8 Benefits of Taekwondo for Students

Taekwondo is a martial art and combat sport that offers enormous benefits to people of all ages including the old and the young.

It is one activity where you just cannot go wrong.

While it is a martial art style, you must know that the benefits you stand to gain go beyond just self-defense techniques and fighting skills.

Taekwondo offers physical, mental, and even spiritual benefits to its students.

So, if this sounds like something you might be interested in, read on to get the full details of these amazing benefits.

Note however that these are only the major benefits and not all the benefits offered by the art.

Now, here are the benefits of taekwondo for students.

Physical Fitness                              

Without a doubt, Taekwondo is a beneficial form of exercise that can greatly improve your overall physical fitness, just like most fitness classes.

As reported in several studies, regular taekwondo training can effectively enhance physical fitness, such as aerobic capacity and flexibility, and body composition.

Taekwondo training can help you;

• build stronger muscles, bones, and joints
• build speed, strength, stamina, and balance
• develop mobility and flexibility
• improve coordination
• combat obesity
• improve cardiovascular endurance
• increase sharper reflexes

As you learn to kick, punch and block, expect to start noticing your reflexes getting faster, and your muscles getting stronger after just a few weeks, and you will develop balance and gain core strength as you practice more.

Self-defense

Taekwondo is an effective martial art that is a powerful tool for self-defense.

It was in fact originally designed as a self-defense mechanism.

Developed in Korea, Taekwondo is largely considered to be the oldest self-defense martial art in the world.

Interestingly, some students join Taekwondo just for the primary purpose of learning self-defense techniques.

So, if you are one of those students, you shouldn’t have any trouble learning since most taekwondo schools have dedicated self-defense programs.

Increases Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is sometimes an issue not only for kids but also for some adults.

Luckily, Taekwondo proficiency can help to develop self-confidence in participants.

Taekwondo improves the self-esteem and confidence of students using its built-in core values such as courtesy and respect.

Taekwondo impacts not just your skill and fitness levels but your outlook on life.

Confidence is about self-belief and the ability to succeed.

Once you go beyond beginner classes and begin to develop form and take part in sparring, you will be amazed at how taekwondo impacts other aspects of your life.

With taekwondo, you become more confident in yourself and any situation, whether you’re in danger or just doing a task that takes you beyond your comfort zone.

 You’ll discover you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

Improves Self Discipline

Taekwondo is also great for enhancing self-discipline in both adults and kids.

In today’s world, the ability to maintain control over your thoughts, words, and emotions is tremendously valuable both personally and professionally.

The result of Taekwondo’s attention on self-discipline (especially for kids) is that it helps them to build self-confidence, understand the difference between a journey and the destination, and develop the ability to manage their emotions and make good choices.

This great benefit is one of the many reasons why taekwondo is so good for kids.

Aggression Control

Many people fear that taekwondo being a combat sport can be a catalyst for aggressive behavior in students (especially kids).

Ironically, the opposite is the case.

First, taekwondo is founded on some unshaken principles that promote and encourages peaceful, gentle, and respectful behavior among students.

These principles are found in the tenets of taekwondo and the student oath.

These five tenets of taekwondo include;

• Courtesy
• Integrity
• Perseverance
• Self-control
• Indomitable spirit

Following the recitation of the tenets, students are made to recite the student oath, as follows: 

• I shall observe the Tenets of Taekwondo.
• I shall respect instructors and seniors.
• I shall never misuse Taekwondo.
• I will be a champion of freedom and justice.
• I will build a more peaceful world.

And since taekwondo is a practical art, most of these philosophies are religiously recognized, respected, and practiced by students generally.

Students are trained to develop the discipline to follow these rules not during taekwondo classes but in their everyday lives.

This is not all, as several studies have also recognized the role played by taekwondo in the reduction of aggression.

For example, a study has shown that Taekwondo can help children control their behavior and emotions, which is great!

Another study was conducted to examine the effect of taekwondo training on the aggression level of children between the ages of 6 and 11 yr.

Analysis showed a significant indication of an inverse relationship between the children’s taekwondo rank and their aggression.

For more on this, check out my article, Is Taekwondo Aggressive?

Weight Loss

Taekwondo is also good for weight loss as it involves highly intense training workouts which can help anyone burn calories quickly and efficiently.

It is one of the fastest and more interesting ways of burning calories when compared to other weight-loss activities.

You will be amazed at the result that an intense 1 hour of taekwondo training can produce for anyone looking to lose weight.

According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to lose weight, there is a need to reduce the number of calories you consume and also increase your physical activity.

That further means that to lose 1 ½ pounds (0.7 kilograms) weekly, you need to reduce your daily calories by 500 to 750 calories.

So how does taekwondo help with this?

Well, while taekwondo cannot directly influence the number of calories you consume; it sure can increase your physical activity.

It is a highly cardiovascular exercise with all the jumping and drills leading to the active burning of calories.

According to Business Insider, Taekwondo is one of the best ways to burn the most calories – it burns 937 calories per hour in a 200-pound person. That’s a lot!

This conclusion was based on the Mayo Clinic which drew on Research published by the National Institutes of Health.

For more on how taekwondo can help you lose weight, see my article Does Taekwondo Make You Lose Weight?

Increases Flexibility                                

Flexibility is an indispensable training program for taekwondo students.

To be successful in Taekwondo, an athlete must have optimum flexibility to maintain strength and speed, attack and defend, apply high kicking techniques, minimize injury rate, and recover quickly afterward.

This is important because muscle groups that are not sufficiently flexible can negatively affect performance.

So, before and after every Taekwondo class, your instructor will have you go through a series of stretches.

Stretching loosens and limbers your muscles, getting them ready for strenuous activity and greatly reducing the chances of you suffering injuries such as a pulled muscle.

The more you stretch the more limber and flexible your muscles get, thus ultimately increasing the range of motion and also increasing how far you can push your limbs before something goes wrong.

Of course, being flexible is also beneficial because it helps to do things like reduce back pain, reduce the chances of injury, increase your ability to balance, and a whole lot more.

Stress Relief

Taekwondo is a big stress reliever making it perfect for people (especially adults) looking to relax their nerves after long periods of stressful activities at home or work.

This is because Taekwondo training produces serotonin which is known to relieve stress. But it is more than just that.

Taekwondo being a stress reliever can also be attributed to the fact that it is a form of exercise, and as you might already know, regular exercise helps the brain to produce endocannabinoids which produce sensations of relaxation and calmness.

It can also help to reduce the perception of pain.

Conclusion

Like I always say to my potential clients and students, taekwondo is one sport where you can always expect to get the full value for your time and money invested.

So, if you are considering joining a taekwondo class, you should give it a try.

See: 8 Benefits of Taekwondo for Adults