by Jack Roberts
After watching the movie “The Karate Kid,” I learnt an important lesson. One of the characters said “Ambition without the knowledge is like a boat on dry land.” Pondering on this further, we can’t help but dig deeply into its teaching.
In the movie, the lead character thought of going to the gym and learning karate. But when he found out that the gym is dominated by the same people who want to hurt him, his heart sank. He thought that he would forever learn karate from a book. As he was about to give up, an old man decided to give him some karate lessons. Never did he realize that having these lessons is also the beginning of a lasting friendship.
There are several lessons we can learn from this movie about staying fit on a budget and learning new skills.
Anyone can do martial arts and be fit
The movie teaches us that anyone can actually do martial arts. Anyone can have the chance to win in a martial arts competition. Most importantly, it teaches us to leave our comfort zones and explore beyond what our eyes can see.
This is the underlying fact why people have been inspired to learn martial arts. Not only are they touched by the movie’s depiction of the benefits of martial arts, but they are also excited by the fact that they can have the chance to explore their world.
Age does not matter
Nowadays, people are getting more and more conscious of their health. They find several ways to keep themselves fit. We can’t help but notice the growing popularity of martial arts.
This is one type of fitness program that can be done by people from any age group. That means that even young children can learn martial arts without their parents worrying as they don’t have to lift weights.
Martial arts is a great alternative to gym membership
We all know that any kind of physical activity keeps our body healthy. When we go to the gym, we are ready to do some physical activities. The word “gym” somehow becomes synonymous with the word “health.”
There are various reasons why some people would like to learn martial arts. Aside from admiring the character of a martial artist as being indefatigable, disciplined, and ambitious, they also like the fact that they can learn it anywhere they want. They don’t have to sign a membership in the gym to have some lesson. They can have the lessons right in the comfort of their homes.
Although martial arts do involve some expense (as do most things!) the bonus is you don’t waste money on subscriptions. If you’re having a month where you cannot afford to take your classes, you don’t have to.
Much membership time at the gym can be wasted simply waiting to do the workouts you wish to do, whereas martial arts, even in group dojo training sessions, are done simultaneously by an entire class. It’s almost comparable to a dance routine, and involves no waiting around for others and queuing to exercise.
No need for expensive equipment
You can practice martial arts on your own with no equipment if need be. You can keep learning and perfecting your techniques between classes, whereas if you missed a week or two at the gym it would be harder to substitute many of the exercise machine workouts for cheaper, home alternatives.
So you save money because you do not have to invest in expensive equipment.
Helps your motivation
Motivation is also another great aspect of martial arts. Martial art is a hobby as much as it is an exercise and works for the spirit as well as the body. A gym membership is started as a get fit campaign for many, but for that purpose only rather than enjoyment. After a few weeks the cycle gets broken, much like a new year’s resolution.
Martial art isn’t about constantly pushing your muscles the physical endurance to the limit or how many reps you can do, and it’s not just for the sake of keeping in shape. Chances are you’ll leave a martial arts session feeling less broken than a gym whilst learning something more than how much pain your body can endure! You’re a lot less likely to get fed up with martial arts for this reason and give up than you would with the gym.
A gym survives on membership. The more members it has, the bigger is its chance to survive. Martial art survives by itself. Since it’s also a way of life, then how can it end? As long as there are people on earth who want to live their lives with a different meaning and wisdom, then martial arts are here to stay, and they are available to help anyone.
(Jack Roberts works for Black Eagle and has been practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for several years. One dojo session with two evenings of home training a week is all he needs to stay in great shape.)
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