Karate and Brain Health

One our favorite people - senior citizen, mascot and sensei,
Dennis, from Mesa, Arizona, a 3rd degree black belt/sensei
has a periodic senior moment, so for this photo he showed
up at the dojo with his feet labeled while supported by a
cane. Dennis always keeps us on our toes and keeps us
 laughing. 

Huh? Karate and Brain Health go hand in hand?

Being able to defend oneself with karate & kobudo works in favor of mental well-being. Karate provides increase in strength, flexibility, reflexology & aerobics as well providing favorable BMI (body mass index). And one cannot say enough about the importance of karate for self-confidence, self-esteem, and stress relief. Constant training using both sides of the body will likely expand your mind, by physically increasing the size of your brain and possibly fighting the effects of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. Studies at San Paulo State University and Federal University of Sao Carlos in Brazil, provide evidence "...karate training contributed positively to the cognitive and neuromotor functions of individuals with nixed dementia". 

Martial arts also improve a person's emotional well-being, according to a recent 2018 article from Bangor University in Wales. In one study, older adults (age 67-93) were asked to take part in: (1) Karate training, (2) Cognitive training, or (3) Non-martial arts physical training over a 3- to 6-month period. The adults in Karate Training showed lower levels of depression and a greater level of self-esteem after training, compared to the other groups. Left photo shows Soke Hausel at the University of Wyoming getting a leg up on everyone else.

In Italy, a sedentary group was compared to a karate group. Italian researchers found karate improved one's working memory. The tests also showed karate practitioners had better recall. Researcher, Dr. Ashleigh Johnstone at Bangor University says - "there is far more to martial arts than its traditional roles. Though martial arts have been practiced for self-defense and spiritual development for many hundreds of years, only recently have researchers had the methods to assess the true extent of how this practice affects the brain".