Ways MMA Classes Can Help With Anger Management

It is more common than you might think for new martial arts students to ask whether or not practicing Martial Arts or MMA can help with anger management issues. It might seem counterintuitive that “learning to fight” could actually simmer one’s temper and lower their tendency to engage in physical altercations, but it is true.

How Does taking MMA Classes Help with Anger Management?

Anger is a healthy and normal human emotion. The problem occurs when a person has difficulty controlling that anger. It can lead to destruction, issues with personal and professional relationships, and a deterioration in your quality of life. Learning how to control anger before it turns into outward rage, is vital to living a productive and peaceful life.

There are three fundamental ways in which martial arts practice can help those struggling with anger management.

Focus

Breathing and extreme focus are required for every martial arts movement. After all, how does a small child break a board with their bare hands without channeling all their focus and energy into the singular movement that is required to break that board? This newly gained ability to focus one’s energy contributes to the skills required to contain natural stress responses and channel them elsewhere. If in the past stress caused you to become angry, you may soon find yourself able to focus your energy on resolving that stressor.

Discipline

Discipline comes from more than one place when practicing martial arts. The discipline required to learn stances and focus energy is one, but once you’ve progressed there is a broader discipline gained. When you’ve learned the power your focus can harness, you understand very quickly that self-discipline is essential. It is a core principle of martial arts training that the physical knowledge and practice is meant for self-defense only and that controlling yourself is vital to the safety of you and others. Growing strength in one’s ability to control oneself is huge in managing anger and your response to feeling angry.

Mind Over Emotions

While discipline and self-control improve your ability to manage your response to common emotions, mixed martial arts classes can help you manage those emotions too. For instance, when you exert your emotions and funnel them into healthy activities, you begin to dissolve those emotions. Activities such as perfecting your martial arts stances or exerting your negative energy into a properly formed kick or punch on the training bags can melt away those emotions before you have a chance to lose control. In addition, with focus on the mind and body, martial arts can improve your ability to find the inner peace and patience to be triggered into anger less frequently.

CONTACT AMERICAN KARATE INSTITUTE TODAY

At the American Karate Institute, we teach a way of life. Our Miami martial arts school and MMA Classes has developed a well thought out curriculum that teaches more than just the art of self-defense. We delve deep into our students’ technique, skill set, intelligence, intuition and overall physical fitness. Contact us today if you’re interested in mixed martial arts and self-defense classes and schedule your free-trial class!