Kung fu and martial arts in general are something that can bring tremendous benefits to your life. Not only do they help you become more confident, but they also get your body moving in new ways. They’re a great way to complement your regular workouts in the gym.

In this post, we take a look at why Kung Fu is the best way to improve your fitness. Let’s get started.

It’s A Full Body Workout

Sometimes you can go to the gym, push your body to the limit and then hardly ache at all afterwards. But why does this happen? Usually, it’s because you’re not giving it new challenges.

However, with kung fu, it’s different. You’re constantly testing your body to the limit, pushing it to the max. You’re also moving it in new ways that you wouldn’t ordinarily explore in a regular gym session. This puts muscles under new forms of stress they haven’t experienced before which, in turn, encourages them to grow and adapt.

It Makes You More Flexible

Doing a regular workout at the gym can also lead to flexibility issues. Over time, muscles tend to contract as they get stronger which can adversely affect your posture.

Again, kung fu can help with this. It forces your body into all sorts of new positions and postures, encouraging you to stand up straight and adopt the correct form.

You’ll also notice other benefits too that come with increased flexibility. You’ll gain freedom of movement, allowing you to put your body into new positions. You’ll also notice less muscle soreness. And added to that, you’ll experience overall relaxation of both the mind and body, helping to calm your nerves.

It Improves Your Coordination

You need a little bit of coordination to perform a regular workout, but nothing compared to what you require when you take up martial arts. During practice, you need to keep track of every aspect of your body as you move through the motions.

Why is coordination so critical? It all comes down to how the body’s musculo-skeletal system works. Muscles don’t just grow in insolation. Instead, they “learn” their strength to some degree by interacting with the environment in new ways. Practicing coordination activities helps to accelerate the strengthening process and allows you to move more functionally. Over time, you will notice that the strength you gain in the gym becomes more useful. You figure out how to work with the muscles you have more effectively.

It Lowers Your Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is the leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for more strokes and heart attacks than anything else. Getting it under control is, therefore, important.

But how do you prevent high blood pressure in the first place? Well, short of radically overhauling your diet, one option is to do kung fu.

Kung fu is effective because practice sessions are a form of high intensity interval training. Research shows that people who train intensely in short bouts and then return to a state of rest can improve their cardiovascular health far more rapidly than those who do steady state training (such as walking at a constant speed).

High intensity interval training helps to reduce insulin levels, lower cholesterol and reduce blood pressure issues. With sufficient practice, you may be able to get off blood pressure lowering tablets entirely.

It Improves Self Discipline

Martial arts also have a strong element of self-discipline baked into them. People who pursue them long-term tend to find that it increases their conscientiousness, improving their lives in multiple other areas.

Just putting on Muay Thai shorts can have a psychological effect. Once you prepare for martial arts practice, you put yourself in a specific state of mind that stays with you all day.

It Might Improve Your Social Skills

So much of our success in life comes down to our social skills. The more we can collaborate with others without friction, the better our lives will be (generally speaking).

Experts think that martial arts can help people improve their ability to relate to others (particularly children). Regular practice may help resolve conflicts, make new friends and show greater compassion.

It’s also good to be in a supportive environment. Many kung fu groups have teachers who genuinely want to see their students succeed. They also nurture regular social events to help members build lasting relationships with each other.

It Relieves Stress

Stress is a massive problem in the modern world. Our lives are so busy, we can find it challenging to relax and unwind.

In light of that, kung fu may help. You can think of it as a form of moving meditation. As you go through the drills, it helps to switch off your mind and engage your body. At the end of a session, most people report feeling sweetly fatigued. They’re tired, but it feels good, and they’re ready to relax.

It Develops Self-Discipline

Who are the people most likely to succeed in life? Those who give up after a couple of tries, or those who stick with it, no matter how hard it gets?

The answer is almost always the latter. People who keep on going in life are invariably those who win.

Developing self-discipline, therefore, is one of the greatest gifts of martial arts. In some cases, people come to kung fu unable to complete any project in their lives. Then, after a few months of training, they go away with the ability to grit their teeth and see problems through until the end.

Conclusion

Kung fu is undoubtedly a great way to get fit – just look at some of the masters out there. They always had incredible bodies.

However, it is more than just a physical sport. The lessons you learn during practice are also things that you can use to improve your day-to-day life. Kung fu gives you more confidence, focus and discipline – three ingredients that you need to be successful in your life.

So, now that you understand why kung fu is so valuable, when will you start training?