Starting Martial Arts After 50

[amita]

I'm older than you, have taken more than one break, and have trained in more than one art.
You're not going to find TKD all that much different, in practice, to TSD. The forms will likely be different, in that TSD uses the turtle forms, which are not commonly used by TKD schools. But given that the Moo Duk Kwan (the source of TSD) was the largest of the original Kwan involved in the development of TKD, it's not surprising that there's a lot of overlap in the underlying principles.
You don't say where you are, but there are MDK schools all over the US. Depending on the history and lineage of their particular branch of the MDK, these schools may use the pinan, palgwae or taegeuk poomsae for colored belts.
Age of the instructor shouldn't be an issue. I learn from people a fraction of my age all the time.
As for the particular style of the dobak used... meh.... get over it, frankly. It's not a fashion show.
As for your age... forget it. You're just too old.
Kidding.
We recently promoted a woman to 1st Dan. She's 73. She used to bring her grandson to class, and when he lost interest (at 3rd geup, if memory serves) she kept coming. She was 65-ish when she took her first class.

 

[amita]

Thanks for this information. Gives me hope.

 

[mrt2]

OK, folks. Still here, still training. Tested for Green Belt (6th Gup) and passed! No real surprises except that because I was the oldest person and the highest ranked person at the test, I had to know all the sparring combinations on the bag and call them out. But it was fine. I pretty much committed the first 12 to memory, and I only had to do 8 for the test. Forms were uneventful for me. I broke my board on the first try. I think this may be the last of the quick promotions. which is fine. Green belt was a major goal for me.

 

[dvcochran]

OK, folks. Still here, still training. Tested for Green Belt (6th Gup) and passed! No real surprises except that because I was the oldest person and the highest ranked person at the test, I had to know all the sparring combinations on the bag and call them out. But it was fine. I pretty much committed the first 12 to memory, and I only had to do 8 for the test. Forms were uneventful for me. I broke my board on the first try. I think this may be the last of the quick promotions. which is fine. Green belt was a major goal for me.

Congrats! I am not familiar with your quick promotion story but I assume you started a new school/style so, also Congrats!

 

[mrt2]

Congrats! I am not familiar with your quick promotion story but I assume you started a new school/style so, also Congrats!

I had previously trained in a similar style for 3 years, reaching the rank of Cho Dan Bo, which is a rank in between the highest colored belt and the lowest black belt. But that was more than 3 decades ago. After a 30 minute mini class, my current teacher told me that I would have to start out as a white belt, but he would move me up somewhat more quickly than he might do with someone who is coming to TKD with no previous MA experience.

 

[Michele123]

OK, folks. Still here, still training. Tested for Green Belt (6th Gup) and passed! No real surprises except that because I was the oldest person and the highest ranked person at the test, I had to know all the sparring combinations on the bag and call them out. But it was fine. I pretty much committed the first 12 to memory, and I only had to do 8 for the test. Forms were uneventful for me. I broke my board on the first try. I think this may be the last of the quick promotions. which is fine. Green belt was a major goal for me.

Wow! Congrats! I also just earned my green(6 gup here too) but I’ve been training since November and only have one quick promotion).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[_Simon_]

OK, folks. Still here, still training. Tested for Green Belt (6th Gup) and passed! No real surprises except that because I was the oldest person and the highest ranked person at the test, I had to know all the sparring combinations on the bag and call them out. But it was fine. I pretty much committed the first 12 to memory, and I only had to do 8 for the test. Forms were uneventful for me. I broke my board on the first try. I think this may be the last of the quick promotions. which is fine. Green belt was a major goal for me.

Congrats mate that's fantastic! Sounds like you nailed it!

 

[Deafdude#5]

OK, folks. Still here, still training. Tested for Green Belt (6th Gup) and passed! No real surprises except that because I was the oldest person and the highest ranked person at the test, I had to know all the sparring combinations on the bag and call them out. But it was fine. I pretty much committed the first 12 to memory, and I only had to do 8 for the test. Forms were uneventful for me. I broke my board on the first try. I think this may be the last of the quick promotions. which is fine. Green belt was a major goal for me.

