Martial arts training at peak performance levels is
the best way to prevent disease, as well as to stimulate positive
changes in the body's natural healing systems.
Our current lifestyle of Lazy-boy chairs, remote controls and
S.U.V.s does not challenge us to move, yet our biological need for
physical movement is still the same as when time began. Martial arts
training can strongly influence the function of most of the human
organ systems and much of the chemistry of our brains and bodies.
The changes brought about by martial arts training are dose
responsive, but maybe not in the way you believe. In fact, twice as
much is twice as good only up to optimal levels. Beyond that
actually tempts an over training response in the body and a decline
in physical and mental health. Martial arts training, as well as
other exercise forms, dosage combines distance (or time), intensity
and frequency -- how far, how fast, how often. An additional factor
may be technique, which determines the muscle groups and total
muscle mass used in the exercise. For example, kicks work your leg
muscles but also increase aerobic capacity. Taking into
consideration the type and dosage of martial arts training, it
affects the body and its systems in numerous positive ways.
Typical types of martial arts training
Martial arts training movements are generally
classified as aerobic (kicking or forms training) like in Taekwondo,
strength or stretching as done in Yudo. Two more categories can also
be added: Martial art exercises of skill and exercises for fun. Some
martial arts exercises/sports are, of course, multidimensional. Of
the five categories, only the martial arts cardiovascular or aerobic
group changes metabolism and chemistry in enough ways to bring about
a wide range of health gains in the martial arts practitioner.
The definition of aerobic exercise is straightforward: sustained,
rhythmic use of large muscle groups in a weight-bearing manner at
sufficient frequency, distance and intensity. Other than martial
arts, the qualifiers include running, cross country skiing, snow
shoeing, skating, aerobic walking and a few others. Frequency is
three to four times a week. Distance, most easily measured in time,
is 40 to 50 minutes. As to intensity, the workout must feel like a
workout -- 13 to 14 on the Borg scale of perceived exertion. If you
are just starting a training program, begin with a shorter time and
lower intensity, gradually working up to target levels. The long-term benefits of such training can be seen in such notable martial
artists as Taekwondo icon Jhoon Rhee, creator of martial ballet and
Korean Ki Master Seok Kyu Lee, founder of ShimKiDo. These
individuals have physiques comparable to men 30 to 40 years their
junior because of a lifetime devotion to proper martial arts
training.
Positive body changes
After about three weeks of true martial arts
training, a wide range of physiological changes take place.
Practitioners will exhibit improvements in blood sugar, blood
pressures, blood lipids, brain neurotransmitter balance, blood
supply to muscles, and capacity of somatic muscles and the liver to
store carbohydrate in the form of glycogen, calcium metabolism and
other basic parameters. The changes are not mutually exclusive;
interactions among systems and their functions are the rule.
These changes translate into better functioning of the body and
brain, and overall risk reduction for such diseases as hypertension,
type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, chronic respiratory
disease, osteoporosis, obesity, anxiety states, mild to moderate
mental depression, chronic fatigue, and breast and colon cancers. An
increase in breathing exercises and forms training helped me recover
from type 2 diabetes and I am no longer insulin dependent because of
it.
The brain and nervous system.
Martial arts training brings about
remarkable changes in brain chemistry. The concentrations of various
neurotransmitters that are responsible for facilitation or
inhibition of nerve impulse transmission in the central nervous
system -- acetylcholine, norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, gamma
amino butyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid, endorphins and others --
are changed so that a new balance is attained. The clinical signs
and symptoms that ensue are easier to record than the actual
neurotransmitter levels, and many studies are in agreement on the
emotional, behavioral and physiological changes that accompany
martial arts training. A few recent investigations, however, have
pinned down the neurochemical changes, as well. Eighty-nine year old
Grand Master Yong Woo Lee, founder of JungDoKwan Taekwondo credits
his years of martial arts training for his good health and mental
sharpness at his age.
