"old man martial arts"?

[panamaican]

Curious to know if any of you transitioned to a more "gentle" art later in life? I spent 20 years in Enshin/Kyokuhshin and MT before injuries, life and maybe a bit of age and wisdom caused me to step aside. Now in my 50's, I miss the training and learning aspect of martial arts and am considering trying tai chi or even wing chin just for the learning and form style training without the brain trauma.
For those who may have done this or considered that type of switch, how did your former, full-contact or mma mindset adapt?

Do you have to stop training the arts you love or just stop sparring them?

I would think that there's enough depth in most martial arts that you can train them forever, your focus just shifts from the ballistic elements to other more subtle components. From a fitness perspective, you should be able to train hard, not necessarily spar, into your 60s.

 

[DoctorTaco]

Do you have to stop training the arts you love or just stop sparring them?

I would think that there's enough depth in most martial arts that you can train them forever, your focus just shifts from the ballistic elements to other more subtle components. From a fitness perspective, you should be able to train hard, not necessarily spar, into your 60s.

I’ve trained boxers and kick boxers well into their 50s and 60s. Bag work,
Pad work, partner drills.

I’ve also cornered a fighter for a masters division tournament and watched some honest to god grandparents beat the shit out of each other. Robert deniro’s stunt double knocked out a cholo grandpa but not before getting his nose broken in what was clearly the fight of the night. It was wild and a ton of fun

 

[panamaican]

I’ve trained boxers and kick boxers well into their 50s and 60s. Bag work,
Pad work, partner drills.

I’ve also cornered a fighter for a masters division tournament and watched some honest to god grandparents beat the shit out of each other. Robert deniro’s stunt double knocked out a cholo grandpa but not before getting his nose broken in what was clearly the fight of the night. It was wild and a ton of fun

I believe it. I was being conservative on the 60 year old side. Although it gets harder we can build strength into our 70s so there's no reason to believe we can't keep training that long. I think the will to train at that level gives out years before the body does.

And at those advanced ages, we can't drop out and drop back in as easily as when we're younger so it feels like we can't train as hard when in reality, we have to train with more discipline and consistency.

 

[DoctorTaco]

And at those advanced ages, we can't drop out and drop back in as easily as when we're younger so it feels like we can't train as hard when in reality, we have to train with more discipline and consistency.

im nearly 40 and I feel this. I’ve got an on again off again love affair with running and power lifting. When ever I get back on the wagon I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck and always joke about having to either stop running forever or get back to the consistency I had when I was training and fighting

 

[Oldguy]

I am 60. I spent 25 years doing BJJ and 15 doing Shotokan. This is the first time I have logged into Sherdog in a long time.

I stopped BJJ for good in 2021. Best decision I ever made.

At some point, everyone stops. The wise thing is stop before it wrecks you. I am lucky. All my joints work. I have no permanent injuries. My job now is to stay healthy and fit. I stretch, lift weights, and run 6 days a week. I feel infinitely better physically than when I was training full time. Nothing hurts. I can move my arms and twist my neck without pain.

I did it. I got the tshirt. The skills I have now are the ones I have to be content with. If I need to defend myself, I have skills that won't go away. It is not like I am going to forget how to do a rear naked choke or execute a good punch. Obviously, I could still loose. But, at least I have a game plan.

Now, I can pursue other activities - hunting, fishing, mountain biking, ect... Time to move on. There is a season for everything.

 

[Monte Moku]

What most the idiots here don't realize is that anyone can learn basic Judo or wrestling and boxing and fight when they are in late teens, 20's, 30's or 40's.
The thing is when it really counts is when you are in 60's, 70's and even 80's.

Yes, this is where some of the Eastern internal arts shine. Both in terms of health and combat effectiveness.
I have seen late 70's Wing Chun masters who can take out the average guy in his 20's or 30's, even maybe 2-3 guys if he hits hard and fast and first and goes for the vulnerable targets. It's possible but perhaps few will believe me and I don't care nor am bothered if they miss out on these incredible systems.

Anyway the answer is yes, WC or Pa-kua would be good choices that do not rely primarily on muscular strength, endurance or huge conditioning to be effective.
And sadly you are more likely to be attacked when you are older and weaker the stats say so train and be prepared.
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Can you highlight how internal martial arts shine more when the practitioner is old versus when they are young? Young people being more able-bodied, one would think they would be most effective at that point in their lives than when they are old and more likely to get injured during an altercation

 

[TheMaster]

Can you highlight how internal martial arts shine more when the practitioner is old versus when they are young? Young people being more able-bodied, one would think they would be most effective at that point in their lives than when they are old and more likely to get injured during an altercation

Of course they are more effective when one is younger and in ones prime like anything else.
It's just that comparatively since they rely not so much on muscular force but on tendons and internal development the degeneration in ability and power and speed is much less.
So one can maintain a level that is comparable to ones prime or peak performance much longer and also in a way that sustains health rather than causing injury.
Having said that Ip Man supposedly said his absolute best was at age 50, when speed, power, skill, health and experience were all in sync in combination where he felt he was at his best.

