Yoga is not a combat focused exercise where you have to defend yourself. Yoga is about attaining wellness and being centered in your mind, body and spirit. This is achieved though breathing and meditation. There are number of combat focused programs like Kung Fu, Karate, Capoeira, Judo, Kickboxing,Aikido,taekwondo, brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, traditional Boxing and wrestling.Most of these require physical contact and will require a full body workout. There are other milder forms of martial arts, which do not necessarily require physical contact, like Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Tai chi, Qi gone and the likes is said to require intense concentration, because the body and mind is engaged. It is also beneficial for improving energy, self-esteem and discipline, which is similar to what you will derive from yoga. This does not make yoga an alternative nor does it put them in the same category.
Martial arts is seen as a fighting exercise, and usually used for self-defense. This comes with discipline, self-confidence, character building, refusing to compromise under fearful situation. People have though that martial arts is a sport and even categorized it with other competition like boxing, wrestling. However, most martial artist have tried to communicate the intent of practicing martial arts , which is that it is trained for real life situation not for games or sport, with on consequence. The value of the training method though can’t be compared to that used for sport or games.
Because of the realness of what martial art is learnt for, the danger that can come from the opponent, who could be an enemy, is revealed. This cannot be the case if it is used for sport, which is why the sport typifies the situation in a more subtle way. However, with this, the techniques are much simplified and the contact is planned with the opponent, which hinders the outcome and true essence of martial art. This may not be an effective approach to prepare for life’s fight, but it gives an idea of what to expect. A Yoga practice just requires a yoga mat, which comes in a yoga mat bag or a yoga back pack. Most of the poses are done either standing or seating on the mat. With martial arts, you require a mat, head band, belt display, gear bag, wrist band, key chains and for females a very firm support bra. This is a complete gadget just to practice martial art. Another fascinating thing about martial art, is that your level is determined by your belt colour. You can know a graduate of a field based on where his level is by the colour of his belt. The most common is the black belt. This is commonly the highest belt color used and it shows the degree of one’s competence. A person with this belt title can teach, but this is not the only criteria to become a martial artist.