Hi, I was in ITF Taekwon-Do about 15 years ago for a couple of years. I lived out in West TX at the time. Long story short, work schedules, projects, driving distance to class, ultimately meant I dropped out. Over the years I have worked out with a couple Taekwondo (Kukkiwon/WTF style) instructors on an informal basis, basically just sparring.
I now live in Plano in the DFW area and last year I did a little Shorin-ryu Karate but that was interrupted by having to have a hernia repair (not MA related) and when I healed from the surgery, life was busy and I just did not get back in the habit of going to class. Now however I am getting the bug to start again but in order to make it easier to stay with it, I am looking at classes that are a little closer to home than the Shorin-ryu school is.
So far I have worked out with a Tang Soo Do class at a local YMCA and a Korean Taekwondo master who has a school literally within walking distance of my house. Last week one of the Tang Soo Do instructors informed me that as part of their testing, I would be required to run a timed mile run. Ha! I do not think so, that would require me to take up running which right now I am not prepared to do and I do not think my knees would take the pounding. OTOH however the Taekwondo class is very rigorous and there is lots of bouncing, jumping, tons of kicking, etc... I am sucking wind in class like crazy but enjoying it. The good part is that the floor is covered with high quality puzzle like mats that go together. They make it easier on the joints but are still firm enough that you are not sinking into them like some I have seen.
I have been told that after the age of 40, one should not be jumping and doing spinning kicks but I seemed to be doing OK with it in the Taekwondo class but I still wonder if this is something I should be doing. I do have some minor joint pain in my hips but mostly muscular pain the next day after class but a little ibuprofen and the pain goes away. My biggest problem is just I have no wind; I need to build up my lung capacity.
I do have some inspiration though. There is a guy in the TKD class that is 67 years old and just started two years ago with no prior martial arts experience, and he seems no worse for the wear, in fact I sparred against him and he was pretty darn good!
Any thoughts?
Robert
Great to see you getting back into Taekwon-Do training after such a long hiatus. My instructor has a gentleman in his school who didn't start training until he was, IIRC, 49 or 50. He is now 76 and a V dan. He's starting to slow up a little but is still
very tough. He doesn't have as much endurance as the younger guys, of course, but he's out there on the floor doing all the techniques everyone else does, including flying and spinning kicks so don't worry about that. He and some of the other oder gentlemen who train actually take ibuprofin sometimes
before class and say that it helps them not be sore afterwards. I know you said you take it afterwards if needed but that might be something you want to try.
You
should, of course take care not to unduly or unnecessarily strain your body. Work up to the flying reverse hooking kicks! If you strain something or pull a muscle baby it until it's no longer hurt. Make sure to stretch out before class and afterwards so you don't run undue risk of injury. Drink plenty of water during the day so you are hydrated for class.
As for building up your lung capacity, if you don't want to take up running (as you mentioned) I'd suggest doing the following:
Biking. Either the real thing or spend time on an exercise bike. Alternate between a steady pace for distance and basically riding wind sprints. This will increase your endurance without pulling your speed down to a plodding pace. Lower impact than running.
Swimming. Good endurance work as it emplys the whole body. Make sure you alternate distance and speed work outs. Very low impact on the joints.
Patterns. Use your patterns as a training tool to increase endurance. This can be done by performing patterns at near full power with a minimal break between them. You can also take a pattern and perform it in a progressive manner (i.e. one movement, back to ready, two movements, back to ready, three movements, back to ready, etc.). Even if you do a pattern with 20 some movements this is going to give you a good work out by the time you finish. (I don't see me doing So-San this way any time soon with its 72 movements
).
Shadow Boxing. Use hand and foot techniques and do a few rounds of shadow boxing. Do maybe 2 minute rounds with a one minute break in between. Light impact and, like pattern work, you're practicing techniques and increasing endurance at the same time.
Congratulations on getting back into training and good luck with it!
Pax,
Chris
