martial arts near Saint Paul, MO

Martial Arts Saint Paul, MO

Martial Arts Saint Paul, MO. Are you looking for something to supplement your daily life in Saint Paul, MO – something positive and beneficial that will leave you better equipped to cope with stress and endow you with positive qualities? Gracie Barra is the world’s top martial arts team, for first-rate coaching, unbreakable interpersonal relationships, and countless improvements to your physical and mental health which come from practicing martial arts.

Sign up at Gracie Barra right away and discover how Saint Paul, MO martial arts can change your life. Contact us online, give us a call at 636-544-3655, or check out our programs to learn more.

Types of Martial Arts

Every style of martial art is distinct, but martial arts as a whole is the collective systems of combat and defense training meant to defend against threats and defeat opponents. Each different style of martial arts has a different focus and style.

Martial arts fall into one of the following categories:

  • Striking or Stand-up Styles
    • Boxing
    • Karate
    • Kickboxing
    • Muay Thai
  • Grappling
    • Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
    • Sambo
    • Wrestling
  • Throwing/Takedown Styles
    • Aikido
    • Judo
  • Weapons Based Styles
    • Kendo
    • laido
  • Low Impact Styles
    • Tai Chi
    • Chi Gong

What we teach at Gracie Barra to our Saint Paul, MO martial arts students is a special approach that incorporates principles of several martial arts from different styles. We primarily identify as a Brazilian jiu jitsu gym, but also borrow techniques used and taught in other martial arts including muay thai, judo, and kickboxing. Martial arts at Gracie Barra is a comprehensive program where you will master Brazilian jiu jitsu and other martial arts skills.

Physical Benefits of Martial Arts

Martial arts is both an art and a sport. It is a holistic approach to wellness and strength of the mind, body, and spirit. Martial arts in Saint Paul, MO is a path that leads to personal growth and wellness. The benefits of practicing martial arts like the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes Gracie Barra is known for are many and immeasureable.

1. Cardiovascular Health

Heart health is extraordinarily important, as we all know. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, yet less than 20% of adults engage in the recommended amount of aerobic exercise. Through the training and warm up routines in martial arts naturally drive up the heart rate and fortifies heart health.

2. Muscle Tone

Martial arts maximizes strength and muscle tone throughout the body, including hard-to-target muscles that aren’t targetted in more conventional methods of working out like weight lifting and running. Through warm ups and training drills as well as sparring involving punching and kicking motions, with a variety of grappling and groundwork moves practiced in Brazilian jiu jitsu, builds muscle mass.

3. Weight Loss

With more muscle mass, the body naturally increases its metabolism and burns more calories. Saint Paul, MO martial arts helps you drop weight and stay at a healthy weight by improving general physical health and increasing physical activity.

4. Reflexes

In martial arts, individuals are challenged to heighten their reflexes. Sparring in practice and fighting in competition improve reflexes over time. In martial arts, reflexes are vital to besting your opponent, from dodging, blocking, or maneuvering to counter-attack. Repetitive practice of certain combinations over time builds quick reflexes and shaves down reaction times.

5. Flexibility and Mobility

Martial arts involves deep and extensive motions that require flexiblity. Stretches are an important part of any physical activityAt Gracie Barra, our programs are designed with stretches and warm ups that will improve flexibility and makes for a more nimble and mobile body. Other benefits of flexibility are improved posture, reduced risk of injury, and less tension.

6. Strength

In martial arts practice, tournaments, and in real-life self-defense situations, strength is necessary for defeating your opponent. While it is nothing without the technique, skill, and experience of practice martial arts practitioner, strength in the ingredient that enhances these technical abilities in martial arts like BJJ. Conditioning in practice and sparring at full-strength with equal partners build muscle and strength that allow you to become even more successful in your martial arts of choice.

7. Balance and Coordination

A stable physical foundation is critial in martial arts, and so is coordination. To learn martial arts, you are tasked with mastering coordinated techniques that require moving and holding still isolated parts of the body simulatiously. Learning the moves slowly and practicing them repetitively will make them become natural to you. As you improve in strength, flexibility, and other physical aspects, you will, too, improve in balance and coordination.

