martial arts and aging

[juszczec]

Doc

Hi. How the heck are ya? Hope all is well with you and yours.

I just got back from Hilton Head, South Carolina. I was there on vacation and left as one of the Hurricane Charley refugees.

Before I left on vacation, I was engaged in a discussion with someone who seems to seriously believe people over 35 doing a martial art need to be treated gently. Very gently. Less speed/contact during sparring. Lowered gently to the floor during randori.

I'm 37. I think he's full of crap.

So, naturally, I politely asked him for some more information. He responded with some medical facts - uh oh, karate person talking about medicine, my bull**** detector just went off.

So I'm here to check a few facts.

He states 37 is a borderline age and that the real changes begin at 40. I buy this to a certain extent.

He says connective tissues age. This increases the tendency to bruise and slows recovery. He says you also need to worry about blood clots from internal injuries.

I know connective tissue gets worn down as you age. I know recovery time from injury/illness increases as you age. The bruising, internal injuries and blood clots part is all new to me.

Doc, please comment.

Mark

[Uwe]

Aging and Martial Arts

Juszczec,

while some of the statements concerning tissue are true to some extent, the conlcusion that martial artist above a certain age must be treated gently is nonsense.

What is correct however is that when one starts martial arts at a later stage in life, you should not go ahead and overdue it, because otherwise you will burn yourself out and you give up something after a few months, which you dont know even what it is. Instead of a real steep push, make it a gentle incline for progression.


Come September, I am doing this for 40 years now, and gentle treatment is certainly not an option. When I fly to China or Taiwan, I would not dare to request gentle treatment.

The real key is here to do the best you are capable of. That is what is respected and expected. As you go along you will get better. I am still learning myself and I am not ashamed to admit it.


Final comment: Never argue with a fool. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Uwe

[doc]

Decheng has two students that he was teaching the three section staff form to last year. Both women.

Youngest of the two was 73.

As you age, you develop diminished capacity for exercise, to some degree, all depending upon how active you continue to be. Flexibility, important for martial arts, depends upon how you have developed it at a young age, and how you maintain it. Granted, age does diminish one's ability to fight; just look at Mike Tyson's latest foray into the ring. But, that doesn't mean it's over when you hit 40.

It's all a matter of what you do, how you do it, and how you maintain it.

Uwe's advice is priceless, by the way, about fools. I wouldn't go do far as to say that this guy you spoke to was a fool, but, he had one perspective. You have to remember one thing. As you get older, you start to realize that you're not as immortal as you were when you were twenty. Years of experience open your eyes to your own mortality. You tend to become more careful as you age.

[juszczec]

Re: Aging and Martial Arts

Originally posted by Uwe
Final comment: Never argue with a fool. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Whenever I run into someone who's information is completely opposed to mine one of 3 things is going on:

my facts are wrong
their facts wrong
both of us have the facts wrong

I'm just trying to figure out who's facts are wrong. If its me, then I've got some changes to make. The other guy can coddle whoever he wants, I just want to make sure I've got the right information.

Call it a sanity check.

Mark

[juszczec]

Originally posted by doc
Uwe's advice is priceless, by the way, about fools. I wouldn't go do far as to say that this guy you spoke to was a fool, but, he had one perspective.

Like I replied to Uwe, this is fact checking on my part. I want to make sure my information is correct. Why? If I'm wrong then I'm headed for a world of hurt. I really want to avoid any avoidable worlds of hurt.

You have to remember one thing. As you get older, you start to realize that you're not as immortal as you were when you were twenty. Years of experience open your eyes to your own mortality. You tend to become more careful as you age.

I got sick and tired of pain and missing training due to injury. I'm lucky, my first major injury was when I was 20 and its changed the way I approached training ever after.

So, am I right in assuming the following are all incorrect:

chances for internal injury increase
ability to bruise increases
chances for internal bleeding increases
connective tissue age and bruising have no connection
chances for blood clots increase

as you age.

Like I said, I'm 37. I'm going to keep doing MA until I can't. As I get older, my plan is to:

increase strength training
increase cardio vascular training
maintain current level of flexibility
maintain the MA skills I've developed
keep figthing/wrestling anyone who wants to train
learn new stuff to keep the brain working

How does that sound?

BTW, I think Tyson's habits out of the ring had more to do with his recent defeat than anything else. The man is a train wreck waiting to happen, I think we've seen the first wheel leave the track.

Also, please don't think I'm looking for medical advice over the net. I'm asking questions to someone who's opinion and experience are greater than mine. Call it the first round of research since my Dr isn't in the office today and I try not to bother my PT on the weekends.


Mark