Imagine walking down any city street, dark alley, or sketchy neigborhood feeling self-confident. Picture yourself in control of your actions and emotions, never letting outside circumstances dictate your inner peace. Envision a reality where you have the strength to surmount setbacks and overcome obstacles. This is the life of a martial artist.

People who train in martial arts have a sweeping sense of self-assuredness.

But that doesn’t mean they are egotistical—not by any means. In fact, upon first glance, martial artists are typically among some of the most humble and unassuming people. It’s no wonder this art form has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years.

But at this point, you may be asking yourself…

What Are The Benefits Of Becoming A Martial Artist?

Life is a war; it’s difficult and even tragic at times. Martial arts training (provided you have a consistent regime) is your shield in this battle of life. It serves as your protective layer, a line of defence against life’s hardships. How does training in martial arts accomplish this end? Simple, regular training:

1. Accelerates Your Self-Improvement

On the surface, becoming a martial artist may seem like a journey that only delivers self-defence skills. This is a shortsighted notion. The fact of the matter is that a consistent training regime will impact, influence, and improve every facet of your life. In short, the martial artist mentality will help to fast track the entirety of your self-improvement.

Here are a few examples of the improvements you can experience:

• Increased fitness as you develop a stronger, healthier, and more agile body
• Strengthened relationships with the partners you drill and train with
• Become a part of a community with people who share similar goals and interests
• Learn essential self-defence skills that will stay with you for life
• Develop discipline and consistency into your character with your training regime

Whether you take up Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, or any other martial art, this art form will become a guide on your self-improvement journey.

2. Develops A Warrior’s Spirit

I believe there is a fighter in all of us; some people just have a more difficult time revealing it than others. Becoming a martial artist will empower you to develop that warrior’s spirit. And this will be invaluable to you as you go through life. For example, you will…

• Learn how to persevere through difficulty
• Overcome negative thoughts and remain focused on victory
• Not take defeat or failure personally and keep fighting for your goals
• Start dreaming big and stop playing small
• Develop a worthwhile path that is exciting and compelling to you

The warrior’s spirit is the mindset and pathway of personal development. Period. So the more you embrace this mindset, the more you will find yourself growing as a person.

3. Keeps You Humble

This benefit is par for the course in regard to becoming a martial artist. Humility is to martial arts what weight training is to bodybuilders. The two go hand in hand. For this reason, you will naturally develop a humble attitude and mindset the more you train.

You will have many ups and downs as you train.

The ups serve as confidence boosters while the downs put things into perspective by making you realize that—no matter how often or how hard you train—someone somewhere will always be better.

As a result, humility tends to creep up on you.

For example, on those days when you’re “in the zone,” tapping people left, right, and center, someone will eventually come along and lay the smack down on you, bringing your high and mighty self-belief back down to earth.

4. Strengthens Your Mentality

Your mind is your most powerful asset. And yet the vast majority of us misuse this incredible resource we’ve been gifted with. All too often, people squander their cognitive abilities by “thinking themselves” into self-made prisons that then trap them in unfulfilling lives.

The cause of these mental penitentiaries?… A weak mentality.

Becoming a martial artist with strengthen your state of mind, helping you to develop grit and persistence. As a result, you’ll have the mental fortitude to stick to your goals regardless of how tough the going may be.

This mindset is the fighter’s mentality, and it is essential to success and improvement in any area of life. Here are a few other advantages to developing this state of mind:

• Improves problem-solving abilities
• Allows you to become more adaptive and agile5.
• Strengthens your resolve and resilience
• Enhances your leadership skills
• Makes you more focused and disciplined
• Cultivates competence and confidence

5. Makes You More Competent In Your Day-To-Day Life

This benefit will jump out at you the more you train. You will naturally find yourself feeling more capable, confident, and competent. This is a good thing; it means your self-trust is  growing. You’ll be able to see the shift slowly seep into your life over time as you continue to train.

In fact, according to the International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health (a peer-reviewed online resource), training in combat sports can have a powerful impact on your self-efficacy.

And for the uninitiated, self-efficacy refers to your self-belief—how you feel about your ability to manage demanding circumstances.

So whether you need to:

• Handle a difficult situation at work
• Have a challenging conversation with a friend or loved one
• Achieve an audacious goal, etc…

Becoming a martial artist can be the building block to construct the firm foundation needed to tackle these (and any other) objectives.

Wrapping Up

The way of a martial artist is the way of self-improvement. It is your path to a better, stronger, and more resilient version of yourself. For this reason, training in martial arts is among the best things you can do in regard to your personal development.

If you’re ready to unleash your inner fighter so you can attack your ambitions, conquer your challenges, and unveil the best of yourself to the world, sign up for the Motivated And Disciplined Newsletter below.