Gaining a mental edge
Ancient styles of martial arts, modern lessons for everyone
by Leah Weissman


The energy in the room is rejuvenating. The mixed scent of sweat and vinyl is intoxicating. The satisfied feeling of a stress-relieving, body-shaping, mind-cleansing workout is enough to make anyone exhausted, yet prepared to take on the world.
The mental and physical intensity of martial arts from “slam bam” styles like Muay Thai kickboxing to the soothing positions of Tai Chi tone the body and mind. Just like a college degree, martial arts students apply lessons learned in the classroom to life situations like work, relationships and family.

‘Fitness with a purpose’
“If you could focus 10 percent more, how would that help you in life? If you could set and achieve goals, how would that help you in the workplace?” David Brown, head instructor and president of Total Confidence Martial Arts in Bellingham, asks with the serious tone of someone who has been practicing martial arts for the better part of his life.
Brown describes martial arts as “fitness with a purpose.” The obvious benefits include learning self-defense techniques and getting into shape. Other objectives in martial arts, such as learning how to control emotional states, are just as important.
“Martial arts are ancient disciplines that encompass body, mind and spirit,” Brown said. “There is the cardiovascular workout, the stress release you get from punching the heck out of a pad, breathing techniques that help reduce anxiety, the balance and flexibility you get from strengthening, the benefits of knowing self-defense and the positive elements of a student-teacher relationship.”
Muay Thai kickboxing focuses on improving strength, Brown said. The style encompasses the upper and lower body by putting power behind punches and kicks. Walk into a class and see students smashing the foam out of bags with their fists and blocking a sparring partner’s roundhouse kick. But also notice instructors advising students how to avoid potentially dangerous situations by staying perceptive and using their words.
Megan Wolven, a Muay Thai kickboxing student at Total Confidence Martial Arts, said she gained confidence in her four and a half years practicing martial arts and she faces life with a more positive attitude.
“Every single class I go to pushes me beyond the point of what I think I can do,” she said. “The martial arts lifestyle is centered and focused and can be applied to daily life like approaching things in a confident manner and going above and beyond your limits. The perseverance and focus you learn in martial arts helps you stay centered in environments such as a hectic workplace.”

Go with the flow
Where Muay Thai kickboxing emphasizes quick reflexes, Tai Chi embodies grace and internal focus. Students of this martial art style move in slow, deliberate motions like waves rhythmically crashing and receding.
Bob Shapiro, Cloud Hands Tai Chi Association instructor in Bow, said in the late ‘60s his friends practiced sitting meditation. He tried to learn the discipline, but couldn’t manage to sit still.
“I had a lot of energy,” he said. “Years later I saw a demonstration of Tai Chi called a ‘moving mediation’ and decided perhaps I could learn to move slowly. Tai Chi is an internal art, meaning it’s defensive rather than offensive. The moves have more to do with flexibility, your body’s structure and harnessing the flow of energy.”
People are initially attracted to Tai Chi because of its fluid movements and the contemplative environment it creates, Shapiro said. Instead of overpowering an opponent, student of Tai Chi neutralize their adversary’s energy. By absorbing the attackers’ force rather than fighting it, students’ use opponents’ momentum against them. This philosophy also helps people avoid getting triggered from stressful situations of everyday life.
“The focus and goals of Tai Chi are: if you’re centered, relaxed and flexible, then you can listen and respond,” he said. “If you’re tense and off balance, you can’t be attentive. Tai Chi relaxes the body and fosters good posture to improve the flow of energy through the body. We live in a stressful world, and Tai Chi teaches us to free our minds of chatter.”
Diane Danielson, a student of Cloud Hands Tai Chi, says she started practicing the martial arts style approximately two years ago after being injured in a car accident and recovering from an unrelated surgery.
“I just really needed something that would be a gentle easing into fitness as apposed to jumping right in and running down to the gym,” she said. “Tai Chi is the first thing I’ve done that has enabled me to turn off my brain.”
Tai Chi is about becoming strong internally, Danielson said. Along with physically absorbing someone’s energy, students also learn to mentally approach an unsavory situation or person with a proactive rather than reactive attitude. The Tai Chi parable, ‘Neither Fear nor Aggression’ means handling circumstances with a clear mind and relaxed body. In the workplace or at home, channeling someone’s frustration to create positive outcomes saves energy that might be used up resisting the situation.
“I do customer service work and 90 percent of the time you hear from someone it’s because they have a problem,” Danielson said. “If you react to that problem with aggression you’re going to get aggression back. If you react to the problem with fear you’re going to get rolled over. But if you approach it calmly and establish the facts, then you can work together to figure it out. ‘Neither Fear nor Aggression’ applies to that aspect of my life.”

