[Nothing like a side-kick-to-the-chops to get someone's attention]

Oscar is usually very quick to point out his lack of English writing skills because it’s not his native language but rest assured I think he has a very good handle on it and does a fine job expressing his points of view. You can find his blog at FreestyleMind.com and feel free to leave comments for Oscar or myself below.

Martial Arts as a Way to Stay Healthy – Guest Post by Oscar Del Ben

Martial arts became famous in the western culture as a way to defend ourselves by doing a series of – sometimes complex and bizarre – movements. In reality, martial arts is more then just Bruce Lee bicycle kicks – it’s quickly being linked to keeping our body healthy and balanced in various modern research studies.

Today, thousands of different martial arts exist, and many of them involve no contact at all. For example, Tai Chi is an ancient art from China and its main purpose is to be a meditative form of exercise with physical and spiritual health benefits.

Martial arts can be practiced both for developing an excellent physique and improving your mental well-being (stress management as an example). The reason they work so well compared to other activities, is that you are encouraged to push your limits every time you practice. Therefore, you can see dramatic improvements in a relative short amount of time.

Martial Arts and Fat Loss

Depending on your goal, different martial arts can provide different results. For example, if you want to develop strength or burn fat, you are looking for a style where a lot of movements are involved, like Kung Fu, Kickboxing or Capoeira (Think Blanca from the video game “Street Fighter” or that dude in Oceans 12 when he dances his way around those laser beams near the end).

If you prefer something a little less strenuous and want to concentrate more on your inner self, styles like Tai Chi may be more appropriate for you.

[Just one of many Capoeira examples online - truly amazing how the human body can move!]

Finding the Right Instructor

One important thing to say here is that if you want to start practicing martial arts, I really recommend you spend some time looking for a good instructor. In fact, practicing a martial art is more like a lifestyle rather than a way to spend one or two hours at the gym. Ideally, you want to find an instructor who is acknowledged in his particular style, and if possible, he or she would originate from the country where the art was born. This doesn’t mean that western instructors aren’t good enough – just ask around before joining a particular school.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Practicing a martial art is probably one of the best and more rewarding things I do in my life. There aren’t many words to describe the joy of seeing yourself progress and improve upon your capabilities. Month after month, and year after year, you learn more about yourself and more about how to use your body to do what you want. My own stress levels definitely decrease dramatically after every single class I participate in.

In conclusion, I can’t recommend enough to you about practicing a martial art as its’ benefits are to big to be ignored. If you don’t know which style you would like to practice, do a little on-line research using Google and look at some videos on YouTube. In today’s day and age it’s probably the best way to learn about what’s available but keep in mind that it may not be easy to find a particular style in your local area.

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Thanks Oscar! This is a great intro into some of the aspects of martial arts as it pertains to mental and physical health. It definitely peaked my interest enough to dig deeper in future posts about specific styles and techniques in martial arts that burn fat and strengthen the body.