Older MA the 35 and Over Crowd

[shotochem]

Mentally I am still just a kid. My question to the chronologically challenged is what has changed physically and mentally is regards to your martial arts training.

I started late at 31 and now I'm closer to 40 than I really care to admit to myself. I did not have the benifit of training with an 18 yr old body as a comparrison. My only point of reference is the younger ones I train with. I have gotten (is that a real word?) much faster and more flexible since I've started. Now I have noticed that I am not as fast as your typical 20- 25yr old. The ability to read and pick up your opponents movements quicker has somewhat helped counter this along with not trying to do the crazy things I used to get away with while sparring.

What are your personal experiences?

[TangSooGuy]

I'm not 35 yet, so maybe I' don't fit what you're looking for, but i am 31 and have been training for 20+ years, so I'll give you a taste of how I feel.

I'm not anywhere near as fast as I was when I was 16, or 18. I have aches and pains now that I never had before. I'm also not nearly as flexible. It's not that i don't train just as hard, and even harder at times, it's just the nature of getting older.

However, I have a MUCH deeper understanding than I did then, and am a much better martial artist.

If there were a fight between the me of 16-18 and the me of now, the "now" me would definitely win, despite being slower, less flexible, and hurting more.

[Grenadier]

What you lack in flexibility and speed, you'll compensate for, in terms of wisdom and experience. You don't have to fight harder or stronger; just fight smarter.

Maybe you can no longer cover the length of the room in just a single stepping series, or perhaps you can't kick as high as you used to. That's OK. You simply learn more ways to maximize your current abilities. You learn to conserve your energy, to attack when the opportunity presents itself, etc., instead of launching a barrage of attacks to overwhelm your enemy. You would use leverage, instead of brute force, etc.

Remember, while we all eventually lose our youth, and the benefits associated with it, wisdom and experience stay with you for your entire life, and gets better with age.

[pineapple]

I am 50 years old and have been training in the martial arts since my teens. I am slower than I used to be.

I always tell people that you cannot fight age. It will catch up to you.

One thing that age cannot stop is knowledge. Your knowledge can always increase no matter how old you get so my goal in my life now is to constantly increase my skills technically.

If I had to fight someone who was young and fast, I would try to fight smarter rather than trying to match speed.

[Uechi Kid]

I started just before my fortieth birthday, I just turned forty nine. I also know that as we get older we lose speed, flexibility and agility. What the group that I workout with has done is look deeper into our katas to find applications that us old guys can use to defend against those faster, younger and stronger guys. What we found is that Uechi Ryu is mostly grappling and joint manipulation. This search has also kept the training fresh.

Uechi Kid

[Pacificshore]

Like everyone else that has posted before me, I'll be 40 come June , and I too started out training in my teens. As time moved on, I too found that my speed, flexibility had diminished, as well as my recovery time from injury and such.

I do enjoy aspects of my training now more than I did in the past, for example...katas. As I work my katas, I don't just work on the external development, but the internal as well. As a youth it was just about getting the sequence down and that was all.

I also enjoy kicking, and as a youth would do all the jump/spin kicks I could learn. Now that I can't do them like I used to, I look to adapt them so that they would be "more" practical than not.

So when it comes to having to work a technique that requires such a "flashy" kick, I make sure I understand the limits that such a technique presents, and my present abilities. Some may ask, why do such a technique, and my answer is "why not?" If it works on developing my balance/coordination, refining my technique at my age, then I'm all for it. It also allows me to see the flaws in attempting such "flashy" moves, but hey..gotta admit they sometimes catch folks off-guard

So in the end, I just keep plugging away until Father Time says no more

[jarrettmeyer]

I'm just a kid at the young, tender age of 26, but let me tell you, we have a 49 year old at our dojo, and he is still fast. He can't hook-heel to the head anymore. He doesn't do the spinning back kick anymore. None of that makes him any less effective. He might work only a half dozen techniques, and all of them will land - every time.

Of course, fast is a relative term. Maybe he's just faster than everyone else. That works, too. The KISS principle at work.

[AnonymousOne]

I am now 48, I am fitter, faster and stronger than I was when I was 18.

I have been training for 41 years.

Age is in the mind.

Study the modern research on age and the athlete.

A man reaches maximum strength by age 22 and will only be down by 15% at age 65 if he keeps training.

There are countless case histories of older people performing incredible feats of speed, strength and endurance.

Age is in the mind

[swdw]

I am now 48, I am fitter, faster and stronger than I was when I was 18.

I have been training for 41 years.

Age is in the mind.

Study the modern research on age and the athlete.

A man reaches maximum strength by age 22 and will only be down by 15% at age 65 if he keeps training.

There are countless case histories of older people performing incredible feats of speed, strength and endurance.

Age is in the mind

Bingo!

Started in my late 20's, now 45. Like AnOne I'm faster, stronger and more flexible. I can bench, squat, and curl nuch more weight now than I could then and I was lifting back then too.

Many people think they're slower because their perception of speed has changed with experience. As perceived speed changes, the assumption is "I'm getting old and slower". If you've trained properly, you have less tension, your movements are much more efficient, so you get from point A to B in less time- speed increases. You've learned you don't have to force it so youe more relaxed in your movements. All that wasted tension of youth is no longer slowing you down.

I disagree with only one thing AnOne said- newer studies are putting max strength in the 30's and with continued exercise, protein intake and DHEA supplementation, the power curve stays fairly flat through your 40's.

As AnOne said, there are plenty of studies to prove this out. But if you believe you'll get slower . . . well . . ."as a man thinks, so he becomes"

[unknown]

I have no problem with older folks practicing MA however when I start seeing my techniques become sloppy because I have to be careful of an older person's back or joints, that is when I get mad.

That is why I prefer to train with people my age or older people that have been training for a long time - because their bodies are more used to the movements rather than a person that started late in their life.