I’m Paul Willson I am a brown belt in Ju Jutsu, a centuries old Japanese martial art.
My last post I talked about why I chose Ju Jutsu as my chosen martial art. Now I want to talk about what is great about martial arts why you should do a martial art.
For me the best part about martial arts is that dojos are extremely positive places. I have never gone to a dojo or been to a Ju Jutsu course where the people have not been friendly or encouraging or welcoming or willing to help or give advice. The chances are you will make new good lasting friends.
When you go to a dojo for the first time it is natural to feel intimidated. You will see men and women with various coloured belts around their waists doing impressive techniques and it is only normal to think I will never be able to do that. Well, they were in your shoes once and within a year you will be able to do techniques that you see in alot of Hollywood action films. There was a time they first walked into a dojo just as nervous as you are so they will feel a lot of empathy and each time you pass an exam they will feel as pleased for you as you will feel proud.
From a personal point of view doing martial arts has improved my fitness and as a result my own body positivity. Doing martial arts is hard or at least it should be, if it isn’t you are not doing it properly. Because it is hard the further in my journey I have gone the extra work on my fitness I have had to do so as a result my body has changed. My body fat has gone down and my muscle mass has gone up.
To recap what I have written, a positive and encouraging environment, new friends, sense of achievement, a goal to work towards, improved fitness, body positivity. This can only be good for your mental health. I have actually known guys who have hit a bad point in their lives and they have made a point of going to train because being around familiar friendly faces helps them with their mental health.
Please leave a comment below and let me know why you think people should take up a martial art.
Not Quite A Black Belt 