Self-defense is an essential skill that everyone should have in their skill set. The world is a dangerous place where crimes can occur anywhere at any time. Learning self-defense allows you to elevate your self-esteem and confidence.
Self-defense classes are primarily popular among women as they are the most targeted victims of assaults. However, men also face several assaults and fall victim to heinous crimes. Hence it is necessary to learn basic self-defense tactics to save yourself and the people around you.
One of the commendable advantages of self-defense classes is they also encourage you to live a healthy lifestyle.
Let’s look at the five best self-defense classes promoting physical fitness.
1. Taekwondo
The word Taekwondo has a broader meaning; if we break the word into three different parts, we can get an idea about what taekwondo means. The word tae translates to foot whereas Kwon is for fist, and lastly Do is for discipline. Taekwondo originated in Korea; it is a systematic martial art.
Taekwondo martial arts highlights the optimal utilization of your legs. It emphasizes foot strikes and kicking techniques. Moreover, Taekwondo also focuses on mobility, flexibility, and agility. Practicing Taekwondo will also help you to achieve improved physical fitness as it involves several physical activities. As Taekwondo uses many breaking wooden board techniques, it enriches your strength and speed.
Pros of Taekwondo
- It increases your strength and stamina due to all the strength training.
- It helps to achieve a toned muscle appearance
- Taekwondo focuses on leg strikes, an advantage to females as they have long legs.
- Improves your flexibility and agility.
Cons of Taekwondo
- Taekwondo does not focus much on hand strikes needed in a dangerous real-life situation.
- Taekwondo may not have all the moves to be fully ready for self-defense during real-life situations.
2. Karate
Karate originates from Japan; it was initially established as a type of self-defense to fight any invaders. Karate focuses on throwing punches, kicking, and striking. Another essential part of karate is blocking the attacks from the attackers.
The main idea of karate is to disable your attacker as soon as possible. As a result, the moves in karate are quick and powerful. Karate helps you to improve your strength and reflexes. Karate is an excellent martial art to learn for self-defense as well as for physical fitness.
Pros of Karate
- Karate is an amazing way to have a full-body workout. It will help you to achieve a healthy body and weight.
- Allows you to improve your reflexes and act quickly as possible when there is a sense of danger or attack.
- Karate also teaches you grappling and ground fighting, which is helpful in self-defense.
Cons of Karate
- Sometimes karate can be exhausting and completely drain you out.
- It requires several hours of practice and very high dedication.
3. Muay Thai
Muay Thai originated from Thailand; it is another form of boxing, but it focuses on using all eight limbs’ hands, elbows, feet, and knees. Muay Thai martial art focuses on a fighting style that promotes fighting upright and from a distance. It teaches you to break free if the attacker is holding you down. It is important to learn as it may often occur in a real-life situation where self-defense is required.
Moreover, Muay Thai self-defense classes can also help you to improve your health and promote better physical fitness. It is known to be the most efficient martial art to burn calories and lose extra fat. Moreover, it enhances your strength and flexibility.
Pros of Muay Thai
- As it focuses on all the limbs, it is known to be the most fast-paced and effective striking martial arts.
- It helps you to burn a lot of calories which makes it perfect for physical fitness at the same time.
- It helps to improve your core strength and reflexes.
Cons of Muay Thai
- The biggest disadvantage of Muay Thai is that it does not focus on grappling and ground fighting, which is essential in self-defense.
4. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is can be considered as best martial arts for self-defense as it greatly focuses on ground fighting. It highlights the importance of taking the dominant position of your attacker. It teaches you how to take your attacker to the ground and optimally use joint locks or chokeholds.
It is a recommended martial art for men and women who have a more petite build and are on the weaker side. Learning this martial art will give them the tactics to successfully defend themselves against a larger opponent. Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other martial arts like karate is advisable.
Pros of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- It teaches you ground fighting, which is essential for real-life situations.
- Highly effective for people who are built smaller in size to defend themselves.
Cons of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- It does not focus on striking fighting strategies, which are also essential in a real-life situation.
5. Judo
Judo is a very well-known combat sport that can be available in self-defense classes. It focuses on how you can lift and throw your opponents. Like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it teaches how to achieve the dominant position over your opponent by using joint locks and chokeholds.
Similar to Karate, Judo also originated in Japan, and samurais and other warriors mainly utilized it.
Pros of Judo
- Full body training which promotes healthy weight loss
- Promotes improved flexibility and mobility
- It also helps you to improve your strength
Cons of Judo
- Sometimes judo can be less effective in self-defense compared to other martial arts
- Judo can cause serious injury if it’s not executed correctly.
Conclusion
Self-defense classes give you better strategies to defend yourself in a dangerous situation. It also helps you to increase your self-confidence and gives you mental satisfaction that you can protect yourself. Most importantly, these martial arts are also beneficial ways to stay healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
You can also read: 5 Gym Equipment Names You Need to Know
