Many martial arts students come to the sport for different reasons, but find that their anxiety is reduced the more classes they take. How to reduce anxiety? Read on to find out!
How to Reduce Anxiety with Martial Arts
Adult martial arts classes can be hugely helpful for adults wanting to know how to reduce anxiety–and kids too, but that’s a topic for another time. Not only is it a highly physical sport that lets all the adrenaline out, but it’s also an effective tool we can use to combat symptoms of anxiety.
One symptom of anxiety is racing thoughts. If you struggle with anxiety, you may feel like you’re living totally in your mind, not feeling present or even feeling sensations in your body. Martial arts can be an amazing solution for this.
First of all, when you’re feeling anxious, your brain can pump out adrenaline and turn on your fight-or-flight system. All that adrenaline usually just courses through your body as you think, think, and (over)think, but martial arts pushes you in a different direction. Kicking and punching and channeling that energy effectively is healthy and can even be necessary for your body, as it’s getting the adrenaline and anxiety out in an intentional way.
Secondly, using your full body in a self-defense workout in general is going to melt that stress away and help you get all of those feelings out. Work stress, kids stress, relationship stress, life stress. Everything you’re ruminating on or worrying about flushes out on the mat. You channel it all into movement and it makes you a focused, clear-headed person off the mat and an excellent martial artist on the mat, with real power and energy behind your moves.
Concentration and Motivation through Martial Arts
It’s no surprise that racing thoughts can lead to difficulty concentrating, another symptom of anxiety. Often when you’re struggling with how to reduce anxiety, you’re in a weird dichotomy; sometimes you’re sharply alert presumably of all things your brain may see as potential “threats” and almost hyperactive. Other times you’re fatigued and don’t want to do anything. You’re either frozen in panic or spinning your wheels with stress. If you’re experiencing this – show up to class. That’s all we ask you to do.
Once you get here, we will help you. We will show you how to push yourself beyond what you think you’re capable of, and you’ll feel your focus shift. If you can commit to making it through the door, soon the minutes will fly by as you’re having fun with your friends and getting your sweat on, and then you’ll wonder where that hour went. For this one martial arts class, you don’t have to be anything other than exactly you–even if you’re anxious, doing what you’re doing, exporting your thought process to your instructor, and getting it all out through physical movement.
What we can’t say is that martial arts classes can “cure” your anxiety; only doctors and therapists can show you how to do that. How to reduce anxiety with Taekwondo? Physically moving your body, channeling your racing thoughts into something useful, being a part of a fun community with rewarding social interactions, and setting and getting new goals; all these can help anyone’s mental health. They’re key pieces to the whole picture that martial arts classes can provide.
Creating a Better Mindset through Martial Arts
This is something you’ll hear us say a lot, but it’s true: Martial arts is about way more than just punches and kicks. Martial arts is an amazing tool that people have been using for centuries to improve their lives and mindsets dramatically. How to reduce anxiety with martial arts? Using ancient techniques that are mixed with a complete education on modern mindset in your martial arts classes, you build confidence and physical and mental strength. You develop discipline and perseverance by hitting your fitness goals and moving through the ranks. And you learn so much about how to get your mind on your side from such a physically involved sport.
Look – martial arts is hard, difficult sport. There’s a lot of coordination, a lot of muscle movement, a lot of focus, and discipline required to be a successful martial artist. Our classes aren’t peaches and roses and neither is life, especially life with anxiety. So let us help you get through it. Whether it’s just anxious feelings or full-on generalized anxiety disorder, we know the difficulty of life with mental health issues cannot be understated. We also know it can be helped through the power of martial arts classes and the development of your mindset.
How to Reduce Anxiety with the Right Mindset
In our classes at East Mesa Karate, we are huge believers in the power of mindset because we’ve seen it work time and time again. One of our favorite quotes is, “A black belt is a white belt who never gave up.” The only difference between the two belts, or any two belts, is the commitment to show up and keep at it, even (especially) when times are tough.
When you’re by yourself in a gym, for example; it’s you, the machinery or weights, and your brain telling you what to do. If you’ve ever been to the gym when you’re anxious, you’ll know that your brain is not your most reliable workout buddy. It’s easily distracted, it can say some pretty mean things to you and hype you up for what it sees as emergencies in the worst way possible. But when you’re in our martial arts classes, it’s not your brain telling you what to do (not yet, anyway)–it’s our awesome instructors. Meeting them, you may be surprised to know that they have struggled with their own mental health issues, and have turned to martial arts time and time again for support from their instructors, their peers, and this family here. How to reduce anxiety with Karate? Martial arts is an individual sport in a group setting, which means that you’re never alone, and that fact alone can be hugely helpful in reducing anxiety.
Martial Arts and Mental Health
Hopefully now you can see that martial arts can help with how to reduce anxiety. Staying active, channeling racing thoughts into something positive through kicks and punches, and mindset/community support are martial arts benefits that are critical to staying well. With martial arts classes, your overall mood and your health can both improve tremendously right alongside your mindset, which gives you the proper tools to reduce anxiety and get through those tough times. Ready to see what martial arts can do for you? Give East Mesa Karate in East Mesa a try with our risk-free adult Krav Maga classes trial (yes, risk-free!) and see for yourself how it can change your life. You’ll love it!