Why Everyone Should Learn Combat Sports?

REASONS TO LEARN MARTIAL ARTS/COMBAT SPORTS

In our day and age, life just got too comfortable. (Fun Fact: Life got too comfortable; the world population went from 1 billion to 8 billion from 1900’s to 2000’s)So, combat sports are done for things like.. “Fun”.

Probably most of the people you know can’t really fight, for instance, some may not even know how to throw a punch! And the mere reason for that is physical confrontation is rare in our day and age, which some people might think is a good thing.

But, do we only need martial arts for physical confrontations? Well, from the perspective of someone who has 13 years plus of experience with martial arts, I think I’m qualified to answer that question, and the answer would be: “PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION IS THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHEN DECIDING TO LEARN A COMBAT SPORT/MARTIAL ART!”

Anyway, there are plenty of reasons one should consider taking on martial arts. Some of the reasons are :

Obviously, get in shape with a total combat sports body workout :

In the combat sports/martial arts sphere, We all know that person who’s always like, ‘Oh, I don’t care about aesthetics; I want to destroy opponents and eat like a bear’,– Then tries desperately to flex muscles hidden under layers of fat – I was like that! But let’s not lie to ourselves; the shredded, good-looking body is nice too. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want JCVD’s shape in ‘The Kick Boxer’.

The great thing about martial arts and combat sports is that the aesthetics is a side effect! Go to the nearest boxing gym, and you’ll probably find shredded guys who don’t even lift weights. (Even though lifting weights can be beneficial for your combat sport –We’ll discuss that in another article-)

Combat sports like Boxing or MMA can be a full-body workout; most martial arts have intense workouts that will make your body move from head to toe. As a result, it targets muscles from both the lower and upper body, it’s a matter of time and consistency before you start watching your body transform.

All you need is some commitment when it comes to the diet, and even with that, you’d be toned underneath your love handles.

Now, let’s make something clear: being on the heavy-weight side of things isn’t bad as long as it doesn’t affect your performance. Some people enjoy the greatest gift of god, which is ‘food’. But for the ones who want that lean, shredded look of Michael B. Jordan in ‘Creed’, combat sport might be the go-to. Even if you’re not trying to compete, practicing combat sports as a fitness training routine can have great results.

Combat stress with combat sports

Have you ever been so stressed with school or work and all the events of life and just wanted to punch something? That’s natural. Don’t worry; you’re not a villain you just need some combat sports in your life.

Now, I’m not saying that punching people in the face is natural and you should do it, but the need to hit ‘something’ is a natural response that our body has to stress.

Some people told me that punching a bag is the best stress relief that exists out here. Some studies state that it makes people angrier. So, this might differ from one person to another.

There are no transparent scientific sources that state if ‘punching a bag’ relieves stress or not. Still, there are a ton of studies that show how high-intensity interval training (moderate-intensity training) can relieve stress. A 2019 study done by Frontiers concluded that HIIT and MIT both reduced stress, anxiety, and depression and increased resilience.

A lot of combat sports, like kickboxing or wrestling, can be considered HIIT. So, in my personal opinion (and experience), after a stressful day, don’t only punch a bag because it might make you angrier and more stressed; instead, you want to complete a workout in your discipline. Notice that stress-free state of mind after the post-workout shower, and thank me later.

HEALTH

In almost every gym I’ve been to, not only combat sports ones, they had the quote ‘Healthy Body, Healthy mind’ written on some wall. Well, It’s actually true and backed by research.

So as we said, martial arts help with mental health (anxiety, depression, and stress). Moreover, unless you do hard sparring or fight too often, combat sports will have huge benefits on your health.

Studies have shown that practicing a combat sport (even traditional ones) improves brain function, cardiovascular health, blood pressure, flexibility, and more.

However, fighting (especially in striking) or sparring too hard can have adverse effects on the brain and overall health. So, unless you’re living the fighter lifestyle to the fullest, I suggest training and light sparring from time to time.

Discipline

Laziness is in our DNA. If it were up to us, we wouldn’t move a finger and just do nothing. However, that’s not how life works. We have things we need to do that we sleep on and procrastinate, and things accumulate before we know it. And that’s why, combat sports is essential in our life.

When you start your martial arts journey, you will immediately want to give up, and I’ve seen this happen repeatedly in the gyms I trained in. Some people won’t even complete one month and quit.

Thank god that growing up is done automatically. If growing up was something we should do ourselves, many people would still be babies, and metaphorically, many people are.

You got my message: nothing will help your discipline more than you hitting your boxing or BJJ gym and it’s time to spar or roll, and you know it’s going to be hard; you know the guy you’re facing will punch you even if it’s light punches, it still punches, and you don’t like it. Or that he will rear neck choke you, and it’s a 2.5-second choke before you tap; you don’t like it, but you’ll go for it and spar and roll because you have no choice. After all, it’s the only way to improve and achieve greatness in your craft.

That will soon make its way into your daily life, and we all have something we don’t like to do, to clean our room or work a job that we hate, but you have no choice, and you don’t want to quit.

This discipline is one of the most valuable benefits of combat sports. Just don’t quit on your first month, and watch your life transform.

Combat sports ultimate benefit: Self-Defense.

Imagine you’re out in town having a lovely evening with your girlfriend and some guy says something rude to her. You say nothing back to avoid problems, so now He is confident; he’s walking up to you. You tell him to step off and leave you alone. He pushes you and responds, “What will you do?” So, what are you going to do?

What would most untrained people do? They will panic, they will feel that adrenaline rush, and hope their instincts help them get out of it safely.

However, a Muay Thai fighter may easily intimidate him by only getting on stance. If things get physical, the practitioner of “the art of eight limbs” will have a great arsenal to defend himself and his loved one. A Boxer may end it with one body shot, and a wrestler with his raw power will have complete body control over him!

Combat sports practitioners will have the ability to be calmer and more confident in that kind of situation, eliminating the panic, paying more attention to their surroundings, and noticing weapons if there are any.

However, in case there are weapons, even combat sports will not help. The best thing to do is keep a distance between you and the attacker and get out of there.

For instance, if you’re cornered, the footwork you learn from boxing and the kicks you can throw if you do Muay Thai may help you, and you have a higher chance of surviving. But, If you can escape, don’t bother fighting a guy with a knife.

How to begin your journey in combat sports?

If you want to start martial arts/combat sports, it may sound intimidating at first. Especially if you’re not into punches landing on your face or raw aggressive wrestling. But here’s the awesome take: combat sports are so diverse; there is one where you only punch, others where you almost only kick, and ones where you don’t punch or kick, just roll. So, whatever you like, there’s something for you out there. Even if you don’t like the violent aspect, you can take traditional martial arts focusing on balance and health!

Of course, if you’re into martial arts and combat sports, we recommend taking classes that prepare you for adversity and competition. Still, if not, plenty of gyms offer boxercise or fitness kickboxing, which focuses more on cardio and fitness than the sport’s actual competitive and technical aspects. On the other hand, this type of program won’t help with self-defense.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it all depends on your goals. You may want to be fit or you aspire to master self-defense. Maybe you want to achieve greatness and be a champion. But realistically, all you need to start off right is to experience that one first session and not quit. Then, your life won’t be the same after that one to three first months.