Free Essay on Potential Health and Fitness Benefits of Karate

Karate is a form of martial art which depends on exceptional physical and mental coordination. Currently practiced in most parts of the world, martial art originated from China, India, and Japan. Adapted from a Japanese word, karate translates to 'open-hand,' which implies the use of the body and focused psychology as weapons instead of armory such as guns and swords (Fajar, 2017). It banks on deflection techniques, kicks, and punches to foster defense. Although originally seen purely as a form of self-protection, Karate is an exceptional form of exercise with numerous health and mental health benefits.

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Karate provides a wide variety of body exercises, which are suitable for fitness. It is a high aerobic task that uses virtually every body-muscle, increasing flexibility, endurance, balance, and overall strength. The activity offers a full-body workout assisting with weight loss, general fitness, and health (Mastnak, 2017). First, karate boosts total body functioning, almost regarded as a weight loss and fitness program. It gives overall body workout, which aims at improvements in stamina, cardiovascular capabilities, and muscular toning. It combines muscle toning, cardio, endurance while burning out excessive fat. During the exercise, an individual always moves around, increasing the heart rate, and thus burning calories.

Secondly, karate improves cardiovascular. It gets the blood pumping faster, placing a particular demand on the heart, permitting heart health improvement. Heart rate rises, increasing the intake of oxygen. Therefore, it is an essential option for training and conditioning the body's full cardiovascular system to reduce the health risks of stroke and heart-associated illnesses decreases. Moreover, the practice improves body reflexes and coordination. It is the most beneficial and distinct aspect of frequent training in karate as it impacts on muscular and coordination communication (Mastnak, 2017). As one's experience increases, more techniques and movements will need and develop greater hand-eye coordination and general coordination. The study has described that by undertaking Karate classes not only improves dojo reflexes but also boosts daily tasks like driving.

Participating in Karate also boosts and tones muscle mass in the body. Every muscle develops and becomes strong by undertaking lots of abdominal, pushups, and training positions such as the front stance and horse stance. Muscle development and increase assist one to acquire overall body strength, which in return, boosts agility, thus minimizing falling risk during old age (Fajar, 2017). Furthermore, Karate increases endurance and stamina. Training techniques such as blocking, body-weight practices, and striking are created to help the body improve stamina (Mastnak, 2017). Regular practice helps boost body endurance and increases the rate of breathing. After weeks of training, the body gets resistant and resilient, and less fatigue is felt. Improving stamina is vital for a healthy lifestyle since it can assist burn fat, reduce blood pressure and heart rate.

The exercise is also important for weight loss, in case one is seeking to lower body weight by getting rid of fat belly, Karate is a better way to go. Due to rigorous activities in practice, excess calories are burnt. It is estimated that a regular class of one hour burns an average of 500 calories (Fajar, 2017). However, in professional training such as pad work and sparring classes, an hour class can burn nearly 1000 calories (Mastnak, 2017). Another potential benefit is improved posture and stability. There are many reports about the essential impacts of Karate on stability and posture. It has been revealed to boost both dynamic and static balance. Moreover, good posture translates to less neck and back pain, vitality, and energy on a daily basis.

Regular practice is scientifically claimed to relieve stress. However, being in a position to have the practice in an environment of supportive individuals - the dojo where one trains, goes a long way to place an individual at ease. Several Karate training techniques and approaches, including relaxation and breathing, help to manage stress. The practice is related to deep inhaling exercises, similar to yoga techniques, which results in a calming effect (Mastnak, 2017). According to health experts, such drills may assist lower anxiety and stress.

In conclusion, karate is not all about defense but is an avenue to bolster physical and mental health and fitness. The martial art has exceptional benefits to cardiovascular, stress management, muscle development, and body flexibility, endurance, and strength. There is a need to promote its practice around the globe and integrate it in cultures as a way of promoting both physical and mental fitness and limiting cases of chronic diseases, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and hypertension, amongst others.

Reference

Fajar, M., Saputra, Y. M., & Mulyana, M. (2017). Imagery model and sport confidence on karate kata motion skills. 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education. https://doi.org/10.5220/0007067006300635

Mastnak, W. (2017). Karate-based prevention of work-related musculoskeletal syndromes: a study on the possible benefits of martial arts in sports medicine and occupational health. Sport Sciences for Health, 13(1), 1-8.