Have you ever watched kickboxing on television or maybe even at a live event? It looks pretty fun doesn’t it, and maybe a little dangerous too, but don’t worry because it doesn’t have to be dangerous. You or your children don’t actually have to engage in kickboxing competitions, but you can always engage in all of the training that comes with it, training that is definitely very valuable.
The benefits of kickboxing are nearly endless and they go a long way in creating a stronger, faster, healthier, and more confident you, not to mention that it teaches you how to defend yourself as well. Kickboxing is a fantastic martial art that teaches you a whole lot of things and leaves you a much healthier person at the end of the day. You should definitely give this a quick read through to find out just how many awesome things kickboxing can do for you.
Benefit #1: Learn How To Defend Yourself
Something that everyone will definitely be able to appreciate about kickboxing is that it is one of the best things to know in terms of self-defense. Kickboxing is a very versatile martial art that teaches you many basics, especially when it comes to striking with your hands and feet.
Nobody wants to be bullied in school, or even worse, in adulthood, and nobody wants to be robbed or mugged on the street, and nobody wants to be confronted in a dark alleyway without the means to defend themselves.
Well, kickboxing is probably one of the best things to know if you really want to be able to defend yourself versus a bully, attacker, or someone putting unwanted hands on you. Nothing will deter those bad people quicker than a swift kick to the head.
Of course we are not advocating violence in any way, but sometimes when life calls for it, when that bully wants your lunch money, when that guy in the alley wants your wallet, or when that drunk guy at the bar won’t stop putting hands on you, knowing how to defend yourself with your own 2 hands and feet is the best way to stay safe and keep your possessions where they belong, in your own pockets.
Benefit #2: It Is A Social Activity
One of the best parts about kickboxing is that it is a social activity that lets you meet new people and be a part of a group. Contrary to what that guy that sits in his mom’s basement and plays video games from dawn till dusk would have you believe, spending time with people is a very important part of life.
People are there to talk to when times are tough, they are there for you to confide in when you need an ear to hear you out, and they are there to make boring nights a little less lonely. The point of this is that being alone is not fun and spending all day by yourself is kind of depressing, to say the least.
Joining a kickboxing class is not only a great way to stay in shape and learn how to defend yourself, but it is a great way to meet people and make new friends. Not everyone in the class may be in the same age group as you, but it is pretty certain that you will meet at least one person which you will be able to relate to.
This is especially important when it comes to your children because there is no better time to make friends than when they are young. Moreover, having friends can be pretty important in life in terms of building a social network. Most jobs and positions that will be available to you in life will be available because of a friend who puts in a good word for you.
Benefit #3: Building Stronger Muscles – A Full Body Workout
Perhaps one of our favorite parts about participating in some regular kickboxing classes is that it will help you become very strong very quickly. All of that striking that you do with your feet and your hands definitely uses your muscles, and not just a little bit either. Punching and kicking will no doubt make your muscles very big and strong, but that still is not everything.
There is a lot more than just striking when you engage in martial arts like kickboxing. Training for this fantastic martial art means doing sit ups, pushups, planks, running, jumping rope, and so much more. There are a whole lot of resistance exercises, weight training exercises, and isometric exercises that you need to do in kickboxing in order to really train the way that professionals train.
All of these things will go a very long way in giving you those muscles that you have always wanted. Kickboxing is great because the sport itself plus all of the training that you do for it will strengthen, tone, and enlarge literally every single muscle in your body.
Kickboxing is especially beneficial for your arms, legs, and core, but it is also great for all of your other muscles too. Not only will your muscles be stronger, but they will also be more toned as well, giving you that muscle man look that we all dream of when we look into a full-length mirror.
Benefit #4: Relieving Stress & Rage
The next thing that we really like about kickboxing is that it is a fantastic way to relieve pent-up rage and stress. Don’t go to a therapist or an anger management class when you could spend your time and anger kicking and punching a 300-pound bag. There is really no better way to relieve all of your anger than by getting a little violent and crazy.
Of course, once again, we are not advocating that you go beating on people like bullies in school, but striking a bag or training dummy, or even competing sanctioned kickboxing competitions with real people, is definitely a legitimate and legal way to get rid of your weekly anger.
