Practicing martial arts is a stressful activity. Students of the varying styles run themselves ragged during every practice, pushing themselves to the limits of their endurance and then a little bit farther for good measure. This high-intensity training can build strength, tone muscles and increase the body’s overall power. Most people will also recognize martial arts as a form of self-defense training. You may be surprised to discover, however, that the stressful and difficult training regimen can help to actually reduce stress.

Everyone has to deal with stress every single day, whether it’s worrying about a sick friend or family member or trying to get that five-page paper done with one hour left before class. While martial arts may not focus on stress relief, Laura Thatcher, president of the KU Karate Club, says that it’s just one of those benefits you get without realizing it.

Thatcher, Overland Park senior, started the Karate Club two years ago and serves as the main instructor. She says that stress relief comes naturally with martial arts practice. “You have to think, and the focus becomes your body,” she says. Focusing all your energy into the different exercises, you naturally start focusing on the fighting and not the other issues that are stressing you out. “I think that just takes a lot of stress off in itself,” Thatcher says.

Practices are very structured, starting out with drills to practice different styles of punches and kicks. This is followed by practicing extended sequences of punches and kicks, called kata. Kata and bunkai, a kata performed with a partner, are a major focus of a typical Karate Club meeting. This is usually followed by sparring, with students getting a chance to spar with everyone else in the room.

Alex Earl, vice president of the Karate Club, says he enjoys going to karate practice to reduce his stress. Earl, Overland Park junior, says karate practice really helps when the monotony of school and routine gets you down. The katas help you to clear your mind, focusing on balance, mental focus and precision. Sparring also plays a powerful role in stress reduction, allowing you to get all your pent-up aggression out. “I can just let go and do my thing,” Earl says. “I feel completely drained at the end, but I feel relieved.”

Tae Kwon Do Club meetings follow a similar structure, with every kick or sequence going off at the call of the instructor. There’s also a heavy concentration on practice with a partner using pads. The workout becomes more intense with each repetition. The pace increases each time, as well as the length of the sequences. By the end of the night, everyone looks exhausted, but the stresses of the day are no longer on their minds. “It’s an outlet for all the pent-up energy that goes with stress,” says Miriam Maples, president of the KU Tae Kwon Do club. “After a good workout, I sleep much better.”

Maples, Lawrence senior, said that tae kwon do practice helped her deal with the death of her grandfather. She says that she wasn’t sure if she should go to practice after she found out, but decided to go anyway. She says that attending was the right decision, as it allowed her a release that she couldn’t get anywhere else.

We all deal with stress differently, and martial arts may not be the way to go for everybody. However, it does provide a break from all the stress of the day by forcing you to focus on your performance over everything else. John Jenkins, assistant instructor for the Tae Kwon Do club, says it’s like a vacation from all the stress that goes with school.

“When I’m done, I’m amazingly relaxed,” he says, adding that the positive environment of practice is also really refreshing.