Are you too old for this?

[Phil Farmer]

I came to martial arts at age 37 (11 years ago) and my health and fitness have improved steadily over that time. Martial arts injuries are limited to a slightly separated shoulder when I did something I wasn't supposed to and learned a lesson, and a few toes that have been jammed.

I came to martial arts after lengthy time spent in football, baseball, running, triathlons, and cycling. These sports caused a lot more wear and tear on my body than martial arts has. The worst was running 10 marathons and other assorted races. To this day I cannot fully flex my big toes (a small problem on front kicks!). It has taken me ten years of martial arts and yoga to begin to overcome the things these other sports did to my body.

I will agree that the recovery time is the biggest change as you age. Our style does a yearly week long camp with three workouts per day. Needless to say, the 20 somethings love camp a whole lot more than us older guys and gals, but when it comes to technique, the youngsters get worse as they get tired while us older, more senior students seem to get better or at least stay very consistent.

Phil Farmer

[hyaku]

Originally posted by Cady Goldfield
Hyaku,

Humility is nice, but if you aren't way more refined and efficient in your movements now than you were back at the beginning, maybe you should forget budo and take up knitting or something.

Grrrrrr What I meant was there is no refined method of going through the motions of killing someone. Unrefined comments are a give away too!

Hyakutake Colin

[Jock Armstrong]

Children, children...... yes, we old farts have to be a tad more careful. I'm forty two, with 23 years of training [abuse?] and probably worse, 14 years of infantry, which is where my injuries come from- buggered knees and ankles from landing too hard from the back of trucks and choppers. [Try fast roping with a 40lb pack and an M60- you don't bounce!]. I was always a kicker, though I'm big and heavy. My flex is not affected but on a bad day I can't contact anything without damaging myself. I've been turning to hands/grapples/throws more. I also managed to get gout. Yes friends, the rich and decadent disease [I was real clever but- I bypassed the wealth and went straight to the disease!]. That gave me a taste of how helpless you can become. I'm cured now but for around five years fast tai sabaki was out. I had to grab and hold on. Old age is a fiend but I still got me trusty chen Musashi!!!

[Cady Goldfield]

Originally posted by hyaku


Grrrrrr What I meant was there is no refined method of going through the motions of killing someone. Unrefined comments are a give away too!

Hyakutake Colin

Ohhhh, but the comments were very refined
My reference was only to the physical attainment of efficiency of motion, efficiency of effect -- to the point of sparing one's joints, bones and muscles from the excesses of youthful exhuberance and the beginner's use of inefficient and excessive motion to accomplish each technique.

Yes, the optimum performance in those areas also means optimum refinement in the science of killing... but I in no way was referring to that or refinement of character. That's another department.

Remember, the thread is on aging and can we still practice our arts. I have seen some impressive demonstrations by bujutsuka in their 70s and 80s, and whatever they lack in speed, strength and vigor they make up for with quickness, power and strategy/tactical skill. IOW, they accomplish more with less.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by elder999
Relish what you have now, and look forward to growing old.

It beats the alternative, after all...

Immortality?
I agree with Woody Allen; I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it by not dying. Preferably with the body of a 20-year-old.

[A. M. Jauregui]

Would it not be sad if one just got older but never died... (Might make a decent Twilight Zone.)

As for the question at hand, so far so good at the age of 27. But a very hard hit from a bokuto to my shoulder has taken about a year to fully heal. I remember when such things would have just taken weeks.

[Cady Goldfield]

Ana, there is an ancient Greek myth about just that -- about a man who asked the gods for immortality, but forgot to ask them for eternal youth to go with it. He eventually shriveled and shrank until he turned into the first cricket.

<i>I want to live forever or die in the attempt</i> -- Some Guy

[hyaku]

Originally posted by Cady Goldfield
Remember, the thread is on aging and can we still practice our arts. I have seen some impressive demonstrations by bujutsuka in their 70s and 80s, and whatever they lack in speed, strength and vigor they make up for with quickness, power and strategy/tactical skill. IOW, they accomplish more with less.

Thanks for you very informative answer. Guess I never knew that. I tell my 88 year old teacher. I dont think he knows either.

That gives me another fifteen to try before I take up knitting.

Hyakutake Colin

Hyoho Niten Ichiryu- Kageryu

[Kimpatsu]

I refuse to grow any older. I dread turning (whisper it softly) 40. Let me be eternally young, and eternally youthful.
Highlander!

[A. M. Jauregui]

I knew that sounded familiar, thanks for the memory jog Cady.

[Cady Goldfield]

Colin,
Why wait, then. If I were you, I'd drop budo, take up knitting now and save yourself the aggravation...

[Cady Goldfield]

Tony,

One matter that people forget, is that the sun is going to go red giant in 5 or 6 billion years. And, the universe is expanding until who knows what. Do you really want to be around then? And what if you are immortal, even with the Earth getting toasted? Eventually, you'd get sucked into a black hole, and what fun would immortality be then?

And even before that, you'd be all by your lonesome when humanity evolves into something else, or goes extinct. I hate it when that happens.

[Kimpatsu]

By the time the Sun goes nova, Cady, I'll have left for another solar system (see "Time Enough for Love" by Robert Heinlein). And I'm such a misanthrope, I look forward to the peace and quiet when humanity has died out! I might even hasten your demise myself!

[hyaku]

Originally posted by Cady Goldfield
Colin,
Why wait, then. If I were you, I'd drop budo, take up knitting now and save yourself the aggravation...

Its quite funny you should mention knitting though. I graduated in knitting technology before furthering my studies in later years. I was on the team that pioneered the panty-stocking (tights). As result of that 60% of the workers lost there jobs in the Knitwear Industry due to technology.

I could knit you a nice wooly hat to tuck your hair in anytime

Most of the more aged teachers I know that are hacking away at a ripe old age are phsicaly amazing. But it gets to them in other ways. At lot have very bad hearing especially if they have done Kendo. Others can't see so well.

The point that sticks we me most of all is that we should try to set our own steadily increasing age aside to try and look after them. I have already seen a few pass on and its sad to look through the album. They take "so" much with them when they go.

Iwata Norikazu Sensei (90) always buys omiage for the kids and aged only. He always says the middle aged can look after themselves.

Hyakutake Colin

[Cady Goldfield]

I agree that we lose much when one of those old treasures passes on. But, as you imply, that's why we spend our lives trying to learn as much from them as we can to keep the tradition going. Each of us becomes responsible as a "vessel" for transmitting the art -- and also a piece of our own character -- as were our budo ancestors.

There are inevitable consequences of aging, and as has been said, if you want to avoid the alternative path (dying young), then this is just something that we have to deal with as we encounter each indignity. Fortunately, with today's wondrous medical technology, we might be able to forstall any really annoying stuff until we are 90... right??

By then, maybe we'll have paid a fraction of the debt to our teachers.