Reaping the Fruit of MMA Training

Imagine the size of one little apple seed. If you take that little apple seed, bury it in good soil and nurture it properly, it will transform into a giant apple tree that produces over a hundred fold the amount of seeds you buried (as well as delicious apples!). When the season is right you can go pick those apples and either eat them, bake all sorts of apple deserts or even sell them for a profit. That one little seed can provide a great harvest for many people.

Martial Arts is a seed that can produce a tremendous amount of benefits for you to reap. Not only does Martial Arts provide great physical benefits but it produces just as many mental and sometimes spiritual  benefits. Not only do you get strong and in shape but you grow in character as well. I personally have trained in many Martial Arts forms for almost 30 years and they all have great benefits. I have trained in Tang Soo Do, Kenpo, Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts. I continue to train in and teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts at the Clinch Academy in Frederick, Maryland.

One of my students, Jacob Kirwan fighting
in  the Bellator Fighting Championships

I grew up learning Martial Arts. When I was learning Martial Arts as a kid it was always a Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee thing. I wanted to be tough and able to do the cool moves those guys did. From ages 12 probably to 24ish, I was a hard core self-defense practitioner. I trained hard core self-defense and focused on being able to defend myself in any situation.

It was about 2002 when I began to think a little differently about Martial Arts. I devoted all this time learning to defend myself and I had never even been in a fight. Ultimately, learning to properly defend yourself should be a goal of self-defense but why spend so much time being concerned about this? Due to the self-defense training I was always very aware and confident. That awareness and confidence has gotten me out of some pretty bad altercations but I reaped those benefits pretty early on in my training.  I began to realize and see that there are many great benefits of training in Martial Arts. When training at the right Academy, the amount of benefits you reap through Martial Arts training is overwhelming. I say the right Academy because there are still many schools out there that have either have that hard-core self-defense mindset or that hard-core competition mindset. These type of schools end up having a more Gym like environment than an Academy of learning. Self-defense and competition are and should be a part of every Martial Arts school but they shouldn't be the only focus. It's the difference between Mr. Miyagi and Cobra Kai. Mr. Miyagi taught his disciple Daniel to defend himself and to compete but most of all he taught him about good character. The Cobra Kai crew focused primarily on being tough and in the end they reaped what they sew and got it tough.

Here is a list of some of the many great benefits you can reap through Martial Arts training.

Physical Benefits
Fitness

Weight Control
Muscle tone
More Muscle Mass
Muscular strength
Muscular endurance
Strong cardio
Healthier diet & lifestyle
More energy
More flexibility
Relaxation

Mental Benefits

Become goal oriented

Perseverance

Focus

Self-discipline

Leadership

Mental toughness

Strong work ethic

Self-confidence

Structure

Mental relaxation

Spiritual Benefits

Peace

Humility

Kindness

Awareness

Loyalty

Trust

Patience 

Self-control

Gentleness

Patience

Faithfulness
Goodness

Skill
Self-defense
Competition
Balance
Coordination
Good Reflexes
Martial Arts Skill

Other Benefits
Family
Friendship
Healthy Lifestyle
Fun hobby
Feel good

I could go on and on! As I said the benefits you reap from training Martial Arts at the right Academy are crazy! Why wouldn't anyone want to train in Martial Arts? You can't reap all of this from going to the gym or using the latest gymmic. It is hard to find any other sport or hobby that truly offers what Martial Arts does. In the blogs to come I want to focus in on a few of these benefits at a time and show you how Martial Arts helps you to reap and enjoy them every day!