep getting hit with a roundhouse kick then obviously you’re doing something wrong. To counter this, you will eventually learn the correct defense. This won’t happen overnight but is part of a long-term learning process. However, at some point your brain and body will work together to overcome problems.

Although many of these problems in Karate are physical, this also applies to the mental side of your game as well. Basically, the smarter you are and quicker you are to see and adapt to issues, the quicker you will improve. As ever, your gains in the dojo can also be applied in the outside world. This provides a can-do attitude instead of giving in when things get difficult. In short, Karate breeds adversity and problem solving which makes life easier.

Conditions your body

Have you ever physically touched a seasoned Karate black belt? If you have, the chances are that you’ll be impressed with how they feel. Typically, someone that has trained for years will be incredibly conditioned. By conditioned, we don’t mean fit or strong either. Instead, we mean having a body that is very used to martial arts.

In other words, this is the outcome of training for years. Usually, this means your body will feel hard like metal. For example, typically the underside of your forearm may be quite soft as the muscle here isn’t too developed. However, if you train for years then this muscle will harden.

As much as anything, having a well-conditioned body is just a cool way of living and shows the mental and physical discipline to reach a certain level that most won’t achieve. It has obvious health benefits too and is useful for self-defense – especially when blocking with certain, hardened parts of your body. Not only this but as you grow older, this will also help you into old age as you will enter it with a stronger body.

Reduces anger

Often, people start martial arts to reduce their anger. In terms of calming people down – Karate can really change your life. As mentioned earlier, Karate can promote mindfulness and reduce stress. It’s also an ego killer. Imagine thinking you’re a tough guy, only to get humbled in your first class by someone half your size. This shows that technique is king and that fighting is wildly different in reality than what you assumed.

If you stick around then eventually you’ll probably become more humble and aware that you’re not a god. Typically, Karate filters out the bad guys and will make you less agitated as a result. Put simply, Karate can reduce anger by getting it beaten out of you. Similarly, if you just want to blow off steam and practice striking on a bag then this is also a healthy way of doing so. It’s definitely better than taking out your anger on someone else which can have bad consequences. Don’t take our word for it either. It is scientifically proven that exercise can reduce anger.

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