The age you start an art and it's relation to your ability

[Che Guevara]

Do you think that someone who starts a Martial art at a young age will have an unbeatable ability in terms of reflexes; skill and endurance than someone who starts later in life?

 

Or is skill based more on the body's physical attributes (assuming we're talking about contact fighting)?

 

Is it ever "too late" to start the martial arts and compete?

[Jared]

If I start at age 5 and train for 10 minutes aweek or start at age 20 and do 20 hours aweek who will win?

[spinninggumby]

I see learning martial arts almost like learning to speak a certain language. When you start earlier, your muscles are more fresh and have not learned to move, stretch, or contract within certain limits. Therefore, if you build a very solid foundation early in life, then later in life even if you stop training for a while, much of the muscle memory will still be retained. However, that is not to say that an older person can not become skilled, although it may be harder because the more mature body cannot respond as well to new and foreign movements. A young body is better at adapting overall. However, kids have this thing called extremely short attention span which means that they probably will also run into problems with learning unless they have good discipline (something that many schools in the U.S. here lack). Look at those little Korean or Chinese kids do tkd or wushu in those demonstrations. They are amazing, but only because they have stuck with it and have been heavily disciplined by their instructors. Here in most kids classes we play games b/c we only have them in class for a few hours a week so let them have fun and don't push it otherwise either their parents will complain or they will lose interest. So like learning a language, your body (in this case, your tongue I suppose) will adapt to it better the earlier you start learning, but that is not to say that anybody over 30 or 40 could not ever become fluent in Japanese. It's just that when you are older, your experiences are embedded into your mind, which in turn may interfere with new information that is brought in. When you are young, you have a much blanker slate, which much less to interfere and/or compare to when new stuff is taken in, not to mention more natural flexibility and muscular endurance. But once again, this is just natural predisposition. The body can do wonders if you push it. Sure, a 20 year old can 'naturally' have an easier time doing backflips. But so can a 40 year old. The 40 year old just may have to work harder. That's all.

 

 

[Che Guevara]

Ok...perhaps I should narrow the field a little:

 

When it comes to fighting full contact, whether Amateur or Proffesional, don't nearly all the fighters in Kick Boxing or Muey Thai been training since their teens?

 

 

[Danny boy]

I started at 9 in kyokushin and have been fighting since(I'm 35)I have trained in most full contact arts,boxing,kickboxing and muay thai and wrestling(amateur).

 

Over 26 years of training and I am still learning,thats the great thing about the MA.As for ability the younger you start the better,my son has started traing in Karate and is what I consider a natural,I think it comes down to the genes.He's only 6 and mores like he's been training for years,the big thing about karate is the focus it develops it helped me when I progressed to MT,thats why I wanted him to start with it before traing in other arts.

[Ryukyu1]

I started MA when I was 13 and found it allot easier to do some movements and was more flexalbe then, I suppose now I have that much more experience over others of my age that are starting now or thath have started at an older age.

[omnifinite]

That worries me sometimes. I was deep into Hapkido for about two years in 7th-8th grade. Then I moved and couldn't afford anything new. Finally I've been doing some other arts (at age 22) for about 6 months, and I wonder if it's too late for my body to become all that flexible, or just how many new movements my reflexes will retain now. I'm sure I'll do fine... but it's something I think about every now and then.

 

 

[G95champ]

We all take kids in classes but most kids do not need to start till they are at least 12 IMO. There is to much mental things to learn. I put age limits on my blackbelts you must be 16. I have had a few kids that were 5 and 6 who did ok but they did it out of memory not understanding.

 

 

[--]

At a younger age, you are more receptive and can learn principles and movements better. But as you get older, you learn to understand the art more deeply, and that also works in your favor. At the Shotokan dojo I attend, we had a student's father start less than a year ago. He is well into his forties, but is already much more flexible and skilled than many of us who have been in it for several years. You don't necessarily loose flexibility either. We had a friend of sifu's come in and do some Yoga with us. The guy looked like he was in his forties, at the most. And yet, here he was turning himself into a pretzel with no effort while we were struggling to hold a decent Lotus. When we politely asked him how many years he'd been doing Yoga, he replied 'since I was 54'. It turned out that he was now 76.

 

So I suppose it depends on the nature of the art. Younger people are better physically, older people are better mentally. But it's never too late if you're in something like Pa Kua or Tai Chi.

 

 

[Martial_Artist]

The younger the better.

 

Don't take that too literally, though. Just because someone starts young doesn't mean that they'll have the same comprehension of martial arts as someone who may have started later.

 

But, starting young is better. Like learning to punch and kick the same time you learn to read or write. It becomes second nature, the movments that is. Do you actually consciously THINK about reading or writing? Most of it is probably inate nature. Like speaking. Same with young martial arts training. But that only goes as far as the basic principles and concepts.

 

Just like the finer parts of reading, writing, and speaking aren't learned/comprehended until later years. So with martial arts. Later on the fine points of martial arts are learned and perfected, but it is that foundation in the beginning that gives an irreplacable advantage. But that advantage only goes as far as the person using it. Meaning, even though someone started young if they don't take that foundation and develop it, it will not take them where they want to go and not be an advantage at all.

 

Nevertheless, younger is better.

 

But, for rank advancement, How can they advance in rank without a philosophical understanding of the technique? So, teaching young is not a problem, it allows the student to develop and learn martial arts second nature, as something natural and not foreign to existence.

 

So, when dealing with young students they only advance to higher levels when necessarily they demonstrate a mature understanding of the martial art and the power they possess because of that martial art. A black belt should never be given to anyone young. I don't feel anyone in their teens could possibly fully understand, or have the maturity to wield, such an awesome responsiblity. Within or after the 20's is more appropiate. After that long of living a great deal of understand and maturity SHOULD have been gained and the student ready to assume the rank and responsibilty of Black Belt. But that's my opinion and it's a bit off the topic, but related nonetheless.