Martial Arts Therapy (hereafter referred to as MA-Therapy) refers to the usage of martial arts as an alternative or complementary therapy for a medical disorder. This can include disorders of the body or of the mind. MA-Therapy can involve applications such as promoting kinesthetic balance in the elderly or impaired (through T'ai Chi Ch'uan), or reducing aggressiveness in specific populations (Lamarre, 1999).
While more conventional treatments such as weight training and psychotherapy
are also of significant benefit, MA-Therapy can embody unique traits that
other therapies don’t incorporate into their practice. For example,
in children with low self-esteem, MA-Therapy can simultaneously develop areas
such as self-defense skills (to defend against physical bullying), physical
fitness, instructions on how to handle stressful scenarios in a physical or
mental context, and self-confidence (through successful applications of martial
technique, such as board-breaking or kata).
One of the crucial features of MA-Therapy is the type of martial art, as
well as the lesson plans of the instructor. For instance, a boxing program
with a competition-oriented instructor will not provide the same experience
as a tai chi instructor who emphasizes mindfulness of one’s actions
and thoughts. Although both boxing and tai chi can be defined as martial arts,
their histories, emphases, and other features are drastically different. Looking
specifically at karate, a kyokushin karate class (which emphasizes full-contact
sparring with bare knuckles) versus a shotokan karate class (which places
more emphasis on personal discipline and control than fighting) Research in
this area has not yet determined which particular feature(s) of martial arts
are of definite therapeutic value.
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