Among the early changes seen when individuals engage in a martial
arts training program are mood elevation, heightened energy levels,
enhanced self-confidence and self-esteem, lower anxiety levels,
resistance to depression and improved coping ability. Changes in
blood pressure and heart rate, which are, to a large extent,
mediated by the central nervous system, occur soon afterward. Heart
rate is slowed, and hypertensive blood pressure (systolic and
diastolic) is reduced toward normal. Hapkido Grand Master Gary
Pointer says: "Martial arts training keeps me going strong with a
smile on my face! It is the ultimate mental and physical health
program."
These physiological changes are a function of the rebalancing of the
sympathetic (fight and flight) and parasympathetic (rest and repair)
halves of the autonomic nervous system. Studies by the Inchon Sports
College of Korea have found increased parasympathetic tone in
martial arts trained subjects, and ascribe the slowing of heart rate
and reduction in blood pressure to this increased tone. Others have
recorded lower plasma catecholamine levels associated with lower
blood pressure following martial arts training. Resting heart rate
is largely controlled by the parasympathetic fibers of the tenth
cranial nerve (vagus) to the heart's pacemaker (SA node). But blood
pressure is much more complex, and more body chemistry, especially
hormonal chemistry, is involved. The bottom line is that martial
arts training reduces hypertensive blood pressure, and that the
response is distance/intensity-graded.
Returning to the neurotransmitter connections with training, higher
levels of serotonin and dopamine have been recorded following
intense martial arts training. These would account for the mood
elevation and antidepressant effects equal to those of regular
aerobic exercise. Keep in mind that changes in GABA, endorphins and
other neurotransmitters may well contribute to these psychological
effects. There have been improvements in the physical capabilities
of Parkinson's disease patients following six to eight weeks of
martial arts training. (Dopamine levels are commonly low in people
with Parkinson's disease.) In one patient, a 69-year-old Korean
female, Soo Yong Kim of Shi-Hung City, anti-Parkinson medication was
discontinued after martial arts training greatly improved her
aerobic capacity while training at the JaeIl JaeYook Kwan school
owned by ChungDoKwan Grand Master Jong Song Kim.
Also related to dopamine changes, some cigarette smokers can quit
with few, if any, signs and symptoms of withdrawal. Ordinarily,
nicotine addiction is difficult to break because high dopamine
levels drop precipitously upon smoking cessation. Rigorous martial
arts training can greatly elevate dopamine levels, and cases of
smokers who quit easily may be taken as initial evidence that
optimal levels of martial arts training can prevent a drop in
dopamine with smoking cessation.
Continuing in the realm of psychological effects, a number of
cognitive improvements have been documented in older adults who
train rigorously. These include quicker mental reaction time and
improved fluid intelligence quotients. Incredibly, Jae Son Myung
(101 years old) of Inchon, Korea credits his sharp mental focus and
quick reaction ability to his 90 years of classical Yudo training.
It has been proposed that such changes may be the result of improved
acetylcholine levels. Acetylcholine is a universal nerve
transmission chemical in both the brain and somatic nerves. If
acetylcholine is responsible, martial arts exercise should also
benefit Alzheimer's disease, which exhibits chronic acetylcholine
depletion.
At the base of the brain is the small pineal gland, which releases
melatonin, a hormone that influences such widely diverse functions
as sleep/wake cycles and immune system integrity. The production of
melatonin, related chemically to serotonin, is upset when people
travel across several time zones. A marked reduction in jet lag can
be achieved when a martial artist's training schedule is optimal for
frequency, distance and intensity.
Thyroid and parathyroid glands.
The next stop in the body is the
neck, where the thyroid and parathyroid glands are located. The
thyroid controls metabolic rate, and the parathyroid are involved in
calcium metabolism. Metabolic rate is influenced by any exercise
form with an aerobic component such as Taekwondo foot-work drills,
and calcium metabolism by both cardiovascular and strength training
exercises.
Lungs. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) results from
years of exposure to particulate and chemical pollutants in the air.