8. Blood Pressure

Through the repetition of physical movements, increased heart health, and improved physical health that begin to take place through the practice of martial arts, you will naturally experience a lower heart rate and reduced blood pressure.

Other Benefits of Martial Arts

1. Stress Relief

As with any other form of exercise, martial arts helps with stress. Physical activity releases endorphins, as well as norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin and reduces the negative effects of stress on the body. Plus, when you spend time around others who share your goals and encourage you to be better, you may feel stress less severely – a unique benefit of martial arts.

2. More Energy

When you engage in regular workouts, such as attending weekly classes at Gracie Barra, you are left with more energy. This is due to the increased blood flow and cardiovascular health that circulates oxygen-rich blood through your body more easily. Many people who join martial arts also report sleeping better. A better sleep cycle allows you to be more refreshed when you wake up.

3. Peace and Balance

There is no dispute about the way martial arts teaches the skills of internal peace and tranquility. Martial arts is a form of a meditation or mindfulness exercise, where your mind is focused and present. This quality puts you in control of your body and breathing. This translates to other areas of your life and you become more able to stay calm and centered in your life.

4. Discipline

Discipline and self-control are not just for kids anymore. Many adults who are involved in Saint Paul, MO martial arts have found improvements in matters of discipline such as the difficulty of quitting a bad habit. While stopping smoking, drinking, drug use, or other addictions should be done under the watch of a medical professional, efforts can be supplemented by a dedication to martial arts.

5. Confidence and Humility

Martial arts helps people of all backgrounds and confidence levels move to a healthier place with their self-confidence. Activities like belt ceremonies and tournaments encourage the shy and self-doubting to step out of their comfort zones. For people who are generally outspoken or ego-driven, martial arts asks them to bare themselves honestly in front of others. The martial arts learning and competing process builds confidence and humility simultaneously: humility in encountering unfamiliar and challenging tasks, and confidence when we are able to acheive them.

6. Mental Health

Because of all of the physical benefits of martial arts, and the stress relief and peace it teaches, mental wellness is a natural byproduct of practicing martial arts. On top of all the internal skills and qualities that precede better mental health, in practicing martial arts you are immersed in a community of people who identify with your struggles, support you on your journey, and are going through similar journeys themselves.

7. Motivation

Signing up for structured martial arts classes can have an huge impact. The regularly scheduled commitment of going to your martial arts gym regularly for weekly scheduled classes keeps you moving and working towards your goals and keeps you motivated to focus on your priorities both inside of and beyond your martial arts life.

8. Relationships

Saint Paul, MO martial arts classes and competitions are a special way to form uniquely powerful relationships with others. Between you and your coaches is a bond of mutual respect. Between the people you learn and struggle with, you will have a camaraderie and understanding of each other in a way that you can’t find in other types of interpersonal relationships. In Saint Paul, MO martial arts, you challenge and get to know each other and foster long-lasting, quality friendships.

Through these benefits, martial arts is a powerful force on your mental and emotional health. Each of the listed benefits has its own indirect positive effects on your life. When you join the martial arts community with Gracie Barra, you may very well see measurable changes in your life such as healthier familial and romantic relationships, advances in your career, and a new bank of positive memories on which to look back. Martial arts is something that can be enjoyed by all ages, so you can potentially enjoy the ongoing benefits of martial arts for the rest of your life.

Martial Arts Near Saint Paul, MO | Gracie Barra

Whether you are ready to make a major positive change in your life, in search of a hobby, or need to incorporate more physical activity in your lifestyle, Saint Paul, MO martial arts are perfect for you. Gracie Barra brings a unique Saint Paul, MO martial arts experience that teaches critical skills and values from a variety of martial arts diciplines, including Brazilian jiu jitsu, muay thai, kickboxing, judo, and more. For every age, every schedule, and every level of experience, Gracia Barra is the Saint Paul, MO martial arts gym for you.

Don’t wait any longer to discover the astonishing, very real world that is opened up by the practice of martial arts. Try your first class for free to get a taste! Reach us online or call us at 636-544-3655 to learn more or to sign up for your first martial arts class today.