Moreover, not only is kickboxing a good way to relieve anger, but also to relieve stress. Life can be pretty stressful, not to mention that daily events can cause a whole lot of anxiety and depression, but not to worry because those are all things that kickboxing can take care of with ease. This is in fact not thanks to being able to hit stuff really hard, but because of the nature of exercise in general.
You see, depression can be caused by chemical imbalances in your brain, or by a lack of some important neurochemicals. Well, exercising is a natural way to induce your brain to create these chemicals. Dopamine, serotonin, and endocannabinoids are all different neurochemicals that your brain produces in excess when you exercise really hard.
These different chemicals, when put together, have the ability to relieve the effects of stress, depression, anxiety, and general melancholy. Feelings of happiness and relaxation are a big part of exercising on a regular basis and it’s something that you may know as the runner’s high.
Benefit #5: Increasing Your Flexibility & Balance
Another really great thing that kickboxing can do for you is to help increase your flexibility. No, the act of kickboxing itself will not really make you more flexible, but that is not true for the things you do before and after a kickboxing class. What we are talking about is stretching, and stretching is great for you. Not only does stretching make you more limber for your next big kickboxing class, but it also helps keep you flexible in general.
Of course, warming up your muscles before you engage in any physical activity is important to avoid injuries such as a pulled muscle, but that is not really what we are getting at here. Building flexibility over time is great because it helps you avoid injuries in your everyday life.
Slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk can definitely be painful, but if you are inflexible it can be a whole lot worse because your body is automatically going to move to catch yourself when you fall, but if you aren’t flexible enough you could a pull a muscle when you do that.
Of course being more flexible is good for other things too, such as being a better fighter in kickboxing or even for being a better lover in bed too. There is also the fact that being more flexible also leads to having better balance.
When you are more flexible you automatically have a wider range of motion, something that is important for countering shifts in weight. When you are flexible you can more easily move your body to counter positional shifts and keep yourself from falling down. All of these things can be achieved through some simple yet fun kickboxing classes. There is also the fact that kickboxing involves a lot of standing on one leg to execute a kick, therefore you are forced to balance on one leg.
Of course, just like with anything else, the more you train yourself to balance the better you will get at it. To be exact, this has to do with the proprioceptors in your muscles, which are the things which send signals to your brain to make your balance. Every time your body shifts, your proprioceptors register that, send a signal to your brain, and your brain then sends a signal back to your muscles, thus forcing them to shift position in order to keep your butt from falling to the ground.
Benefit #6: Kickboxing Is A Great Cardiovascular Exercise – Aerobic & Anaerobic
Yet another fantastic benefit that comes along with practicing kickboxing is that it is a great form of aerobic and anaerobic training, or in other words, it helps to make your heart and your lungs stronger. This benefit is true both for the act of kickboxing itself, such as when you punch a weighted bag, when you fight those wooden dummies, when you spar with a partner, and when you engage in a real kickboxing competition.
All of those things will definitely get your lungs heaving and your heart pumping like nothing else. This is also true for all of the training that comes along with kickboxing. Things such as jumping rope, doing circuit training, jogging, and sprinting all come along with kickboxing and they all serve to improve your cardiovascular health. Having a strong heart is indeed very important for many different reasons.
On a side note, both your heart and your lungs can be strengthened just like other muscles in your body, or in other words, the more you work them the stronger and more efficient they become. First of all, a strong heart is necessary to avoid things like high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, heart and arterial disease, high cholesterol, and it can help lower your resting heart rate too.
All of these things mean that your heart is stronger, plus it does not have to work as hard to do its job, thus keeping your heart healthier well into your old age. There is also the fact that a strong heart means that more blood gets pumped to your muscles, thus supplying them with more oxygen and nutrients in order to kickbox your heart out.
Moreover, strong lungs are also very beneficial for you. First off, when you train your lungs through cardiovascular exercise, they gain an increased ability to absorb oxygen, process it, put it in your blood stream and send it to your muscle. More oxygen being delivered to your muscles, as we mentioned before, means that they will be able to work harder for longer, thus increasing your physical performance. Also, having stronger lungs means that you won’t get winded every time you walk up a couple flights of stairs, yet another bonus that comes with kickboxing.
