If your goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight but you need to do something more exciting than jogging on a treadmill to keep you motivated, perhaps you should consider doing a martial art like boxing, kickboxing, karate, or judo.

In this article we list the top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art for fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing one is right for you.

1. Doing martial arts for weight loss

It's no coincidence that gyms, personal trainers and producers of exercise videos and DVD's are now heavily incorporating training techniques and exercises from a wide variety of martial arts in their workouts.

Boxercise, Tae Bo, Cardio-Kickboxing, Kung Fu Aerobics, and personal trainers using punching bags, focus mitts and kicking pads in their sessions are just a couple of examples of how martial arts training is being used in cardio workouts for fitness and weight loss.

Because martial art training is typically high intensity and usually lasts for at least an hour in most cases, it burns a maximum number of kilojoules or calories per workout and is therefore great for anyone who wants to lose weight and lose it fast.

2. Doing martial arts for fitness

Most martial arts incorporate exercises and drills that improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance, help build muscle strength and improve muscle flexibility so they are perfect for anyone wanting to improve their overall fitness.

Cardiovascular fitness improvements require us to regularly elevate our heart rate for extended periods and most martial arts training can help us do that.

Improving the strength, size and shape of our muscles requires us to regularly subject them to some form of resistance training. Martial arts training helps provide this training by requiring us to perform exercises like push-ups and squats using our own body weight for resistance.

Improved flexibility is a natural byproduct of martial arts training because most, if not all styles of martial art incorporate stretching exercises in their workouts.

As a result of providing all of these fitness benefits, martial artists like boxers and kickboxers are widely regarded as being among the fittest athletes in the world and practitioners of karate, judo, etc are considered among the strongest pound-for-pound and most flexible athletes in the world.

3. Doing martial arts and self-defense

One of the most obvious benefits of doing a martial art is that it provides us with the fitness, strength, skill and techniques necessary to protect ourselves from being attacked by others who are out to harm us if the need should ever arise.

Like an insurance policy, we hope you're never in a position to have to use your martial arts training to defend yourself, but it's great to know this ability is there just in case.

Because they are primarily concerned with elevating our heart rates to burn energy and improve our fitness, many of the workouts listed above like Tae Bo, Boxercise, etc don't really provide this benefit to the same extent as doing martial arts training with a dedicated teacher in a martial arts school that only provides one service - to teach you a specific martial art.

Many people mistakenly believe that because they punch a focus mitt 50 times during a session with their personal trainer that they know how to punch properly and can therefore defend themselves if they need to. This is a big mistake and we hope these people never find themselves in a situation where this belief is tested.

Unless they've had many years of martial arts training themselves, most personal trainers and gym instructors will not be able to offer advice about your punching and kicking technique, they are only really qualified to hold the focus mitts or kick-pad for you while you punch or kick them.
Remember, while probably great at what they do, these trainers are more like aerobics instructors than specifically qualified martial arts instructors.

4. Doing martial arts and self-confidence

In addition to providing us with the ability to defend ourselves, one of the greatest personal benefits that martial art training provides is a high degree of self-confidence.

This self-confidence partly results from the knowledge that we are much better equipped to defend ourselves given that we have done some martial arts training, but it also comes from a sense of achievement once we begin to master the techniques taught to us and the new confidence that results from feeling fitter and stronger and looking fitter and stronger.

Given that one of the first things to suffer, and one of the hardest things to reestablish afterwards, when we become overweight is our self-confidence this benefit is of particular value to those of us who have a weight problem.

5. Doing martial arts to improve body balance and coordination

As well as helping us to become fitter and stronger, martial art training typically involves the mastery of a range of techniques that requires us to be well-balanced and have superior body coordination.

In learning to master these techniques we naturally improve our balance and our coordination which helps us with other aspects of our daily life.

6. Doing martial arts for variety 

Martial art training provides great variety in two ways.

Firstly, martial arts training sessions themselves have great variety built into them by including warm-ups and cool-downs, stretching exercises, strength building exercises, cardio exercises and exercises designed to improve and teach us a wide variety of techniques.

This variety is great for our mind as well as our body.

Secondly, there are such a wide variety of martial arts to study that we should be able to easily find one that suits our particular goals and interests.

