I ate like a horse at the time. I was also very young so I don’t think my body was fully developed yet. But my musculature changed dramatically, whatever the reasons were. Hitting a bag, and clinch work also do something to your neck/traps that I don’t think any weight training can do.
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Yes definitely! If possible make sure you learn how to break fall. One of the most valuable things in the arts that have throws. You get out what you put in and if you find a good school and a good instructor you can train hard, get in greatest shape of your life and have fun.
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Martial arts are physically demanding, but they are a skill like any other. Don’t hesitate because of your age.
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Started MT when I was 39 with no problems. Just pay attention to warming up and recovery; especially if you’ve been sedentary for a good while.
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Words of wisdom
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Capoeira here, traditional style. Been doing it for 7+ years, teaching it to the best of my knowledge also though no master (far from it).
I love capoeira because it teaches to embrace life fully, deal with adversary in a cunning way, and teaches playfulness and confidence as basis for all engagement.
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Wing chun definately less chance of injury…
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I never really got past those exercises but I always enjoyed them because they cleared my mind like nothing else did. And as easy as the standing pole looks it´s quite intense and teaches you a lot about posture and how wrong you have been standing your entire life. Miss that quite a bit but there´s nothing comparable around that comes close to the classes my friend did.
If my friend didn´t quit/emigrate I would have quit Muay Thai eventually and focused on Tai Chi as well. But it wasn´t meant to be I guess…
Me too. I don´t consider my stretching routine Yoga at all even though it has some influences but I wish I started it a lot earlier, would have avoided a lot of pain after workouts. Anyone who does weight lifting or any intense Martial Art should do some Yoga to keep their body flexible.
Basically any Martial Art will boost your confidence if you commit yourself to it. What style is best for self defense depends on your physical abilities. BJJ is very effective but to be honest in a street fight the last thing I wanted to do is getting on the ground especially when there´s more people around. Before you know it you get circled while wrestling with one guy and get kicked the shit out of you.
Anyone old enough to remember the Ninja movies from the 80´s will remember the hype 
Ninjutsu is also very interesting because it covers all levels of combat and even weapon techniques. Also the pressure point techniques are fascinating because it gives you an even deeper understanding of the human body. Pressure point techniques are also referred to as Dim Mak or Kyoshu Jitsu depending on which country the Martial Art style originated from. But don´t get fooled into thinking you can take out an opponent but just striking a pressure point because chances are pretty slim to none that this works in a real life street fight.
Like others said already it´s never too late to start, I also started quite late with 29. Just listen to your body and don´t get over motivated. If you get an injury in this age it can get chronic or just takes a long time to recover from. Take your time and you´ll be fine. And be aware of your physical abilities. I for example am rather stiff from the hip downwards so styles like Tae Kwon Do or Capoeira wouldn´t really work for me. Wing Chun is definitely a good start but depending on the school/instructor you might have to take those exams before you will be shown new techniques. And if the instructor is telling you that their style is the best of them all and superior to any other Martial Art I would walk out immediately again.
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Yoga
Karate
Taekwondo
Tai Chi Chuan
When I was a kid my father was a yoga and Tai Chi teacher.
I Stopped martial arts when I was around 23 if I remember well.
Picked yoga back up a few times and did a teacher trainer course in my 30’s. Never did any teaching because I always felt I was a not a real yogi bcause if my hedonistic life style. I can’t teach what I don’t practice IRL. Was asked many times though. Maybe n my 50’s 
All this martial arts training in my young years were a blessing when I started theatre school in my late 30’s, Grotowski-training, Mime, Butoh,… .
Doing something creative with the body is much more my thing, just found it out later in life. I hope to pick it back up in a few years max! For now it is young kids first!
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I recently rewatched this bit again and would recommend watching it. I think this is very good advice, especially for older folks like me 
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This is great advice. Bodyweight exercises ftw.
I am very flexible still and I want to keep it that way. A friend dragged me to the gym once, … many moons ago,… pushing and pushing to go as far as possible…
I really hated it and after an injury I only went back for running and cycling during winter time. I was getting stronger (of course) but also very very stiff and slow moving. I prefer being mobile and light on my feet any day of the week.
I just started doing some interval training again mixing jogging, walking and sprinting. I am done in 1 hour and afterwards stretching again to avoid the muscle hangover the next day.
I have a friend/neighbour here in Berlin and he really loves staying fit with the use of a fitness app, he uses Freeletics.
I have looked at it a few times, but I have a problem with a phone telling me what to do really … or anybody else ftm …
Can be useful for some. I prefer to listen to my body and do what I feel needs to be done!
One thing I have to improve is drinking a lot more water, always be water. My friends.
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It was only recently that I started to understand the utility of the standing pole (zhan zhuang) exercise. My problem with it in the past was that my shoulder would get so sore, despite my effort to follow the teacher’s instruction to “relax” the shoulders as well as the rest of the body. By the 5-min mark, my shoulders would be on fire and my hands would start dropping.
First breakthrough was learning how to use this exercise to practice jin. Whenever my shoulders would start getting sore, I create jin to the top of the head by imagining the ground pushing it up, and also create jin to the hands by imagining someone gently pushing down on the tops of the hands and sending that force straight to my feet. It’s fascinating to feel the soreness dissipate. Thus, I progressed from barely being able to practice 5 min. due to shoulder soreness to accidentally practicing 27 minutes because I forgot to set the timer. What gets sore for me now are the quads and calves instead of the shoulders. It’s now one of my favorite exercises for training the shoulders to relax.
