Martial Arts Blog
Here we aim to bring you martial arts news and articles from around the web, especially the more whacky and weird aspects. We will also post blogs here from the Bear Martial Arts team, and also from you guys.
If you fancy writing a blog or posting an article, please email team@bearmartialarts.com your article and we will publish it on our site. You'll get full credit for your article, and we will even promote your own website / blog if you have one :)
Please note that any articles which are offensive, or are deemed inappropriate, will not be approved for publication.
Top 10 Bruce Lee Movies
The recent release of "Bruce Lee 30 for 30: ‘Be Water’” has revitalized the world’s interest in Bruce Lee's life story. By watching the classics like Enter the Dragon and Fist of Fury, we can understand the legacy that Lee left behind, why he was so respected, and how he shaped the role of Asian men in Hollywood.
To see the full list, click here.
6 Reasons To Start Martial Arts
Most people at some point in their lives have thought about doing martial arts. We’ve seen Bruce Lee or some other star in action films, or been in a scary real-life situation, and wish that we could do what martial arts experts can do. Well the good news is you can do anything that any action star can do, all you need to do is start learning…
Fitness
Martial arts are a great all over body workout, which helps multiple parts of your fitness. It’s a great cardio workout – you will burn many calories every time you train. It will also improve your speed, as you are taught, slowly, to be faster and faster in training. You will also get stronger, and will see improvements in your endurance and explosive power. Have we missed anything? There are very few types of training that so complete.
Self Defence
The most common reason to learn martial arts is to learn the skills to protect yourself. Every martial art you could possibly learn will teach you this. Every master will have an opinion on which is the best for protection. Don’t tell them we told you this, but it really doesn’t matter which one you learn! Any martial artist has an instant advantage over any would-be attacker. They will all teach you how to defend yourself, and they all have all the other benefits mentioned in this blog.
Discipline
Martial arts teach you discipline whether you start at 6yrs old or 60. You will notice most children who start martial arts, after a while, are calmer and more respectful to those around them. Having a place to burn off that excess energy certainly helps, but this is mostly because respect to others around you is taught in every art. Also, the dedication to learn a complex skill focuses the mind, teaching you how to learn.
Make Friends
There is nothing like (safely) beating people up every week to make friends and build a sense of community! You get very up close and personal with your fellow classmates, and you can’t help but make friends with them. Plus, the more you get in to martial arts, the more your fellow classmates are the only people you know who truly understand why you dedicate yourself to it.
Confidence
Knowing that you can look after yourself, having a greater level of fitness, and experiencing the feeling of breaking boards and doing spinning kicks – all these build up your confidence. This can help shy people, children and adults alike, gain a sense of self worth and bring them out of their shell.
Be Like Bruce Lee
There is absolutely nothing wrong in starting a martial art to be like one of your heroes! If this is your goal then find out what martial art (or arts, many really top stars know multiple arts) and go find a class in that art. You can find our locator map for free to find a class near you.
Is Muay Thai an Effective Workout?
One of the many reasons people take up Muay Thai is for the fitness benefits – not everyone is interested in the competition, but the training is beneficial for a whole host of reasons. In this article we’re going to answer the question ‘Is Muay Thai an effective workout?’
Muay Thai Gets the Heart Racing
Thanks to the constant movement of the body and the use of all four limbs, Muay Thai really gets the heart racing. You’re on your toes, changing direction, making decisions, attacking and defending in combat. This has a huge energy demand and is an intense cardio training session.
Throwing combinations of punches, kicks, elbows and knees, not to mention constantly adjusting your position for attacking and defensive movements means that just a few minutes of Muay Thai training will see your heart rate race, burning a lot of calories and improving your fitness dramatically!
Muay Thai Builds Strength
In order to effectively punch, kick, block and move, you need strong limbs and an ability to generate force quickly. The practice of this builds strength.
The training for Muay Thai and the moves themselves build a very specific strength in people who train in the sport. Again, because Muay Thai uses all four limbs as well as the core muscles, you end up developing an all-round strength that improves you as an athlete. The constant repetition of movements is like a gym workout, conditioning the muscles.
Muay Thai Improves Flexibility
All martial artists are flexible, which is a huge fitness benefit of practicing their sport. If you aren’t flexible, you’ll be a really limited martial artist. Thankfully, Muay Thai naturally helps to improve your flexibility.
The ability to move your body quickly in and out of range of an opponent requires a lot of flexibility, not just speed. There’s also the requirement in Muay Thai to perform high kicks and high knees, both of which require a lot of flexibility. Practicing high kicks and high knees naturally improves flexibility.
Muay Thai Teaches New Skills
When you start Muay Thai you’re learning a huge range of new moves – new skills, new tactics, new kicks, punches, elbow and knee strikes. You’re learning to read an opponent, to manage energy levels and new ways of training.
These new skills that you learn in Muay Thai can improve all kinds of physical abilities that you haven’t even considered – your balance, your coordination, your mobility, your distance perception and your breathing. There are all kinds of things you learn from Muay Thai that benefit you in other areas of your life.
Muay Thai Boosts Your Confidence
There’s more to Muay Thai than the physical benefits – there are the mental benefits too. Healthy body leads to a healthy mind.
When your physically active, you feel better. Chances are you’ll lose weight and be fitter, so there are confidence boosts that way. You’ll also have a way to release tension and stress, so your mental health improves. Additionally, when you learn a new combat skill your ability to defend yourself improves, so you feel less social anxiety or danger.
Muay Thai is a fantastic workout and has all kinds of physical and mental benefits associated with it. Try Muay Thai and see what it will do for you!
Darren Mitchell is a Muay Thai enthusiast and writer for the Best Muay Thai blog. He has trained for several years at gyms all over the world alongside some world-renowned fighters and coaches.
