Learn about the best activity for young and old with hundreds of years of proven history. If you could pick one sport to participate for the rest of your life, what would it be? Should it be something that makes you strong, fast, agile, powerful? Sure. What about dynamic, flexibility and endurance? That's great to have, too. Of course, it must be something that you can do into old age too. Perhaps, something that has some reputation and bragging rights to gain? Something unique, ancient, maybe even mystical? As you read this, you might think there is no such activity, and the author has lost his mind. While the second statement might be true, the first is not. There is such an activity, and it has been around for hundreds of years. I can say this because I have practiced this activity for over 30 years and continue to do so today. It has not only delivered on everything that I have mentioned above but much more. So what is this mystical activity? It is the traditional Japanese Martial Arts called Karate. It made me fast, agile, powerful, stronger and all the above but it also has made me flexible. Believe it or not, it sometimes makes this clumsy Ninja even graceful. I know from my own body, my (older) students as well as from my instructors, some in their 60's, 70's and even 80's this can indeed be practiced for a lifetime. Not only is my body actively involved, but so is my mind and soul. This keeps me after 30 years still inspired, enthused and motivated as I was over three decades ago. Karate not only engages literally all muscles in the body but also lubricates all joints. Movements are executed in all directions- forward/ backward, side to side, up and down as well as rotational - everything is engaged and challenged. However, the most significant challenges and benefits are not the physical ones but more so the mental benefits. What other activity gives practitioners the opportunity to train body, mind, and soul? I love the self-cultivation that traditional Karate teaches me, even in the current day, as I am considered a Sensei and a master (a title that I still feel hard to live up to, since there is still so much to learn for me that I feel still like a beginner). Now that I am in my mid-40's I can see that I am not only doing physically better than most other people in their 40's with my health but I also have a much higher developed sense of balance, coordination, focus, and concentration. In fact, I know that I can even still get better over the next decades to come. If there is one activity that I can recommend to you, it is Traditional Karate. Karate is not only the best activity one can choose to get lifelong benefits for mind, body, and soul but also for happiness, fulfillment, longevity, and self-cultivation. The great Karate Master Gichin Funakoshi once said, "Karate is the activity for the nobility." After 30 years of practice, I can start to understand the true meaning behind this quote. It is a privilege to be able to cultivate not only the body but mind, spirit, and soul.
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