Improve your fitness, how to find the time.

Martial Arts is a great way to get fit and feel healthier so it makes sense that you will improve your fitness when you join a martial arts club. The reality is, that a martial arts class should only be part of your fitness plan. In a class, your instructors will teach you about self-defence, patterns, sparring and so on. This will all improve your fitness but it shouldn’t be the only fitness work you do.

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Improve your fitness, how to find the time.

One day at Korea's Golgulsa Temple as a participant of the templestay program

Five am on a Sunday morning and I am woken with the sound of a dull bell and a monk chanting, coming through some runny speakers outside my room. I put my Templestay uniform on and run my hands through my hair before realizing it doesn’t matter because I am about to put a beanie on to face the minus degree temperature outside. It’s a one kilometer walk up a steep hill to get to morning prayer and meditation where everything is chanted in Korean. 

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A-Day-at-Golgulsa-Templestay-Program

Movies fights are nothing like real life

I am like a lot of people and love action movies. As you would expect, some of my favourite action movies have some awesome fight scenes. I love the way Jason Bourne takes out the bad guys. The Matrix

People see these movies and think that if they learn how to do martial arts, they can do moves like that, learn to defend themselves like that and that they can pull off moves just like in the movies. They believe that one day they can do these moves not just in classes but in real life fights as well. I am here to tell you; real life will never look like it does in the movies.had some great fight scenes as do movies like The Raid and that’s before we start to talk about specific stars like Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee. A lot of people start doing martial arts because they have seen some awesome moves in film but that has a negative side as well.

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ZMAX Blog - Movies fights are nothing like real life

Mark Underwood holds the rank of Master in three martial arts, 5th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo. 4th Dan Black Belt in Haidong Gumdo (Korean swords) and 1st Dan Black Belt in Gongkwon Yusul (Korean MMA). He has also trained in a number of other martial arts styles. He is currently the owner and head instructor for Zone Martial Arts servicing the Sutherland Shire area from the Taren Point location.

What’s my motivation?

I first became interested in martial arts in my early teens. After watching some fantastic martial arts movies I decided that this was for me. This added to the fact that my parents were getting annoyed with me breaking broom handles against the clothes line in my imaginary martial arts fights in the back yard.

I started in Karate back then and although the school didn't fit me (or me it) and I left after about 6 months, it didn't dampen my enthusiasm for martial arts.

I picked up martial arts years later when I started doing Taekwondo. The desire and motivation to learn martial arts had stuck with me and I am glad it did.

Means, Motive and Opportunity.
“In crime fiction a character needs means, motive and opportunity to be considered a suspect.”

These criteria also apply to taking up any new activity, such as learning a martial art. Here's how:

Means: You need enough time and money. For some, money may be a barrier; for others with significant work and family commitments, finding the time is the limiting factor. In both cases, when starting out, taking one class a week has the advantages of easing you in gradually, and should be affordable and possible to schedule.

Opportunity: You need to find an instructor whose class you want to attend and who is prepared to take you on.

Motive: This is the big one: Motive (motivation) is incredibly important, because not only will it get you started on new activities and expose you to new experiences; it is the main thing that will keep you going long term.


What's my motivation?
When I went to my first Taekwondo class, I was impressed by the abilities of the instructor and senior students and how they taught. I wasn't graceful or powerful like them, but my instructor reminded me that it was my best they were looking for and if I focused on technique, the rest would come. Soon I was making progress, and within six months I was hooked.


As a beginner, I appreciated that:

• The instruction was impressive, and different to what I was used to from school and University
• It was challenging, but I was able to make fairly steady progress

Over the next few years, as I started to attain some degree of proficiency, I began to appreciate the gains that I was making in technique and fitness, and my motivation changed. I had progressed from being a naive beginner to a slightly less naive student. By now I had some idea of what Taekwondo was about. Having scratched the surface, I was keen to dig deeper.

As a committed student, I enjoyed:

• The opportunity to keep refining and extending my skills
• The friendships that I was making through martial arts
• Learning realistic self-defence
• Improving my concentration, coordination and fitness
• The rush of competing in tournaments
• The challenge of trying to apply my martial arts training to non-martial arts situations

Now, as a more seasoned student of the martial arts, and also as an instructor, my motivation continues to evolve. In addition to the points listed above, I want to:

• Teach my students well, and learn through teaching
• Help popularize the benefits of martial arts, and promote quality teaching
• Learn something every time I train
• To find connections between different aspects of my training, between the various martial arts, and between my training and my life.

No matter where you are on your journey in martial arts, its important to find your motivation and also to keep reminding yourself of it, of the things you have achieved and what you have learnt. It will keep you moving forward on your journey.


Mark Underwood

Mark is a 4th Dan Master in both Taekwondo and Haidong Gumdo (Korean swords). He has also trained in other styles of martial arts. He is currently the owner and head instructor for Zone Martial Arts in Sydney, Australia