You would absolutely be wrecking the masters and grandmasters divisions in the senior years and even able to hold one's own with young guys to an extent while other old stylists may not even be able to compete anymore due to the body's deteriorated state and inability to perform the same movements using any kind of significant muscular exertion.

 

[TheMaster]

I am 60. I spent 25 years doing BJJ and 15 doing Shotokan. This is the first time I have logged into Sherdog in a long time.

I stopped BJJ for good in 2021. Best decision I ever made.

At some point, everyone stops. The wise thing is stop before it wrecks you. I am lucky. All my joints work. I have no permanent injuries. My job now is to stay healthy and fit. I stretch, lift weights, and run 6 days a week. I feel infinitely better physically than when I was training full time. Nothing hurts. I can move my arms and twist my neck without pain.

I did it. I got the tshirt. The skills I have now are the ones I have to be content with. If I need to defend myself, I have skills that won't go away. It is not like I am going to forget how to do a rear naked choke or execute a good punch. Obviously, I could still loose. But, at least I have a game plan.

Now, I can pursue other activities - hunting, fishing, mountain biking, ect... Time to move on.

Thanks for sharing. it's great you have the time to persue other things now. As you said your fundamental skills remain with you even if you can no longer train. Were you a BJJ black belt?

There is a season for everything.

I disagree about there being 'a season for everything' though.

Wing Chun means 'Eternal Springtime'. It's always Wing Chun season (and certain other internal arts) it never goes away and one can always train and practice it until life ends.
It's health promoting not deteriorating so I will be best served to keep doing it into my oldest years to help sustain health.

 

[Oldguy]

Yes. I was a BJJ black belt.

"A season for everything" was primarily meant to describe the more physically punishing arts like BJJ.

As you correctly point out, you can choose arts that build you up instead of tear you down. There is no reason why you can't do those for a long time. I have chosen to use my departure from BJJ to focus on making my body extremely fit and healthy. I will continue training to be a warrior though training handgun, rifle and shotgun. I will never stop training how to fight. I will just modify the approach in a way that allows me to live a full life.

P.S. I was up at 4:00am today. I stretched for 30 minutes, did 10 minutes of abs, then lifted weights for 45 minutes. Tonight, I will run 5 miles. I do this 5-6 days a week. The funny part is that it seems so easy compared to BJJ!

 

[Hotora86]

I quit martial arts due to age/time/injury and fell in love with calisthenics. Gives me enough of a workout to feel good and enough of a challenge to keep it interesting (much more interesting than just weightlifting). It's a huge pleasure seeing your old body still being able to learn new moves and moving better than many young lads.

But if it's the competitive aspect you're missing but need a break from getting hit I'm sure you can find a Judo place where they will respect your age / condition. I've actually gone to a Judo place on "newaza days" only and loved it. In BJJ there's usually too much ego in my personal experience so injuries are abundant - but maybe different in your area.

 

[lakamas]

I’ll say this, don’t let anyone talk you into BJJ unless the gym has a good size group of guys your age and mindset. That shit will wreck you.

what do you mean it's only 5% more taxing compared to aikdo

 

[Madmogwai]

Curious to know if any of you transitioned to a more "gentle" art later in life? I spent 20 years in Enshin/Kyokuhshin and MT before injuries, life and maybe a bit of age and wisdom caused me to step aside. Now in my 50's, I miss the training and learning aspect of martial arts and am considering trying tai chi or even wing chin just for the learning and form style training without the brain trauma.
For those who may have done this or considered that type of switch, how did your former, full-contact or mma mindset adapt?

43 years of Muay Thai, no need to quit just adapt, different training just focus on technique and don’t torture yourself

 

[WDSTK]

I think I posted this information before so forgive me if I did. I am 64 years old and training to get my black belt in Shidokan karate end of this year if I stay at it. However full contact karate competition days are over for me due to my hip surgery. I still spar in boxing once a week but go easy, get feedback from the pros and ex-pros and work mainly on technique. Do train harder on the bags and shadowboxing. Probably done with master boxing. Enjoy Katas more now and may just compete in that. Don't do much judo, just controlled drills with a person or a dummy needed to learn what I need to know for my black belt test.

Old age is just like having an injury. You adapt your training for your condition. As you get older, do what you enjoy and who cares what others think. I find running and weight lifting dull compared to martial arts. Others I know love it and can't see why I do martial arts. I do walk and lift some weights but enjoy martial arts training much more. Much more enjoyable now then when I was competing. When you take all the eqo and the pressure to get to competition level out of it, the classes are downright fun. I plan to do martial arts till I die. However I have no illusion that I can defend myself in all cases as I age. Most cases probably not. For that reason, I keep my middle finger in the closed position when I drive. Just my two cents.

