Are you curious whether martial arts like karate or taekwondo affect height? Do you want to learn martial arts to improve your height growth? All of your questions are valid and make sense. This article will certainly answer your main question which is, does martial arts increase height or not?
Height is an important and prominent trait of any individual. Good height not only boosts confidence but also enhances the overall personality. However, this trait is something we don’t have control over. That’s the reason we all have different heights which make all humans unique.
Nevertheless, some people do want to increase height by several means.
Factors Affecting the Height
Why do we have different heights? And why am I as tall as I am? Well, certain factors determine our height. We are going to explain some main ones in the following section.
- Genetics: Our DNA or genes play a huge role in our biological traits such as height, body complexion, and body type as well. There is a strong possibility of you being tall if your parents or grandparents are tall. On the other hand, you will be short-heightened if your parents or grandparents are short. That means you can’t do much when it comes to genetics.
- Balanced Nutrients: There are other height-affecting factors other than genes. Having balanced and a proper diet will help your body with growth and development. In addition to that, our body needs all the food that is rich in protein, calcium, and vitamins our body needs. In addition, height growth pills can also be used. Click here to see.
- Better Sleep: Have you heard of the saying, “Sleep Tight”. You must have. That’s because your body needs a good and tight sleep to function properly. Additionally, sleeping is the time when the body repairs and releases hormones that help the body grow.
Does Martial Arts Increase Height?
If you’re going to join the karate or taekwondo classes, you must be curious about the following questions. Does martial arts affect height? Will it make me taller or shorter? How will it work for height increments? Hold on, you’ll get all the answers in the coming section.
Well, we can’t make a blunt statement here about it because there are a lot of different opinions. A lot of experts believe that martial arts don’t help increase height. Whereas some people do give some scientific logic regarding this topic. Let’s look at some scientific points.
Stretching in Martial Arts

Stretching is one of the most well-known methods to increase height. Martial arts is all about stretching and expanding certain muscles. There are two types of stretches important in martial arts.
- Static Stretches
- Dynamic Stretches
Such stretches help body muscles expand to a certain extent. Additionally, it also provides flexibility to joints and bones.
As we mentioned earlier, genes are the most important factor for height growth. But, we can’t ignore the fact that stretching does help the body to grow a little bit. Progress will be little but little progress is still progress. So, karate stretching helps kids as well as adults to grow a few inches.
Hormonal Release During Physical Activities

Do you know about growth hormones(GH)? Doing physical activity will increase height? Physical activities like running, martial arts, swimming, cycling, boxing, and many others, help a growing body to grow in the best way possible.
This method is most effective for kids before puberty hits them. Because this age is perfect for achieving good height. Besides that, a punching bag is another great tool for an intensive workout. Not only that but you can also use the punching bag for fat burning as well.
Furthermore, physical activities help the body secrete growth hormones. Also, martial arts is no less than any vigorous exercise so this also helps in releasing growth hormones, especially in kids under 18.
Martial Arts for Height Growth:
Let’s come to our main question of this article which was, does martial arts increase height? So yes, it does. But don’t expect too much if you are past puberty and are now an adult.
However, if you are a kid, then you can take advantage of martial arts training. If you are concerned about your kid’s growth, then you definitely should take him/her to martial arts classes.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, your genes are the strongest factor when height is concerned. But you still can improve a little bit of your height by stretching your body and giving your body signals to release growth hormones.
Martial arts such as karate, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts are beneficial to your body. If you don’t achieve your desired height, you will still get some amazing benefits from learning martial arts.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1: Can I grow after 18?
There is no clear answer. But most experts say that you can’t. But still, there are some exceptions and few chances. You can add a few inches to your height by having a good diet and doing a decent amount of stretching and workouts.
Q2: Does jumping help me with increasing height?
Jumping, squats, and other muscles building exercise does have an impact on your height. But only doing jumping and some exercise won’t help much. You have to consume healthy food as well.