Awesome mrt2!!! Keep it up

 

[mrt2]

Still here, still training. Just tested and advanced to high green belt. (5th gup) Half way to black belt (not really. The interval between belt advancements gets longer once I get to purple. The easy advancements are pretty much over. The forms get harder, the advanced kicking combos more difficult, and the expectations will be higher. Looking forward to training harder, and sparring more against the higher ranked adults, though it is awhile before I am allowed to attend the advanced classes. (probably not until sometime in the spring).

Mostly measuring my progress against my former self, but I also look around to see who is in class who might be a challenging sparring partner. The guy who, age wise and size wise is closest to me is a guy who is a brown belt, and has been attending classes for about 2 years now. Not saying I can match him yet, but in the short term, I will be aspiring to get to his level. After that, there is a 2nd degree black belt who is about my age who is a beast in the ring.. Apparently, he used to be a boxer. That is the benchmark I am looking to get to.

 

[Deafdude#5]

I’m not too far in age from you, (turning 49 this month). The challenge at this point is keeping consistent with your training while juggling your daily life/work activities. Good job!

Finding the right training partner is a major obstacle since many either want to push you too hard or don’t push hard enough.

Best of luck!

 

[mrt2]

I’m not too far in age from you, (turning 49 this month). The challenge at this point is keeping consistent with your training while juggling your daily life/work activities. Good job!

Finding the right training partner is a major obstacle since many either want to push you too hard or don’t push hard enough.

Best of luck!

As far as the consistency, I would say so far, so good. I made this a priority,, and so far have averaged 3 to 4 classes a week since I started in March. As far as training partners go, I wish there were someone I could count on to be there with me every class. Honestly, as far as adult males (or even older teens), I am mostly looking to the higher belts for advice, though there is a guy who joined the beginning of the summer who is really getting better quickly, and I can see him being a decent training partner if he sticks with it., But he is only a yellow belt right now. But I sparred against him a couple of weeks ago, apparently it was only the 2nd time he ever sparred and he was better than I would have expected for someone who only knows a few kick combinations.

 

[Kick]

Just started BJJ at age 52, i'v got about eight or nine classes now, and yesterday i won my first roll with someone half my age and a lot bigger than me. It was his 2nd day.

 

[mrt2]

Third update. Still here and still training. So instead of waiting a month and testing for yellow next month (which is what I thought I was going to do), the master told me to test this week for high white, which I did. So, apparently, I don't get to skip ranks, but he did promote me a rank after just 4 weeks of training. I thought I was going to wait another month then test for yellow. No real explanation as I was told different things from the master and various assistant instructors, including the master's son over the last couple of weeks, but I guess it doesn't really matter since at this juncture, I think I am the lowest ranking adult at the dojang, whatever belt I earn.

I did run into a guy I know from my work the other day picking up his young son from TKD. He told me he used to practice MA 30 or 35 years ago. I suggested he join as it would give him a chance to train with his son, and besides, he and I would be perfect sparring partners as we are both about the same age, size, and skill level. He said he would think about it.

Ran into him again last week. Apparently still thinking about it.

While it would be nice to find a friend or colleague my age willing to train with me, it seems as though that will not happen.

 

[mrt2]

Ok, so update. Feeling pretty good about things right now. If things go as planned, I will likely test for yellow belt next month. After that, the intervals might get longer between tests, which is fine as I cannot race through the ranks. I haven't trained in 35 years. It is going to take some time to get back. And besides, TKD has a lot of curriculum I still need to learn and master so all that will take time.. (Forms, basics, kick combos, one steps, linears).

So, I didn't pull a hamstring or groin throwing my first kick. But most of my kicks are waist high at best. And I have a ways to go on my conditioning as well. (this is part of why I did this)

So my immediate goals are.
1. To not be the lowest ranking adult at my dojang. This might happen if some adult joins tomorrow, or it might happen because some adults don't train that often, and hence don't test that often.
2. To not be the fattest guy in every class. This will take some work as there aren't many guys over 250 lbs training, which means I need to lose 50 or 60 lbs.

Just a few short months ago, and I am still here.

