The word Hapkido means, “The Way of Coordinated Power.”  As the name would suggest, the goal of a martial artist is to achieve coordination between his mind, body, and ki, or energy, with his surroundings.  Without your body in harmony, although you may be able to see in your mind what you want your body to do, it just does not cooperate.  Without a focused mind, your physical effort may not be productive.  Without energy, you’re just going through the motions.  And if these are not in coordination with your surroundings, you may be doing something skillfully, but not appropriate for the situation.  As martial artists, it’s our goal to bring these 3 elements into harmony in all aspects of our lives.

Traditional western thought views our minds in isolation from our bodies similar to a puppeteer with his puppet on strings.  The latest scientific studies show that not only does the mind help develop the body’s abilities, but the reverse is also true.  In fact, according to these studies, the only activity that has been scientifically proven to improve brain function is exercise!

According to research done by a team of researchers led by Justin S. Rhodes, a psychology professor at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, mind games, engaging tasks, and enriched environments demonstrate little to no improvement to brain function.  The only thing that consistently made the subjects of their studies smarter was whether or not they exercised regularly.

While at first glance counterintuitive, their findings make a great deal of sense when you stop to think about it.  The brain is made of living tissue which, like all muscles and organs, without regular exercise, atrophies and becomes weaker. But, when worked out, it becomes healthier and stronger.  Contrary to the older belief held by many scientists that the number of brain cells could not increase, recent studies have demonstrated that adult brains do continue to create new neurons and that exercise can be a catalyst for the creation of brain cells.

Many of these newly created brain cells do not join the neural network, however.  They often wander aimlessly and die off after a time.  Learning new skills, playing mind games, or solving puzzles help to bring new neurons into the network, but those newly integrated cells only activate when performing that particular newly learned skill.  Exercise can also bring brain cells into the network, but leaves them far more flexible.  Brain cells brought into the network through exercise were utilized not only when exercising, but also when performing other cognitive tasks.

While Justin S. Rhodes’ study was performed on mice, more recent studies suggest that the same is true of humans.  One such study compared the cognitive function of a number of 65 year olds who exercised over the course of a year to others who didn’t.  According to the study, the 65 year olds who exercised not only performed better on the cognitive tests than those who had not, their brains were, in fact, more similar to those of 63 year olds.  They effectively gained 2 years or more of cognitive youth!

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t train our minds as well.  Having all the brainpower in the world doesn’t do any good if it’s not utilized in a productive way.  But, adding a fitness component to your daily life can enhance your ability to learn, reason and retain information.

As Gessner Geyer, president of Brainergy, put it,

“In essence, we are kinesthetic learners. Learning isn’t all in our heads, and our brains don’t sit disembodied in a bucket. Our minds and bodies work together to help us pay attention, solve problems, and remember solutions. Our physiological states support our mental efforts. Movement and exercise can enhance optimal learning states. When we stand up to stretch our legs after a long bout of mental exertion, our bodies are being asked to help freshen our minds.”

Sources:

• New York Times
• Trans4mind