UncategorizedHow To Combine Modern Technology With Ancient Exercise

Due to an aging population, more and more of the elderly are moving to the ancient art of Tai Chi to improve their health. Whilst many associate Tai Chi with martial arts (and in many cases, it should be associated), Tai Chi is often practiced by people for different means other than learning how to fight. In fact, if martial arts can ruin your body by creating lingering injuries and a tough physical training regime, then Tai Chi actually does the opposite.

Why Tai Chi is great to learn if you’re older

In fact, this is why Tai Chi is often trained; to improve your body and learn how to move fluidly. Unsurprisingly, it’s often compared to yoga because of this. Basically, the two disciplines are different but also have a lot of similarities, as they both burn calories, improve balance, blood flow, and of course will improve your flexibility. So, whilst many Tai Chi poses and movements can be used in combat, many practitioners choose simply to train for their own health benefits instead.

For those wondering, Tai Chi was founded in 1670 with some arguing it was even around before then. Obviously, there must be something in this form of exercise if it’s still practiced by millions today. Like yoga, it has stood the test of time and is still as relevant today as it has ever been. However, how has Tai Chi stayed relevant for so long? Of course, it’s fundamentally sound and is scientifically proven to help improve your body in terms of aches and pains.

Using Fitness watches whilst training martial arts

Having said this, one of the other reasons is that Tai Chi has also changed alongside technology which has also helped it through the years. For instance, one way of literally tracking your progress when you exercise by using Tai Chi is with an aid such as a Google Fit watch. These can track your footsteps, calories burned and other important parts of exercising. For instance, most people roughly burn around 270 calories when training Tai Chi which is good to know and track if you’re wary of losing weight. This is where the implementation of technology comes in.

At the same time, training using technology isn’t for everyone. Some people enjoy old-school methods and just enjoy turning up and training. There’s nothing wrong with this either and some people just aren’t that bothered about logging calories burned and such things – especially if they train for the mental benefits and peace of mind.

Can this be done with harder martial arts?

It isn’t just Tai Chi that this is applicable for either. If you’re into more intense forms of martial arts then there’s an array of different disciplines available. For instance, you could wear technology whilst training in other arts. It may not be advisable to wear a fit watch whilst sparring boxing or judo for example as it may get damaged or it may even hurt your arm.

However, there are still ways to integrate technology into training more physical martial arts. One of these methods involves wearing a heart rate monitor that is literally strapped across your chest. Whilst this may take a bit longer to set up compared to wearing a simple watch, it’s less likely to get knocked and can still be worn during hard sparring rounds.

What does technology hold for the future of martial arts?

Even though there is some equipment that is available on the market right now, the chances are that it’s still relatively primitive by today’s standards. As we all know with technology, things can change quickly and what was once considered new can age rapidly. One example of this is with watches. Once they were mechanical, now they’re digital with more functions than ever. As a result, it’s safe to assume that one day technology will one day enhance martial arts hugely.

In short, there’s a possibility that technology will be able to monitor all sorts of intricacies such as what side of your body is used more, breath control, and all sorts of key details. This will help professionals as well as hobbyists whilst training and should in turn improve and lift up martial arts as a whole.

Conclusion

Whilst martial arts may be ancient and as old as time, the above proves that you can still integrate modern day technology into training. The beauty of this is that you can still enjoy training whilst you can also train more efficiently by utilizing the wonders of technology. What’s more, is that often fitness watches these days have all sorts of other features which can also be used to benefit other areas of your life as well as just being based on your fitness.

This is a sponsored post