Why Study Taekwondo? (page 1)

Martial arts develop beneficial psychological changes in practitioners and encourage good moral and ethical development

Some people believe that training in the martial arts will cause or acerbate violent or aggressive behavior. Most people have been exposed to the martial arts though martial art movies. Other than a few exceptions, such as Karate Kid and the Kung-fu television show, these depictions of the martial arts are always associated with violence. Recently, the popularity of televised unrestrained fighting tournaments has perpetuated this theme. While the martial art are based upon warlike, violent behavior, they also use ritualistic behaviors that seek to avoid or control violence and they train to make these behaviors a part of ones life.

Martial art masters claim that their arts reduce stress and violence in their practitioners, and thus, in the communities in which they live. These are lofty claims, but are they true? Are these claimed benefits any different from those that gained from other sports activities? What specific aspects of martial arts training bring about these changes? If these claims are true, then is martial arts training an effective means to treat people with violent tendencies?

Stress and Violence Reduction

A few studies have shown that a single session a high physical output activity, such as jogging, weight lifting, or a martial art may reduce tension, anxiety, depression, and anger-hostility in participants immediately after the activity. However, more research in this area is needed before any definite conclusions may be drawn about the short-term effects of martial arts training.

In contrast, there are many studies that have examined the long-term effects of martial arts training; most of which have shown positive psychosocial changes in participants. Many of the studies have assessed martial artists with different belt ranks or time of participation. In general, there appears to be an inverse relationship between belt rank or length of time practicing a martial art and anxiety, aggression, hostility, and neuroticism; but there appears to be a positive correlation with self-confidence, independence, self-reliance, and self-esteem. While these results seem encouraging, most of the studies did not account for students who had negative traits and dropped out of the activity and they did not use control groups. Some studies suggest that the style of martial art may be relevant; that certain martial arts might lead to changes more quickly than others might. These results are tempered by the results of some studies that found no effects of martial arts training on personality traits.

When amongst family members, you are forced to deal with family problems. When at work, you are forced to deal with work matters. When at Taekwondo class, you are forced to deal with Taekwondo training. You must deal with your family daily and you must deal with with your job practically every day, but you only deal with Taekwondo training two or three times a week. While training in Taekwondo, all your thoughts about your family problems and work problems are suppressed as you concentrate on your training. Therefore, during the time you are training, you are able to forget your cares and woes and the stress they cause. Not only are you able to reduce your stress while in class, the relaxation techniques you learn in class help you deal with stress more effectively while out of class.