Improving the self
Greg Woodward, chief instructor and owner of Woodward’s TaeKwonDo in Oak Harbor, said martial arts of modern times are created to enlighten the mind, improve the body, enforce discipline and foster spiritual growth.
“Martial arts are a way of life,” he said. “It’s not about being perfect but about self-improvement. If you’re looking to beat the crud out of someone, traditional martial arts are not for you because of the morality and codes. But if you’re looking for philosophy and structure, perhaps a business person who works every day, then Taekwondo may be for you.”
Goal-oriented people may enjoy Taekwondo since the different levels of belts provide a target to work for, Woodward said. A student must learn and demonstrate the different forms or positions in Taekwondo to receive the next belt and ultimately reach the goal of connecting body and mind through practice and concentration.
“Forms enhance coordination and precision since you have to conform your body to the positions,” he said. “Forms also create discipline since you memorize the specific movements to earn your next belt. We go through a job a lot of times without setting goals for ourselves, but martial arts teach us to strive for objectives that may seem unreachable and take bigger risks.”
Students break boards to demonstrate power, but at the same time practice the five tenants of Taekwondo – courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit, Woodward said.
“You take martial arts so you can avoid conflict by talking things out rather than acting out,” he said. “Self-defense doesn’t mean fighting, but staying away from situations that could lead to trouble. It teaches you options and gives you confidence.”
Woodward said martial arts gives people assurance because they are getting into shape, setting goals and achieving them. A Taekwondo student now has the confidence to give a presentation at work. A fellow classmate learns to sacrifice potato chips and TV to get in shape.
“A lot of adults take it up because they’ve been sitting on a couch and want to get into shape,” he said. “Younger people go into it to kick butt, and older people do it for the confidence. I believe that through martial arts we can all make improvements.”
Wolven said Muay Thai kickboxing, and martial arts in general, is more interesting than most forms of exercise because she basically has her own personal trainer – her instructor – egging her on the whole way.
“You get to go all out on a pad and someone’s there encouraging you and it feels really good,” she said. “Muay Thai kickboxing is upbeat, fast-paced and a good cardio workout. The style keeps your inner dialogue positive. Instead of saying ‘I can do that,’ you say ‘I will do that.’ It’s like mental body building.”
Martial arts not only work people into shape, but they teach respect, Brown said. Martial arts have a long history of balancing the equation by helping the small or weak to rise up and defend themselves.
“Respect means treating other people like they are important,” he said. “It means a healthy environment of honoring those in front of you. All of your relationships around you depend on respect, and your quality of life depends on your relationships. Having a little bit of understanding about rapport, management and communication enhances those relationships. Martial arts are the backbone of all this.”

Taking the first step
Brown said that when choosing which style of martial arts to take, check out every location possible before making a decision. Most places, including gyms and privately owned academies, offer free trial classes. Brown’s list of things to look for includes student safety within the classroom, instructor credentials, business standards such as payment options, a positive atmosphere and the variety of styles taught.
“Don’t sign up until you’ve gone to every place you can,” he said. “Martial arts are a heck of a lot more fun than running on a treadmill. Just make sure to target the benefits you want and hold those up to the professional standards of the class.”
Shapiro said some advantages about Tai Chi are that it doesn’t require any special equipment or previous experience and people of all ages can enjoy it.
“The most important quality is that you are in harmony with what you are learning,” he said. “There are some schools of Tai Chi that are extremely structured, and some schools that are less uniformed. It’s not just about the style, but also the instructor.”
Chinese villages over 350 years ago developed Tai Chi as a means to defend themselves against attackers, Shapiro said. But enemies pillaging towns no longer threaten survival – now life depends on communication within the workplace and family.
“We learn things by doing them, not by only thinking about them,” Shapiro said. “Tai Chi teaches us to slow down time, accepting where you are at and coming back to your center. Once you’re centered and relaxed, there’s a lot of things you can do differently within your lifestyle.”
Woodward said the first battle to getting in shape is making it to class – which is the same whether it’s going to the gym, the pool or the track. But once there, the line of distinction is drawn between martial arts and all other exercise.
“It’s a group effort in the class to reach the same goals,” he said. “You have specific ambitions rather than just looking to get into shape. No one is measuring how fat or skinny you are, but the techniques you’ve achieved on your own.”
Martial arts are mental, physical and spiritual, Woodward said. It’s impossible to have a strong body without a strong mind.
“People might take 10 years to get a black belt, and for others it may take three to five years,” he said. “Anyone can do martial arts. If you’re in a wheelchair you can’t kick but you can use your upper body strength and punch. It all has to do with your own personal attitude.”
Martial arts teach both sweet and sour aspects of life and learning, Woodward said. The instructor may explain how to get the next belt, but experiencing the hard work and fulfillment when that belt is around one’s waist is the pain, sweat and tears of accomplishment.
“Martial arts are the belief system that it’s not where you start but where you end up,” Woodward said.