Intelligence and skill come in many forms. Fine and coarse motor skills are one example. Our ability to move our body is a mixture of mental and physical abilities. Training the mind and body is fundamental to martial arts, as well as many other physical activities. Neuroscientists are still researching both fundamental questions about how our brains work, to say nothing of the fine details. But...
Taekwondo is the national sport of South Korea. TKD is a mixture of earlier Korean martial arts and Japanese arts like karate and jujitsu. The Japanese occupied Korea in the early part of the 20th century, and though the political situation was aggressive the influence of the martial arts was positive. Unlike most martial arts Taekwondo was standardised in the generation after the Korean War...
Karate Breathing Correct breathing seems to be a factor in all martial arts. If we get this wrong we compromise everything. Breathing is almost as fundamental for martial arts as it is for life. No breath, no life. Exercise spends energy. The only ways to make more energy is by eating or breathing. Exercise will give us an energising effect by improving circulation; it utilizes the energy...
Karate is generally thought to mean ‘empty hand’ (though it might have once meant ‘Chinese hand’), so a karate weapon seems something of a contradiction in terms. Yet even as they never really appear in competition there are a few historical weapons in martial arts traditions. They still receive some exposure in a few popular films. Staff This is almost the simplest weapon...
Any physical training tends to have some benefits in other areas. The benefits are rather indirect, however. It is true that some martial arts will benefit your ability to play almost any sport, but the most direct path to improving any sport is almost always practicing that sport itself. Improving general fitness is obviously beneficial; it has even been show to improve mental functioning. That...
Social skills are a complex thing, and the psychologists who study them don’t always agree about what’s going on. We can suddenly develop better skills with people who share a common interest, or find ourselves gravitating towards people similar to ourselves when in a foreign situation. Social skills require little effort under some circumstances, a lot of effort under other circumstances....
