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Beginning Karate/Martial Arts as a middle age adult - thoughts?

mrwhy

Level 5 Valued Member
Hello everyone -

What are all of your thoughts regarding beginning martial arts as a middle age adult? Honestly, I'm not particularly concerned about self defense. It's more just enjoyment of training and physical development. I also would love to be part of an art that has strong sparring, and hopefully tournaments. But, I also want to minimize risk of injury. I am getting closer to 50 than not and am not really interested in getting hit in the head over and over, or putting myself in a position to be hurt.

Any thoughts?

And, bonus question - if any of you have recommendation for the southern california area, i would love to hear them.

There is a goju-ryu school not to far from me. It seems like the kykoshin dojo near me is no longer holding classes. A few shotokan schools. A slew of MMA/jujitsu places....
 
As far as recommendations for Southern California, I would say MOVE OUT. Maybe to go Idaho where its safe and clean.

I'm 50-years old and my joints are not what they used to be. I can take a punch, but I would be more worried about all the quick movements and hyperextending my joints.
 
a few thoughts.

I have had a few acute encounters with karate practice in my life.

when I was about 5 years old, I was in a Kenpo class for a little more than a year, I think. I got up to testing for my Yellow belt, which required a 20-step Kata and some basic and mild demonstration. I did not receive my next belt. shortly thereafter, before I could test again, my eldest brother was graduating to competitive levels of Kendo, and in order to buy the armor I was no longer attending Kenpo.​
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when I got older I had some visits to an Aikido dojo learning some basic movements with my uncle in Japan. they were very quiet and solemn, and for what it's worth, aikido is not nothing. I was put on my back by an 80-year-old, and I was resisting. I could probably learn why, and how to defend it, but I remember that it was a startling experience at the time.​
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during basic training, we learned some intro BJJ as a part of hand-to-hand combat training. I had encounters with so-called Level 1 combative classes throughout my 20-year-long career. about 5 formal training that I had to fly to, and almost annually as part of a refresher, given that my unit was blessed with as many as 3 certified instructors; out of their own interest - due to exposure from other inter-unit competitions. this was a luxury most units do not enjoy.​
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now my son is in Tae Kwon Do, and I've attended a few classes with him here and there, on the house with the dojo. once for fathers Day; for example. I punched and kicked a bit, and enjoyed remembering the similarities I understood from childhood about basic Karate. Focus, tension, speed timing, kicking height, etc.​

I lay out those incredibly mild bonafidies to say: I have a certain amount of reverence and deference that I pay to the mat. and those who would step onto it.

I would say of all my mild encounters with martial arts - there are two distinct items I now think are more valuable than all others.

Train for speed, and train your joint mobility.
the greater your hips and shoulders' operable range, the better as far as I can tell.

I was once paired with a female instructor to roll and I was practicing a shoulder lock, they had taught. Paint the mat with the wrist, they said. She couldn't help but coach me through it and point out some things I was missing about position and control. but despite my best efforts, She did not tap and showed me that she could pop her hips and get out from under me multiple times. not the only reason, but her shoulders were so flexible, I couldn't stop her in her tracks.​

being fast when opportunity strikes is always good.
being strong during awkward moments affords a lot of competitive upsides as far as I can tell.

I think someone here posted: my dog never stretched as a puppy, but he stretched long and hard every time he got up as he got older. I've had pets almost my whole life. I think there's a deep truth to that.

stretch, move, stretch, move, repeat. especially now.
 
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I highly recommend everyone train in martial arts.

I started Shotokan karate when I was 44. There’s a good chance I’ll test for Shodan (1st Dan black belt) in Sept. There’s a strong emphasis on body dynamics (especially a sense of expansion and contraction and moving with/through your center), speed and power. The movements themselves are very direct, so little to no “flowery” movements. Relax-tension-relax in split seconds.

The age old question is what should you do? It depends on what you gravitate towards. Other than the fact that I do karate with my son, I like the style of Shotokan that we train at my dojo as it has a lot of elements of body control and movement quality, building knowledge and skill around situational awareness and managing distance of an opponent, and the science/art quality of the kata and techniques. There’s also a balance between the upper an lower body.

One of my favorite instructors, Rick Hotton Sensei




My advice is to check multiple schools out and see what clicks with you. What is “optimal” is going to largely depend on your goals and interests. If you go the more “traditional” route, make sure to watch out for McDojos that move folks through the ranks quickly. Always focus on foundation, principles and practice.
 
Go for it! I have trained in karate in the past for several years (I started with Goju Ryu and then Kyokushinkai, eventually earning my brown belt but falling short of my black belt due to a variety of factors). I began BJJ in my early 40s. My youngest son has developed an interest in karate and is now training in Isshin Ryu. I enjoy watching him so much and am impressed by the instructors - once he makes it to the adult class I may try to convince the wife to let me tag along again.
 
Boris Bachmann said:
TKD or kyokushin karate or boxing would probably be more up my alley personally.

