April 20, 2021
  • 2
by Admin

Martial arts training has become one of the most popular activities among all ages and genders. It seems like we have all realized the benefits of how practicing martial arts improves our health. In most cases, training will change your life for the better if you fully commit yourself to it.

Thus, we can see more and more women joining martial art schools for various benefits. This is good since it breaks the bad myth that combat sports are for men only, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Martial arts are good for both genders, and in this article, we will explain why every woman should join the classes.

At first, some ladies may feel nervous working out with a lot of guys. But trust us, this feeling lasts only for one or two weeks. Once you become familiar with training and the people around you will stop thinking about this stuff.

Without further delay, we are bringing you the biggest benefits of martial arts training for women.

It teaches you how to defend yourself

It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, it is crucial for every person to learn self-defense skills. Danger is present all the time and you shouldn’t take it for granted even if you live in a safe area. As we know, bad things happen when we least think of them and it’s always better to know how to fight. And, martial arts classes will prepare you for this type of bad scenarios.

A woman hitting the pads in boxing training

The most popular fighting styles for ladies are BJJ or Muay Thai classes. The main reason lays in the fact these two martial arts are very useful and their techniques all work in real fighting on the streets.

On top of that, they include a lot of sparring sessions that will give you a sense of how it is to be in a real fight. Training will teach you how to control emotions like fear and adrenalin and keep your mind calm.

A man and woman sparring in Muay Thai
Source

What’s more, BJJ and most martial arts are great for ladies since their emphasis is on learning how to fight against a much bigger person. With strong BJJ skills, you will be able to fight off every attacker regardless of size or genre.

In the end, knowing how to fight makes your life easier as you will not feel as anxious walking alone for instance.

It will get you in great shape

Martial arts training will get your body and mind in top shape. Training BJJ for instance falls into a group of full-body workouts. This means training a couple of times per week improves both your upper and lower body strength. And you will feel huge gains after just a few months.

A woman stsanding in front of the heavy bag in the gym
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This is crucial for all women, as styles like BJJ allow you to develop sheer strength and boost cardio. But bear in mind that training sessions are hard, even exhausting at times. They will put your mind and body to many tests. But in the end, there’s a high reward for your efforts.

You will get your body and mind in great shape, which improves your life in the outside world as well.

I mean, there’s nothing better than being in physical and mental shape and feeling good in your own body. This is a strong base for all else you want to achieve and it will certainly improve the quality of your life.

Martial arts helps you lose weight

Martial arts are a form of aerobic training which means the classes are great for losing weight. In fact, martial arts training is one of the best you can lose weight without harming your health.

This is just one of the reasons why we can see so many women signing up for the classes.

A woman hitting the heavy bag
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For instance, an hour of Muay Thai training burns around 600–1000 calories which is a lot. I mean, you can burn fat and lose weight very fast if you commit yourself to the classes. And the best thing about it is you don’t have to torture yourself with strict diets.

Lastly, martial arts like Muay Thai allow you to lose weight the fun way. Instead of running on the treadmill, you will burn your fat striking the pads or a heavy bag. And things can’t become boring because you always have to learn new skills.

It boosts your confidence

Martial arts are real confidence boosters as it allows you to learn more about yourself like no other sport out there. And above all, they are great for people who go through various mental problems such as depression.

Two female boxers sparring
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The thing is, martial arts styles like BJJ or boxing are exhausting and will put your mind and body to the test. In training, you will push yourself above your limits and be at the edge of collapsing many times.

Pushing yourself every day allows you to do things you thought were not possible. Breaking your limits and fears will make you feel proud of yourself. This has a huge impact on your mental health because it gives you a sense of achieving something and moving forward in life.

These types of positive emotions are the fuel we all need to go through everyday life and deal with many problems.

It improves your personal skills

Martial arts training is not all about learning how to fight and having a strong body. To succeed, you must have a strong mindset as well. As a woman, look forward to developing some great personal skills you never had in the past.

A female BJJ fighter executing an armbar move
Source

First of all, you will face many bad days and obstacles on your journey. We all have days when nothing works in training and when you feel stuck. These are the days in which many think about going home and giving up.

But the only right decision you can make is to stay and learn how to pick yourself up after every fall. You must trust the process as this will only make your mind stronger in the long run. This warrior mindset will help you deal with all the problems in the outside world as well.

Whether it’s good or bad, martial arts teach you to embrace everything that comes at you in life.

It makes you very flexible

Being flexible is very important in martial arts and life in general. You can’t expect to succeed in styles like BJJ if you are not flexible enough. This is because being stiff stops you from doing the techniques the right way.

BJJ students performing stretching exercises

As in any sport, you must stretch before and after every training session. This warms up the muscles before training and helps them relax after its over. It also keeps them strong and prevents many injuries from taking place.

But above all, stretching and being flexible stops your body from aging. It makes you feel like you are in your 20s once again. Studies even show leg strength can increase life span. And let’s be honest; it’s cool to have the ability to do splits.

Martial arts improves cardiovascular health

As said earlier, a lot of people attend the classes because of health benefits only. On top of the other health benefits, this form of training makes your heart much stronger.

Training hard will increase your heart rate per minute and VO2 max in the long run. This is crucial for raising your cardio levels and reducing blood pressure. With that, your heart will become much stronger as well.

You can achieve the same thing by running or training alone in the gym. But a lot of women find martial arts classes to be better since you feel responsible to go to the classes. Once the class starts, all students must maintain a high level of discipline.

And it is the coach who decides when is the time to stop and go home. This will force you to work much harder and be more productive than when you are training solo.

Stress relief

Martial arts are a great way you can relieve stress and calm your mind down. Trust us; there’s nothing like having a bad day and coming to classes in the evening to punch out all the negative things.

Whether it’s the problems at home or work that bother you, martial arts allow you to reset your mind and calm down. Training hard pumps up your endorphins which reduces your anxiety and stress levels.

So one session of training can improve your mood and make you feel more relaxed than when you arrived in the gym.

Instead of sitting at home and feeling anxious, join the classes and punch the hell out of those problems. As we know, the main goal is to exit the martial art school with a smile and as a better person.

A happy female BJJ fighter posing for a photo
Source

You will meet new friends

It is in human nature to always meet new people and socialize. In the gym, we can see most people wearing headphones and lifting weights on their own. But, martial arts classes are a bit different as you must interact with other people.

A group of BJJ teammates posing for a selfie photo
Photo by dancingnomad3 found on Flickr

Many women find martial arts classes to be a great way to socialize and meet some great people. This is true for mothers who see classes as an outlet to spend some time away from the family and house jobs.

Even though the classes are hard, there’s always time to share a good laugh or talk with your teammate. You will find something to talk about even if you are the shyest person in the world.

As martial artists, we are all one big family. Once you feel that connection, you will live and breathe martial arts for the rest of your life.

It helps you develop healthy habits

As said earlier, martial arts will improve your health and the quality of your life in many ways. One of the biggest changes is that you will adopt a lot of positive habits like eating healthy.

For instance, training hard will inspire you to go on a diet and eat healthy food. You see, your body will suffer a lot in training. You must give your body enough vitamins, carbs, fat, and other stuff so it can keep up with the classes.

Proper nutrition will result in a stronger immune system in the long run. This will allow your body to recover faster and keep up with the training. Eating junk food and not thinking about your health simply doesn’t go together with martial arts.

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