KICK the Winter Blues with Martial Arts

How Martial Arts Can Help to KICK the Winter Blues

Written by: Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts Academy

Winter can be a very depressing time of year. It's cold, the daylight hours are short and lately, the snow accumulation has made record highs. It can be very easy to lose motivation and find yourself stuck in a rut where you do nothing except go to school or work and come home again. It doesn't have to be like that! Martial arts can help put some purpose and fun back into your life. Although a record number of people are beginning martial art classes every year, a lot of new faces vanish before their first hundred days is up. Don't be that person. Be the one that goes the distance and develops a lifelong passion for martial arts! So how can you make sure that you become the student who stays the course?

Understanding how motivation works.
There are two kinds of motivation. Intrinsic, and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is when an outside force motivates you to do something. For example, when it comes to homework time, many children require extrinsic motivation from their parents to stay on task. The other kind is intrinsic motivation. This is when the motivating force is internal. When you really love something and have a strong desire to do it, that is intrinsic motivation.

So, how do we apply this to martial arts?
Everybody knows that there are huge positive benefits to be gained from studying martial arts. So why do so many people fail to last more than one hundred days as a student? Many students are afraid of failure. Some, perhaps, are just lazy. Some have too many other commitments in their lives already. For others, maybe martial arts is just not for them.

In martial arts, it is important to achieve a healthy balance of extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors. If you are only attending class because you are being forced to, or, because you are trying to impress somebody, then you will never last. Likewise, if you enjoy the classes massively, but never see any payoff from them outside of class, then you will likely begin to wonder whether martial arts is really right for you. So it is important to decide from the outset what you want to gain from your martial arts program and then find the course that is best suited to that goal.

One way to keep interested is by setting a goal. When setting goals, you should adhere to the SMART goal model. Smart is an acronym that stands for

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-specific

So a goal along the lines of "I want to be pretty good at kicking", while admirable, is not a SMART goal. It is not specific, it is hard to measure and it lacks a time period. Also, it uses "I want to", which is weak language. A better goal would be something like "I will become proficient at five new kicks by next month". That's a winners goal!
Find a martial arts center that you enjoy!
People are very emotional creatures. If you don't like the center, the teachers, or the other students, then you won't want to keep coming back day after day. You'll start to make excuses not to continue and you might not even realize that you are doing it. Enjoyment and the right atmosphere will keep you motivated for years and years.

Inspiring Martial Art Lessons at Bruce McCorrys Academy
Bruce McCorrys Academy (Peabody, MA) has been conducting inspiring professional martial art lessons for kids and adults for the past four decades. If you want to get the benefits of martial arts in a fun manner from qualified instructors, then Bruce McCorrys is for you. Enroll at Bruce McCorrys, and you won't ever think of quitting again and you'll be sure to beat the winter blues.

Martial Arts for Fitness

Martial Arts for Fitness: The Perfect Solution

Written by: Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts

Countless individuals have been trying to keep their bodies fit and lean for a good part of their lives without any success. Most of these people genuinely want to keep fit but their goals seem evasive. But, why do most people who try to gain a lean and fit body fail? One of the main reasons is that they often choose a fitness regime that's designed to fail from the onset.

 

 Where these fitness regimes fail

Dieting is often seen as an easy way of losing extra body fat and keeping lean. A good diet plan can aid in healthy weight loss through the exclusion of extra calories in food and emphasis on eating healthy. Dieting however won't give you the lean body you want. In addition, most diets available today aren't well researched meaning they don't provide much value as far as weight loss is concerned. Another popular weight loss method that's quite popular is the use of supplements. These pose many health risks including messing with the body's hormonal balance.

The perfect fitness solution in martial arts

Working out, coupled with the proper nutrition has been and will always be the best way of keeping fit and shedding unwanted fat. The problem is that many people don't find working out that exciting. That's the reason why many will not achieve their fitness goals. If traditional gym working out doesn't sound good for you, martial arts is an equally, if not better method to keep a lean and fit body.Some of the reasons why martial arts makes the perfect answer to your fitness problems include the following.

- The challenging nature of martial arts allows the body to burn fat and calories fast and easily.

- The different martial art moves allow the body to burn more calories faster than regular gym workouts.

- Compared to traditional exercising, martial arts demands less physical effort on your part but are more effective in creating a lean body.

- Martial arts are an all rounded fitness method in that they not only help you get a body that looks toned but, also helps the body develop in terms of health and strength.

- Anyone can practice and perfect martial arts regardless of age, gender or physical ability.

- There is the fun but challenging factor in martial arts. You'll always look forward to the next martial arts class unlike most gym memberships who often dread their next visit to the gym.

Simply put, martial arts go a step further compared to hitting a gym facility. Besides allowing you to get a lean and fit body, martial arts enables you to build body strength, boost self confidence and, promote health. Martial arts are also great for self defense.

Get fit through martial arts at Bruce McCorrys Academy

If you are looking for a place to learn martial arts to keep your body lean and fit, ready for this spring and summer season that's creeping up on us, Bruce McCorrys Martial Arts Academy is the perfect choice. At Bruce McCorrys Martial Arts Center, you get to choose among ten different martial arts which are taught under the guidance of qualified instructors. Each martial art can act as a gym workout alternative as it helps the body burn tons of calories and body fat. Anyone above the age of three years is welcome to participate. If fitness is one of your 2015 goals, join Bruce McCorrys Academy and achieve it!