Conscious Choice: To Be Engaged & Healthy

November 2005 | Whole Health

To Be Engaged & Healthy — Make It Martial Arts

by Bob Condor

I am looking to begin a martial arts program as I’m attracted to the possibility of being more disciplined and stronger. How do I choose?

— Ted in Seattle

Writing about martial arts is always hazardous business. There are so many forms and avid followers of the different forms. Focusing on one martial art typically gets other enthusiasts to email about their favorite one.

That alone is a positive. Martial arts are activities that keep people engaged — and healthy — for years if they stick with it for at least three to six months. Followers of a certain discipline take ownership of that activity; they find self-motivation in those early months that stokes them for years.

The next point about marital arts: Discipline is a key word here. Remember that the word “discipline” roots from the word “disciple” and not, say, “punishment” or “rectify”. It is vital to find an instructor/mentor/martial arts master who you are comfortable emulating. If you don’t imagine a particular teacher as your role model, look for someone else.

Choosing the best discipline for you will require some trial-and-error. One matter to consider is whether you are choosing martial arts for actual self-defense skills or, say, mental clarity. Make no mistake. Some martial arts forms emphasize the fighting elements (see Take-Home Box).

My suggestion is to start with a healing form, such as qigong (pronounced chee-gung); you might know it as tai chi (“tie-chee”). It is a centuries old Chinese healing art performed in a series of what appear to be simple deep-breathing exercises and subtle movements, such as flexing torso muscles.

Tai chi could be called a subset of qigong. Tai chi’s gentle, flowing exercises are part of the large number of qigong movements that are prescribed by Chinese traditional medicine practices to “move’’ someone’s “qi,’’ or energy. Tai chi is frequently offered at health clubs and community centers. It’s a solid introduction to martial arts and research shows tai chi as a particularly valuable pursuit for older adults. Tai chi improves balance and coordination, plus prevents accidental falls.

In contrast, qigong, is more intense for body and mind. Its deep-breathing component is much more than a matter of inhaling and exhaling air. You will break a sweat with the right instructor.

“A deep breath alone will not bring you more oxygen,’’ said Roger Jahnke, an osteopathic physician in Santa Barbara, Calif. and author of The Healing Promise of Qi. “You must get yourself into a state of relaxation to benefit from deeper, more purposeful breathing.’’

The mental component requires total focus, but that’s when workouts result in feeling more clear and less stressed out. Jahnke and other qigong instructors talk often about how qigong students learn to get into such relaxation states within seconds for numerous mini-breaks during a day. Your hour qigong session can reap benefits for stressful moments to come.

Who can’t use more of that?

Marshaling a Definition

Here is the Internet’s Wikipedia.org primary definition for martial arts: Martial arts, also known as fighting systems, are bodies of codified practices or traditions of training for unarmed and armed combat. Today, people study martial arts for various reasons including competition, fitness, self-defense, self-cultivation/meditation, mental or character development, and self-confidence.

"Martial arts” was translated in 1920 in Takenobu’s Japanese-English Dictionary as “the craft/accomplishment of military affairs.” This term is slightly atypical in its English usage. Its strict meaning should be “arts for military use” (such as flying aircraft or sniper training), but in normal usage it is used to refer to formalized systems of training to fight without modern technology.

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