Tae Kwon Do for Middle Agers!  Prolong Your LIFE with Martial Arts!
 

By: Brad Evenson
National Post

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Gladiators benefited from surge in 'natural killer' cells...

Pacifists take note: Medical research shows why Vikings, gladiators and samurai were so vigorous. It turns out fighting is good for you.  Two studies published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggest martial arts and wrestling can stave off disease.

"The true meaning of martial arts is the prolonging of life, not just self-defense," says Peter Douris, a professor of physical therapy at the New York Institute of Technology. "It's self-defense against the ageing process.
If you notice these [martial arts] masters as they get older and older, they stay in incredible condition."

What makes fighting unique among most forms of exercise is the way it blends strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. Although the studies were small in scale, their findings should make people aware of fitness alternatives to traditional sports such as running and lifting weights.

In recent years, millions of elderly North Americans have discovered the benefits of tai chi, a Chinese martial art that uses slow, smooth movements to train the body in balance, endurance and strength. But Dr. Douris wanted to see whether a more dynamic art form could offer benefits to people aged 40 to 60.

"I was interested in middle aged people like me," said the 47-year-old researcher.

Dr. Douris recruited seven men and two women who had practiced a Korean martial art called soo bahk do. However, he says other forms, such as karate, judo, tae kwon do and kung fu would confer similar benefits. The subjects had done the martial art for three years or more, but did no other exercise.

He compared them with adults of the same age and gender who did no exercise, measuring body fat, balance, flexibility, muscle and grip strength.

"The difference was incredible," he said.

For example, the sedentary group had 12% more body fat than the soo bahk do group. The martial arts group performed more than twice as many push ups and sit-ups in 60 seconds.  They could also hold their balance on one leg with eyes closed for an average 62 seconds, compared with only 26 seconds for the sedentary group.  In a test called the "sit and reach test," the soo bahk do group enjoyed 114% more flexibility in the hamstrings, low back and hip joints.

Not only does fighting help fitness, but it may also prevent illness.

In a study of teenaged boys, a team of California researchers found wrestling added a powerful boost to the immune system.  Until now, most studies of immunity and activity focused on adults. But in recent years, evidence has piled up that exercise can bolster the immune systems of children, which can influence their growth.

"What is emerging from this is that the role of exercise in children is not only for growth and development, but also in the immune response," says researcher Dan Cooper, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Cooper and his colleagues measured the levels of white blood cells of
14- to 18-year-old boys at a high school after a 90-minute wrestling practice.

They chose wrestling because of its intense blend of resistance, endurance and stretching exercise.

"What I think is interesting about the wrestler paper is here is an activity that is done by kids," he says. "It's comparable to other sports, and before we had sports, probably it's comparable to what children did during the early evolution of man."

They found the cell counts rose sharply after the exercise, especially a class of cells called natural killer (NK) cells.  The most aggressive of all immune cells, NK cells are the first line of defense against viral infections and cancers. They patrol the bloodstream, seeking out "banners" on healthy, normal cells. When they find diseased cells without this flag, the NK cells blast them with a lethal burst of chemicals that destroys them.

Dr. Cooper suggests immune chemicals produced by exercise, such as an inflammatory protein called IL-6 may help children grow.  "[IL-6] may cause the formation of new blood vessels," he says.  "The formation of new blood vessels in the muscle is probably one of the most important adaptive mechanisms. It's what allows you, the second time you do the activity, to do it better and more efficiently."

In fact, he suspects many forms of illness caused by defects in the immune system, such as diabetes, asthma or arthritis, may be caused by a lack of vigorous exercise, such as wrestling or martial arts, in childhood.

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