Ӊ caught an infection at my karate class. It was kung flu.Ӽ/em> Tim Vine
At the Olympics we all got involved with sports that perhaps we had never come across before. We would certainly not usually watch Judo or Taekwondo but during the magical summer of 2012 we did.
Martial arts will improve your strength, stamina and flexibility. Gemma Gibbons displayed all these qualities when she sensationally won her Judo silver medal. If you donִ want to do martial arts themselves there are workouts you can do that can improve your bodyֳ basic stability and power.
Donִ want to get hurt
The type of injuries received in each martial art tends to differ from discipline to discipline. A government report found that Taekwondo seemed to be more dangerous than karate. The same inquiry also found that it was safe at beginner levels and for young people.
It is only at the more competitive end do people tend to get hurt. It can lead to knee pain, as well as the head and upper body injuries that you might expect from such physical sports. Yet the knee ligaments can twist and those with the higher belts can be seen wearing ligament knee supports.
But donִ let the thought of getting hurt put you off these sports. Millions of people every week take part at clubs up and down the country and donִ have any problems at all. What they have done is engaged in a wonderful physical workout with other people.
Learning judo or karate skills in a group once a week has to be more fun than going down to the gym again to jog on that treadmill.
Benefits of doing martial arts
Now you know that you wonִ need a first aid kit you can concentrate on all the good things that doing martial arts will bring your body.
Your cardiovascular health will improve. The way to improve your cardiovascular system is to get it working. Basically you want to stress your heart and you will do that by participating in martial arts as it really does get that old ticker working.
An hour of martial arts will burn around 500 calories. These activities are so physically engaging that you will feel the weight fly off your body after each session. If you have ever been on a Wii fit you will know how much work you need to do to burn that amount of calories.
When you watched the martial arts athletes at the Olympics you will have noticed that their muscles were well toned. You may expect this of any athlete but it is their well toned bodies that enable the practitioners of these sports to be so agile.
They combine that agility with fantastic reflexes. By doing martial arts you can improve your reflexes which will help you in other parts of your life. For instance, when you are out driving you will benefit from improved reflexes.
If you ask any one that does martial arts and they will tell you that they feel so much better after a session. They say it is a great way to relieve stress and frustration and in our overworked world that can only be a good thing.