2nd breakthrough was learning how use it to practice “the suit” - using the back (“open the body”) to slightly pull the elbows out and twist the hands by pulling the little fingers and using the front (“close the body”) to slightly twist the hands back by pulling the thumbs and pulling the elbows in. Chen Zhaosen recommended zhan zhuang training for 10 min. then narrowing your stance and practicing open-close, using inhalation to initiate the closing. Reverse breathing - using the inhalation to gently apply pressure to the back of the kidneys - is key here.
I occasionally supplement zhan zhuang with the Squatting Monkey exercise, which is from Dai Family Xinyi. It’s less forgiving than zhan zhuang in that the hip flexors absolutely cannot be tight, and it’s risky to the back if done improperly. It puts the body into a more exaggerated “closing” with the knees and elbows drawn in tightly as you reverse-breathe and “squat”. This exercise helped me feel the open-close action in a unique way. I saw a Youtube video of a practitioner “squatting” in this manner to load up for a jump then jumping - I’ve got a ways to go before developing the body to that level.
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Vladimir Vasiliev who is a Systema instructor put it best: „less tension - more power“. I find him pretty impressive, he‘s doing push-ups and is completely loose and can wiggle his entire body while performing them. That is my current goal but I‘m pretty far away atm. And I prefer flexibility over building muscle mass as well. Took me a while to be able to do a proper squat and keep that position for a while but now anytime my back starts to hurt this is my go to position to release tension and relax. Portal Ido‘s squat routine is also worth looking into.
I personally always hated running/jogging, I don’t know why. Tried it several times but never really got into it. I rather do 10-15 minutes of rope skipping for cardio or even burpees than running
For me it has always been the calves and feet and mostly a certain spot on the back where all the tension accumulated and always relied on his corrections to unbreak that tension. He‘s also doing cranio-sacral therapy and everytime he visits I‘m going for it. Feels like newborn every time.
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I started doing some rope skipping on holidays last year and I decided I was going to like it and continue and … forgot my gear there, will meet it back in September when we travel back 
Yea, I understand, many people dislike running. The only resistance I have is leaving the flat, once I am out and walked to a run-able area I am good and happy I went out. I guess a mix of all: running, burpees, rope skipping is a likeable balance! Will look into this Vladimir guy later today, thanks for the info: less tension - more power is a great line! My wife is a professional Alexander-Technique teacher, they work all the time with releasing tension and creating awareness that we use way too many muscles to do simple movements that do actually not need all this power and can be done differently with the right body posture.
It’s really about getting rid of all those bad movement habits and back to the natural movements of the body.
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First time I saw any Butoh was when I watched the movie Sanguivorous. I still know next to nothing about Butoh, but what a showcase for Ko Murobushi’s freaky skills!
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Zhan zhuang instruction - at least from a decent teacher - usually includes relaxing the back. What that usually means is don’t let the lower back arch. But of course the teacher cannot account for preexisting back issues.
Tension in the calves by all reports is normal. By relaxing the upper body in zhan zhuang, the load sinks to… where else but the legs.
Squatting Monkey (which isn’t really a squat) involves pulling up the ground through the feet when closing, pushing through the feet when opening.
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For cardio/conditioning, I currently follow the Simple & Sinister kettelbell program. It’s a GPP (general physical preparedness) program that delivers what author Pavel Tsatsouline considers the bare essential strength/conditioning attributes for everyday activities. There are only 2 exercises - the swing and the Turkish Getup. I have found this program to be very helpful for stabilizing my shoulders, making them less susceptible to impingement and other issues that have plagued my shoulders. It is also great for the core and allows me to train a great movement pattern for transitioning from lying down to standing up and back down again - very nice to have in case I fall by accident. I also like how the workouts are designed to be short and free up time for other activities like Taiji practice.
I have also followed a program called Elements by GMB which is built on 3 animal movements, 2 of which emphasize the deep squat - which is intended to build flexibility, mobility, and strength attributes for GMB’s more challenging programs, although I found some moves like the High Monkey (a hand balance added to the basic Monkey movement) to be plenty challenging. The improvisational aspect is fun. After some time to build up, the program has you doing timed sessions - basically interval training. Much more fun imo than running.
Neither program is designed to build a lot of muscle mass. My arms have actually gotten a bit skinnier since starting Simple and Sinister, since most of the work is on the lower body, core, and shoulder girdle rather than triceps/biceps.
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This guy is a phenomenon when it comes to softness and explosive power. Looked into various MA styles and came up with a concept of his own. The concept is about movement though and not a specific MA style, he says you can incorporate his philosophy into any MA.
@GovernorSilver can you provide some links to the exercizes you described? I´m interesting in anything that hepls with my shoulder problems. Thanks!
Sure. The Turkish Getup exercise in Simple and Sinister has been the best medicine for my shoulders, but that could be specific to my situation.
The Simple and Sinister book:
Turkish Getup Tutorial by Karen Smith, who also appears in the book - truly great exercise but it’s technically demanding and she does a fairly thorough walkthrough:
Karen Smith also has several tutorial videos on the other S&S exercise which is the swing, which as two variations - two-arm and one-arm.
GMB has a generous selection of free articles. This is the shoulder pain one:
Their free article on using the Bear movement for shoulder health, if your shoulders allow it:
This free article introduces the other two animals in Elements, describing some benefits for the shoulders and other areas of the body:
Both articles have a link to their paid program “Elements”.
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This looks a lot like Systema. Interesting philosophy, more than questionable effectiveness. Often a lot of these demos (and their impact) are staged.
I do appreciate the whole point about suppleness as a basis for power though.
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