Benefits of Taekwondo

A study in the April 2004 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that a dynamic martial arts workout is just as effect as any other balanced workout. The study compared nine people who worked out twice a week in Soo Bahk Do with nine sedentary people of similar ages, blood pressure, and resting heart rates. The martial artists had markedly better strength, flexibility, balance, and aerobic capacity. The martial artists could do twice and many sit-ups and three times as many pushups as the sedentary group. The sedentary group had 12 percent more body fat and could hold their balance an average of only 26 seconds compared to the 62 seconds of the martial artists.

A study in the April 2005 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience found that active mice, genetically bred to develop Alzheimer's disease, were far less likely than their sedentary counterparts to develop plaque deposits in the brain, a common "marker" of Alzheimer's. Another study in the September 2005 issue of the same journal found that running greatly stimulated neurogenesis, the production of new brain cells, in older mice.

An October 2005 paper published in by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that those who engaged in robust physical activity at least twice a week since their youth or middle age had a 50 percent lower chance of developing dementia and a 60 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's than those who were sedentary.