Martial arts is more than just fighting and knowing how to defend one’s self and when to attack. The various sports, which originated mainly in Japan, Korea and China, when practised, also have major health benefits.

Sifu Matthew Auld, head instructor at Iron Lotus Academy of Martial Arts which is located at the Chinese Benevolent Association on Old Hope Road in Kingston, told the Jamaica Observer that the practice of martial arts demands that people focus and as such, causes people to unplug from their environment.

“When you engage in a martial arts practice, you have to be fully present, so what it helps you to do is actually learn how to unplug from your phone, technologies, work, all the different things that are happening outside,” Sifu Matthew said in a recent interview.

Once one thinks fitness, almost automatically, joining a gym comes to mind. But for those looking for something different, maybe learning a form a martial arts is just what you need.

“The thing about martial arts is that you are actively engaging all the elements – your mind, your body and your spirit. To participate in martial arts practice, you have to be fully aware and conscious of what you’re doing,” Sifu Matthew explained. “When you go to the gym, you may be able to put on a song or run on the treadmill and think about something else. So you are engaging in an activity at the gym, but (you’re) not actually at the gym because you are somewhere else in your mind.

“This is something that shows that people can’t actually turn off and that actually increases the level of stress,” he continued.

Martial arts, according to Sifu Matthew, speaks to the art of strategy – strategy for life and for everyday activities. There are several different styles which have originated in different countries, because every civilisation, at some point, had a system of defence, a system of practising and training to protect themselves. He explained that over time, martial arts fused with popular culture and became a spiritual practice and not just a fighting art.

“Martial arts, in general, from a physical standpoint, will help you to develop flexibility, strength, agility, speed, timing, all the physical attributes of an athlete based on their style or their system,” the head instructor shared. “But on another level, you will develop mentally because you are engaging in a combative sport. Now, what this does is teach you strategy, aspects of it will help you learn how to think on your feet, how to move, how to defend yourself most importantly, and how to handle various situations – whether it is time to defend yourself and get into a physical confrontation or be able to observe a situation, notice what’s happening, and be able to move away from it as quickly as possible without subjecting yourself to the risk of injury.”

When the Sunday Observer visited the martial arts academy, members of the institution demonstrated kick-boxing, tiger swallow which is form of traditional Chinese kong fu, self-defence, Yang style t’ai chi, traditional weaponry, and ju-jitsu, all of which, if practised, can boost fitness and health levels.

T’ai chi

T’ai chi is one of the best ways to deal with stress, according to Sifu Matthew.

“It is more of an internal style and it deals with breathing and relaxation and moving at a very relaxed pace which helps to alleviate stress,” he insisted. “They have done many studies on t’ai chi and the benefits of t’ai chi for the heart, from surgery, hypertension, all the different diseases that affect people and that are stress-related.”

“They have shown the health benefits greatly, just from regular practice,” Sifu Matthew continued.

Kick-boxing

“Kick-boxing is the more physical sport. You are going to get a good cardiovascular workout, a lot of strength training is involved in that,” Sifu Matthew told the Sunday Observer. “But you’re also learning techniques that you can use to defend yourself, kicks, punches, movement.

“So, it is very good for overall defence, physical movement, strength, weight loss, stress management also, because it has been proven that high intense exercise does help to alleviate the effects of stress on your system,” Sifu Matthew continued. “Get fit, get healthy and do something different, kick-boxing is the way to go because it is very exciting, it helps with balance, it helps with agility, movement, timing.”

Weaponry

Members of the Iron Lotus Martial Arts Academy also demonstrated the use of the rat tail staff, one of the weapons used in the traditional system.

“The weaponry from the traditional system helps you to learn hand/eye coordination. Some of the weapons are weighted so that adds the element of weight training to your practice,” Sifu Matthew insisted. “You are learning to use a weapon and they are all fighting techniques, it’s not just for show. So with that you will be able to take up anything after you have done serious training, after a certain amount of time, and use it as a weapon.

“You could take a stick, a knife, a fork, anything, household utensil, and use it in a way to defend yourself,” he declared.

The head instructor insisted that the important thing about weapon training is not just the physical aspect of getting fit, but being able to use the tools around you to your benefit.

Self-defence

Self-defence is a very direct art, Sifu Matthew said.

“What they have done is taken the most practical applications out of the fighting systems and put them in a very easy and understandable way for people to learn it,” he shared. “So, I could take anybody and teach them a couple techniques and within a few hours they would have a better understanding of how to defend themselves.

So if you do not have the time to engage in a full-on martial arts system, which requires going through the belts and ranking systems, but want to learn to defend yourself, after a few sef-defence classes you’ll be able to better handle yourself.

“You can take it from any approach, whether you want to develop yourself – mind, body and spirit level – or you just want to learn a few moves to help yourself, or you just want to get fit,” Sifu Matthew stressed. “There are so many different avenues that you can go.”

Ju-jitsu

“It is mixed martial arts (form)… it is not as popular in Jamaica on a sporting scene…” Sifu Matthew explained to the Sunday Observer. “It’s very good because it is a high intense sport, because you have to learn so many different disciplines and the physical conditioning is very high.

“So the demands on the body and the mental conditioning is very strenuous,” he said. “It’s good for people who want to get stronger, to get faster, to get fitter, they don’t necessarily have to fight, but if you are somebody that wants to challenge yourself, that would definitely be the avenue to go.”

Sifu Matthew told the Sunday Observer that continuous practice and dedication will enable individuals to become great at any form of martial arts.

“If you are somebody that wants to improve yourself overall, physically, mentally, you should engage in martial arts, and it will (also) help to develop discipline,” he noted.

Martial arts is combative though, so what are the risks involved?

“The risks may vary depending on the intensity that you train and the style. T’ai chi is very low impact. Kong fu, medium to light impact while kick-boxing, I would say medium to high intensity; if you are doing the art to learn how to fight and compete, then the risks go up because you have to engage in sparring, which you know is direct contact,” Sifu Matthew said.

To those who may want to take up martial arts mainly for fitness, Sifu Matthew said the risks are minimal.

“It all depends on the intensity of the class and the intensity of your training and we offer a wide variety of classes, from very low impact to very high intensity; so, whatever you want to do, you will be able to engage in one of these classes,” he said.

Sifu Matthew also pointed out that control is another element of martial arts.

“It helps you to deal with emotions, negative feelings and anger, aggression; it helps you to learn how to control them, especially when you are in a combat situation.”

So whether you are genuinely interested in learning the different elements involved in martial arts or you are in it to become faster, stronger and fitter, you will definitely get something out of the experience at the end of the day. With rates starting at 6,500 per month with classes five days per week and 5,500 per month for children, there might just be something for you. So, why not mix it up in 2015 by learning martial arts?