Benefit #7: It’s A Good Form Of Cross Training
Something else that you should be able to appreciate about kickboxing is that makes for some good cross training. If you are getting bored of your usual weight training routine or your cardiovascular routine, kickboxing definitely makes for a good break. Cross training is great because it gives you some variety and lets you become much more rounded in terms of your fitness.
Put it this way, people who only do weight training probably don’t have the best cardio or endurance and people who only do cardio probably aren’t the strongest people around. Kickboxing is a great thing because it incorporates aspects of both cardio and weight training, thus making you a fitter and healthier person in every single way.
Benefit #8: Learning Respect
Yet another thing that you and your children can benefit from when they engage in something like kickboxing is that it helps teach respect. When you take a kickboxing class you have to answer to a black belt, or in other words, the master of the class.
Martial arts tend to be very strict in general and kickboxing is no exception. The master of the class calls the shots, he or she gives you instruction, and if you don’t follow the rules you will kindly but firmly be asked to leave.
There is no better way for both you and especially your children to learn respect than by attending a class that demands it. Not to worry though, because if you give your teacher respect, they will show that same respect to you as well. On that same note, this is a great way to learn to follow orders and be a team player, both things which are very important for long-term success in life.
Benefit #9: Increasing Focus & Concentration
The next thing that kickboxing can help you with is to improve both your focus and concentration. This is because kickboxing is of course a martial art, which is something that requires a whole lot of dedication and concentration to master. All of those different kicks, punches, and fighting moves take a lot of time to master, and without the proper amount of dedication, there is no chance of ever getting better at it, let alone become a master kickboxer.
Going back night after night to train your kickboxing technique will definitely teach you the focus, concentration, and dedication that you need to get through life. All of those qualities are very important for your everyday life. Have you ever tried keeping a job when you haven’t been able to concentrate on the task at hand? Yeah, we didn’t think so.
Benefit #10: Increasing Endurance & Physical Output
Another great benefit that you get from doing kickboxing is that it can help increase your stamina, endurance, and your overall ability to perform physical activities.
First off, all of the strength training and muscle toning that kickboxing involves will increase your ability to lift heavy things. Everything from hitting the ball in baseball and kicking a soccer ball to walking up stairs, carrying groceries, and yes, fighting in a kickboxing match too can be made easier with those big biceps of yours.
Like we mentioned before, kickboxing is a great form of cardiovascular training, and that is something which serves to increase the amount of blood circulation in your body.
More blood circulating to your muscles means that they also get more oxygen, nutrients, and protein, all things which they need to keep functioning. The more of these things your muscles get, the longer and harder they can function for, and that is what we call stamina and endurance.
Benefit #11: Losing Weight
Another big benefit that you can get from kickboxing is that it will help you burn calories and lose weight. Now, we don’t have an exact calorie count for how many you will burn during a class, but you can be sure that you’ll burn away more calories than if you sit on your couch watching TV.
Between sparring, fighting, punching the weight bag, doing weight training, and various cardiovascular exercises you can be sure that kickboxing will let you achieve and maintain a decent weight and body shape.
Of course, if your body does not have enough calories in it to turn into energy, or in other words, if you haven’t eaten that much, your body will use your excess fat stores for energy. Either way, kickboxing can definitely help you lose weight, plus it helps to rev up your metabolism too, so even when you aren’t in the middle of kickboxing your body will continue to burn calories once you are done working out.
Benefit #12: Gain Confidence
The final benefit we want to talk about that you can get from kickboxing is that it will help increase your confidence and it will do so in a number of ways. First of all, being able to defend yourself should definitely make you feel good and will make you feel at least just a little bit safer when you’re walking through a dark alleyway.
Moreover, since kickboxing tones your muscles and makes you look like a buff muscle man, you will become more confident every single time you look in the mirror. There is also the fact that so much cardiovascular training will enable you to run a whole mile with ease, yet another thing that will make you feel great about yourself.
Conclusion
There are so many different benefits of kickboxing that you can reap that you should definitely give it a try, at least just once. Kickboxing is a fantastic martial art and a great form of exercise in general, one that teaches you self-defense and confidence, not to mention that it makes you stronger, it makes you look better, and it works wonders for your cardiovascular health, plus a whole lot more too. We recommend that you or your children try kickboxing at least once because once you do you will never quit it!
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about kickboxing, feel free to leave us a comment and we will address it as soon as we get the chance!