start fighting at 40?

[Blake_UK]

So I'm turning 39. I did karate as a little kid for a year or two. I ran a lot in highschool and did boxing classes, a lot of heavy bag, sparred a bit. My jab is decent. I did fencing for a few years and got good linear footwork. I've watched most UFCs so I know the moves, and have rolled a few times.

So I'm thinking of training hard for a year to get in shape, and then fighting when I'm 40. Has this been done before?

If you just want to bang then yes of course it's perfectly doable.
If you have pipe dreams of turning pro or whatever then no don't be silly.

Plenty of ammy/white collar style events you could enter under different rule sets. As long as you are healthy and train hard shouldn't be an issue.

 

[KingRyan]

Only if you are prepared to die.

 

[Bos Docken]

What do you hope to gain? IMO you have much more to lose. You're never going to be a Champion or make a significant amount of money. Your chances of getting injured are increased, and recovery is much more difficult. Is it worth the potential for chronic pain? Headaches, back, shoulders, etc...Dont take this lightly, as anyone with chronic pain can attest.

Im assuming you work, and possibly have kids. These injuries will affect both. Can you afford to take time off work to recover from injury? Is it worth the neurological damage you may receive? Do you have to the time to put into what it takes to be competing against others that are "all in" and in their prime? You're already at a huge deficit being 40 and not being focused on fighting during your adult life.

If you want to keep in shape, work on your skills, and like to fight. Maybe do some sparring with headgear and light head contact. Are you concerned about being 70 and thinking, "I regret not having pursued a fighting career" ...You will be able to check that off the bucket list, but not without consequence. Possibly severe. There is much more to consider.

I'm out of likes. But I agree with every sentence in this post. Think about these words, OP.

 

[BeerCityBandit]

Might be a little late to go pro with your age and level of experience. If you were a high level wrestler your whole life like Couture, Cormier or Romero, I'd say your chances are better. But as a fun hobby, I say absolutely go for it! You never know how far you can take something until you really try. This dude Anomaly is 60 and just had his first real fight at StreetBeefs. Check it out!

 

[AntiStasi]

Start with amateur boxing. You will be paired off with people around your age. I believe the masters start at 35+

 

[alex1751]

Ask CM Punk how that worked out for him.

 

[Harry Flannagan]

So I'm turning 39. I did karate as a little kid for a year or two. I ran a lot in highschool and did boxing classes, a lot of heavy bag, sparred a bit. My jab is decent. I did fencing for a few years and got good linear footwork. I've watched most UFCs so I know the moves, and have rolled a few times.

So I'm thinking of training hard for a year to get in shape, and then fighting when I'm 40. Has this been done before?

It's been done, and I wish you the best of luck, man!

 

[SHAOLINMONK420]

dont do anything and you cant fail

 

[Patrick Jane]

Ron Van Clief made his MMA debut at 51, so i guess you'll be fine. Dan Severn had his first fight at 36 too and he ended up having more than a hundred more.

 

[Jkillah]

Start fighting at 70. Everyone else in your age bracket will be cans.

 

[MAXGLOWMMA]

So I'm turning 39. I did karate as a little kid for a year or two. I ran a lot in highschool and did boxing classes, a lot of heavy bag, sparred a bit. My jab is decent. I did fencing for a few years and got good linear footwork. I've watched most UFCs so I know the moves, and have rolled a few times.

So I'm thinking of training hard for a year to get in shape, and then fighting when I'm 40. Has this been done before?

What level are you trying to get to?

 

[mkw]

I think the title of this subforum is confusing some users.

 

[Sage NorthGOAT]

I'm 38 and when I turn 40, I'm gonna start punching young people. No one is safe. Just do it bro

 

[Deleted member 576123]

EVERYTHING will depend on your personal life and comittments.
I'm 40 this year. I've had a handful of fights over 14 years. Few MMA, few kickboxing/Muay Thai and after 3 years off from back recovery, I see limited (but possible) chance of having some kind of bouts. Probably boxing or k-1 if I can train smarter. But I also have a 4 year old son. A decent job. A good wife. At most, I could train 3 days a week.
That might be enough for a regional level bout somewhere so if you have illusions of grandeur, don't reach into them.
But if you want to just say "I've had a go". Hell yeah. Get stuck in son.

 

[FictionIsReal]

Get on TRT and stay away from any Organisations that do testing and you're good to go.

 

[ocean size]

So I'm turning 39. I did karate as a little kid for a year or two. I ran a lot in highschool and did boxing classes, a lot of heavy bag, sparred a bit. My jab is decent. I did fencing for a few years and got good linear footwork. I've watched most UFCs so I know the moves, and have rolled a few times.

So I'm thinking of training hard for a year to get in shape, and then fighting when I'm 40. Has this been done before?

The first step is the training hard, which will involve a bit of sparing and this and that. Why the fuck not, by that point you will know what you are getting into and how your body is handling it.

 

[cheesus]

Sure it can be done, but you have to be realistic of your limits. I think you would be better of focusing on an individual discipline or maybe two at most, rather than training MMA....which can have extremely limited rulesets under amateur competition anyway depending where you are from.

 

[Manginafish]

If you just want to bang then yes of course it's perfectly doable.
If you have pipe dreams of turning pro or whatever then no don't be silly.

Plenty of ammy/white collar style events you could enter under different rule sets. As long as you are healthy and train hard shouldn't be an issue.

This.

 

[LangfordBarrow]

So I'm turning 39. I did karate as a little kid for a year or two. I ran a lot in highschool and did boxing classes, a lot of heavy bag, sparred a bit. My jab is decent. I did fencing for a few years and got good linear footwork. I've watched most UFCs so I know the moves, and have rolled a few times.

So I'm thinking of training hard for a year to get in shape, and then fighting when I'm 40. Has this been done before?

Do you mean competing in the gym or trying to turn pro?

 

[Rockapotomuss]

Do you mean competing in the gym or trying to turn pro?

just being able to die and say yeah I had a sanctioned fight. If fought plenty of times as a kid and in bars, but never a real match. I feel like a real fight is easier than a real match because it’s so spontaneous there’s no anxiety or work that goes into a real fight. A match would take discipline and fear.

One time I had a boxing match lined up and the other guy pulled out, then my coach quit and I never got back into it.

I love watching MMA and it just seems like I’m missing out by not having gone through the whole experience.