How to continue your martial arts training as a senior

 I've always advocated for everyone to train martial arts. Size, profession, sex, strength, weakness, even through injuries, illnesses, or level of health. I've always believed that no matter what someone's condition is, I, as a martial arts, instructor, could alter or modify the techniques, the workouts, and definitely the level of exertion. As I've been getting older, I'm 65 now, I have realized the hard way that age is a serious deterrent, or at least roadblock to many of the workouts that I've been doing for so many years. I don't wanna call age a handicap, but it's a fucking handicap. Being 65, and keeping my training as consistent as I have since I was 15 and training for the golden gloves, even though I admit it, I have had to change things in my training. I hate to admit that, so please don't tell anyone. I will deny it.

Now that I am a senior, I realize firsthand that there are limitations physically, to what my students can do as the age. I don't like to treat age as a handicap, but excuse my political correctness. it is a handicap. But like any other handicap, I will work around it like I have for the past 45 years of teaching and training martial artists of every level. When I do my belt testing for my students, I have never modified, or changed anything because of sex. In other words, there's no difference in a females belt test or a man's. But I have always scaled the training and the belt testing for certain handicaps. And just like with my one armed student “Lefty”, since I knew his ability to do push-ups was not equal to my two armed students, I also believe the scores of the physical testing will be different for my 22 year-old student then they are my 66 year old student, so I scale appropriately.  I hate to admit it, but I can say it now, because I'm one of them, physically, being a senior is a handicap. Now I'm not gonna leave it there, because I still think no matter what a person's handicap, they should train martial arts, an age is no different. Now, let me tell you how I work around my handicap of age. 

My first rule, or even priority of working out with the handicap of age is to accept the fact that you no longer can do things you could when you were younger. Denying it will only set you back, physically and mentally. Just like Lefty Excepted the fact that his left hook had to be thrown with his right hand, because he didn't have a left arm. As seniors we can do pretty much anything a younger martial artist can do, we just can't do it as hard and fast, or even as frequently for that matter. But we still can do it, and that's what you should never forget. I can row 1000 m, walk up Wilhelmina rise, do seven minutes of Burpee, I can even do eight counts, but my numbers are never gonna be what they were 40, 20, or even 10 years ago. When the alpha athlete martial artist starts to age, their first line of defense is denial, that's good for a while until injuries start surfacing when they didn't before. All of a sudden, sprains and strains don't heal as quickly, and after a hard workout of blackjack,you just don't feel the same the next day like you used to. OAF’s, don't like to admit that is because we're getting 0AF old as fuck. The best way you can be the best version of yourself as a OAF is to accept that you are one, but you're going to be the strongest fittest OAF anywhere. Sorry brother that's the best I can do. And it's the best you can do as well, so we need to accept our position on the physical pecking order.

Now that I'm done with the bad news of having you, except the fact that these damn youngsters are going to be able to beat us in practically all physical endeavors, including martial arts training.  There is good news. The good news is we can still train through our 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, even into your hundreds. Celebrate the fact that your martial arts training wall maybe modified never has to go away. You can train, and push to your limit for your entire life. and for some of us that is our entire life. I don't care how old you are, modify, scale, do whatever you have to do get out there and move your body, get your heart rate up, push some weight around, punch, and kick a bag, go out, walk in nature, push your limits, emphasis on "your". Who cares what those fucking youngsters can do on the mat, have them look at you and think to themselves "damn that guy has old man strength" be the example to other old people. Keep moving sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Push, pole, lift, throw, punch, kick, swing, sprint, walk, but just keep moving every fucking day. 

so, basically, my message is very simple. If you are an older person, accept it, and keep training. When I hear older people make the excuse that they can't train anymore because of their age, I just laugh and realize they're pretty fucking stupid. But on the other side of that, while I want you all to have a mindset that you can push it to your limit, realize that sometimes your limit is going to be a fraction of what it once was. That is a hard pill to swallow,  but the quicker that you do, the quicker you can move on, and be all you can be for the rest of your life. Martial arts instructors. If you're not oh a F, yet, realize that your students that are are pushing their very hardest, but won't have the same numbers as your younger students. I don't separate because of sex or weight or height, but I do scale my testing scores for age. I start at 46 years old, up until then, there's just one number, and then at 46 I start modifying the test scores in increments of five years. If you have any questions, suggestions, criticisms, or compliments please feel free to write me back. My email is [email protected]

Live clean, train hard, and don't let anyone take your lunch money.