Martial arts improves the body and mind of committed students and athletes. One of the mental skills you train through martial arts is resilience. Resilience is a measure of how well you’re able to cope with challenges or obstacles. You can look at it as an indicator of your emotional strength and endurance.
At first, resilience may seem like something you either have or you don’t. But resilience is just like any other skill, which means you can train, develop, and improve it. Students who practice martial arts learn to adapt and deal with physical challenges and obstacles. And with practice, you can not only become more resilient in your martial arts practice but also your daily life.
Here are a few ways that martial arts promotes resilience:
1. Physical Training Challenges
When you’re looking at the best way to tackle mental skills, sometimes the best place to start is by training your body. Martial arts training can be physically challenging. On some days, you’ll show up and have the strength to take on the world. But then, on other days, you may feel like you’ve lost your edge. No matter how you feel physically, you continue to show up and do what you can to get the most of your training. Your willingness to keep showing up even when you’re feeling tired or defeated is how you build resilience.
2. Goal-Setting
Some martial arts goals can take several months or years to accomplish. With these types of long-term goals, not only must you be patient with yourself and your training, but you also have to figure out how to stay committed to achieving your goals. When working toward a long-term goal, you’ll likely face quite a few obstacles along your way. When you come face to face with a challenge, resilience is what keeps you engaged, so through effort and hard work, you continue moving forward.
3. Character Building Values
The process of building the physical and mental skills needed in martial arts also builds character. When you’re willing to stick to your training and work toward your goals, you’ll develop essential character traits like patience, discipline, self-control, and self-confidence, along with resilience. These skills and values give you the confidence to recognize that no matter what you face in training or life, you’ll have the tools readily available to overcome adversity and continue making progress.
To learn more about what we currently have to offer at GF Team Toledo, contact us today.
