The mental benefits of taekwondo are actually endless, but two important ones you may not know about are confidence and self respect. A lot of people see taekwondo as a purely physical sport but it actually requires quite a bit of mental stamina and self talk. We help hundreds of people in our The Training Edge community transform into their best versions of themselves through the power of taekwondo and self defense. Here’s how:
Confidence is a Huge Advantage of Taekwondo
There’s probably an area of your life that you already feel confident in, like your performance at your job or your ability to be a supportive friend. You might already feel confident in your body and even hit the gym every day.
But do you feel confident in your ability to protect yourself? If you absolutely had to, would you know how to defend yourself against an attacker? Would you know how to save the lives of the people you love?
Self-Respect: A Little-Known Benefit
These questions are not fun, but you know what’s less fun- not knowing self defense in an emergency and wishing you did! Learning self defense to keep yourself and the people you love safe is so important. It’s why we have the goal of teaching everyone in Clarence how to defend themselves against an attacker.
It’s not just because it literally saves lives, either: imagine how much more confident you could be if you were sure you could handle any physical situation that came your way. Knowing how to keep yourself safe would just be one more thing for you to feel confident about. It’s a huge mental benefit of taekwondo.
How these Mental Benefits Change Lives
So we all know confidence is great to have – but why is self respect important? It’s because once you learn to respect yourself and your body, you begin making better choices. When you decide to take taekwondo classes, you may notice you feel more energized. You may start to want to eat healthier and think, “My body doesn’t feel so great when I eat pizza- maybe I’ll choose a salad tonight instead.”
You may also find yourself wanting to bike instead of drive up the street or finally making time to teach your kid how to play soccer. Then you become even more confident because you’re doing what’s right for you, you have more energy to do things that benefit you, and you feel in alignment with your best self. The voice in your head saying “Let’s eat better” or “Go for that run” is finally being heard.
Bonus – when you respect yourself, you start to treat others with more kindness and patience because you see and respect them, too. This makes others more confident because they feel your kindness, and then they pass that feeling on to others and there’s a compound effect in the community. Magic? We think so. And it’s all because of this ancient practice we call taekwondo.
Confidence & Self Respect- Join Us to Learn More!
Picture this – a new student will come in to start training, and within months, they’ll get promoted at work. Or negotiate a higher salary. They may even get the courage to ask someone out on a date. Or speak up for themselves in an unhealthy friendship. These aren’t just crazy random happenstances – they happen because taekwondo classes build confidence and self respect. Period. Again, when you respect yourself, you also start to respect other aspects of your life as well.
You start to see how you can reach new heights in taekwondo classes, and you find a bravery and confidence within yourself that you never knew you had. Do you see now how the mental benefits of taekwondo can really change your life? Just these two benefits- the mix of self respect and confidence- can help you realize that other people’s judgments the value you place on other people’s judgments is worth less than how it feels to respect yourself.
When you know you’re awesome because you’re kicking major butt in your taekwondo classes, you’re not afraid to confidently create awesomeness in your own life. You feel empowered to make bold decisions in your life, embrace new opportunities, and do the things you never thought you could do. It’s awesome!
One last thing. In terms of textbook mental health, taekwondo provides serious benefits. Staying active, maintaining a fulfilling social life, achieving new goals each week- these are pieces of the mental health checklist that every taekwondo class checks off. Your mood and health can improve tremendously right alongside your mindset.