So, you’re looking to start a new activity as an adult and martial arts has crossed your mind.

You may have even asked yourself: is it too late for me to start a martial art?

Well, we’re here to tell you that anyone can start a martial art at any stage in life!  

What matters is whether the martial arts style that you’re interested in caters to your overall physical condition and age.  

There’s some styles, such as Soo Bahk Do (which we teach) that’s adaptable regardless of age and ability.

In this article, we share our top reasons why martial arts makes a great choice for adults looking to learn something new. 

Here’s our top 5:

1. Martial arts boosts your fitness

We’ve all been there at some point with setting fitness goals that never came true. 

It’s not that our intention or motivation was lacking.  

We just never knew the right process that we actually needed to smash our goals.

That’s where martial arts (and our Soo Bahk Do karate style in particular) comes in to support us!

The Soo Bahk Do syllabus that we teach at Dojang X was carefully designed by the renowned martial arts Founder, Hwang Kee with the complete beginner in mind.  Therefore, the techniques and type of training that we undertake as a white belt are perfect for those getting into exercise. 

The time requirements between each grading reflects our physical adaptations in line with training sessions completed.  

Knowing the expectations for our belt promotion, together with a target grading date and a supportive instructor, gives you the complete package to make this a sustainable and enjoyable activity.

Even for the more seasoned adult exercisers around, martial arts like Soo Bahk Do is a full body training experience.  

We guarantee you’ll feel muscles working that you never knew you had!

2. A great way to meet other locals

Make new friends in the local area while improving your fitness?  

Sounds like a deal!

Those who train in a martial art like Soo Bahk Do are drawn to its ego-free and supportive environment.  Everyone’s on a personal journey.  There’s no pressure to compete and we don’t advocate the ‘winner and loser’ way of thinking.

We believe that there’s a lot of stress and pressure that we face in everyday life without adding to it!

You’ll have the opportunity to enter tournaments if you wish.  It’s a great way to test and learn more about yourself, along with meeting others who share the passion.

At Dojang X, our mixed class has many beginner martial artists who are adults. 

Whilst some are parents, others come by themselves. 

Our younger members have great character and personality too!

It’s a great way to meet others of different ages and backgrounds in the local area and become part of an awesome community.

3. Martial arts improves confidence for adults

Let’s face it, confidence-building isn’t just for kids!

If you’re like us, there’s many situations we could think where we’d wish that we had more confidence. 

Maybe it was to stand up for ourselves.

Perhaps it was to ask that question.

Or even it was to do that thing we wanted without the fear of judgement.

This is where martial arts training supports our personal growth as adults.

Through practice, we learn how to use our voice confidently through our kiaps (spirit shout).

We push ourselves to maintain eye contact and conviction in what we do through learning the syllabus material.

Our self-confidence improves through knowing and developing self-defence skills.

Confidence is a soft skill that isn’t easy to develop by yourself.

A martial arts system, such as Soo Bahk Do, offers a supportive structure to take you both on a physical and mental transformation.

4. Develop a greater sense of wellness through martial arts

Our increasingly fast-faced world leaves many of us experiencing stress and overwhelm.

Martial arts is a great way to make us grounded and to enable our mind to slow down.

Traditional styles have Eastern philosophy at the foundation, which makes this perfect for anyone interested in exploring a deeper connection.

For Soo Bahk Do, the martial art’s philosophy draws upon Korean and Chinese influences.  We consider how we breathe, meditate and connect with nature through our martial arts training.

This approach leaves us stronger in the mind and body.

5. Sustain your mind and body into later life

As we’ve mentioned earlier, there’s many mental and physical benefits that martial arts training can offer adult practitioners.

This ranges from physical improvements such as:

• flexibility
• lean muscle mass
• core strength; and
• cardio 

Mental improvements include:

• a calmer mind
• dealing with stress
• improved discipline; and
• a confidence boost

Depending on the type of martial art, some can be sustained throughout life and well into older age. 

If that’s a goal, have this in mind when looking through the possible options available.

For example, the Soo Bahk Do style is catered for practitioners at all stages in life. 

The ultimate goal of a style like Soo Bahk Do is to create life-long martial artists who promote increasing their lifespan through training.

Therefore, martial arts for adults can become more than something you do at class.

It becomes part of present and future.

Wrap up

Martial arts provides many great benefits for adults looking to start something new.

In fact, there’s many more reasons why martial arts makes a great choice for adults than we could cover here. 

However, we’ve shared our top reasons in this article and will leave you to experience these (and discover more) along your journey!

Interested to try Soo Bahk Do?

Get in touch with and have a free trial session on us!