Fitness
Fitness
Ancient masters in charge of training militaries believed that soldiers needed to be more than fast, strong and agile.
They wanted troops to also have undying will power and selflessness, so they would stand in the face of danger, hold formation and work as a team. Ever since, the martial arts have encompassed teachings in responsibility, discipline and fairness.
Thanks to this rich history, the martial arts still embody more than just physical benefits alone; they give practitioners well-rounded “fitness” in many aspects of life; including four major categories: physical, mental, moral and life. Let’s take a look at each type and how the arts can help us improve.
Physical Fitness: The most obvious of the four is physical fitness. Spar for just a few minutes and you’ll realize the importance of being in shape. Not only is this virtue critical to martial artists but it’s also a very important part of everyday life. Maintaining physical fitness requires you to consistently eat and drink wisely, exercise daily and rest properly.
Eat and drink wisely: the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” sums up this phrase the best.
Exercise daily: exercise cleanses your body of toxins and strengthens your muscles; at least 20 minutes a day of sweat-inducing, heart pulsing exercise will keep you on track.
Rest properly: to be productive and healthy sometimes you have to slow the machine down; six to eight hours of sleep a night is a must for peak physical fitness.
Mental Fitness: Martial artists have to be smart. Think of all the forms and techniques you have to learn with precision. Then apply those to the speed of sparring. Within an instant you’re required to draw from that bank of knowledge and apply it to a simulated fight experience. Without a fit mind, you’ll be a step behind. To develop strong mental fitness you have to balance knowledge with positive thinking. Such a balance comes from four areas of education.
Academic education: learning through teachers and textbooks.
Social education: practical knowledge from the real world.
Familial education: foundation provided by family; elements such as discipline, honesty and responsibility.
Self-education: information and discipline from teaching yourself.
Moral Fitness: Morality and justice are the foundation of martial arts, and moral fitness is a necessity for fully developed practitioners. Being morally sound directly improves the quality of your life and training; as you’ll become a better partner, make more friends and possibly develop into an instructor yourself. Moral fitness is assembled by three actions:
Discipline personal freedom by choosing responsibility over indulgence.
Discipline your instincts by controlling your appetites and desires.
Follow principles and listen to the laws of nature.
Life Fitness: Life fitness is the culmination of the three other types of fitness. Once your physical, mental and moral fitness are tuned, you can begin to work on your life fitness. This is represented by increased energy and leadership. Life fitness gives you freedom to have control over the direction of your life by developing better personal and professional relationships. Life fitness can give you a positive new direction to create your own winning future.