The result is breathlessness (dyspnea) with mild to moderate
physical exertion, and reduced functional respiratory volume. There
is less elasticity of the air sacs and of the entire chest wall.
Rigorous martial arts training such as Hapkido falling and tumbling
drills results in less dyspnea and increased respiratory capacity.
Another chronic respiratory disease is asthma, but asthma, with its
three components of allergy, inflammation and anxiety, is more
complex. Asthma is characterized by constriction of the bronchioles,
the smallest tubular passages before the air sacs, and expiratory
wheezing. Asthmatic distress has been widely noted in exercises of
shorter duration and higher intensity. Former asthma sufferer Master
Mi Yi says that her poor health and breathing problems as a child is
what convinced her parents to let her attend martial arts classes.
"They didn't think it was lady-like" says Master Yi. "But I told
them that being sick all the time wasn't lady-like either, so they
allowed me to go to Taekwondo and Kumdo classes with my brother."
Occasional asthmatic individuals on medication have participated in
TaeGukKwan forms and Ki-Kong training programs I have instructed. I
have observed the medical progress of eight such individuals as they
reached and maintained improved cardiovascular levels of exercise.
Without exception, they reported reduced incidence and severity of
symptoms, and less need for bronchodilator medication.
Heart and blood vessels. The working muscle of the heart, the
myocardium, is structurally and functionally different than the
voluntary muscles used for movement. Heart muscle looks different
under a microscope, uses a different mix of biochemical energy
cycles and responds to exercise differently. One thing that the
myocardial and somatic muscles have in common in response to Kardio
Kickbox exercise is an increased blood supply. Even in coronary
heart disease, where one (or more) of the coronary arteries is
partly blocked by lipid deposits, Kardio Kickbox class, in
combination with a low-fat diet, results in increased opening of the
blocked vessel(s).
Without going into what is known about the complex biological
mechanisms involved, here are some heart benefits of optimal levels
of martial arts training: regularity of heart beat at a slower rate;
improvement of blood lipid factors (decreased total cholesterol,
low-density lipoproteins and triglycerides, and increased
high-density lipoproteins); diminished atherosclerosis of coronary
and carotid arteries; increased stroke volume; greater total blood
volume with decreased viscosity; decreased platelet aggregability;
and increased blood flow to cardiac and somatic musculature on
physical effort.
Gastrointestinal tract. For the gastrointestinal tract, exercise
shortens transit time for food as it enters the stomach and then
passes through the colon and rectum. The reduced incidence of colon
cancer is doubtless a consequence of decreased transit time,
combined with increased immune system competence.
Liver. The liver, in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, serves
several functions, including participation in the regulation of
carbohydrate metabolism. Foods digested in the small intestine --
carbohydrates, fats and proteins -- are absorbed by a network of
veins and carried to the liver. When the liver receives a fresh
supply of carbohydrates in the form of simple sugars, it has a few
choices. It can (and generally does) release some glucose into
circulation, it can store some as glycogen and/or it can convert a
generous amount to fat for storage. The capacity for the storage of
liver glycogen is greatly increased in martial arts practitioners.
Pancreas. Just across from the liver is the pancreas, which
functions as a digestive organ supplying enzymes to the small
intestine, and as an endocrine organ with its specialized islet
cells, which produce the hormones insulin and glucagon. Insulin can
activate receptors in all cells of the body to metabolize glucose;
glucagon, conversely, acts to release glucose from glycogen storage.
Martial arts training increases sensitivity in insulin receptors
throughout the body.
Adrenal glands. A little lower in the abdomen are the paired adrenal
glands, one atop each kidney. The adrenals are the source of two
classes of hormones, the gluco- and mineralo-corticoids. The former,
or cortisol group, can be released in response to stress --
physical, chemical, bacterial, viral, radiation and intensive
exercise. Long-term stress may result in chronic, high levels of
cortisol, followed by depletion, resulting in lowered resistance to
infection. Adequate, but not excessive, aerobic exercise training
keeps resistance levels high, and hastens recovery from injury or
illness. The adrenals and the kidneys have a strong hand in blood
pressure regulation, and martial arts exercises, such as the DanJun
HoHup Breathing drills of Hapkido made famous by Grand Master Ji Han
Jae, is known to reduce hypertensive blood pressure.
