Martial Arts: a Pursuit of the Young?

[polishillusion]

you wish you had more time to enjoy what you do? you want some more pleasure out of what you are currently doing? you are looking into the future with uncertainty because of the "problems" you see coming down the path, because of your training, while you are appreciating the things it has given you?

[MartialArtN00b]

Well im a young guy, still early twenties. Did kungfu for a year and a half, and switched to bjj.

But basically i can understand where youre coming from.

I used to have hope for kungfu until i conversed with this old hungga sifu in his 60s. Most of you can guess who he is when i simply say 'shitrat'.

Anyways, as it goes, i was stating that i started yoga.( God knows how unhip it would have been 10-20 years ago). Stated that i found the postures and movement so similar to bjj that its an amazing supplemental solo training tool. Which pushed me to, "well ill yogafy my hung ga forms also and see how it pans out" .

This whole paragraph was blasphemous to the old guys over there. Yoga could not be used to be better at jiujitsu, it was strictly a new agey thing, and hung ga yoga was even more blasphemous, ignoring the fact that many of the postures overlap with those of yoga anyways.

It had to fit within their mindset and their training experience. I guess i was asking for it since i knew beforehand what their reaction would be before the post.

From that moment off, i gave up on any hope for kungfu, i swore off foruming because of basically, too many #%^ old people. THough seeing this thread , id figure id add my two cents.

PS: kungfu yogafied is hundredfold more useful than kungfu alone.

[Bang!]

Any sort of athletic endeavour is going to leave a substantial wake of wear and tear. If you think that martial arts have an impact on the body, then go talk to or ex-pro athletes in pretty much any arena. Even golfers ache.

One thing remains undeniably clear to me, though: putting fear aside and going after something with determination and sheer will is never going to be the safest path. Forget the pseudo-philosophical bullshit; I mean you’re going to get injured. It’s working through that process, however, that leaves you in a state of mind a fuckload closer to enlightenment than any sort of vicarious experience could ever take you. That being said, you take what you want from experience. What I want and what you want are almost definitely two different things.

As time has gone by, I’ve become increasingly aware of the importance of balancing out the bumps and bruises with a softer side of things. The formwork and individual exercises from tai chi are, for me, an important part of this process. Soft-tissue work of all kinds is also key. If you’re interested in continuing to train far beyond your thirties, something along these lines are necessary. Whatever works for you, though . . .

Of course, I’m off-topic a little bit. Phrost was pontificating on the way that things have changed. I’m not much younger than him, yet I’m old enough to have spent my teenage years training in bullshit because the open flow of information that the internet has afforded did not exist then. I didn’t know any better at the time, but I’m certain that I would have found the right information – had it been more easily available – before too long. Things have changed.

So how do I feel when I look at the vibrant options commonly available now? I figure that I have a lot of catch-up to do. “What if” is for motherfuckers who aren’t doing stuff right now.

[RunningDog]

It's counterproductive to resent the changes in training methods or anything else that have occurred since one started. It's necessary for people to train in order for things to change; there was no way of altering the world back then or any time to make it better. The only thing to do is train hard. If kids today have it better than ten years ago, and kids ten years from now have it better still, we have nothing to do but be proud to have brought them a better world of martial arts.

“What if” is for motherfuckers who aren’t doing stuff right now.

If I could step out of my own body and give me advice, that's what it would be. Wise words chaps.

[jnp]

I was 32 when I started BJJ. I'll be 38 in a month or so. I have recent injuries from BJJ and older ones from wrestling back in high school/college and I don't give a ****. As long as I can still step out onto the mat, I'll continue to train.

I'm not fighting this aging thing though. Nope, not at all.

[polishillusion]

I am 21 years old. I envy all of your experiences, and mourn all of your problems, because they will be mine eventually as well.

[JKDChick]

I'm thinking about making a joke about your age, But I'm afraid you would kick my ass

I'm older than he is, if you want to insult me.

[Dr. Sleepless]

I love that I started young and incurred the most serious injuries at a young age and was able to bounce right back up. At 21, I can feel some of those old injuries starting to creep back. Shattered ankles, broken knuckles, the old hip being popped out. That kind of stuff. I'm glad that I took this path in life as it seriously taught me a lot of things I wouldn't have learned otherwise aside from fighting. I mean the internal primal things you learn about fighting transfer over to life sometimes. Being agressive, being realistic, being assertive and thinking quickly on your feet, etc. I also met some of the coolest people ever through martial arts (<3 to you all) and I really think full contact sportfighting should be mandatory for everyone at a young age.

[RunningDog]

I love that I started young and incurred the most serious injuries at a young age and was able to bounce right back up. At 21 etc etc etc

This thread is a support group for members over, or approaching 30. Out, whippersnapper! We don't want your youthful optimism here.

[Asriel]

Why oh why did I give up Judo and take up Krotty at 6? Why? Mr Miyagi has a lot to answer for! Since re-discovering Judo last year, I find that at almost 30 I don't bounce back up as much as I used to.