Martial Arts and Well-being

Martial Arts and Well-Being explores how martial arts as a source of learning can contribute in important ways to health and well-being, as well as provide other broader social benefits. Using psychological and sociological theory related to behaviour, ritual, perception and reality construction, the book seeks to illustrate, with empirical data, how individuals make sense of and perceive the value of martial arts in their lives.
This book draws on data from over 500 people, across all age ranges, and powerfully demonstrates that participating in martial arts can have a profound influence on the construction of behaviour patterns that are directly linked to lifestyle and health. Making individual connections regarding the benefits of practice, improvements to health and well-being - regardless of whether these improvements are 'true' in a medical sense - this book offers an important and original window into the importance of beliefs to health and well-being as well as the value of thinking about education as a process of life-long learning.
This book will be of great interest to a range of audiences, including researchers, academics and postgraduate students interested in sports and exercise psychology, martial art studies and health and well-being. It should also be of interest to sociologists, social workers and martial arts practitioners.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315448084, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Carol Fuller is a professor of education and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy at the Institute of Education, University of Reading, Reading, UK. Viki Lloyd is the director of the Reading Acupuncture Clinic and the lead instructor of Sei Shin Kan School of Karate and Reading Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB, Reading, UK.

List of figures and tables Acknowledgements 1 Introduction Part 1 Scope of the research and structure of the book Part 2 Methods Research design Data collection Sample Survey Interviews Data analysis Survey Interviews 2 Theories of learning behaviour and reality construction - their value in understanding health and well-being Introduction Exploring individual attitudes and behaviour Behaviourism Social cognitive theory Four main sources of self-efficacy Self-efficacy and human health and well-being Society and behaviour Culture and group behaviour Martial arts, health and well-being Eastern philosophy and its relevance to martial arts Chapter summary 3 Teachers of martial arts Introduction Sample Motivations for taking up a martial art Physical Health Well-being General Health and health awareness Well-being Additional benefits Culture Community Inclusion Challenges to teaching martial arts Value of teaching Access to martial arts Chapter summary 4 Health and physical well-being and the teaching and learning of martial arts Introduction Sample Motivations for taking up a martial art Health General physical well-being Support for health: awareness and benefits Health awareness Health benefits Teaching and learning Learning and the martial arts teacher Qualities in the teacher Challenges to learning Being a martial artist Chapter summary 5 Well-being Introduction Sample Martial arts and well-being Well-being and confidence Intellectual Learning Culture and ethics Social Management of stress and the link to health and well-being Chapter summary 6 Connecting communities and promoting health Introduction Motivations to learn Perceived benefits of martial arts Health benefits Health awareness Well-being The social context of learning The role of the teacher Identity in martial arts Connecting communities and promoting health Chapter summary 7 Conclusion Significance of the research Recommendations for policy and practice References Index