# old people!



## Pedro Gouveia (Jul 3, 2007)

Hello.i have a question to make for who pratice jiu jitsu....I´m going to start,in two days,jiu jitsu and one thing that i saw in all the dojo´s that i visited is that doesn´t exist old people(like in the stage of 50).Why?Is because of the injurys?Jiu jitsu is unpraticle for old peolpe?

Psf course the age of fifty is a beautifull age,and is not old.But you understand me!!


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## Ceicei (Jul 3, 2007)

When I took Judo for a short time, there was a female student in class who was 67 years old.  Surprisedly, she did very well and had been in it for a while.  Due to logistics and other reasons, I left that school to take up Jujitsu closer to home.

- Ceicei


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## Xue Sheng (Jul 3, 2007)

I don't know, I saw a HKD guy being slammed to the floor and doing a fair share of slaming others and he was 53 and the teacher was older.

HKD is not Jujitsu but it is sure close


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jul 3, 2007)

My oldest student who grapples and get's down on the mat all the time is 82 years old.  I do private lessons with him but he still trains really hard at 82.


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## joblo (Jul 3, 2007)

I think you will find this true any all dojos, people get lazy when they get older. I'm 51 and grapple on a regular basis. I say go for it.


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## theletch1 (Jul 4, 2007)

joblo said:


> I think you will find this true any all dojos, people get lazy when they get older. I'm 51 and grapple on a regular basis. I say go for it.


I don't think they get lazy, really.  I DO believe ('cause I'm getting there myself) that the it takes more out of us to keep going.  My oldest student/classmate is right at 60.  He doesn't have the stamina that the 20 somethings have but he's got 10 times the heart.  The older you get the longer injuries take to heal, the harder it is to stay at peak level.  It's just a part of the aging process.  With the proper training, diet and attitude the effects of age can be muted to a great extent but it isn't easy.

 I also have to wonder if perhaps the grappling isn't as popular with the older crowd simply because it a lot newer to the western martial arts scene than many of the more traditional arts.


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## D Dempsey (Jul 4, 2007)

I don't really know why.  At the jiu-jitsu school I train at around half the class is guys in their late 40's and early 50's and they don't really seem to have many problems.  A few months ago we had a visitor from out of town come in to roll and he was a 72 year old blue belt and he was still rolling pretty hard.  I think as long as you train smart you can keep grappling for a long time.


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## theletch1 (Jul 4, 2007)

D Dempsey said:


> I don't really know why. At the jiu-jitsu school I train at around half the class is guys in their late 40's and early 50's and they don't really seem to have many problems. A few months ago we had a visitor from out of town come in to roll and he was a 72 year old blue belt and he was still rolling pretty hard. I think as long as you train smart you can keep grappling for a long time.


Training smart is the key.  My instructor was discussing a while back about the idea of pacing your injuries.  You're gonna get hurt every now and then regardless of how careful you are during training.  Trouble is that the guys in their teens and twenties heal so quickly that they figure it'll always be like that and continue to take risks and train when injured.  By the time they're in their mid 30s and later these recurring injuries when they were younger really start to show their effect.


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## Freestyler777 (Jul 6, 2007)

I believe that size, strength, and endurance is important in any competitive art, especially BJJ.  There are old guys who could beat young guys, but they have been doing training and conditioning all their lives.  

What I am trying to say is, fighting is a young man's game.  However, a good man stays fit his whole life, trains his whole life, and can get _better _with age, not worse.  

There is no secret techniques, just hard work!


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## Eternal Beginner (Jul 18, 2007)

Pedro Gouveia said:


> Hello.i have a question to make for who pratice jiu jitsu....I´m going to start,in two days,jiu jitsu and one thing that i saw in all the dojo´s that i visited is that doesn´t exist old people(like in the stage of 50).Why?Is because of the injurys?Jiu jitsu is unpraticle for old peolpe?
> 
> Psf course the age of fifty is a beautifull age,and is not old.But you understand me!!


I just got back from Rio and the World Masters/Seniors Tournament.  Trust me, there are LOTS of "older" people practicing BJJ.

At our home club we have quite a few practitioners in their 40's and 50's...some do general classes but a few choose to do only privates in order to avoid unpredictable training partners.

I think some clubs attract different type of clientele.  Some will be women, children and older people friendly and others concentrate on a younger, male demographic.  The instructor sets the tone and that kind of decides who stays to train.  Personally, as a middle-aged female, age isn't a huge factor in my training BJJ.


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## tshadowchaser (Jul 18, 2007)

> The older you get the longer injuries take to heal, the harder it is to stay at peak level. It's just a part of the aging process


those facts may be a reason that people do not start at 50 plus years.  However if a person is careful and there training partners are careful I see no reason not to study and practice at that young age.
Your training partner will have much to do with how well you learn and how much pain you are in. A good instructor will keep xlose watch over all new students regardless of age to make sure they learn properly and are not injured needlessly.


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## TjThunder (Aug 3, 2007)

As long as you put the effort in and your health is good age isn't as big of a factor as some people make it out to be!!  My dad still does local triathalons and he is 67.  His endurance is probably better than mine and I'm 25!!


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