Why Learn Karate?
Karate as a Sport
Karate as a sport has been on a steady incline since the late 1960s. It provides a method of testing your abilities in a controlled environment. The sparring is fast paced not only for the spectator, but requires precision skill and control by the competitor. In karate you pull your technique, scoring points by showing the judges what you could do in a self defense situation. The kata competition shows a combination of grace and power in technique through a series of choreographed movements that represent the competitor defending themselves in a multi attack environment. Both provide a sense of self accomplishment and build confidence by performing in front of their peers and an audience.
Karate is Fun!
Not only do you benefit from learning the techniques and routines that karate provides, you do it with other people that share a common interest.Any extra curricular activity you involve yourself with should be a release from the stress or anxiety that is built up in our daily routines.People involved in karate can established friendships for life.
Balance & Control
Balance is a physical, and mental attribute that is developed as a result of karate training. Balance in the physical sense is acquired by performing drills that make you aware of what your body is doing while in motion. Balance as a mental characteristic is developed as you use karate as a mental stimulant.Control is a result of focus, concentration, and confidence. Through the efforts of repetitive karate training people learn their limitations.
The more aggressive person may want to push those limitations, which is not a bad thing, but they learn to deal with what they have in front of them.Emotions such as anger and fear may never leave a person completely but by practice, like anything else, you can learn to control them.
Respect, Discipline, and Humility
Most educated people associate karate with discipline. This is because of the format in which the classes are taught. In karate there is a ranking system which lets people know where they stand. Karate doesn’t have to be militaristic to the point it was originally intended (after all it is a martial art developed to defend ones’ life) but these values are instilled. Most difficult people can be taught humility simply by being in an evironment where it is prominent.
Self Confidence
You have to feel good about yourself and you have to trust in your abilities to be confident. Karate teaches you how to handle pressure by applying a little bit at a time. Every individual has certain a limit and once you find it you feel comfortable. Once you’re comfortable you can start to expand or push those limits and feel good about trying something you never imagined you could before. Karate is an endless learning experience that provides constant challenge keeping you alert and to let your confidence grow.
Concentration and Focus
Concentration is something that for many people, has to be taught. Learn karate because of the concentration skills that are developed through the training drills and the practice of kata – a serious of movements, much like a dance choreography with the use of karate techniques.
Karate is a Healthy Choice
People feel good when they’re healthy. It may seem like a redundant statement, but it’s something that people need reminding of. With a healthy body, you have a healthy mind. Everything from waking up in the morning, and thinking clearly at school or in our jobs in this fast paced society that we live in becomes easier to deal with and more enjoyable when your body and mind are in tune.