Fight to relieve stress

[Tom O'Brien]

Tonight we are going to spar. I find thatsparring/fighting helps relieve stress. I saw a TV show today that said exercise to battle stress. They said that many people do the opposite. They shut down, take staplers or alcohal & lock themselves away in the hopes that it will just go away. It was said that they don't know how long this recession is going to last. So shutting down is the worst thing you can do. The best thing to do is to stay active, persue the job, exercise & get off your butt. I find that sparring, even at my advanced age, helps my stress level. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Tom

[Moley]

How old you ?

[Tom O'Brien]

Very old - 60. We had a great class last night. We worked out hard & then I sparred with 3 people. I sparred with a white belt, a 2nd Dan & a 4th Dan. There is no animosity. We only hit hard enough that the person knows they were hit. I find that when I am working out I forget about my troubles & concentrate on the now.
I once went to a motivational seminar & one of the keynote speakers was Steve Reeves of superman movies (god rest his soul). He said that when he fell off the horse & got paralyzed he was thinking ahead. He was thinking about jump # 17 when he was approaching jump # 3. Jump 17 was a difficult jump & jump 3 was easy. Because he was not focusing on the now he fell. His message – ‘stay in the now.

Thanks,
Tom

[shotokan101]

I just find that training in general helps a lot

Jim

[fujicolt]

when it gets hard and depressing -

'Do today what others will not
so - you can do tomorrow what others cannot'

[growe]

Exercise has been proven to lift mood and help depression. So much so that in some areas Dr's can prescribe exercise and local authorities allow free use of gym's on Dr's guidance. My brother-in-law is a personal trainer who's qualified in GP referals and helps people to create exercise programmes tailored to their needs.
Moral of the story - going to a dojo and getting bashed up is good for your health after all!!

[fujicolt]

Tom

knowing you - the only reason you find sparring such a release is cos it forces you to concentrate on 'you and your needs' rather than everyone elses as you usually are!

[Norm]

I know this is an old thread, but stress/anxiety/depression are what brought me to karate.

I needed to do something active, near home, and with an instructor (i.e. not reliant on self-motivation) and what I got was karate - at that point I'd have gone to trampolining if it had been that close! But I was delighted that what I got was karate because I'm really enjoying it for itself, and quite apart from the health benefits of physical exercise in relation to stress and anxiety, it is really helping me to focus my energy which has been extremely dissipated for some time. The speed, the balance, the co-ordination, the focus (and the fun!) are all aspects that have been helpful to me. For me, it really is a stress buster, above and beyond pure physical exercise.

[fujicolt]

if Karate is only ever 'physical' it aint karate - glad to hear you are getting so much from it!

[zanderxl]

I kinda had a similar introduction to The Way as Carol, I think... it was when life was really dumping on me that I found my way to the dojo. Since stepping foot in it and finding guidance from the words of the old maters it has helped me develop a sense of focus, discipline, and dedication (giri) that I had never known before.
To me there are different levels of feeling after being at the dojo. There is always the great bio-chemical endorphin reaction that produces a tremendous sense of well being - but this is a purely physical thing and is something that you can get if you hit a gym long enough. What truly makes me feel great is when everything comes into alignment - mind, body, and spirit. Feeling that sense of "oneness" is an unparalleled experience and I'm just so glad that I was able to find it and I hope that other Deshi get to experience it too (don't worry, I'm not getting all Satori!!)
Ya gotta love The Way!
OSU!!

[fujicolt]

Alex

hear this...

Karate study can be...

wonderful
terrible
enlightening
confusing
empowering
frightening
calming
disturbing
fun
sad
annoying
enchanting
addictive
repulsive
etc etc etc

and if any one who has really kept with it says different - meaning they say 'tis easy' - THEY are lying.

one thing i can say without any doubt - the positives outwiegh the negatives - so it IS worth sticking with IMHO

[zanderxl]

Yeah Steve, I would have to agree. It's something in my life that I can never see me giving up. I've only being doing it a relatively short time, compared to most on this site, but I've experienced just about every aspect that is mentioned on the list. Depite all of those feelings I know I will never turn my back on karate.

[MadJackF]

Karate study can be...

wonderful
terrible
enlightening
confusing
empowering
frightening
calming
disturbing
fun
sad
annoying
enchanting
addictive
repulsive
etc etc etc

All this and then some!

one thing i can say without any doubt - the positives outwiegh the negatives - so it IS worth sticking with IMHO

Agreed! But not just that, the feeling is addictive and if I'm going to be addicted to something, it might as well be Karate! I get all jittery whenever I don't get to train on one of my regular days. I get that way sometimes before the regular scheduled training days!

[fujicolt]

Hey Jack - wawawawhat dododo yeryer me me me mean - get jittery!

tis nor nor nor normal innit?