As part of our ambition to bring the Martial Arts to as wide an audience as possible, I regularly go into schools around the local area. One of the first things I ask is, who thinks Martial Arts is about fighting? More often than not, most of the children say yes.

Come to think about it, most of my adult friends think it’s about fighting as well. I then have to explain that actually it is about being more confidant; have better self-respect and courtesy. In the children it is about the goal setting, the focus and determination.

It also strikes me when other children say they train somewhere else, how they do not have that self-discipline, the respect or the courtesy. Why is that? It could be that they train somewhere that holds fighting as the ultimate aim, not the ability to avoid a fight? It could be that they do not see respect as a big part of what they teach? If that is the case, then you have a martial art that is built on shaky foundations. Without the respect for the instructors, the self-respect to train hard and work hard, then eventually it will all fall down. That respect is also two way, the instructing team respects anyone who steps onto the mat. We understand how nervous you are the first time. Why? Because we were there ourselves, we all started as fundamental students.

Martial Art is not about fighting, it is definitely not about the fights that you see in the movies, where you are surrounded by five people and they attack you one at a time while you beat each one easily. You only have to look on line for videos of real fights where there are no alternating attacks, one by one. What you see is, two, three or four or more people kicking and punching the sole person, even when they are on the floor, begging for it to stop. A brutal attack can take only ten seconds, probably less, to see a victim bloodied bruised and hospitalised.

Martial Art is about being aware enough and confidant enough to not be in the situation in the first place. It is about being a fitter, better you, spending more times with the ones you love, not the ones who look for trouble and wish to fight. Martial Art is about being a better, more fulfilled you.

Beware though, not all Martial Arts can give you this.

MAC Academies can guarantee it.