I would love to do Jujitsu or Judo if I could trust not to have to spar w. wannabe MMA athlete a-holes who might crank my middle age joints or slam me on hard mat. Finding the right school would be paramount.
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This is so true. Some BJJ gyms have classes for 40+ guys that are trying to win worlds. I think there’s a wealth that can be gained from traditional martial arts as you age.
 
I started both Goju Ryu karate and Balintawak Arnis Cuentada () this year at 35, after starting my kids in Goju Ryu. I've thoroughly enjoyed both, partly due to the arts themselves, but also due to the great "family" that comes with it.

Sparring is fun, and probably less likely to lead to injuries than comps if you are concerned.

Whatever style or art you go with, if the people are good people, you'll enjoy it that much more.
 
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Go for it. For self defense I would go with boxing and judo so I can control where a confrontation will end up. Judo has great submissions that most people don’t know about because when it comes to submissions most people think of BJJ.
Whatever you pick, enjoy the journey!
 
When I was in college, my kenpo instructor was a 60 year old biker dude and one of the brown belts was a 50-something year old woman.
 
grouchyjarhead said:
Go for it! I have trained in karate in the past for several years (I started with Goju Ryu and then Kyokushinkai, eventually earning my brown belt but falling short of my black belt due to a variety of factors). I began BJJ in my early 40s. My youngest son has developed an interest in karate and is now training in Isshin Ryu. I enjoy watching him so much and am impressed by the instructors - once he makes it to the adult class I may try to convince the wife to let me tag along again.
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When I started there want an adult class at the dojo. Average age was 10 years old. I was really good at sparring with them. Here’s a clip:

 
Having a good teacher who can help you to work on your physical parameters as well as the skill aspects is very important. Someone, who won't push and force you so hard that you have to take time off due to an injury from flexibility, work, solo work or in sparring. Ensure that you have good recovery between training sessions (ie don't do too much) and perhaps have a very short daily routine to help with flexibility and strength. Unless you have skills in physical training get help from a good teacher regarding a simple program for those days you don't train at your school.
 
Like basically everyone has stated: Go for it.
If a gym or style fails to meet your expectations, there is little drama in leaving it and finding another way to spend your training time.
 
WxHerk said:
Go for it. Try several places. You’ll know when you find a “home.”

You’ll regret not doing it.
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spot on!
Steve Freides said:
IMHO the teacher matters much more than which flavor you choose.

As to whether or not, you should do this, there is no reason not to do it.

-S-
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spot on! the teacher (and junior teachers/senior students) sets the culture and tone of the class. an overly aggressive teacher will lead you to getting hit in the head more often than necessary. and self-injury due to aggresive over-reaching.

me: when my life gets back into balance (48 yr here), I want to do some BJJ. I trained Karate in primary school. then Kungfu almost 20 years later and had to quit almost 10 years later (coincidently almost 10 years ago). always sad that I stopped Kungfu but life balance took me away.
 
@Ryan T, the Kramer clip reminds me of my TKD experience. My son started at age 4, had a black belt at age 8, and wanted to quit then. Our "deal" to get him to continue was that I'd start taking TKD with him. Our school had various age classes and they ran from the afternoon through the evening, with the littlest ones right after school, adults in the evening, and the other age groups filling the times between. The master of the school decided to put the two of us, one age 8 and the other age 45, into the teenage class.

Our school only sparred once every week or two, and when we did, it was indeed a little odd to be intimidating to some of the younger kids, but fortunately for my sense of having a realistic self-image, they also had some of the 2nd and 3rd degree black belts there to spar, and those folks sent me flying across the room more than once.

-S-
 
Steve Freides said:
@Ryan T, the Kramer clip reminds me of my TKD experience. My son started at age 4, had a black belt at age 8, and wanted to quit then. Our "deal" to get him to continue was that I'd start taking TKD with him. Our school had various age classes and they ran from the afternoon through the evening, with the littlest ones right after school, adults in the evening, and the other age groups filling the times between. The master of the school decided to put the two of us, one age 8 and the other age 45, into the teenage class.

Our school only sparred once every week or two, and when we did, it was indeed a little odd to be intimidating to some of the younger kids, but fortunately for my sense of having a realistic self-image, they also had some of the 2nd and 3rd degree black belts there to spar, and those folks sent me flying across the room more than once.

-S-
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Good anecdote Steve. All jokes aside it was pretty humbling to be the adult in a kid’s class, but I shined it on. Eventually, an adult class opened however I still go to the advanced class with the kids (who are 13-15 yrs old now). That particular day of the week is kata/technique focus so it’s appropriate. Adults are still beginner to intermediate, so I only attend on sparring/kumite nights.

Interesting aside about same-sex adult kumite; the playing field is more level regardless of rank. I’ve got guys that are below me, but are tough as nails to combat. One was a hockey player so great at aggression, and if he could, he’d pull my gi over my head and pound me with his fist. So far it hasn’t come to that.
 
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