So the first goal was met some time ago. Just to let this board know how quickly things progress, in about 6 months, I have gone from the lowest ranking guy in the class to around the middle most classes. Over the summer, I went past several people who were yellow and high yellow belts when I started, but who haven't advanced that quickly. and, of course, others have started up.

As for my second goal, I am working on it. Honestly, still probably the fattest guy in class. My fitness is getting better. The weight is still up there, but down a bit from where it was last March.

 

[pdg]

Ran into him again last week. Apparently still thinking about it.

While it would be nice to find a friend or colleague my age willing to train with me, it seems as though that will not happen.

I'm "alone" most classes - there's a couple of women roughly the same age as me, but they generally pair up - an older guy who does more helping with the younger ones than anything else - and that's about it.

So I normally get placed with the early 20s dan ranks.

I suppose someone has to keep them on their toes

 

[mrt2]

I'm "alone" most classes - there's a couple of women roughly the same age as me, but they generally pair up - an older guy who does more helping with the younger ones than anything else - and that's about it.

So I normally get placed with the early 20s dan ranks.

I suppose someone has to keep them on their toes

There are a few adult men I sometimes get paired up with . Most of them are younger than me. I think the only ones older than me are one guy who just made 1st Dan in May, and a guy who just made 2nd Dan. Other times I get paired up with a guy who just made high brown. And other times with a guy who used to be ahead of me, but now is a month or two behind me, which is fine.

Even if that other guy started up now, he would be starting out as a white belt, so it might be at least a 3 or 4 months before I could realistically spar or train with him.

 

[dvcochran]

Just a few short months ago, and I am still here.

So the first goal was met some time ago. Just to let this board know how quickly things progress, in about 6 months, I have gone from the lowest ranking guy in the class to around the middle most classes. Over the summer, I went past several people who were yellow and high yellow belts when I started, but who haven't advanced that quickly. and, of course, others have started up.

As for my second goal, I am working on it. Honestly, still probably the fattest guy in class. My fitness is getting better. The weight is still up there, but down a bit from where it was last March.

Great to hear about your progress. Keep up the work. I am sure you know how rewarding it is. Hope to hear about your future achievements.

 

[dvcochran]

There are a few adult men I sometimes get paired up with . Most of them are younger than me. I think the only ones older than me are one guy who just made 1st Dan in May, and a guy who just made 2nd Dan. Other times I get paired up with a guy who just made high brown. And other times with a guy who used to be ahead of me, but now is a month or two behind me, which is fine.

Even if that other guy started up now, he would be starting out as a white belt, so it might be at least a 3 or 4 months before I could realistically spar or train with him.

Just curious, how many people total are at your school?

 

[JR 137]

There are a few adult men I sometimes get paired up with . Most of them are younger than me. I think the only ones older than me are one guy who just made 1st Dan in May, and a guy who just made 2nd Dan. Other times I get paired up with a guy who just made high brown. And other times with a guy who used to be ahead of me, but now is a month or two behind me, which is fine.

Even if that other guy started up now, he would be starting out as a white belt, so it might be at least a 3 or 4 months before I could realistically spar or train with him.

How do they pair you guys up? Where I train, we make two lines facing each other. At the end of the round, everyone moves over one place; effectively, everyone works with everyone else. A better way to describe it: if there’s 10 people in class, the highest 5 line up facing the rest of the class. Then the remaining 5 pair up with them in rank order. After a round, everyone (both lines) moves one spot to the left, and we continue. Once everyone’s back to their original spot, everyone’s paired up with someone they haven’t worked with yet (when applicable).

Kids and adults have separate classes, so that’s a non-issue for us. But when we’ve got someone who just started adult classes (about 13 years old), they’re in the same line as everyone else.

 

[mrt2]

Just curious, how many people total are at your school?

The number they gave me when I signed up is 677, and current new students are in the 700s. I am sure the total current enrollment of our 2 schools is at least 200 or 300, but you have to keep in mind a couple of things. Subtract from that the huge cohort of children, and smaller sized women, and advanced belts who rarely attend general classes, and the number of potential sparring partners goes down quite a bit.