There are over 180 styles of martial arts, with each one offering numerous physical and mental benefits. At Miami Palmetto Senior High, students have experienced both the short and long-term advantages.
Senior Ignacio Perales has practiced jiu-jitsu for almost two years. He talks about the welcoming experience he had after starting jiu-jitsu so late.
“Everyone in the community is really nice, everyone that’s taught me is super nice. Everyone that I train with is super supportive and they help you out if you need help,” Perales said.
Perales has practiced no-gi jiu-jitsu and jiu-jitsu. No-gi jiu-jitsu is more aggressive, where athletes can grip onto their opponent’s body. On the other hand, in jiu-jitsu, athletes can grip on to their opponent’s gi, or their uniform.
“You can play off the ground, you can play standing up. So you kind of want to focus on one thing and hone in on that to get really good. I would do that and build on top of your game after that,” Perales said.
Sophomore Vibhu Gupta has practiced taekwondo for eight years and recently stopped after earning his first-degree black belt. He believes taekwondo has given him new self-confidence and a sense of determination.
“It has taught me self-confidence and not to give up. Because if you give up, and that’s not the point of trying something, and if you want to try something new, just don’t give up on that, because you might find it interesting, you might not,” Gupta said.
The dedication and perseverance necessary to pursue martial arts are unique.
“You do get a good new respect for [martial arts], because you understand what it takes and the pain that goes into all dedication it takes. Mindfulness too, because it seems so physical, it’s really more mental. There’s so many positions, and you spend a lot of time like me, personally, I would study a lot,” Perales said.
Martial arts also take one to heightened physical challenges.
“You do get in better shape physically, too. It’s so demanding because it’s non-stop. So you do see physical benefits. Like one thing that I didn’t do before is rope climbing, and now I can do that super fast,” Perales said.
Perales notes the uniqueness of martial arts: a sport not molded for a certain type of athlete, anyone can pick up jiu-jitsu or any other martial art. The community provides a home to perfect skills of self-defense, teaching one respect and persistence.
“There’s benefits for anyone, any age, you can really be 50 years old and still do it. It will help. I guess anyone can learn it, because you really can. It’s not a team sport, so you can really give it as hard as you want. But if you’re just middle-aged, like, a man or woman that wants to just do it for exercise, it’s good too. There’s a bunch of benefits,” Perales said.
