too Old for martial arts?

[Djimbe]

here's the real deal on practicality
if they don't spar, they are teaching you practically nothing
if the krav school spars chances are it's good
if they don't it's shit
muay thai I'm sure will offer sparring (or a real mauy thai instructor will come burn the school down!) same with Boxing and Judo
that's why sport styles are good
your sure to get practice with a resisting opponent
one drawback tho is lack of street tactics that can get you caught against an expereinced streetfighter but still the 3 above are good options

Okay , Sparring is fun , it helps , yadda yadda yadda ...

But its not like

"ANY SCHOOL THAT SPARS = GHUD !"

Please , if that was the case then we wouldnt NEED schools , wed all just pund on our Neighbors and Sibs in the backyard . Yard Tards =/= MAists .

If I hear a Teacher say "You Cant Teach Power" then I think hes a Joke . I could make a list , but no matter how full I tried it would still be Incomplete . What Im trying to say is that there are MANY MANY things that make up a good MA system and Instructor , and Most of the Sporticve schools out there have forgotten most of these things .

Lets face iut , the Sportive Model has become a Trend , and most ppl are letting students tak Fights too soon , and even Spar before theyre Ready . You dont need to Spar the first week youre in class . Its stupid an all it teaches you is that you suck . Well , maybey you need it if you dont know you suck . But other than the Ultra-Cocky in need of a little Humility , Most ppl just need to Drill the basics for a LONG time . After you have SOME semblance of Mastery of the3 BASIC skills , perhas THEN youre ready for spoarring .

And Im not talking about EAMAs here , either . Im talking about BOXING . When I was young it would be 1-2 YEARS b4 you were allowed to Spar . Before than it was TRAINING in DRILLS AND SKILLS .

Now ppl are taking amateur Fights in SIX MONTHS !

WTF is that ?

 

[BigHaydn]

true that you should practice competency before sparring.

 

[Saintinistic]

I agree with some of what Djimbe said. Getting people into sparring too early can have a negative impact upon the fighters development. some people are naturals, some are terminally unco-ordinated.

Jason Suttie (K1) has his gym, Elite Thai Kickboxing near in my suburb, he wont let anyone get in the ring to spar until they have passed a 45 minute circuit of skill and endurance testing. sound technique in my opinion.

 

[Snypr]

I brought my Late Pass.
1. You're never too old to start; if you tried hard and felt you couldn't hack it, then maybe. But I've seen guys start boxing in their late 20's and 30's and do ok. MA might take more of a toll on the whole body, but everybody is diff.
2. I wholeheartedly agree with the sparring issue. I was fed to a teammate once at practice (he was in a higher wgt class, had reach advantage , conditioning , and experience). I was not ready, but followed coach's direction to spar. I shouldn't have.

 

[Saintinistic]

Well, im going to give BJJ a go, to compliment my existing stand up Muay Thai/Kempo and CQB dirty tricks arsenal.

Jason Suttie has BJJ in his EliteThaiKickBoxing gym, so I can go between Muay Thai and BJJ on alternate days, if study allows the time.

Its only 5 minutes from home.

and im 34, so never too old to try a new trick. Have started running around my hilly neighbourhood to prepare myself as my cardio is shocking through inactivity.

 

[PyRoTeK]

The answer would be more suited to the person being asked. I say Martial Arts is more of a life style, or way of life if you will, hence the art being there in. In this I can say no, it is not too late to start. This would mean any and all ages can and do pratice as many "styles" as people have choices of the religion people practice today. I personally have my own style so to speak. It's known as Jeet Kune Do. The master would be Bruce Lee of course who I believe in his teachings. However this truth is not by any means easy. Meaning you don't simply approach it thinking you do only what you see fit. There are guidlines i.e.; Research, Training, and doing away with some false ways of thinking or thought in general. It also has a good deal with his philosophical belief.

 

[Gymgurl]

Late 30's...some days I feel to old when I'm sore the next day lol

 

[Demonix]

Skip Hall is in his early 60's and just got his first pro MMA win over some guy that is over 30 years younger than him. Skip is in awesome shape.

Also plenty of guys over 40 doing great as well and even more in their 30's, Mark Coleman just got a win in his last Pride fight at 41.

I have to respectfully disagree with Djimbe though. Hard sparring and rolling can with your buddies can make great fighters. Sure not UFC pro skill level.

An exampler here - there is this guy at my gym that when he was growing up lived out in the boonies, and he and his friends would just watch VHS/DVD instructionals and beat the tar out of each other.

This guy is one of the top submision grapplers in our gym. The same gym that has had one UFC chapion, and 5 other UFC/Pride fighters, and over 10 world and national champion grapplers.

Ya obviously it better to go to a good gym, but I have to say sparring and rolling is essential if you want to be good. Sure sparring and rolling right away might prove you suck. But if you wait 6 months before rolling or sparring, you are just waiting that much longer to go through that growing pain. I don't see nothing wrong with fighting right away either as long as its amatuer and vs someone with similar skill level. If you want to be a full contact fighter or competition grappler, its better to do it sooner than later, again like I said before, as long as its amateur and vs someone similar in skill.

This is just my opinion though based on my experience from training and fighting - I'm sure others have valid reasons for their way of thinking and training as well.

 

[MASTERDUTCH]

What is a good starting discipline? I am in NJ - not sure if certain types are more regional....

 

[MikeMartial]

What is a good starting discipline? I am in NJ - not sure if certain types are more regional....

While BJJ and Muay Thai are the "flavors" of the moment and may be the easiest schools to find these days, it's important to find and train in something that YOU enjoy.

Going to a BJJ class because it's the cool style to practice, but hating the rolling around and groundwork doesn't seem all that productive.

My advice: Research a few different styles, figure out what you want to get out of the training, and vist more than a few schools and training centers.