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How can Martial Arts help manage anger?

Okay, let's start off this post with a common reality: We all get angry, irritated, and downright peeved. We are all human after all. In some cases, anger management can turn into a severe issue with random outbursts or uncontrollable response. In these cases, someone could get seriously injured and it can be detrimental to physical and mental health. With this commonality we all share comes another, we need a healthy way to manage when we have those rough irritable days. (and I know yoga isn't everyone's cup of herbal tea). What better way to get out some frustration than to channel it in a healthy way: Martial Arts. You may think I'm referring to getting to punch and kick things as hard as you want and while, yes, that is a nice bonus that comes with the sport, there is more to it than that.


A typical response we get when trying to enroll people in martial arts is the parental concern that martial arts causes violence. Many people think that martial arts is not a good outlet for anger or that it will trigger outbursts, but the case is actually quite the opposite. Whether the student is a child, teen, or adult, martial arts can definitely become a healthy and constructive way to control anger. Some of the main foundational teachings of martial arts include focus, self-control, perseverance, and patience. These are all techniques that can be implemented to help learn to manage anger. We use focus to learn how to stay in tune with what we are learning or concentrating on which can be helpful when it comes to stress or anxiety management which can contribute to an angry outburst. Self-control is pretty self-explanatory but in martial arts, you learn not only how to control your body but also your mind and emotions. I mentioned perseverance because anger management is not something that can be easily tamed and it takes fighting that daily battle, but with a team of caring instructors and supportive classmates, it can make the journey less lonely. On this same note, it takes patience with yourself. And on a lighter note, getting to kick and punch things (not people) as hard as you want to release some frustrations definitely has its benefits.


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