If you're thinking of taking up a new sport or fitness pursuit, one of the best ones you can try is karate. This ancient martial art was once used to train Japanese warriors, but today it's popular for sport, self-defence and fitness reasons, offering benefits that go far beyond the physical to include mental and even spiritual, depending on how deep and far you take your practice.
With that in mind, let's take a look at five of the best reasons to train in karate.
1. Karate gets you seriously fit
Karate is a challenging physical sport that boosts cardiovascular health and muscular strength. It can also improve your flexibility as it requires a high degree of mobility training to reach full height on those all-important kicks! Karate often doubles up as a high-impact fitness class, especially when you are training with pads or doing kick and punch combinations. Sparring is as demanding physically as comparable pursuits such as boxing, and you will see quick gains in your health and baseline fitness levels.
2. Karate boosts your mental wellbeing
Doing karate for mental health is also a smart move. When you train in karate, the high-intensity session releases a cocktail of feel-good endorphins and other chemicals. This means that taking up karate for mental health can be a natural way to tackle anxiety, stress and even depression. Even better, the mental benefits of doing karate for mental health are completely natural and may mean that you don't need to take pharmaceutical alternatives for mild mental health conditions.
3. Karate builds resilience
There's no doubt that karate is tough, and its very nature builds resilience and fortitude. Often, you need high levels of both traits to simply get through a challenging class! This builds your spirit over time and helps you to tackle other challenges in your life with the same resolve.
4. Karate is for everyone
Karate is a truly inclusive sport that can be adapted for anyone, whatever their age, physical condition and overall abilities. It tends to be a sport with a great community of like-minded people who are inclusive and welcoming, and this social side can be very important for people, especially in an age where social connections may be lacking.
5. Karate is a lifetime pursuit
Karate is a martial art, with an emphasis on 'art' rather than sport, and this means that it can, and should, be done for a person's entire life. There are many karate enthusiasts who still practise their art into old age and who benefit from doing so with better mental and physical outcomes than those who lead more sedentary and less mentally challenging lives. Karate is a progressive sport and there is always more to learn, especially as you go deeper into your practice, potentially learning about the more spiritual aspects as you evolve and grow.
These are just five reasons to take up karate! Which one appeals to you most?