Whether we prefer to do a martial art that primarily revolves around striking or grappling techniques or a perfect mix of both, or we want to study a highly technical or very simple style, the choice is great.

7. Doing martial arts teaches discipline and provides motivation

Everybody knows that studying a martial art requires and teaches discipline.

Because it is also goal orientated, training in one of the many martial arts also provides a great deal of motivation.

Lack of discipline and motivation are the most often quoted reasons for weight loss failures and for this reason, doing a martial art for weight loss and fitness may help many of us who lack the required discipline and motivation to achieve our weight loss goals to overcome these common barriers to success.

8. Doing martial arts for spirituality

One definition of spirituality is "Activities which renew, lift up, comfort, heal and inspire both ourselves and those with whom we interact."

Martial art training has been practiced by millions of people over many centuries because among other things, it has a great ability to spiritually uplift us.

As well as forging a better connection between our mind and body, it also has the ability to forge a better connection between us and our world and us and others.

9. Doing martial arts training is relatively inexpensive

Compared to joining some gyms and hiring some personal trainers, training at a martial arts school or dojo is relatively inexpensive.

Many martial arts schools charge a very modest monthly fee for training and the beauty of this is you can train when and as often as it suits you.

In addition to low ongoing training costs, buying a uniform and any equipment you may need to train in most cases will be relatively inexpensive as well.

10. Doing martial arts has a social aspect

Many people who start doing martial arts training for weight loss, improved fitness or self-defense end up enjoying it most for its social aspects.

As well as training and learning with others with similar goals, many martial arts trainees help encourage and motivate each other and end up becoming very good friends.

Many martial arts instructors too have very friendly dispositions and foster a fun and friendly environment in which to train which endears them to their students who typically also become close friends.

Conclusion

If your goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight but you need to do something more exciting than jogging on a treadmill to keep you motivated, perhaps you should consider doing a martial art like boxing, kickboxing, karate, or judo.

In this article we listed the top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art for fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing one is right for you.

Scott Haywood is the editor of Australia's leading weight loss and healthy lifestyle website weightloss.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Haywood

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BushidoFlix (formerly BushidoDVD.com) is the leader in variety when it comes to renting instructional DVDs in any style of martial arts you can imagine. Centrally located right outside of Chicago, we were founded by a group of young professionals with a love for martial arts and with aspirations to create an online resource to help others.

It is our mission to provide martial arts enthusiasts of all levels access to quality video instruction in one convenient place. As practitioners and students of MMA and martial arts, we understand the challenges of expensive lessons and the high cost of martial arts instructional DVDs. With our service, you can have access to quality instructions, save money, and learn all the moves in the convenience and privacy of your home.  From Shaolin Kung Fu to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Tai Chi, Krav Maga, and even UFC matches...you have it all here!

HOW IT WORKS

It’s really just easy and convenient. Follow these four simple steps and you’re good to go!

1. Select – Browse and select martial arts videos online and create a list of DVDs you want to watch. You can get it here.
2. Receive – DVDs are delivered to you FREE by first-class US Mail.
3. Watch and Learn – Relax, take your time, and enjoy the DVDs for as long as you want.
4. Return – Return the DVDs in the prepaid mailer provided and we’ll send you more from your rental queue.

PLANS AND PRICING

Choose from our plans and get hundreds of titles, easy to follow instructors, free mail delivery, express returns, cancel anytime privileges, and 100% dvd quality!

1. Bronze – 1 DVD at a time for $15.95 per month
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3. Gold – 5 DVDs at a time for $40.95 per month

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Signup now to be part of a win-win relationship! Get freebies and join our promos to further enjoy your video rental experience. It just takes one click here!

TELL A FRIEND

Get a free month of BushidoFlix service just by telling a friend about us! Active members get 1 month of FREE service anytime someone they refer signs up. You must use the email form below to qualify. When they stay one month past the first month, we'll credit your account with a free month of service. Really cool stuff, right?

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There is quite several Martial Arts Styles that you can learn. As much as they are saying intensity often beats diversity, thanks to laser focus, when it comes to fighting, you might learn as much styles as is possible because you never find out what sort of fighting situation you will find yourself in. Many people, if you aren't in the military or some elite fighting force, only focus on martial arts tactics. This more often than not limits their offensive ability simply because they become used to defending rather than attacking. Although every kind of martial arts training trains you to defend in addition to attack, it is a personal psychological mindset that determines which pieces of this training you actually ingest.

