Uncanny Martial Arts
Every superhero should have, at minimum, a basic knowledge of self defense.
I’ll admit, I may be a bit biased when it comes to Martial Arts, because I’ve trained in them since I was a teenager. It is my belief that they are beneficial for absolutely everyone. There is a lot to be gained from including martial arts in your workout program.
Some of the benefits include the following:
improved confidence
increased self-esteem
better hand-eye coordination
greater brain function
stronger self-discipline
UCLA has a whole program dedicated to the martial arts and its philosophy. Their research appears to support the before mentioned benefits. The activity must require hand-eye coordination with rhythmic motion and crossing the center line. The majority of martial arts meet those requirements.
Oftentimes, the training can bring up feelings of fear and anxiety in people, but training doesn’t have to involve pain or dangerous contact. I’m talking about adding very safe and complex drills to a workout program that are mostly taken from Boxing, Jeet Kune Do, Kung Fu, and Filipino Martial Arts.
For those who have wrestled in the past, or love to grapple, I recommend training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s a fantastic form of movement training and provides an amazing workout for cardio and strength. I’ve heard it described before as a physical game of chess, and it can be a lot of fun.
If you want to focus more on your breathing, mindfulness, balance, and precise movement, I’d recommend studying Tai Chi or Chi Gong.
At the very least, most people will do well to add basic boxing drills to their workout in the form of shadowboxing, heavy bag drills, speed bag drills, or focus mitt work.
Weapons training can be another exciting way to train combatives. There is a wide variety of weapons to choose from which include sticks, swords, staffs, and knives to name a few. Training with weapons meets all the requirements mentioned above for brain and agility training. Essentially, it's like taking empty hands training and turbo charging it.
The key is to find the appropriate combatives for you, and train them consistently. Beyond the mental and physical benefits, it may just save your life someday, or the life of others. I am an Apprentice Level Instructor through the JKD Grappling Association. Please contact me if you would like to learn the basics of self defense.
If you're ready to take your training to the next level and become the superhero you were always meant to be, apply for the Uncanny Superhero Training program now.