 

[Matsukaze]

I am 60. I spent 25 years doing BJJ and 15 doing Shotokan. This is the first time I have logged into Sherdog in a long time.

I stopped BJJ for good in 2021. Best decision I ever made.

At some point, everyone stops. The wise thing is stop before it wrecks you. I am lucky. All my joints work. I have no permanent injuries. My job now is to stay healthy and fit. I stretch, lift weights, and run 6 days a week. I feel infinitely better physically than when I was training full time. Nothing hurts. I can move my arms and twist my neck without pain.

I did it. I got the tshirt. The skills I have now are the ones I have to be content with. If I need to defend myself, I have skills that won't go away. It is not like I am going to forget how to do a rear naked choke or execute a good punch. Obviously, I could still loose. But, at least I have a game plan.

Now, I can pursue other activities - hunting, fishing, mountain biking, ect... Time to move on. There is a season for everything.

Man I feel ya .. I'm 50 with a little over 15 years of bjj my body has taken a beating. Constant shoulder and hip pain. I'm a LEO so I keep telling myself I need it...

 

[thugpoet]

Curious to know if any of you transitioned to a more "gentle" art later in life? I spent 20 years in Enshin/Kyokuhshin and MT before injuries, life and maybe a bit of age and wisdom caused me to step aside. Now in my 50's, I miss the training and learning aspect of martial arts and am considering trying tai chi or even wing chin just for the learning and form style training without the brain trauma.
For those who may have done this or considered that type of switch, how did your former, full-contact or mma mindset adapt?

You can practice any art without sparring. Just drill.

 

[SandisLL]

In short you are able ....a bit ....without sparring....IF you earlier had fought, had hard sparrings etc...

Ofc absolutely from 0 it is IMHO impossible...
Grappling without sparring and drills ...it sucks even for condition keep up.
While for basic things in some cases dolls might be used....

There also isn't reason to judge someone with other source of income cos he doesn't spar or doesn't spar hard...
There might be health reasons ppl aren't willing to talk about.... and these maybe had sparred a lot earlier....
Or other reasons...
My friend does have guy in gym who doesn't spar anymore.
He is working STEM field student....his boss had prohibited ___.
While he was very good...had am fights and had sparrings with good guys under belt. Above average pro journeyman level he already had, despite never was a pro and was very durable with beautiful gas tank....Gas tank guy had was amazing surprise.

 

[Tayski]

Curious to know if any of you transitioned to a more "gentle" art later in life? I spent 20 years in Enshin/Kyokuhshin and MT before injuries, life and maybe a bit of age and wisdom caused me to step aside. Now in my 50's, I miss the training and learning aspect of martial arts and am considering trying tai chi or even wing chin just for the learning and form style training without the brain trauma.
For those who may have done this or considered that type of switch, how did your former, full-contact or mma mindset adapt?

Considering you're from Enshin/Kyokushin I'd recommend something like Uechi Ryu or Goju Ryu. They're both traditional styles of Karate from Okinawa and on top of some of the conditioning exercises you might be familiar with in Enshin/Kyokushin as well as some Kata you'll already know, it also focus on other more traditional aspects of Karate and non-competition techniques / self protection techniques, instead of a lot of sparring and fighting. It would keep you fit and strong, you'd be learning new things and discovering a side of Karate that is somewhat lost in the more modern Japanese styles like Kyokushin and Enshin.

@Azam can tell you even more than me about those 2 styles of Karate.

Otherwise if you'd like to learn some new martial arts that aren't focused on fighting and competition but more on other aspects of martial arts such as survival and weapons (while also keeping you somewhat fit), how about something like Filipino Martial Arts or Krav Maga?

 

[Tayski]

Typically superdumb comment from you.
So Kyokushin is what you would recommend for the over 50's?
LoL.

Turns out it's your comment that's superdumb, as there are plenty of Kyokushin guys over 50. I've actually seen and met a lot more Kyokushin guys in their 50's and 60's than in the other martial arts I've done including Shotokan, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Boxing and MMA.

While some Kyokushin dojos focus a lot on Knockdown and fighting, some others don't focus on fighting and instead focus a lot more on kihon, kata and goshin jutsu so in those dojos you tend to find a lot more men and women above 40 and 50, even beginners.

 

[DoctorTaco]

Turns out it's your comment that's superdumb, as there are plenty of Kyokushin guys over 50. I've actually seen and met a lot more Kyokushin guys in their 50's and 60's than in the other martial arts I've done including Shotokan, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Boxing and MMA.

While some Kyokushin dojos focus a lot on Knockdown and fighting, some others don't focus on fighting and instead focus a lot more on kihon, kata and goshin jutsu so in those dojos you tend to find a lot more men and women above 40 and 50, even beginners.

he’s not worth engaging with

 

[Patrick Jane]

Pro wrestling