How long do the masters go

[leo]

Hi I have heard of 80 year old masters able to throw around their students I guess they tap into "Chi energy". So another words they are better at age 80 then at age 30 is there any truth to this? Just wondering. I noticed in my hapkido and tae kwon do I used to take you don't see very many people over age 50... you do but they usually just teach without a lot of fighting. Just wondering how kung fu masters can keep going that long into their lives.

[ckdstudent]

If you've spent fifty years conditioning your muscles to do exactly what you tell them and practicing and refining your techniques actual physical strength becomes somewhat irrelevant.

 

 

[Taikudo-ka]

I think if you keep training you can keep getting better. Also regular exercise will keep you fit and limber as you get older. Most people deteriorate rapidly as they age because they sit on their butts watching TV all day with a remote control, drive 20 metres down the road for an icecream, and end up with an electric ride on tricycle not because their legs are useless but because its just too darned exhausting to walk anywhere.

 

Now compare the 80 year old Kung Fu master who still stretches, works out and does a kata every day.

 

Its pretty obvious that certain exercies, as generally practised in the martial arts, are extemely effective at keeping the body fit and limber from youth through to old age.

 

Note that exercise is not the same thing as "taking abuse"... thus if you're fighting full contact with a hard style regularly, I'm sure you'd want to slow down a bit as you get older.

[LanceWildcat1]

I'm 53 years old, and because of my study of the martial arts, I feel better now than I did at 23! I have better stamina, strength, my reflexes are faster, and I have more of a zest for life than I ever did at 23 years old!

 

 

[Taikudo-ka]

Also the 80 year old master has spent a lot of time watching exactly how things work. He doesn't need to tap into any mystical energy, he just knows exactly where to push, slap, hit, etc, to get the right result, and also how to take full advantage of his own body mechanics.