Martial Arts’ Effect on the Brain

For the last forty years, Scientists have increasingly acknowledged that martial arts has a profound effect on the body.  Do you also know that martial arts produces mental and emotional benefits as well?   An article of Psychotherapy Today reveals several areas of fitness improved through martial arts training.  These include self-defense, physical fitness & health, expansion of mental capacity, strength of character, improved mood and spiritual development.  It is the Martial Arts’ effect on the brain that I find stunning.

Even as students of The American Cane System (TACS) practice techniques that develop strength, they gain much more.  Cane Fu and Cane Ja training, within The American Cane System, embeds methods of self-defense in students.  Both training methods also deliver physical strength, balance and flexibility.  Most importantly, The American Cane System enhances emotional wellbeing in its  practitioners in several areas of change.

Discipline. 

Learning anything new is not easy.  Developing and honing the skill and techniques within The American Cane System exercises the brain as much as the body.  As training pushes students to focus on new techniques, students’ discipline intensifies.  In order to advance from level to level of learning, students must persevere to complete the level.   Perspectives evolve when students learn to view challenges as opportunities. 

Focus.

Research supports two methods to improve attention.  One method is Attention Training (AT) and the other method is Attention State Training (AST).  Practicing a certain skill, improving that skill alone is an example of AT.  In AT, the brain is forced to concentrate on one thing, which strengthens the ability to focus.  In AST, the trainee enters a state of mind, more amenable to focus.  Methods of achieving AST include meditation, exercise, yoga or other similar activities that quiet distraction and allow the mind to go into a focused state.  Because martial arts includes several AST activities, it is often seen as a form of AST itself.  The longer you practice martial arts, the more results began to show themselves in improved alertness and focus. 

Improved Memory.

An Italian Study tested motor skills and cognitive capabilities in groups of sedentary children vs. active child martial arts participants.  Aside from increased speed, strength and coordination, children who were training in Karate, showed improved cognitive skills.  More research shows that regular physical activity  affect biological responses in muscles and organs.  Those organs then alter the structure and functions of the brain.  Karate students scored better than sedentary children in working memory, visual selective attention and execution.  This was found to be especially strong in deciding evaluation and response to an event, or inhibition and response implementation.  The study found high physical activity comparable to martial arts, bears the strongest results.

Emotional Wellness.

By emotional wellness, I am referring to optimism, self-esteem, and the feeling of some control over one’s life.  In short, emotional wellness is the opposite of depression, despair and hopelessness. A 2019 study by Brandt et al found lower anxiety and elevated mood state in higher level judo and Jiu-Jitsu.   Other research shows exercise frequency and intensity can help increase happiness, and confidence.  The American Cane System is designed to help even those who are immobile begin to move and build fitness.  In the process, they achieve emotional wellness too.

Stress Management.

Cane Chi places great emphasis on controlled breathing and meditation.  Because of that, it is strongly linked with reduced feeling of stress.  A study of older adults shows participants of  similar training enjoyed significantly lowered stress levels, better sleep and energy.

Confidence.

As TACS trainees learn techniques and progress through levels, their achievements develop into  confidence.  Trainees earn their confidence through a combination of achievement, strength and discipline.  It is a compelling formula for building confidence.

Respect.

Respect is instilled throughout the American Cane System lessons.  Students learn that by giving respect, you begin a reciprocal response.  By extending respect, you command respect.  Seen as a larger whole, the results revealed male child participants exhibit less aggressive behavior than non-participants.  Martial artists, according to a UK/US Study, are less likely to bully and more likely to help victims of bullying. 

Humility. 

Ego, self-centeredness and entitlement has no place in most martial arts disciplines. Hard work and hard won advances in martial arts help students appreciate their own strength and capabilities.  At the same time, those same students gain objectivity about their limitations and areas of weakness. 

Training.

Grand Master Mark Shuey recognized many of these benefits from his own experiences with the American Cane System and in his trainees.  He developed a program that allows seniors as well as younger adults take part in training from the comfort and safety of their own homes.  Grand Master Shuey streams his virtual dojo sessions daily. He also trains in person at his Dojo in the Lake Tahoe, Nevada area.  The American Cane System covers self-defense techniques and exercises with your cane that help promote strength, wellness and confidence.  Virtual Dojo sessions are live Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m. PDT / PST; Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. PDT/PST. 

Find out session schedules and pricing by calling (775) 772-9471.  You too can enjoy the martial arts effect on the brain.  Get Started improving emotional as well as physical health.