Benefits of learning Martial Arts

Topic: Martial Arts

General Purpose: To inform

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about the benefits of learning martial art.

Central idea: There are several benefits on learning martial art: physical, health and psychological benefits.

INTRODUCTION

1.      Can you tell me the name of these actors? They are popular actors of action movies. What are the similarity between them?

2.      Most of the time, they use Kung Fu, a type of martial arts, that become popular through movies.

3.      Martial arts refer to any type of combat technique, often stressing hand and foot combat. Usually the term refer to self-defence technique born in Asian countries. Some of the popular martial arts are Kung Fu, Karate, Tae Kwan Do, Tai Chi, Judo. Compared to other sport, martial arts consist of not only the physical aspect, but mental and emotional aspect as well.

4.      There are several benefits on learning martial art: physical, health and psychological benefits.

BODY

(Transition: First benefit is physical benefit.)

1.      Physical fitness is a common benefit chased by student of martial arts.

a.       The martial arts classes provide a source of exercise that gives a complete workout of the body. Therefore, you can gain strength and increased muscle mass. In his book, Karate for Kids, Robin Reilly points out that while practicing the martial arts one uses all the muscles in the body. This will help prevent injury from daily activities as well as reducing risk of aches and pains as you grow older.

b.      Another research also found that martial arts improve your reflex as well as faster reaction times in your daily life. Sparring increase hand and eye movement and quicken reflex. This is very important in certain activities such as driving and even cooking.

c.       Balance is improved through exercises and forms where students learn to find their “centre” which keeps them from falling during complicated movement as well as daily life activities.

 (Transition: Another benefit of martial art is…)

2.      Another benefit of martial art is from aspect of health.

a.       It was reported that falls to be number one cause of accidental death of the elderly. It was theorised that injury from fall happened when we are older can be avoided by learning to fall properly in martial arts class.

b.      In order to lose one pound of fat in a week, you must remove 500 calories from your diet each day. Just in one hour of moderate intensity martial arts, you can burn significant amount of 500 calories. This increases the metabolic rate and makes the body stronger. You are likely to lose weight and reduce risk of obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

c.       Research also showed that the only way to improve cardiovascular health is by doing activities that stress the heart such as swimming, walking, biking and martial arts. Exercise in martial art class will force your heart to work. Your heart will go stronger and able to work for longer hours. As your heart become stronger and healthier, the risk of you having heart disease decreases.

(Transition: Finally,…)

3.      The more overlooked benefit comes from the mental, emotional and sometime spiritual components of martial art or psychological.

a.       As one advanced, the feeling of accomplishment comes with added confidence. Confidence is especially important to those who lack confidence to begin with. As a more confidence individual, you will be better to handle social situation, to interact with people well and even perform better in your work or school. You may also be seen as strong individual, which make it less likely to become victims of any kind of violence.

b.      To stick to a training routine, he or she require a very high level of self-discipline. This is one benefit that often lacking in other sports. It contributed by “repetition, details, rhythms, rules, and protocols in the class”. A person with disciplined mind and body is more likely to get things done in an efficient manner.

c.       Your mind also will become clear and focus will quickly improve. The more we train, the more aware we become. So, we are less likely to get involved in conflict. Ironically, the more we train, the less we required to use of what we learnt. This also benefits the daily life where you able to focus much longer on dull and tedious tasks.

d.      You also begin to be more respectful towards other people around you. It formed from formalities such as addressing the instructor properly, listening, standing still and not using martial arts to harm others. These important values is lacking between children and parents, and students and teachers, and even among friends. Good instructors will frequently educate student to respect their teachers and others.

e.       Regular routine of martial art also a good way to improve mood. Emotion such as anger and fear are better controlled through training. In turn it also helps to relieve stress and improved the psychological health of practitioners. You can release your anger and stress properly through training. When training in class, the day-to-day problems seem to be forgotten and students of martial art come out of class refreshed to face the world again. At the same time, you overcame your fear, especially fear of getting hurt.

CONCLUSION

I.                   As you can see, there are many benefits from learning from martial arts in term of physical, health and psychological.

II.                I hope that you will consider learning martial art as for these whole life advantages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Troxell, D. (n.d.). The Benefits of Martial Arts for All Ages. Gateway Martial Arts. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from http://gatewaymartialarts.com/media/papers/dtroxell.pdf

Wheaton, R. (n.d.). 5 Health Benefits for Adults in the Martial Arts. Arrowhead Martial Arts. Retrieved November 07, 2012, from http://blog.arrowheadkenpo.com/5-health-benefits-martial-arts-adults/

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Wheaton, R. (n.d.). 5 Ways Martial Arts Training Can Transform Your Everyday Life. Arrowhead Martial Arts. Retrieved November 07, 2012, http://blog.arrowheadkenpo.com/5-ways-martial-arts-training-can-transform-your-everyday-life/

What Are the Benefits of Martial Arts for Kids?

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Jason P. Karol. (n.d.) 10 Reasons You Should Take Up a Martial Art. Ezine Articles. Retrieved at November 08, 2012, from..

Daliah Merzaban. (2011). Martial Arts and the Journey to Islam. Martial Arts Community. Retrieved at November 21, 2012, from http://story.martialarts.com.my/story.php?title=martial-arts-and-the-journey-to-islam

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