Mid-body muscles. Conditioning exercises such as Hapkido kicking
drills and weapons drills improve the tone of three muscle groups:
the pelvic-support muscles, the lower-back muscles and the gluteal
muscles that splint the neck of the femur. Three disparate
conditions, incontinence (especially in older women), chronic
low-back pain and the risk of "hip" fracture, are thus improved.
Calcium metabolism. Exercise also improves the body as a whole.
Calcium metabolism, a complex balance of many influences, is
improved by martial arts strength and cardio training. In women
young enough to have adequate estrogen levels, both types of
exercise increase bone mineral density. In post-menopausal women,
such exercise will inhibit the bone density decline that commonly
occurs with passing years.
Connective tissue. Another whole-body effect is on connective
tissue, since martial arts training creates more physiologically
active fibroblasts and a more youthful balance of collagen and
elastin fibers.
Body fat. Still another whole-body influence of rigorous martial
arts exercise such as Taekwondo forms training is the strong effect
on body fat percentage. Optimal levels of Kardio Karate training
have consistently resulted in a lowering of fat-to-lean ratios. The
Kardio Karate Program promoted by NAPMA (National Association of
Professional Martial Artists) and Billy Blanks "TaeBo" have been
instrumental in popularizing this type of training. Many people
think of whether they are too fat in terms of weight, but the effect
of Kardio Karate style exercise is on fat storage, rather than on
weight, per se. Individuals who are relatively lean before starting
an exercise program often report losing inches (thighs, waist, hips,
waist, chest, upper arms) without change in weight.
Kardio Karate exercise does not bring about its fat-loss effect
merely by caloric expenditure. It also involves multiple biochemical
changes, including changes in lipoprotein lipase, brain
cholecystokinin, glucocorticosteroids, leptin, c-reactive protein
and other peptides, as well as an increase in resting metabolic
rate.
Immune system. Another generalized effect of martial arts forms
training such as the maximum physical fitness form of Yudo is on the
immune system. This type of exercise affects both the cellular and
humoral processes of this complex defense system. Different changes
occur during a workout, after a workout and long term, if forms
exercise is practiced on a regular basis. New balances are achieved
among the various immune mechanisms and chemicals.
The immune system reacts differently depending on whether the
exercise is at optimal aerobic levels, exhaustive distance and
intensity, or at over training levels. The overall effect of
exercise on the many components of the immune system can be judged
by the clinical picture. That bottom line is that ideal levels of
aerobic exercise translates into greater resistance to infection
(bacterial and viral) and to lower risk for breast cancer and colon
cancer. An indirect path to these benefits is the increased ability
to tolerate stressors. Over training -- generally acknowledged as
more than 90 minutes at a hard pace for one exercise bout, or 35
miles (or equivalent) per week at workout pace -- can result in an
opposite effect. Over training, like chronic stress, results in a
reduction in immune system competence.
Martial Arts training as medicine
Martial arts training affects the great majority of
the body's tissues, organs and systems to bring about homeostatic
stability and normal function. Training at optimal levels of
frequency, distance (time) and intensity can markedly reduce the
risk of developing many of the chronic diseases commonly seen. As
such, the public health implications of establishing widespread
martial arts programs are important for society as a whole.
About the author: Multi-arts Grand Master Richard Hackworth is the
owner of the American Dragon Martial Arts Academies school in Ocoee,
Florida and Co-author of the "Martial Arts Profits & Success Manual"
and the "Authentic Korean Hapkido Manual". Hackworth is the
International Chapter President of the Korean Martial Arts
Instructors Association. He can be reached at
www.kmaia-usa.org or
drhackworth@earthlink.net.
