When we talk about the martial arts, our focus is often on the most obvious element of this practice, which is our physical health. While the martial arts can offer a nearly endless list of physical health benefits, there’s a lesser-appreciated advantage to practicing martial arts that’s beginning to get more attention: creativity. The martial arts don’t have “art” in their name for no reason.
If you want a new creative outlet in your life or just feel like you need a boost of creativity, martial arts might be the perfect answer to your artist’s block.
What Makes Martial Arts Creative?
Martial arts are different from running on a treadmill or doing a series of repetitive exercises. Since the martial arts often have their own philosophy behind the style, there’s more at play in a martial arts practice than your regular gym workout.
While beginning students learn specific techniques, those techniques are built on a foundation of principles. Just like any art, whether painting or music, you start by learning the rules and eventually learn when to break the rules to create your own unique approach. The martial arts can seem rigid and rule-based to a beginning, but experience will reveal that martial arts are all about making choices–it’s in those choices that your creativity comes into play.
“Art lives from constraints and dies from freedom.” — Leonardo da Vinci
Stress is the Creativity Killer
Stress is a well-known creativity killer. When we feel overwhelmed and overworked, the last thing we feel is creative. Thinking in original and innovative ways just isn’t as natural when we have 100 worries on our minds and can’t unwind. Martial arts is a powerful creativity booster because it’s also a powerful stress-buster.
If you want to lower your stress and up your creativity, an intense martial arts practice session is the perfect remedy. A good martial arts workout will get your endorphins pumping to lift your mood while also focusing your mind to clear away all those outstanding worries that are blocking your creative flow. Plus, why not get a workout in while setting the stage for some serious creativity?
Get Comfortable with Creative Mistakes
As any good artist knows, embracing your mistakes is a crucial part of the creative process. When trying something new, whether starting a new painting or starting a new sport, mistakes are inevitable. Sometimes we feel apprehensive about making mistakes, getting into a more perfectionist mindset that only prevents us from being experimental and trying something new. Fearing mistakes and failure is certain death for creativity.
A martial arts practice puts the embrace of mistakes as part of growth into motion. Martial arts teaches you to accept mistakes as nothing but another part of the process. Whether you’re learning a new technique or facing an opponent, mistakes are both inevitable and the perfect springboard for improvement and growth. The acceptance of mistakes is a major skill for any creative person to learn; this skill is baked into the process of practicing martial arts.
Boost Your Creativity through Martial Arts
No matter what you do or where you are in life, creativity is a powerful skill to have on your side. From solving everyday problems to innovating in your career, martial arts offers an accessible method for training yourself in creativity.
At Premier Martial Arts, we believe that everyone can benefit from practicing martial arts. With martial arts studios across the United States and in the U.K., tapping the creative potential that a martial arts practice can offer you is just a call or a few clicks away.