Lately, Keysi has been increasingly popular. Since that time it had been popularized by Christian Bale in the batman movies, 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight', a great number of are desperate to learn this street based fighting technique that lets you use everything to use to fight and incapacitate the opponent. Keysi bases its fighting philosophy and methods on sheer brute force and survival instinct. What this imply would it be trains you to fight, survive and conquer any type of fighting scenario you may well be confronted by. The beauty of everything would be that the training is performed under extreme pressure and duress. The thinking behind this can be that while you're within a fight, you often don't have time to choreograph all the fancy backflips, spinning kicks and impressive moves you learn in karate class. Much more a fight, all you need is the instinct and brute force. You have to learn how to utilize these two aspects to your advantage. As much as muscle memory starts, it's survival instinct that will get you the battle. This is not to convey that you do not learn some technical fighting skills. That being said, here is a quick comparison between Keysi as well as other Martial Arts.

Krav Maga vs Keysi

Krav Maga is incredibly closely related to Keysi. Both being close quarter fighting skills that permit you to make use of skill against a rival who have other weapons for example knives and guns at their disposal. Krav Maga incorporates the standard of other fighting techniques into its repertoire. In Krav Maga and Keysi, you should be fast, work with your instinct, you have to think really fast on your feet. The real difference between Krav Maga and Keysi is that since Krav Maga is often a combination of the biggest skills learned in boxing, Kick Boxing, wrestling, karate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, any experienced fighter can learn it by way of a book or a DVD series. Keysi however needs you to feel the pressure that accompany unfavorable combat situations and therefore can only be mastered under extreme pressure that gives an edge in different fight.

Karate vs Keysi

How to start? Karate is a lot like the staple of martial arts. Everybody trains in karate when they're beginning out. But in the process, you understand although karate provides you with the agility, flexibility and mental discipline necessary to win fights, its Achilles heel is in that you need some space to fight. Karate involves elaborate kicks and punches. In several fighting scenarios, you possibly will not have this space nor time. In terms of close quarters fighting, Keysi is what you need. Use karate with your fighting repertoire, you'll be able to whip it out when the ideal situation appears.

Boxing vs Keysi

Many people don't imagine boxing as a martial art. However, if you look at the concise explanation martial arts, it is any skill that involves defense and attack. Although a lot of the fighting styles regarded as 'thorough bred martial arts' originated from the East, mainly Japan, boxing falls into the group of skills that coach you on how you can defend yourself as well as attack the opponent. In this aspect, it qualifies as a martial art. Boxing is in all likelihood the most basic and the most beneficial strategy for fighting. It teaches you the best stance, how you can quickly move you and think with them. The issue here's that you do not naturally train to utilize feet as attack options. In Keysi, you might be trained to use everything at your disposal to neutralize the opponent.

Combat Jiujitsu vs Keysi

Jiujitsu is probably the most reliable fighting techniques known to man. Combat jiujitsu takes it to another level. This fighting style is primarily conditioned to the military, namely the Navy SEALS. It's a kind of jiujitsu that's entirely determined by attacking the opponent. This really is effective when you have a dominating position and should not give your opponent any breathing or recovering space. The catch is, at some point, you are going to get hit, so when that takes place, you must know the way to quickly recover, incorporate both defense and attacking skills to be able to overcome your opponent.

In comparison with other martial arts styles, Keysi is probably the rawest, most instinct driven along with the almost all encompassing fighting style you can master. The fact it trains one to function and fight well in the real world street fight scenarios causes it to be the most realistic and efficient style yet.

Check out more descriptions, explanations and videos at: keysifightingmethod.org

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“Bushido” is a Japanese word which translates as "military scholar road" used to describe the way of the samurai. It originates from the samurai moral values and principles which put emphasis on compassion, benevolence, honor, and other qualities of true manliness.

Bushido was first used in Japan during the 17th century and has been into common use after the publication of Nitobe Inazo’s “The Soul of Japan” in 1899. In this bestseller, Inazo interprets the samurai code of behavior which serves as a guide on how chivalrous men should act in their personal and professional lives.

