Advice for a 63 year old beginner

[RacecityUSA]

I'll suggest that at your age, fighting may not be your thing. You may still be able to develop/polish/enhance your MA skill, but you have already lost that window for testing (in the ring, or on the mat).

Understood. I am not intending to compete other than sparring and rolling at the Academy

 

[RacecityUSA]

I say go for it! It's never too late to start learning. Martial arts are great fun and good for improving mobility and fitness.

Just go at your pace, listen to your body and start cautiously. You'll soon learn what you can and can't do. If you've got any injuries, long term aggravations etc. let your coach know right up front. A good coach will listen and adapt for you.

Sure you probably don't want to be doing a lot of very powerful kicks on hard heavy bags (bones get increasingly weak from your mid 30's onwards), or sparring hard, but if you're sensible and you have training partners that will look out for you, you should be OK.

I would say you should probably get a check up from your doctor first though. Same goes for pretty much anyone starting a new exercise regime that is going to put stresses on their body they are not used to.

I talked to my Dr. about it last physical and he said he didn't see a problem as long as I was smart about it. Being smart about pretty much anything is typically my biggest challenge.

 

[RacecityUSA]

BJJ (and occasionally Muay Thai) instructor here. I'm 6 years younger than you, but I'm on track to still be active on the mats when I get to your age.

• Take time to warm up thoroughly before class. Not stretching, movements to get the blood flowing and your muscles physically warm,
• Immediately after class (while you are still warm) is the best time to do some stretching and work on flexibility.
• Never stretch so that it hurts. Just go to the point where you feel resistance, then hang out and breathe until you can relax into the stretch a little further.
• Tap early and tap often
• Don't be embarrassed to take extra breaks during class if you need them. You want to push out of your comfort zone, but you don't want to injure yourself or have a heart attack.
• If you do have end up with some sort of mild injury (like a pulled muscle) talk to your instructor about the possibility of showing up and doing just those exercises you can do safely or doing modifications rather than skipping class entirely. Don't just ignore the injury and make it worse. At our age, those heal a lot more slowly than they used to.
• Don't worry about "winning" or "losing" when you roll (i.e. free-grapple) in BJJ. Just try to relax, keep moving, and remember the techniques you've been shown. If you can choose sparring partners who like to "flow roll" it will help you adapt to the environment.
• You'll likely have extreme muscle soreness (and possibly achey joints) for the first few weeks. This is normal, even for younger folks. I recommend hot baths, massage, ice, healthy diet, and yoga to help manage this. I also recommend training 2-3 days per week in the beginning. If you do less than 2 days your body won't make the adaptations you need. If you do more than 3 days at the beginning then you'll probably overload your recovery capacity.
• Focus on technique. You don't want to be trying to beat the 20 year olds on pure athleticism.
• Consistency is king. You are much better showing up every week and getting in some technical reps than throwing yourself in 100% right away, injuring yourself, then being out for a month.
• Cardio will probably be the toughest thing for you in the beginning. If you try both Muay Thai and BJJ, you'll likely find that they hit your cardio differently so that you can be conditioned for one but not the other. The more you can relax, the longer you will be able to go.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Great post and tips. Thank you.

 

[RacecityUSA]

BJJ will usually hurt you more than Muay Thai. At your age, BJJ will hurt your back first, esp. lower back (not including submissions & injuries b/c you didn't tap early). Muay Thai, then it'll be more cardio and pain to injury on the ankles, knees, etc. Don't be shy about wearing a brace for the back, ankles & kness right away.... later, shoulders, elbows....

It also depends on the gym and how hard they go. Most old guys don't last long when they start out if they try to keep up with the rest of the class. I bet many people here can't do the full BJJ warmup exercises w/o taking a rest. Nothing wrong with that, just take it slow.

Ya I'm so inexperienced I don't even know what the warmup exercises are for BJJ. Got to start somewhere right?

 

[JowGaWolf]

The low reverse side kick to the knee joint is a very powerful kick.

Not that one. This one is done from the lead leg. You are thinking of a different kick.

 

[Damien]

I talked to my Dr. about it last physical and he said he didn't see a problem as long as I was smart about it. Being smart about pretty much anything is typically my biggest challenge.

Haha! Well there's a first time for everything right?

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Not that one. This one is done from the lead leg. You are thinking of a different kick.

Leading leg can be the low side kick. Back leg can be the reverse side kick.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Leading leg can be the low side kick. Back leg can be the reverse side kick.

still not the same kick lol I'm looking for a video of it now

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

still not the same kick lol I'm looking for a video of it now

I'm talking about the reverse side kick at 2.52, 2.54, and 2.56.

