Why weapons play a major role in Martial Arts

One thing to consider when you are working with weapons and another student is to maintain your focus & awareness at all times. I will repeat this once more, your focus and awareness should not waver while training with weapons. It is imperative that you stay completely in the moment to prevent injury to your fellow martial arts student and to yourself.

There are many benefits in training with martial arts weapons. Because most weapons have some weight to them, their use will help develop muscle tone and strength. Performing forms or katas with weapons will also develop coordination. In today’s world, martial arts weapons may not be as practical as the days of the past when it was acceptable to carry weapons wherever one traveled.

It’s better to be reminded of your break in awareness & concentration in the dojo rather than on the street where the consequences can be life threatening.

You will notice that when training is weapons many people will have a haphazard approach to weapons training. Their attacks will be unfocused, their posture poor and their attacks lacking any type of true intent. This type of training is totally useless!

WEAPONS DON’T WORK IF YOU AREN’T HOLDING THEM.

You’ve got to keep your eyes open and pay attention, and you need to know how to carry and use your weapon of choice, cause if you don’t, you may not get a chance to use it. A gun doesn’t help if it’s still in its holster, and a pepper spray or a stun gun isn’t too useful if it’s still in the bottom of your purse or in the kitchen drawer at home when you get attacked. So when you carry a weapon for self defense, make sure you can get to it quickly if the need arises.

Once a week is the absolute minimum you should be training in any particular weapon and also supplement your training at home.

The question you should ask yourself is what is the practicality of training with a weapon that was used hundreds of years ago in another country far away. Another point is that it is not usual to find a razor sharp blade being used to attack you nowadays.

So for the purpose of this article, we’ll consider a self defense weapon to be any instrument or device used to defend yourself from physical harm or attack… Simple enough.

A SELF DEFENSE WEAPON IS NOT MAGIC.

Once you have a weapon, it doesn’t mean you’re automatically safe. So, don’t go walking into a bad section of town, in the middle of the night, carrying a big handful of money. And don’t flip off the local gang leader just because you have a weapon in your pocket.