Motor skills and martial arts

Post Reply New Topic

Has anyone else taken up martial arts to help with this? I've been doing martial arts now for a year and have noticed a huge difference. My movements are still not as good as those with half my time though.
What activities do you do to help overcome your lack of motor skills?

Hey there --

One thing that I do might be counter-intuitive: I run (I completed the Chicago Marathon this year!!)


I also lift weights and do core training. All of this helps me with my balance and, as an added bonus, helps calm me down.

Martial Arts eh? That sounds like an interesting but plausible idea. I thought of taking up fencing, I should look into something like that. (But I need someone to do it with me, you know, because of the whole Social Anxiety.)

I took tae kwon do for about two years, and now that I think about it I did notice an improvement. One thing that gave me even more difficulty than my poor motor skills was the great difficulty I had imitating the instructors movements and getting the right directions down in terms of left vs. right when it came to more complex kicks or kicking and punching combinations as well as one and two step moves and the bits of hapkido and judo that were incorporated into the lessons-the instructors would sometimes have to stand behind me and help me make the proper movements by moving my hands and arms in the right position. They were extremely helpful and patient though, and I think it was a good and helpful challenge for me.

Another thing that has probably helped my motor skills a great deal is art, as I sometimes work with very small objects and instruments or require great precision. Also, I think sports have helped me out a lot. My dad taught me individual sports such as skiing and ice skating at a very young age, and I began drawing and painting as soon as I was able to; I think that starting out young is key in terms of the degree of improvement to one's motor skills. Not to say that starting later won't make great improvements though, I'm sure it does

---

Years ago I did take two or three very basic boxing/exercise classes which I viewed more as being classes which made me slightly more aware of some subtle gross and fine motor control difficulties than to improve anything at all. I also took several months of very basic piano lessons which I viewed as being more helpful than the boxing/exercise classes. I looked at the exercise classes as allowing me to know I had some real, subtle motor control difficulties and that practice, on the piano, did improve some small aspects very slightly. For me, rehearsal/gross and fine motor control exercises simply was not enough to fix what was going on with me at all. I did enjoy the time on the piano and developed a better appreciation of music in general and for musicians who make it all look so easy and natural. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Today - 2010 - I tend to lean toward understanding gross and fine motor control movements more along the lines of understanding Parkinson's (neurology) vs exercising only (simply practice, repeated drills).

i took kuk sool won for a long time and i don't know if it helped with motor skills, but i certainly learned some useful stuff! =D

Working up the belt ladder in Krav Maga. Not only does it help motor skills and general conditioning, but it is a great whay to release aggression in a controlled environment.

Yes, I studied wing tsun kung fu and then tai chi. Both of them help tremendously. I also studied ballet growing up which was extremely helpful as well. I'm still clumsy but I'm much better than I would have been without those studies.

Yoga's also good, but any mindfulness of body thing can work.

I used to spend hours walking around blindfolded.

I have been an athlete my entire life to combat poor motor function. I served in the US Army and the USMC and today play as a professional member on a female full contact football team. I also lift weights and bodybuild on my off season. I would be a complete wreck if not for consiously keeping up these skills. I will never be a GREAT natural athlete but most people consider me elite now and for my age group, I truly am.