According to the FBI, four women die everyday as a result of domestic violence and about 130,000 women report that theyve been victims of rape or attempted rape annually. Because of statistics like this, many women enroll in self-defense classes to learn the skills they need to defend themselves.

The thing is, a short-term self-defense class may not address all of the areas you need to be able to fully defend yourself. While martial arts classes wont specifically train you for combat and fighting, they will give you the ability to defend yourself if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to practice self-defense. The best part is that this self-defense isnt always physical. What most people dont know is that in a good martial arts class youll learn a variety of skills to help you gain the awareness, peace and physical conditioning you need to be a stronger person, in all aspects of your life.

Confidence. All the physical defense skills in the world wont help if you dont have the confidence needed to use them. Thats the beauty of martial arts training. In order to successfully train a martial art, you need to have your mind and body in tune with one another. This self-awareness gives you the confidence your need to control and defend yourself if needed. Youll be able to handle everyday and extraordinary situations without losing your temper. Youll be able to stand your ground. Youll appear to be (and will be) more confident and people who appear to be confident are less likely to be the victims of violence because they dont look like easy targets.

Focus and Awareness. While training martial arts, you need to focus and concentrate on what you are doing so that you dont injure yourself or those around you. This focus and concentration carries over into other aspects of your life as well. Soon, youll find yourself better able to concentrate on work, school and home. Youll even find yourself being more aware of your surroundings which can help you avoid potentially harmful or violent situations.

Peace. Training martial arts will also give you an inner peace that can change your life. First of all, to effectively train martial arts, your workout will always be changing. Youll never get bored with your workout because it will always be challenging to your abilities (both physical and mental). In addition to that, training martial arts is a great stress reducer. You probably already know that regular physical exercise can reduce physical stress, but what you dont know is that martial arts go one step further to reduce emotional stress as well. Activities such as martial arts that require you concentrate on your movements and your core strength can give you full stress relief in one activity.

Strength and Conditioning. When you train martial arts, you use your entire body. You cannot use just one muscle set at a time. The exercises are always changing and evolving to give you the maximum out of each training session. Martial arts also increase your flexibility which is great because people who are flexible suffer fewer injuries, have better posture and are better able to relax their muscles.

If you are interested in learning more about how martial arts can help your self confidence, please contact one of my three locations in Bellevue, Lynnwood or Kent, Washington at 800-508-6141or martialadvice@hotmail.com to set up a free 2 week trail orientation.

Also, please see our web pages at www.kungfutemple.com and www.martialarts-instruction.com

Sincerely,

Robert Jones
Master Instructor
6th Degree Black Belt
Owner, the Academy of Kempo Martial Arts