 

[JowGaWolf]

still not the same kick lol I'm looking for a video of it now

This is the low kick that I'm referring to that lands on the lower legs. @ 0:32

 

[drop bear]

i read that bruce lee never used high kicks in a real fight.

He only fought 1 guy.

 

[drop bear]

I talked to my Dr. about it last physical and he said he didn't see a problem as long as I was smart about it. Being smart about pretty much anything is typically my biggest challenge.

Don't go after people. If you are strong and you get real competitive early on. Quite often they will jack up the pace and you will get hurt.

Roll to explore the dynamic.

Don't throw elbows.

If the school is any good. You should suck at jujitsu for a very long time.

 

[Dirty Dog]

i read that bruce lee never used high kicks in a real fight.

What real fights?

 

[jayoliver00]

Ya I'm so inexperienced I don't even know what the warmup exercises are for BJJ. Got to start somewhere right?

It's going to be exhausting since you're not used to it and the next day, will be a lot of soreness & prob. some joint pain. The key is to accept that you're much older than the average 20-30 year olds there and go easy; taking lots of breaks. I know I couldn't handle the Muay Thai warmup when I first started; w/o taking breaks while everyone else kept going. I remember these 2 girls (at higher levels) smirking at me as they ran by. I made sure to KO them 2 years later, just kidding. I was much younger than you also & had a TKD background & about 4 months of BJJ off/on.

 

[Damien]

I made sure to KO them 2 years later, just kidding

Kidding that you KO'd them, or that it was 2 years later?

 

[drop bear]

OP. when you drill. Do submissions slower than you think they should be.

If the guy doesn't tap. Don't just try to put a heap of juice in to it.

 

[RacecityUSA]

I've wrapped black belts around more than one person older than you. I think the oldest was 76 at the time.
A friend who runs a dive shop in Cancun certified a guy at 78, He had to teach him how to swim first.

Thank you for this inspiring reply

 

[AIKIKENJITSU]

Hello all: I'm 63 years old and considering starting Muay Thai and BJJ. There is a good place right here in my town. TBH I'm a little fearful to start, I'm decently strong as lift fairly heavy multiple time per week and also know that I need to work to improve flexibility and figure the training will help with that. I went to the school to check it out and will most likely be the oldest guy there. A few of the Muay Thai people there are not in as good of shape as I am so I think I can probably keep up somewhat while I build conditioning and endurance. Not sure about the BJJ folks. Am I crazy to start at such an advanced age and do y'all have any advice for me? Thx

Sure your crazy but do it anyway. I've been doing American Kenpo for fifty years and it keeps me limber as a 30 year old. But, I started at age 26. It will be harder for you, but just take it slow and you probably can do it. The two arts you picked are very effective for self defense, but rough. My art is American Kenpo. In my younger days, I had to defend myself several times and Kenpo worked great.
Now if you like wrestling on the ground, then Jujitsu is for you. Just remember, in the streets if you're fighting on the ground, another guy and come up and stomp you good!
I teach many ways to get off the ground every quickly. You do not want to be on the ground in a real situation. I teach many ways to get off the ground quickly. If it were me, I would just learn the joint locks of ground fighting and learn how to get up quickly from the ground.Now
Now Muay Thai is another art that is also very taxing but effective. I would try each one and then stick to only one and give your all to it. Don't try to learn both of them at the same time. I personally would pick Muay Thai from the both. Both of these arts will exert your body big time! If there is an American Kenpo in your town, you might consider that one. I don't do or teach their forms anymore, just the real self defense techniques.
Good Luck!
Sifu
Puyallup, WA

 

[Raven's ron]

Hello all: I'm 63 years old and considering starting Muay Thai and BJJ. There is a good place right here in my town. TBH I'm a little fearful to start, I'm decently strong as lift fairly heavy multiple time per week and also know that I need to work to improve flexibility and figure the training will help with that. I went to the school to check it out and will most likely be the oldest guy there. A few of the Muay Thai people there are not in as good of shape as I am so I think I can probably keep up somewhat while I build conditioning and endurance. Not sure about the BJJ folks. Am I crazy to start at such an advanced age and do y'all have any advice for me? Thx

I was practicing at your age, stopped for reasons unrelated to age. Yes, if you maintain physical fitness in general there's no reason you can't train in any art, even spar vigorously with youngsters.

 

[Hyoho]

I'll suggest that at your age, fighting may not be your thing. You may still be able to develop/polish/enhance your MA skill, but you have already lost that window for testing (in the ring, or on the mat).

A very famous Japanese sword master once told me, "Love your way, if you don't love it?, don't do it". You should not discourage anyone from the arts. Providing he can do what he wants within his limitations. Providing he can find a good teacher to that wants help him? All well and good. It's time we lost this stupid Western idea that MA is all for attack or defending yourself. Nobody kills anybody anymore. It's cultural social activity!