The Bushido Code is composed of Eight Virtues outlined as follows:

1.     Rectitude

Rectitude is known as the strongest virtue of Bushido. It is defined as the power to make unwavering decisions which is in accordance with reason. It is the bone that gives firmness and stature.

2.     Courage

Courage is defined as the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. But according to the code, courage can only be useful when exercised with correct morals.

3.     Benevolence

The samurai, which possesses the power to destroy and kill, is also expected to exercise acts of kindness. Known as the highest attribute of the human soul, benevolence is an important virtue which maintains the balance between violence and hatred, and love and mercy.

4.     Respect

Respect is having the understanding of treating people and things the appropriate way. It is considered as the expression of a benevolent regard for the feelings of others. It is a great feeling to be respected, and providing the same is just as rewarding.

5.     Honesty

Honesty refers to a facet of moral character which connotes positive attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness. The Samurai was always thought of as someone who does not lie. There are even tales about those who were put to death by violating this virtue. It’s amazing how the Samurai didn't see the need for written contracts as that would only indicate doubtfulness of their word.

6.     Honor

Honor is said to be an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual. The Samurai holds the highest regard for honor as they have lived and died for it. As Nitobe would put it, “Fear of disgrace hung like a sword over the head of every samurai”.

7.     Loyalty

During the reign of the Samurai, loyalty was thought of as being more valuable than life itself. In our world today, loyalty has been a rare virtue, and is oftentimes used with all the wrong motives. “But only in the code of chivalrous Honor does Loyalty assume paramount importance”.

8.     Character

The teachings of Bushido encourage men to behave according to an absolute moral standard, one that transcends logic. He is expected to know the difference between good and bad and what is right and wrong. It is also his obligation to teach his children moral standards by making his own behavior the primary pattern.

Reinforcing the Bushido code throughout our daily activities is definitely helpful in improving the quality of our lives physically and mentally. They say chivalry is dead, but the Bushido Code will always be a reminder that it is not. And for those who follow, remember that all you have is utmost advantage.

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Your premier martial arts & mixed martial arts (MMA) DVD rental website BushidoDVD.com is back with a vengeance! Now featuring a newly redesigned website, a new name, and an even better service to satisfy your martial arts & MMA needs.

Bushido DVD was acquired in 2013 and has since re-launched as BushidoFlix.com – the ultimate online DVDs by mail experience. With thousands of titles to choose from, Bushido Flix is your online resource for unique and hard-to-find martial arts instructional DVDs, ultimate fighting, classic Kung Fu, samurai movies, rare documentaries and so much more.

For a low monthly fee, members can enjoy unlimited DVD rentals by mail. Delivery is free both ways, including tracking information for most plans. Members can keep the DVDs as long as they want without incurring any dreaded late fees, and they may cancel at any time. Members can choose from a wide variety of DVD video titles including; martial arts instructional videos in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Karate, Taekwondo, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Krav Maga, Grappling, UFC fights, extreme strength and conditioning and much more. Bushido Flix aims to reclaim its title as the premier online destination for martial arts and MMA DVDs.

The martial arts are not just about self-defense and fighting. It holds a much deeper meaning for those who closely follow and practice the arts. It teaches honor and respect, helps one set and achieve goals by developing self-discipline, boosts confidence and self-esteem, and improves both mental and physical strength. In our modern day, the martial arts are available to anyone through our online DVD rental platform. From the comforts of your own home, learning and improving in martial arts has never been easier and more convenient.

Bushido is a Japanese word literally translated as “Way of the Warrior”. It describes the code of honor and values developed by the Samurai of ancient Japan. The code is comprised of 7 tenets: Morality, Courage, Benevolence, Respect, Honesty, Honor and Loyalty. This honor code is what we seek to embody in our everyday business, and we encourage others to explore the Bushido way through martial arts and MMA training DVDs.

Whether you are a novice just starting out, or an experienced practitioner who seeks to improve one’s skills and technique, or even a fan wanting to revisit a favorite tournament match, Bushido Flix is here for you; bigger and better than ever before. So what are you waiting for? Unleash your inner warrior with BushidoFlix.com!

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