Is it Worth Learning a Martial Art?
There are over 190 Martial Arts that have been developed over thousands of years. In this period, billions of people have learned not only how to defend themselves but also soft skills to use in everyday life. With that being said, this is what you need to practice a Martial Art. If you have clicked on this, you likely already have an idea of what Martial Art you want to try, or the idea that you want to try something new. Before enrolling in a gym/dojo, it is important to know some critical information.
Cons
One of the main deterrents of Martial Arts is the cost. While there are payment plans that give discounts for yearly contracts, the main pay commitment is the start-up costs. Take Taekwondo, for example, you have to buy:
Head Gear
Mouth Guard
Two separate sets of gloves
Chest and protective foam shoes
Four weapons a year
Shin guards
Proper Uniform
New belts
Bag for equipment
The next major expense, more expensive than gear, is the time commitment. I spent over 7 years, training for 4 hours every week. Besides that, if you want to go above and beyond your standard rank, you should be getting private lessons and signing up for tournaments. This time only continues to compound more and more. This can lead to an eventual state of burnout. While injuries are a natural part of any sport, Martial Arts have moderate amounts of injuries, but when they transpire, they are risky ones. In Taekwondo, I got stitches and knee problems for a few years. With the negatives out of the way, there are quite a few positives to be had.
Pros
Community
Something that can be very underrated for teenagers, Martial Arts provides everyone the opportunity to greatly expand their friend potential, and even get to talk to a variety of people from different backgrounds. Some of my closest friends when I was practicing were 2 to 3 times older than me, and I learned a lot of valuable lessons from each of them. When you graduate high school, a lot of younger kids still don’t understand that it is very hard to make meaningful connections with other people, and this was one of the easiest ways to do so.
Self-Discipline
While you’ll hear that joining a Martial Art will give you better discipline, it doesn’t happen overnight. There were months when I was dedicating myself to hours of brutal practice and consistently fighting people above my own rank to improve. I sacrificed get-togethers and weekends to prove that I was a capable performer. When I had to learn new acrobatic techniques, spinning kicks that seemed impossible, and never-ending forms in a matter of weeks, it was only through my ability to try that I proved myself wrong, it was possible to become great.
Respect and Responsibility
Along the same lines as the last two, opening yourself up to befriending different people gave me the ability to become more empathetic and understanding in a host of different situations. I had new-found respect for individuals I would have never talked to before. Once I became a leader in the dojo, I was responsible for helping lower belts learn new moves, forms, defenses, and principles to live by. I hope that when I go back this summer, I will get the chance to help new students learn what they can become.
Leadership
Not only was teaching students a big part of being a leader, but the training I endured helped me in my everyday life. From acquiring public speaking skills to being able to effectively resolve conflict in a timely manner, it all was a form of leadership. Even on a tournament level, I would get there early and stay late to help judge participants, scorekeep and help any students from my school with any last-minute questions (as well as cheer them on from the sidelines).
Physicality
While I didn’t magically grow a six-pack, I still gained… well a lot of gains. Not only did my legs get pretty massive, considering Taekwondo is virtually 90% kicks, but also the fast-twitch fibers within them improved greater. My flexibility increased 10-fold and my sturdiness benefitted too. Now I know how to get into stances that will make it harder for me (a relatively small guy) to get knocked over. I gained better control over my body, improved my balance, and overall enhanced almost every aspect of my body.
An Openness to Failure
I consider myself a maximizer, which has both its pros and cons, just like anything else. One thing you’ll learn through Martial Arts is the capacity to say something is hard and fail a lot. But it isn’t about the failing that matters, but the process of failing and trying again. As Bruce Lee has said, "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” In those 10,000 kicks, you’ll fail a lot, but by the end of it, you’ll have a pretty damn good kick.
A Wealth of Knowledge on the Culture Behind the Art
This benefit relies heavily on what specific Martial Art you are practicing, but it is also interesting to read where moves originated from and how they were particularly used in situations that were sometimes thousands of years old. In my Taekwondo program, we learned some phrases in Korean and even practiced the Korean National Anthem at most tournament openings. It wasn’t for some protocol or appropriation but as a sign of respect.
Although I am heavily biased, I encourage you to try out a Martial Art. Each one is vastly different with its own practicalness and history. I couldn’t imagine how different I would be if I never took the leap to join something greater than myself.
